from the Island of Malta. 105 



" D. is a white calcareous sandstone, lying subjacent to the 

 marl, into which it quickly passes, and is from 20 to 30 feet in 

 thickness. 



^' E. is a bed of fine-grained sandstone, 15 to 20 feet thick, 

 of a reddish-white, and sometimes gray colour. These contain 

 several species of Foraminifera. 



" F. a pale yellow calcareous sandstone, often containing flinty 

 nodules, from 30 to 50 feet thick. In some parts it is thinly 

 stratified, and separable into brittle plates of sandstone; but 

 more generally it assumes a closely bound and unstratified cha- 

 racter, when it is used for building; but it is very liable to 

 exfoliate on exposure to the weather. 



" G. Chocolate-coloured nodules, irregular in figure and size, 

 in calcareous sandstone, with which are mixed casts of shells, 

 Caryophyllia, and other organisms ; also fishes' teeth, vertebrae, 

 and coprolites are very abundant. All the nodules are of 

 organic origin ; it is, in fact, a bone-bed of considerable extent, 

 for it preserves a very uniform character throughout the islands ; 

 but in Gozo it is more developed, and contains more remains ; 

 especially in a flat ledge just above the sea-level, under the cliff^s 

 of Fort Chambray, and at Marsa il Forno, on the north-east 

 coast, where its durability has checked the encroachment of the 

 sea. Its thickness is estimated at from 2 to 8 feet. 



^^ H. A close-grained, pale yellow sandstone, incapable of being 

 split along the line of bedding. It is extensively quarried for 

 building and other purposes, being easily cut with the knife or 

 saw. Large blocks of it are turned into pillars, vases, balus- 

 trades, and other architectural ornaments. This stone is exten- 

 sively used for building in the islands ; and, for the same use, 

 is largely exported to many parts along the shores of the Medi- 

 terranean. It attains a thickness of from 40 to 50 feet. 



" The stone from which the finely-carved vases are cut, comes 

 from the lower part of this bed, and is obtained near Naxiar. 

 The rock in this locality dries whiter, is finer grained, and more 

 compact than in general.'^ — Spratt. 



^^ It is impossible to distinguish between the beds D, E, F, 

 in the above grouping, except in clifi-sections.'^ — Earl Ducie. 



Fossils of No. 4. 



Reptilia. Mollusca. 



„, - . Nautilus, sp. undescribed. 



Cheloma, sp. Scalaria Duciei. 



T7^„„^^ Conus, Cypraea, Solarium, Natica, 



^^®^^^' Phorus, casts only. 



Pycnodus, numerous teeth of this Pecten laticosta. 



genus, with vertebrae and other Burdigalensis. 



bones of this class. Lucina. Tellina. 



