Miscellaneous. 239: 
EquisetuM 1n Gwetss.—In a paper recently read before the 
Academy of Sciences of Turin, Professor A. StsmonpA described a 
plant-like marking on a specimen of gneiss found in the drift cover- 
ing the Liassic limestone occurring north of Rezzago in the Brianza. 
After remarking that he does not believe it possible that it should 
be of dendritic origin, he records the opinion of several distinguished 
botanists and paleontologists on the subject. Professors E. Sis- 
monda, Bellardi, Gras, and Parlatore considered it to be a species of 
Asterophyllite (Annularia), while Brongniart referred it to a new 
species of Equisetum. The author then discusses the age of the 
metamorphic rocks of the Alps, and supports the opinion of M. Elie 
de Beaumont, that they are for the most part of Jurassic age. The 
specimen which is the subject of the paper he infers was derived 
from the Valtellina, and the gneiss of that mountain he considers of 
Infraliassic age. The paper is illustrated by a photograph of the 
specimen, showing very clearly the radiating leaves of the supposed 
Equisetum, and the gap left by the decay of the central axis.— 
H. M. J. 
On THE PRESERVATION OF Fossir MAMMALIAN REMAINS FOUND 
In Tertiary Deposits. 
By Mr. W. Davis, of the Geological Department of the British Museum. 
Ow1neG to the loose mineral character of the Tertiary deposits, in 
which most of the Mammalian and other vertebrate remains are 
found, consisting as these deposits chiefly do of sands, gravels, 
clay, or peat, their fossils are necessarily in a more or less friable 
condition, difficult to preserve entire, or to handle for scientific 
examination with safety. Hence, probably, a few remarks as to the 
method usually adopted for hardening and preserving them may 
interest, and be of service to, some of your readers who collect such 
fossil remains. 
The substances generally used are glue or gelatine. For the bones 
of the larger Mammalia there is nothing better than the best glue ; 
whilst for the more delicate bones of the smaller Mammals, Birds and 
Fishes, gelatine is the best, being purer, dissolving more easily, and 
imparting but little, if any, colour to the fossil. The consistency of 
these substances when used will have to be varied according to the 
structure of the bone; and as they also differ greatly in quality, it is 
impossible to lay down any definite rule as to the exact proportions 
to be used with a given quantity of water ; this must be left to the 
judgment of the operator. As a general rule, however, all bones 
which have a coarse cellular structure, as the ends of large limb-bones, 
deer-antlers,&c., and also specimens from some deposits—for example, 
the peat-bed near Colchester, the fossils from which have their 
internal cellular structure either totally or partially destroyed—re- 
quire the glue-solution to be of a consistency which will form a stiff 
jelly when cold; whilst for bones of a compact structure a much 
thinner solution, about the consistency of ordinary size, will suffice; 
If the solution is too thick, it clogs the absorbing power at the 
surface, and prevents its penetrating to all parts of the bone. 
