362 THE MEDALS OF CREATION. Cuar. X, — 
elongata, is shown in Lign, 119, fig. 3. These cells are 
filled with inorganic matter. The shell of a Rosalina filled 
with an opaque mineral substance, forming casts of the cells, — 
is represented in Lign. 119, fig. 1. 
The preservation of the soft parts of foraminifera and of — 
mollusks, in a fossil state, is a phenomenon of frequent — 
occurrence, and no longer questioned by geologists, notwith- — 
standing the scepticism with which my first announcement — 
of the fact was received. Dr. Bailey, of West Point Military — 
Academy, soon after the publication of my first paper, sent 
me specimens from the marls of New Jersey. 
FoRAMINIFEROUS LIMESTONES OF INDIa.—So much doubt 
was expressed as to the accuracy of my opinion respecting 
the nature of the fossil Rotalize, that its corroboration by 
observations on certain limestones in India, by H. J. Carter, 
Esq. Secretary of the Bombay Royal Asiatic Society, was as 
gratifying as unexpected. According to the researches of © 
that gentleman, the south-east coast of Arabia is chiefly 
composed of two distinct limestone formations; the one 
averaging about 4,000 feet above the level of the sea, and — 
the other 600 feet. The latter forms the desert of Akaf, 
and with the intervention of the mountains of Oman, which 
belong to the greater formation, passes up into the lower 
Sindh ; while the former constitutes the high land of the 
coast, which, parting from the western border of the Desert — 
of Akaf, extends nearly to Cape Aden. 
The limestones of both these groups, or formations, consist 
chiefly of foraminifera ; the largest forms being visible to — 
the naked eye. Mr. Carter states that his attention was — 
first directed to the organic composition of the Porebunder 
limestone, which is imported into Bombay for building, by — 
small amber-coloured specks on the stone, that resembled 
the soft parts of foraminifera figured and described by me — 
in the Philosophical Transactions. “On subjecting a portion 
of the limestone to the action of acid, I found them to be ~ 
Ee ey 
