380 Scientific Intelligence. — Geology. 



Fig. 17. of Plate xxv. of the Memoir of Buckland, in the Geo- 

 logical Transactions. They occur in the same bed with fishes 

 and marine plants.'" — Boue in Journal de Geologic. 



11. Fossil Fox. — Last summer Mr Murchison purchased at 

 iEningen, near SchafFhausen, the fossil skeleton of a quadruped 

 said to be a common fox. The specimen was exhibited at the 

 Geological Society in London, as a common fox ? We are 

 not, however, aware of any osteological characters by which we 

 can distinguish the fox from the dog, nor the different species 

 of fox from each other. 



12. Fossil Floras. — Brongniart imagines that his different 

 fossil floras are entirely different from each other. He sup- 

 poses that a general marine inundation has always separated 

 these floras from each other ; consequently he is obliged to main- 

 tain that there are no vegetables or only marine plants in the 

 depositcs of rocks that separate his four periods. This opinion 

 is advocated by some geologists, but rejected by others. Boue 

 says, in the Journal de Geologic, t. i. p. 179. Note, " M. Voltz 

 and I reply, that, in proceeding from what is known, it is in 

 the nature of things that the arenaceous deposites or continental 

 alluvium should contain only land plants, and that the opposite 

 should be the case with the calcareous deposites, with exception 

 of the modern fresh water deposites, since they are strictly ma- 

 rine deposites, and partly mechanical, partly chemical. Hence 

 the absence of deposites of vegetables in the limestone, &c. does 

 not by any means prove that the vegetation of the globe was 

 destroyed during the period when these formations took place. 

 On the contrary, this vegetation ought to exist in a more 

 flourishing condition during a period when no revolution oc- 

 curred to destroy it ; which period of repose is indicated by the 

 want of arenaceous deposites. If cataclysms had taken place, 

 we would have found traces of them in these strata. The more 

 or less considerable differences observed between the vegetation 

 of the different deposites of land plants, may depend on the inter- 

 mediate ones being awanting, or more probably to the moments 

 of repose in the transport of the alluvium. The climates 

 changed during the periods of the formations, although arena- 

 ceous or sandstone deposites did not take place, and this change 

 is well indicated by a comparison of the fossil animal remains 



