108 



CHAPTER X. 

 DESCRIPTION OF SOME Swiss MIOCENE LOCALITIES. 



Lausanne; the Hohe-Uhonen ; St. Gall; Lode; the Molasse of 

 the Canton of Zurich ; (Eningen. 



IF we wish to have a picture of nature, either as it once existed 

 or as it is now to be seen, we must confine our attention to par- 

 ticular localities. Let us therefore endeavour to sketch such a 

 picture of separate parts of Switzerland as may be suitable to 

 give a clear idea of the natural characters of the flora of the 

 country in Miocene times. 



1. Lausanne in Miocene times. 



It has been already shown (vol. i. p. 300) that at the time of 

 the lignite formation a lake stretched from the neighbourhood 

 of Vevey to the Paudeze, in the vicinity of Lausanne. The 

 marl of Monod near Chexbres and that of Rochette in the little 

 valley of the Paudeze enclose the remains of an abundant 

 flora which once clothed the shores of this lake. In the Plate 

 of " Lausanne in Miocene times " an attempt is made to repro- 

 duce this flora, and to show the character of the plants of that 

 locality and period. Let us therefore transport ourselves in 

 imagination to the shore of this lake, and cast a glance upon the 

 landscape, which, freed by the magic wand of science from the 

 durance of hard rocks, may rise from the bosom of the earth to 

 a new life. 



In the foreground the magnificent fan-leaves of the sabal- 

 palms and of the great Flabellariae are seen, and near them the 

 long plumes of the Phoenicites are visible. To the left rises a 

 camphor-tree with its numerous branches, the shining foliage of 

 which converts the dense ramification into dark masses ; while the 



