272 Notices of Memoirs — Count de Saporta — 



japonicas, Tem.). Amongst other fossiliferous localities are the 

 lignites of Weteravic ( Salzkausen, Eoekenberg), Gunzbonrg in 

 Bavaria, Bilin in Bohemia, Menat in Auvergne, Mt. Charray in 

 Ardeche, Parschlug and Gleichenberg in Styria, Tokay in Hungary, 

 and the neighbourhood of Vienna. 



Reviewing the Tertiary floras, the Count de Saporta points out 

 the vigorous and complete flora of the Palasocene was succeeded by 

 the poorer but more varied flora of the Eocene, containing an 

 assemblage of plants with African and Southern affinities, which per- 

 sisted on in the rich flora of the Miocene, in which, at the commence- 

 ment of the Oligocene, an influx of Northern types is observable, 

 which gradually increased in importance, as the influence of winter 

 first appeared in Central Europe ; the vegetable zenith was reached 

 in this epoch, and with the succeeding Pliocene a gradual exodus of 

 exotic forms took place, with the definite climatic change which is 

 too marked to have been due simply to alteration of geographical 

 configuration ; though the elevation of the Molasse sea-bed into land 

 and the appearance of the Alps probably snow-covered would not 

 be without effect in assisting the general chilling of the atmosphere. 

 But the change was a cosmical phenomena, commencing with the 

 Oligocene, and embracing the earth in its effects. At the commence- 

 ment of this era the ice at the pole would be sporadic and occasional, 

 gradually becoming permanent, and to give off masses of floating ice 

 to chill the more southern districts, themselves now covered with 

 glaciers in the more mountainous parts. These changes were pro- 

 bably gradual. Besting on the marine Molasse, with Ostrea eras- 

 sissima of Provence, are lacustrine deposits, in which tropical plants 

 still linger. An exotic Fig, Ficus Colloti, Sap., and a Bamboo. At 

 Cucuron, at the foot of Mont Leberon, M. Gaudry has discovered a 

 large number of Mammals, and he observes the end of the Miocene 

 is characterized by a great development of Herbivores ; this is the 

 case not only in Provence, but at Pikermi, in Greece, and Eppelsheim 

 on the banks of the Rhine. Stags also began to appear. Oxen were 

 still absent. 



Mio-pliocene. — Arms of the sea still occupied the valleys of the 

 Rhone, Danube, and the Po, and extended over parts of Belgium, 

 north of the valley of the Thames, in Sicily and Algeria. 



In the Vienna basin, resting on the Molasse, is the Sarmatic stage, 

 with Ceritliium, which contains a rich flora, near to that of (Eningen. 

 Cinnamons, Camphor Trees, Acacias, and Sequoias, and a Callitris, in 

 the succeeding deposits, " the zone of Congeria" — all these have 

 disappeared for ever, except the genus Sequoia, and the Cinnamons, 

 which still lingered in the floras of Stradella, near Pavia, and of 

 Senigaglia, in the Marches ; and in the East a true bamboo, Phrag- 

 mites, still existed. The Sassafras of North America, the Glypto- 

 strobus of China and Japan, the Planera, Platanus, Liquidambars of 

 Southern Asia, are also still represented at Senigaglia ; associated 

 with Limes and Oaks, clearly the ancestors of our own European 

 trees, and in beds of similar age (marine molasse of St. Fons, Isere), 

 in the Rhone Valley occurs a Beech with entire curved leaves like 



