FOREIGN WORK AMONGST THE OLDER ROCKS. 19 



affected by considerable disturbances, described in Briart's 

 paper. In the volume of the Annals of the Geological 

 Society of Belgium, which contains the latter paper, are 

 several short papers on Palaeozoic rocks, including one 

 by Briart on the geology of the neighbourhood of Fontaine- 

 l'Eveque and of Landelies, which gives details of the 

 subdivisions of the remarkable mass of Carboniferous lime- 

 stone occurring near the latter place. 



An extremely interesting contribution to our knowledge 

 of the Carboniferous rocks is by Nathorst (25), in which 

 the Palaeozoic floras of Spitzbergen, Bear Island and Nova 

 Zembla are described. 



The Liefde Bay beds of Spitzbergen were formerly 

 considered to be passage beds between Devonian and 

 Carboniferous. They are now definitely referred to the 

 Devonian ; a new flora has been discovered in them 

 containing Lepidodendron, Bergeria. Bothrodendron and 

 Psygmophyllum. The coal flora is described, and the beds 

 containing it referred to the Lower Carboniferous, the 

 flora being compared with that of the Calciferous Sand- 

 stone. 



A description of the plants of the " Ursa-stage " of 

 Bear Island is given, and this stage referred to a position 

 intermediate between the Lower Carboniferous and the 

 Devonian. 



In Nova Zembla certain plants have been discovered 

 whose horizon is not settled. - 



To stratigraphical geologists the Spitzbergen geology is 

 specially interesting, on account of the former belief in the 

 anomalous distribution of the fossils (see Nordenskjold, 

 Geol. Mag., 1876, p. 63). The beds containing the coal 

 flora were formerly believed to occur above the mountain 

 limestone proper, though the fauna of this limestone showed 

 remarkable Permian affinities, containing such forms as 

 Camarophoria humbletoneusis, Productus cancrini, P. horri- 

 dus and Strophalosia lamellosa. It is now found that the 

 apparent succession is due to inversion, the older plant- 

 bearing beds being brought over the newer limestones. 

 These limestones are not of mountain limestone age, but 



