514 Miscellaneous, 



shelly limestone. Marine shells are frequent in some of these beds, 

 of which the blue marl is the most extensive, attaining in the locality 

 referred to a thickness of nearly 1000 feet. Selenite abounds in part 

 of it ; also beds of rock-salt and alabaster, extensively worked, the 

 mines of the latter by means of regularly constructed mining galle- 

 ries. The other marine tertiary districts are those of Leghorn, Pog- 

 gebonzi, Sienna, and Val de Chiana. Freshwater tertiaries were 

 noticed in two localities, forming limestones as compact and having 

 the aspect of scaglia, but well characterized by their peculiar organic 

 remains. Extensive post-tertiary formations of calctufF occur in the 

 valley of the Staggia and of Elsa, and the beds are in places more 

 than 100 feet thick. The rock called " Gabbro Rosso " by Savi, 

 Mr. Hamilton considers as a metamorphic rock derived from the 

 altered marls and sandstones of the secondary formation, acted on 

 by the protrusion of igneous rocks of the serpentine class. At the 

 junction of the Serpentine and Gabbro at Monte Catini is found 

 copper ore (a sulphuret) extensively worked. Besides the serpen- 

 tine, the quasi-trachytic rock called Selagite, and the basalts of Radi- 

 cofani, are among the igneous rocks of the district. The author con- 

 cludes with an account of the remarkable boracic acid works at 

 Monte Cerboli, and of the phenomena connected with them. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



HELIANTHEMUM GUTTATUM, MILL. 



In No. 36. of the ' London Journal of Botany/ Dr. Planchon has 

 shown that the true H. guttatum has not as yet been recorded as a 

 native of Britain, the plant of Jersey and Alderney being truly it, 

 but that of Anglesea proving to be a distinct species. I possess a 

 specimen of the true H. guttatum, gathered by Miss H. Townsend at 

 Three-castle Head near Crookhaven, in the county of Cork, one of 

 the extreme south-western points of Ireland, and thus restore it to 

 its place in the British flora, of which it has only just been deprived. 

 The Anglesea plant, called H. Breweri by Dr. Planchon, has brac- 

 teated pedicels and obovate lower leaves, but H. guttatum has no 

 bracts and oblong-lanceolate leaves. It is singular that all our bo- 

 tanists should have overlooked these very obvious distinctions, but 

 probably the extreme rarity of the plants and the small and usually 

 imperfect state of the specimens from Anglesea may somewhat ac- 

 count for it.— C. C. B. 



ELATINE HEXANDRA AND HYDROPIPER. 



I find that I have fallen into a mistake concerning the discovery 

 of these plants in Surrey. Mr. Newnham does not claim their dis- 

 covery, which I am informed is due to Mr. Walter Reeves. — C. C.B. 



PEDICELLINA ECHINATA. 



A zoophyte, new to Britain, the Pedicellina echinata of Sars, is 

 found in considerable abundance in some localities near low- water 

 mark at St. Andrew's. — Proceedings of the St. Andrew's Lit. and 

 Phil. Soc. Nov. 1844. 



