July 17, 1879] 



NATURE 



273 



establish such reasons and facts as might lead}" to a 

 generally acceptable and final decision of the Eozoon 

 question. 



This represents a small part of an Eozoon section, from 

 which the limestone has been dissolved by hydrochloric 

 acid, magnified forty times, under reflected light. The 

 acid has only left the serpentine and the stems and 

 plates, which, like serpentine, consist principally of silica 



Fig. 4- 



and magnesia. Between the indented bands of serpen- 

 tine (s S) we see cavities which were formerly filled up 

 With this object in viewDr.Moebius investigated upwards by carbonate of lime. From the bottom of these cavities, 

 of ninety Eozoon sections, ofwhich many were placed at his which also consists of serpentine, stems- and plates of 

 disposal through the kindness 

 of Dr. Carpenter, and of which 

 many others originally belonged 

 to Prof, Dawson ; there was no 

 doubt, therefore, that the sec- 

 tions possessed those proper- 

 ties which had led the latter 

 to declare the formation to 

 be of animal origin. Accord- 

 ing to Dr. Moebius Eozoon 

 canadense consists principally 

 of alternate layers of yellowish 

 green serpentine and whitish 

 limestone. Fig. 1 is the repre- 

 sentation of a good Eozoon sec- 

 tion, magnified four times. 



The darker parts represent 

 Ae serpentine, the lighter ones 

 the limestone which in many 

 places completely surrounds 

 little rounded nodules of ser- 

 pentine. Both the limestone 

 layers, as well as the serpentine 

 layers, have indentures and fre- 

 quently end in wedge-shaped 

 points. They generally attain 

 a thickness of two or three 

 millimetres. In the limestone, 

 even when magnified only four 

 times, the straight and parallel 

 division lines of the thin layers 

 of which it is composed are 

 easily seen. Besides these divi- 

 sion lines groups of little dots 

 or of curved lines are noticed, 

 representing stems and thin 

 plates imbedded in it. These 

 stem- and plate-shaped forma- 

 tions, which are of great import- _ 

 ance with regard to the introduction of Eozoon amongst I different shape and size rise in different 

 foraminifera, will be better recognised in Fig. 2. " ''"-" ^~-""- - 



Fia. s. 



directions. 

 Man"y"parts oFthc Eozoon contain a much smaller number 



