﻿NO. 7 SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I926 29 



which the street is lined. Today the towns offer an interesting illus- 

 tration of the continued development of an industry long after the 

 conditions which gave it hirth have ceased to exist. 



Interest in the two towns is, however, not limited to the " edelstein " 

 industry. High up on the ragged hills that dominate Idar are the ruins 

 of two castles dating back to a very early period — it is said to 

 about the middle of the eleventh century. Tradition has it that in 

 one of these dwelt two brothers. Whether a cat or a lovely maiden was 

 the exciting cause (the tradition varies on this point), a violent 

 quarrel developed which culminated in the younger being thrown from 

 the castle window and dashed to pieces upon the rocks below. 

 Repentant for his hasty act, the elder wandered aimlessly forth, 

 entering first the service of the prior of a Rhenish monastery and 

 afterward becoming a crusader, ultimately receiving absolution on 

 condition that he return and with his own hands erect a sanctuary 

 upon the exact spot where his brother fell. The penalty was carried 

 out, and the now existing church, erected it is said in 1482, occupies 

 the original site. It is an interesting little relic, its steeple alone pro- 

 jecting beyond the face of the cliff, and is well worthy the climb 

 of the 163 irregular stone steps to give it a visit. 



EXPLORATIONS FOR MICROFOSSILS IN FRANCE 

 AND GERMANY 



Probably no branch of natural history has received more intensive 

 study during the past 10 years than the microscopic fossils which have 

 proved of such great value in the determination of underground 

 structure, particularly in oil geology. The paleontological collections 

 of the U. S. National JMuseum are rich in species of fossil micro- 

 organisms from many American ^lesozoic and Cenozoic formations. 

 Although many of these species have been separated and photographed 

 during the past 20 years, their descriptions have never been published 

 because of uncertainty regarding their relationship to the many 

 described European species. Numerous large monographs and thou- 

 sands of smaller articles upon European microfossils, particularly 

 the moss-animals or bryozoa, the bivalve Crustacea or ostracoda and 

 the foraminifera among the protozoa, have been published during 

 the past century Init, in most cases, the illustrations are either free- 

 hand sketches or diagrammatic drawings which make the recogni- 

 tion of the species uncertain unless specimens from the type locality 

 are available for study. To secure such typical European material 

 for comparison with the American faunas. Dr. R. S. Bassler. curator 

 of paleontology, U. S. National Museum, spent August and Septem- 



