Notices of Memoirs — A. K. Coomdrasicdmy — Scenery, Ceylon. 477 



followed by the railway as far as Matale. North-north-west valleys 

 are conspicuous north of Hunasgiriya. The Mahaweli Ganga valley, 

 south of Peradeniya, is a strike - valley ; another good example 

 is the valley running north-west from Hatton. Each of these 

 valleys is followed by the railway. Other conspicuous north-west 

 valleys (probably strike-valleys) are those between Kurunegala and 

 Matale; and north-east of Adam's Peak and south of Ratnapura. 

 A small area east of Kandy has been examined in detail, and shows 

 a diagrammatic system of strike- valleys, with others at right angles 

 thereto, the strike being here, however, more nearly east and west 

 than is usually the case. The bands of limestone may have had 

 some effect in determining the actual positions of these valleys. 

 Of course, all valleys in Ceylon are not strike- valleys ; thus the 

 Mahaweli Ganga valley crosses the general strike below Gettembe 

 (east of Peradeniya), forming a series of rapids. 



A characteristic feature of the scenery of Ceylon in many parts 

 is its precipitous character ; the seemingly ' bedded ' granulites form 

 mural escarpments and dip slopes, as if they were a series of 

 sedimentary rocks. 



The above remarks apply only to the mountainous districts which 

 occupy the south central part of Ceylon. A low coastal plain fringes 

 the island, partly of alluvial and partly of raised beach origin ; 

 sea cliffs are absent or very unusual, and even any coast exposures 

 of rock are not common. In the north a greater area is flat and 

 low, and the scenery resembles that of Southern India. Isolated 

 hills of gneiss (Dambulla, Sigiri, etc.) rise conspicuously from 

 the plain. 



X. — Short Notices. 



1. Oligocene. — No. 15 of Bulletins of American Palaeontology 

 (Cornell University), 16 June, 1902, contains the thesis for Ph.D. 

 of Carlotta Joaquina Maury. It is entitled " A comparison of the 

 Oligocene of Western Europe and the Southern United States." 

 Maury's conclusions are : " A comparison of the invertebrate faunas 

 of the two continents offers but little evidence, either for or against 

 the argument, that the Vicksburg and Chipola epochs ma}'^ properly 

 be referred to the Oligocene. Eather more European Oligocene 

 species or their analogues occur in the American Eocene than in the 

 so-called Oligocene beds. Some also are found in the American 

 Miocene. Yet certain characteristic Oligocene species, or their 

 varieties, are in the Vicksburg and Chipola beds, and as more of the 

 Chipola species are described further similarities may be noted. 

 This incomplete evidence, furnished by the invertebrates, is 

 strengthened by the resemblances found by Scott and others 

 between the vertebrate faunas of the two continents during the 

 period." 



2. The Genus Columbella. — Mr. S. Pace has completed his list 

 of the described species of Columbella. The list, which runs to some 

 two thousand entries, appears in the Proc. Malacol. Soc, vol. v, 1902, 

 and is a preliminary to further study. It is an excellent example 



