230 Review of "Outlines of the 



todte liegende,) or first Jloetz sandstone of the Wernerians, 

 as distinct from the English old red sandstone ; because 

 the former lies above, and the latter beneath, the coal de- 

 posites ; and " where external characters are nearly the 

 same," say they, "our surest guide must be the position in 

 the geological series; and this rule will hardly permit us 

 to class a formation uniformly below, with one uniformly 

 above, the principal deposite of coal.'' 



It ought here to be remarked, as a fact of some conse- 

 quence, that the real English old red sandstone has always 

 been described on the continent of Europe, as a variety of 

 gray wacke ; and the carboniferous lime stone above it, 

 as transition limestone. 



The old red sandstone in England is almost destitute of 

 organic remains ; only a few shells and vegetable relics 

 occurring in its lower members, where it graduates into 

 limestone of the transition series. Its thickness, in some 

 parts, is 2000 feet ; and the height of some of its moun- 

 tains, above the sea, between 2000 and 3000 feet. 



An extensive deposite of this rock is said to exist in the 

 United States ; and as it was thus designated by Mr. Maclure, 

 who is so well acquainted with the European rock, there 

 seems little doubt but it does occur here. We suspect, 

 however, that our geologists have included several rocks ~ 

 under old red sandstone ; certainly, no distinction has been 

 made between the rothe todte liegende and the English old 

 red sandstone. Some of the old red sandstone in the Uni- 

 ted States, however, does underlie the coal formation : for 

 instance, along the Connecticut river. And along the same 

 river is a rock, which cannot be distinguished from that just 

 named, as lying beneath the coal measures : but it probably 

 lies above the coal measures ; and in it have been found 

 (at East Windsor, Connecticut,) the bones of a vertebral 

 animal, five feet in length. Must not this be the rothe 

 todte liegende, or even a member of a formation still newer j 

 since no vertebral animal, we believe, has been hitherto 

 found in any rock beneath the bituminous marie slate. 



The English old red sandstone reposes upon the transi- 

 tion slates ; and we much regret, that the work, whose 

 analysis we are giving, does not extend, in the part publish- 

 ed, to a description of these slates. Especially, we are 

 anxious to learn the character and position these writers 

 would give to "the far famed, illustrious gray wacce." Since, 

 however, they represent the old red sandstone as reposing 



