44G ON THE GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS 



and that it ought to be struck out of the list of geo- 

 logical causes. 



Of organic Fossils in Fissures and Caverns. 



The fossils found in fissures belong strictly to geo- 

 logy, as they relate to somewhat antient alluvia; the 

 proper geological relations of the latter occurrence 

 are still very obscure, jfs this question also concerns 

 zoology rather than the present science. 



The former are involved in calcareous conglomerate 

 rocks, forming portions of these; of which the cement 

 consists of minute fragments and carbonat of lime: 

 and they are therefore local alluvial rocks. If they 

 sometimes occupy fissures, this is not always the case, 

 as happens in Dalmatia ; but the two forms need not 

 be distinguished, especially as they all appear to have 

 once occupied cavities of some kind. These rocks 

 occur in Gibraltar, near Montpellier and Nice, in Ar- 

 ragon, Corsica, Dalmatia, Cerigo, and elsewhere. The 

 remains are the bones of land animals; being terrene 

 themselves, as are the deposits, and, except travertino, 

 the only truly terrene organic rock. A few shells, 

 doubtless terrene also, have sometimes occurred with 

 them. The bones have appeared to belong to the 

 Horse, Ox, Ass, and Sheep, to Antelopes, Mice, Birds, 

 and some others which I need not here name. The 

 geological question does not seem intricate. 



The rocks are the accumulations of fragments 

 which have been produced where they lie. Trans- 

 portation is impossible under such circumstances ; nor 

 does the state of the fragments justify such a supposi- 

 tion. The production of the rocks themselves is easily 

 understood. I have elsewhere described such veins of 

 conglomerate in Scotland, in the older rocks, yet of 



