In his paper, the author explains that the limestone in question, which is confounded with the common carboniferous or mountain limestone of marine origin, is, in his opinion, of fresh-water origin.

On an irregular line extending from Joppa on the coast of the Firth of Forth, in a south and south-west direction to the Pentland Hills, strata of mountain or carboniferous limestone crop out at intervals; and their marine origin is indicated by encrinites, the Productus, &c., and corallines. This limestone is developed with least interruption between Edmonstone and Muirhouse, where it is from twelve to twenty feet thick. At this part of the line may be seen fractures and elevations of the strata of limestone and superincumbent shale and sandstone, evidently occasioned by a sudden and violent uplifting force acting from north-east to south-west, and causing the uplifted strata to dip south-east at an angle of 25°. These uplifted beds, between Edmonstone and Muirhouse, and subsequently to Burdiehouse, form the strata which dip under the coalmeasures of Gilmerton, Loanhead, and other sites.

The author referring, in the introductory part of his paper, to the views taken by Hutton of the structure of the earth's surface around Edinburgh, explained,—That the prevailing rocks are strata of sandstone and shale of the coal formation, with occasional beds of limestone; and interrupted by insulated as well as grouped hills of igneous origin, rising abruptly through them,—That the latter or trap-rocks, seem in many quarters interstratified with the former, as if they had burst while in a state of fusion between the strata of the secondary rocks,—That fragments of the secondary rocks are often seen imbedded in the trap, as if they had been broken away from the strata to which they belonged, and been hurried along by the fused erupted mass,—And that the trap-rocks often present very different appearances in the same hills, shewing that they were erupted under varying circumstances at different periods of time. The author farther explained, that the environs of Edinburgh seem to constitute a Great basin, surrounded by trap-rocks, which dip outwards in all directions from a common centre,—the Pentland Hills, forming the southern boundary, the rocky coast of Fife at Burntisland the northern, and Salisbury Craigs and Corstorphine Hill the eastern and western limits.

The author proposes in this paper to resolve a particular case of the motion of fluids, not previously noticed, and susceptible of practical application, namely, the circumstances of the motion of an indefinitely extended non-elastic fluid, where agitated by a solid ellipsoidal body moving parallel to itself, according to any given law; always supposing the body's excursions very small compared with its dimensions. The question here stated is considered by the author to admit of an easy general solution.

The author announced that, since his former paper was read, on the organic remains of the limestone quarry at Burdiehouse, discoveries of still greater interest had been made. These chiefly consist of the remains probably of a large animal of the Saurian tribe, namely, what appears to be the epiphysis of one of the vertebræ, presenting, when broken across, the cancellated structure of bone–several large scales obtained by Mr Connell,—and, in particular, a large and beautifully perfect tooth, two inches and a quarter long, and covered with its enamel, which is quite entire. The remains here alluded to were exhibited and presented by the author and Mr Connell to the Society's Museum.

The geologist has been for some time acquainted with the occurrence of Fossil Fishes in Caithness, and they have been more lately found also in Orkney, especially near Skaill, the seat of W. G. Watt, Esq. in Pomona.

The author describes these fishes as imbedded in a dark coloured flag, which lies beneath three feet of soil and loose stone, and eleven feet of solid beds of similar flag, but destitute of organic remains. The fishes are contained in two strata, measuring together about two feet in thickness. The upper stratum contains only fishes belonging to the Cartilaginei, and seemingly the genus Raia; the lower contains numerous fishes that belong to the orders Thoracici and Abdominales, most of them with distinct scales. Almost all of them lie on their bellies or sides, none on their backs, and their attitudes generally bespeak the energy of their final struggles. The fishes of these two contiguous strata are never intermixed.

The chief disturbing causes by which the magnetic intensity, as ascertained by the oscillations of the horizontal needle, are affected, are 1. Variations in the air in which they are performed; 2. The influence of changes in the mechanical conditions incidental to the mode of suspending the needle; 3. Changes in the disposition and intensity of the magnetism of the needle from heat and other causes.

Dr Traill made a report to the Society of experiments made by him in 1832 at Liverpool and Manchester on magnetic intensity, measured by the oscillations of the horizontal needles belonging to the Society, which had been sent to him for that purpose. The reporter also stated the result of a series of experiments made by Professor Oersted and himself in Liverpool in 1823, which is important, as having been made use of by Professor Hansteen in constructing his isodynamic magnetic lines for Great Britain.

The mineral in question was put into the author's hands by Mr Rose, mineral-dealer of this city, as a substance supposed to be a variety of mesotype. Mr Rose obtained it from Count Vargas Bedemar of Copenhagen, who had brought it from Faroe.

It has a pure white colour, with some opalescence and translucence, a glistening vitreous lustre, and somewhat greater hardness than fluor. Its texture is imperfectly fibrous; but the fibres in some places diverge with considerable regularity, shewing an approach to a crystalline structure. The specific gravity is 2.362; it is remarkably tough and difficultly frangible, so as to require much time and labour to separate a mass of it into smaller fragments.

The object of this paper was, to state and estimate the scientific value of a variety of facts, which have been recorded by various physiologists; and many of which have been verified by personal observation, in proof of the proposition,—That the fluids of living bodies, or in immediate contact with them, are in many instances liable to movements,—dependent on the vitality of those bodies, but independent of any vital contractions of their solids,—and which can hardly be conceived to be effected otherwise than by certain attractions and repulsions, peculiar to the living state.

The author in this paper communicated to the Society an account of Creazote, a new organic principle lately discovered by M. Reichenbach, which possesses remarkable antiseptic properties, and is the source of the antiseptic power of wood-smoke, empyreumatic pyroligneous vinegar, and other empyreumatized substances; also of a very volatile fluid, lately put into his hands by Mr Enderby of London, which is obtained by the destructive distillation of caoutchouc, and possesses in a higher degree than any other menstruum the property of dissolving that substance; and lastly, of three new crystalline bodies which have lately been discovered by M. Robiquet, and other French chemists, in opium, and which are named Narceïne, Meconine, and Codeïne. Specimens of the several substances were exhibited.

The author describes this fossil tree as lying at an angle of sixty degrees and a half, with its direction between S. E. by E. 10°, and N. W. by W. 10°, The strata in which it is imbedded dip at an angle of 20° towards the S. E. This tree differs from that which was found in the same quarry in 1830, in being much less flattened, indeed nearly cylindrical; and this difference appears to be accounted for by its almost vertical position, in consequence of which, the pressure of the surrounding medium would act in an equal degree all round the stem.

These coprolites, as well as the limestone where they are found, contain a trace of animal matter, as ammonia is disengaged at a red heat.

Muriatic acid dissolves the greater part with slight effervescence. Ammonia throws down from the solution a copious gelatinous precipitate of phosphate of lime; and in the remaining fluid, oxalate o ammonia throws down oxalate of lime. The matter left undissolved by the muriatic acid is inflammable, leaving a small siliceous residue, and appears to be bituminous matter derived from the matrix. There is no magnesia, sulphur, nor fluorine.

These lenses, which were exhibited to the Society by Mr Stevenson, are three in number. One, a plano-convex lens, two feet six inches square, was made by M. Soleil at Paris, under the superintendence of the late M. Fresnel. Another is a double-convex circular lens of flint-glass, three feet in diameter, which was constructed by the Messrs Gilbert of London, at the suggestion of Sir David Brewster. The third is a circular plano-convex lens, two feet six inches in diameter, cast in one piece as originally proposed by Buffon. This lens has been executed for the first time by the Messrs Cookson, plateglass-makers, Newcastle.

In this paper, Dr Hibbert explained the progress which had been made, since he first pointed out the existence of plants as well as of fish and saurian animals, in the fresh-water limestone of Burdiehouse, towards a farther investigation of these animal remains.

The following is a representation of the first saurian relic discovered in the limestone of Burdiehouse by the author:—

The collection of specimens has been subsequently carried on by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, through their General Secretary Mr Robison.

The author's object was to obtain an instrument which might register the changes of the wind in the absence of the observer. For this purpose he connected a vane with a vertical axis, at the lower end of which the horizontal revolution was changed to a vertical revolution by bevelled wheels; and the axis of the vertical wheel carried an index and pencil; which described on a vertical dial of slate, or of polished porcelain, all the changes experienced by the vane above. In this manner, however, the instrument registered the changes occurring during only one revolution of the vane. In order to obtain the registration of a greater variety of changes,—when the wind has blown all round the compass more than once, the following addition was made. “Each bevelled wheel containing 42 teeth, a pinion of 21 leaves was fitted to the axis of the vertical wheel, which pinion plays in the teeth of a smaller wheel with 42 teeth also provided with a pinion of 21 leaves. This last moves a second small wheel of 42 teeth, which again turns round the axis of the primary vertical wheel.

The author, after describing shortly the history of the philology of the Latin language, and alluding to the corruptions which were introduced into the science during the dark ages, proceeded to show that the prefix ve or vae must always be regarded either as an adjective signifying small, or an adverb having the force of the Latin parum or minus.

The term is to be found, in the opinion of the author, in most of the cognate languages of the great Caucasian branch of the human race, and still remains in Scotland under its Latin form ve, for the Latin V was undoubtedly pronounced like our W, [ve, wee.]

This subject, though in itself deeply interesting, and leading to conclusions of much importance for elucidating many obscure questions connected with the constitution of the Universe, has hitherto received but little attention. Bouguer attempted to fix the actual amount of diminution approximatively, by comparing the moon's light with that of wax candles at different ascertained elevations; and in this way obtained data, from which he inferred, that about a fifth part of the entire rays of the sun is absorbed in traversing the atmosphere vertically. Lambert concluded, that the loss sustained is much greater.

Dr Reid read a notice by the Rev. Edward Craig, of some modes which he had adopted for examining by the microscope, the phenomena of chemical action, by means of which, the most minute changes of appearance attendant on the contact of the smallest visible quantities of substances may be observed. The method was described to be:

1. The laying two or more substances on two thin flat plates of glass, and bringing them in contact with each other; so that the whole matter is spread in one thin level between the two glasses; and the several processes of union, decomposition, and crystallization may be accurately watched in a field of view of of an inch.