Geological Society of London. 379 



but this unfortunately occurs on but few specimens, and has rarely 

 been descril'jed fossil, although greater attention to this will no 

 doubt lead to its being frequently found and noticed. 



7. " Observations on certain Tertiary Formations at the South Base 

 of the Alps, in North Italy." By Lt.-Col. H. H. Godwin-Austen. 



In a visit to some of the moraines on the south side of the Alps, 

 the author's attention was drawn to certain Tertiary beds under- 

 lying the glacial deposits at Ivrea, and near the Lago d'Orta at Boca, 

 Maggiora, and especially at Buccione, south of Orta, and close to the 

 southern extremity of the lake. Here there is a small remnant of 

 micaceous sands containing older Pliocene marine fossils. The 

 species have been determined by Dr. Gwyn Jeffreys, and a list was 

 appended to the paper. The patch of Pliocene beds has apparently 

 been protected by the porphyritic mass on which the old tower of 

 Buccione stands ; the remainder of the Tertiary strata, which for- 

 merly must have extended northward to the Soce Valley, have been 

 swept away by the ice of the Glacial period. 



The deposits at Boca and Maggiora were also described in some 

 detail. They are probably Newer Pliocene. 



Near Ivrea the most interesting section seen was at Strambinello, 

 on the banks of the Chiusella. Here on both banks of the stream 

 horizontal Pliocene beds, containing marine shells, are exposed 

 resting on diorite. On the south bank the Pliocene is broken up 

 and mixed with diorite fragments. Moraine overlies the Pliocene. 

 The great Dora Baltea glacier swept across the gorge of the Chiu- 

 sella, and only left a remnant of the marine beds where protected 

 by the ravine. 



The Pliocene sea probably extended along the south base of the 

 Alps, extending in long gulfs up the valleys, out of which the 

 marine deposits have been swept by the ice, except in a few pro- 

 tected spots. 



The paper concluded with a notice of some fossiliferous gritty 

 marl seen in a ravine close to Dormiletto on Lago Maggiore. 

 Although probably in situ, the mass was not sufficiently exposed to 

 show its relations to the surrounding rocks. 



8. " On the Geological Position of the Weka-pass Stone." By 

 Capt. F. W. Hutton, F.G.S. 



The beds described in this paper are of older Tertiary and newer 

 Secondary age, and occur in the northern part of Ashley county, in 

 the province of Canterbury, between the Hurinui and Waipara 

 rivers. All of the beds are met with at Weka Pass, on the railway 

 and road between Christchurch and Nelson, and the following is the 

 section in descending order : — 



1. Mount-Brown beds ; pale yellowish sandstone with bands of 



shells and coral limestone, considered by all New Zealand 

 geologists Upper Eocene or Oligocene. 



2. Grey sandy marl. 



3. Weka-pass stone, yellowish with arenaceous limestone, usually 



with small green grains. 



4. Amori limestone, white, flaggy, and argillaceous. 



5. Green sandstone, with remains of marine Saurians. 



