Notes for 4 lectures on the 'Volcanic History of Britain', given to the Royal Institution in 1886. Sir Archibald Geikie looked at the emergence of types of geological formations against a geological timeframe and how they have been affected by various processes, especially the action of volcanoes and materials produced by them, within the natural world. He used examples from numerous locations from different parts of the British Isles.

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.