ar 
Notices of Memoirs.—Radiolaria in “ Diaspro.” 317 
more or less in a straight line of strike, and its distance across at 
right angles to the bedding is perhaps scarcely a quarter of that 
occupied by parts of the so-called inversion of the Tandél and 
metamorphic rocks of the Northern Punjab. The dip angles in 
these last, too, are greatly lower than those along the Pir Panjal. 
Except for the uppermost beds being the most metamorphosed, 
it may be doubted whether any one would feel compelled to invoke 
the aid of an inexplicable inversion in order to contradict very 
ordinary and self-evident structural facts. That inversion is 
frequently present in disturbed districts, no field-geologist would 
deny; but where its presence is unnecessary to explain the facts, 
this need not be asserted on insufficient evidence, nor does there 
seem to be any conclusive reason why metamorphism need always, 
or only be assumed to have acted vertically upwards. 
If the relative position of the rocks could have been explained by 
simple inversion, and if the unconformity at the base of the Tandl- 
Infra-Trias group, which could not have escaped participation in the 
overthrow, had no existence; it would have been a very simple 
matter to assign conjectural places to each of the groups older than 
the fossil-bearing Trias. Geological difficulties are not to be solved, 
however, by losing sight of the conditions presented to observation. 
The riddles of the northern Punjab may be doubtless read when 
ample time and patient labour have been devoted to recording each 
geological feature upon large-scale maps and in carefully made 
sections; till this can be done, it will be wiser to put forward the mere 
speculations of cabinet geology accompanied by ample reservations, 
and to refrain from accepting theories as facts. 
Pot Leas Ol Mm MO rrRS: 
Rapro.aRia IN “DIASPRO.”—Bolletino del R. Comitato d’Italia, 1880. 
Noseih 2 
HE above Journal contains a report of a verbal announcement made 
by Prof. Dante Pantanelli, on the discovery of Radiolaria in the 
Italian “ Diaspro” from various places, and of different ages ; two from 
the Lias, and one probably Cretaceous, but the greater number were 
from the Upper Eocene. In a previous meeting of the same Society 
(Soc. Toscana di Sc. Nat.), Prof. de Stefani, in speaking of this diaspro 
and manganite, attributed their formation to deposits in deep seas, but 
this idea was combated, and in consequence, Prof. Pantanelli under- 
took the examination, with the above results. The importance of 
this is much increased by the fact, that the diaspro of Murlo and 
Crevole are intercalated with the serpentine, and we may hope that 
much light will thus be definitely thrown on a question which is 
occupying much attention in Italy, and has also been taken up by 
some of our leading English geologists, we mean the formation of the 
Italian serpentines. Prof. Pantanelli thinks we may now definitely 
,accept the hypothesis of Stoppani that the serpentines are volcanic 
rocks, for the most part erupted in deep seas. Thus the same con- 
clusion is arrived at from quite different stand-points. He also 
