416 



as such, and that the organisms they contain, being only clearly 

 visible with the aid of a strong pocket lens, or a microscope, are 

 easily overlooked. 



At all events, Murray and Renakd, in their classical treatise on 

 recent deep-sea deposits, were very sceptical with regard to the 

 question whether these plaj a role of any importance in the 

 structure of the continents, as can clearly be proved by the following 

 quotations -. "With some doubtful exceptions it has been impossible 

 to recognise in the rocks of the continents formations identical with 

 these (i. e. the recent) pelagic deposits", ') and "It seems doubtful if 

 the deposits of the abysmal areas have in the past taken any part 

 in the formation of the existing continental masses". ') 



Later, it must be admitted, strong proofs have been given ') of 

 the deep-sea character of certain red shales with radiolaria, and 

 certain cherts and hornstones with radiolaria, the former being the 

 fossil equivalents of the recent red clay, the latter, the typical 

 radiolarites, being the fossil equivalents of the recent radiolarian ooze. 

 And it also has been pointed out that their occurrences in the 

 continents, must be found strictly limited to folded mountain ranges of 

 recent and earlier ages i. e. to the movable or geosynclinal areas 

 of the earth's crust') and cannot be expected to occur in the original 

 stable or continental masses i. e. the "aires continentales" in the 

 sense'of Haug. Although it has thus been distinctly proved that the 

 occurrences of deep-sea deposits of earlier ages in the continental 

 masses cannot be regarded as "some doubtful exceptions" yet, 'as 

 is clearly reflected in the most modern handbooks of geology, the 

 doubt regarding their importance iias not yet been dispelled. 



One of the most prominent American geologists recently in a 

 study on the testimony of the deep-sea deposits ') strongly supports 

 the view held by Murray and Renakd in J 891. 



It is evident that in proportion to the strength of the arguments 



1) Report on the scientific results of the voyage of H. M. S. Challenger. J. 

 Murray and A. F. Renard. Deep-sea deposits, p 189, London 1891. 



-) Ibidem, Introduction p. XXIX. 



') See i. a. G. A. F. Molengraaff. Geological explorations in Central Borneo 

 p. 91 and again pp. 439—442. Leiden 1900 and G. Stein.m.^nn. Geol. Beobachtungen 

 in den Alpen. 2. Die ScHARDi'sche Ueberfaltungstheorie nnd die geologische Bedeu- 

 tung der Tiefseeabsatze und der ophiolitischen Massengesteine. •Berichte d naturfor. 

 Ges. zu Freiburg XVI, p. 33, 1905. 



*; G. A. F. Molengraaff. On oceanic deep-sea deposits of Central-Borneo. Proc. 

 of the Royal Academy of Sciences, Amsterdam XII, p. 141. Amsterdam. 1909. 



6) T C. Ghamberlin. Diastrophism and the formative processes. V. The testimony 

 of the deep-sea deposits. Journal of Geology XXII p. 137, 1914. 



