The information gained by us during the first three Swedish expeditions to Spitzbergen having, either directly through our own experience, or indirectly through conversation with most of the intelligent and bold whalers and walrus-hunters of Northern Norway, fully confirmed the observations of Scoresby, Phipps, Tschitschagoff, Parry, Buchan, Franklin, Clavering and others, respecting the impossibility of penetrating by ship during the summer through the crowded ice-masses to the north of Spitzbergen, far beyond the 80th degree of latitude, an Arctic Expedition was sent out from Sweden in 1868, having for its object, among other things, to renew during the autumn months the attempt to sail towards the pole from the northern coast of Spitzbergen. I have, in a report of the expedition of 1868, given a brief accountable result of that undertaking, which showed that even at that period of the year, when the water is most free from drift-ice, the polar basin, at least to the north of Europe, and doubtless also to the north of America and Asia, is so full of drift-ice that all possibility of passing through it in a ship is out of the question.

The ironstone of Cleveland is a repository for a number of interesting species of Mollusca, amongst which a Trigonia deserves especial notice, representing as it does the oldest form of the genus, and now recorded for the first time as British.

In the fourth number1 of the Proceedings of the Geological Society of Stockholm, there is a paper by Mr. Törnebohm, of the Geological Survey of Sweden, which treats of the origin of the famous åasar,—the same geologist has also kindly sent me some further explanation of his views,—a short account of which will, no doubt, be interesting to many readers of the Magazine.

I.Introduction.—It has been said, with some degree of truth, that our knowledge of the lower forms of life has advanced pari passu with the improvements in the construction of microscopes; and no doubt very considerable progress has been made in some departments of investigation within the last few years. In the vegetable kingdom more especially has this been the case; and with respect to animals, the structure of the Protozoa has been especially elucidated by able observers, the Spongiadee chiefly by the labours of Dr. Bowerbaak.

In the GeologicalMagazine for 1870 (Vol. VII., p. 267), I published a brief account of some burrows in Derbyshire; one group of. which, at the bottom of Miller's Dale, and on a scarp of rock which was probably artificial, appeared to me wholly irreconcilable with the theory which attributes them to the action of Pholades.

During the summer of last year I had the opportunity of visiting various localities in the State of New York which are of great geological interest; and I was particularly struck by the numbers of valleys which are exclusively the work of the rivers by which they are occupied, as compared with those which are in every way caused by mechanical disturbance of the beds through which they run.

The excavations for the foundations of the new Infirmary in the grounds of Watson's Hospital, Edinburgh, have disclosed several Boulders, which appear lying in the Diluvial-clay. This is a marly clay, and has been dug to the depth of about five feet, in several horizontal terraces, down the slope from north to south. These Boulders were of sufficient size to be left behind in situ by the labourers, and about six large ones were found in the north and twelve in the south area of the grounds. They were of trappean rock chiefly, being rounded on the angles and sides, and of a dark green crystalline structure internally, A large one in the north area was of a metamorphic granitic character; one in the same area of a buff-coloured sandstone; and another in the south was composed of the same rock, and grooved also.