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A discussion, probably inspired by Sir Isaac Newton, of whether it was Willebrord Snell or Voss who discovered a law of refraction first, from which Rene Descartes arguably derived his version at last.

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Letter to Sir Archibald Geikie from Henry William Bristow telling Geikie that after 30 years service he has been promoted to Director of the Geological Survey of England and Wales, in the place of Sir Andrew Crombie Ramsay who has been promoted to Director in Chief. He reports that Henry Hyatt Howell will take his place as District Surveyor. He asks how sales are going of Joseph Beete Jukes' The Student's Manual of Geology, ( 1857) which Geikie edited.

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Letter to Sir Archibald Geikie from Henry William Bristow thanking him for his gift of a copy of his work Life of Sir Roderick I. Murchison, Bart. : based on his journals and letters with notices of his scientific contemporaries and a sketch of the rise and growth of Palaeozoic geology in Britain, ( 1875) . He hopes that the publication will not reopen the historical controversy between Sir Roderick Impey Murchison and Adam Sedgwick.

Scope and Contents Letter to Sir Archibald Geikie from PB Brodie asking him if he could swap a sample of a fossil Ashea from the Isle of Skye with him as he would like to compare it with those he is familiar with from the south of England. He offers a variety of other fossils which he could swap, including some crustaceans. He remarks that he would also like some specimens of old red fish fossils from Scotland. He tells Geikie that he will shortly be submitting a paper concerning corals in lias to the...

Scope and Contents Letter to Sir Archibald Geikie from PB Brodie thanking him for the offer of a liassic (or jurassic) coral fossil and arranging carriage of it. He tells Geikie that he will be reading a paper regarding these at the next Chiltern branch meeting of the British Association for the advancement of science, which is where most of his fossils originate. He asks Geikie if he knows of any collector who could furnish him with some old red fish fossils and offers to show Geikie his collection if he is...

Scope and Contents Letter to Sir Archibald Geikie from PB Brodie discussing the differences between Scottish and English lias formations (jurassic). He concludes that corals found in the Scottish lias are from lower levels in the series than those from Gloucestershire and Worcestershire where the outlines of old coral reefs can be seen on the surface, and fossil coral can be picked up in fields and at the side of the road. He sends some references concerning the subject, offers to send some local fossils, and...

Scope and Contents Letter to Sir Archibald Geikie from PB Brodie discussing differences between the liass formations (jurassic) in Gloucestershire and Skye. He reports that there is no sandstone in Gloustershire. He describes some fossils he has found and a liassic reef covered with grass. He reports that he will be sending some specimens to the Museum of Economic Geology and would appreciate any samples which Geikie could spare. He adds a post script that he has lost a ticket sent by Geikie and requests a...

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Letter to Sir Archibald Geikie from Robert Broom telling Geikie that he has named a fossil after a colleague John Young. The fossil, Youngina, is possibly the common ancestor of lizards, crocodiles, dinosaurs, pterodactyls and birds. He describes his work progress in South Africa including a drawing of a gorgonopsid reptile skeleton.

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Letter to Sir Archibald Geikie from Thomas Forster Brown of the firm Forster Brown and Rees, Mining and Civil Engineers requesting a reference or some assistance to help him ascertain whether gold or silver is mined on Islay, the annual value of such and the composition of other minerals recovered.

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Letter to Sir Archibald Geikie from Thomas Forster Brown thanking him for arranging for a member of the Geological Survey of Great Britain staff to investigate his request concerning gold and silver mining on Islay.