SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



H5 



midgets and leviathans that once swarmed in the 

 waters of primeval Malta. Teeth and vertebrae of 

 sharks, whales, dolphins and seals lie side by side 

 with the tests and spines of sea-eggs and the 

 shells of the progenitors of the more familiar 

 cockle and whelk. Sea butterflies (Hylae) have 

 left their remains in such abundance as, in places, 

 to constitute a considerable portion of the rock- 

 mass, and ofttimes lie curiously intermingled with 

 sea-dates, crabs, and a very mixed assortment of 

 protozoons and foramens. In most of these seams 

 dark-coloured nodules of phosphate of lime form 

 the predominating element f). The majority of 

 these phosphatic nodules are rough and scoria- 

 ceous ; but many of them are smooth, and have a 



gone the greatest amount of denudation. In this 

 district the ravines and gorges form the main lines 

 of drainage, and the storm waters from the sur- 

 rounding areas often carry into them some relic 

 of Malta's prehistoric denizens. One of the finest 

 molars of the large Maltese elephant, Elephas 

 ninaidra, that has yet been found was picked up 

 in the bottom of the picturesque little gorge of 

 Uied el Zurrick by Sir W. Hely Hutchinson, the 

 late Lieut. -Governor of the islands. 



At the mouth of this gorge, in the little baylet of 

 Cala el Zurrico, is a cavern containing an interest- 

 ing stalactitic formation, which in the semi-gloom 

 bears a startling resemblance to a man hanging 

 by the neck. Within a short distance of Zurrico 



The Fungus Rock, Dueira, Gozo. 



polish equal to that of a highly finished piece of 

 jet. On breaking them, one or more organisms 

 will be found embedded in their centres. Some- 

 times it is a shell, a tooth, or a fish-scale, and 

 sometimes an aggregation of the shells of Glohi- 

 genua. It is in these bands of phosphate rock that 

 the explanation of the wonderful fertility of the 

 Maltese soil must be sought for. The plateaux 

 district of the islands has yielded very few of the 

 remains of the hippopotami and elephants referred 

 to. The principal bone caves and fissures have 

 been found in the south-eastern half of Malta, 

 that is, those parts of the island that have under- 



(S) Cooke, J. H.: "The Phosphate Beds of the Maltese 

 Islands,',' "Mining and Engineering News," May, 1893. 



lies the depression known as the Macluba punch- 

 bowl. It is a cylindrical hollow depression forming 

 the centre of what was once an elevated plain 

 that extended from Casals Safi, Monsciar and 

 Agathe to the sea. This elevated tract of land is 

 now basin-shaped, and culminates in this sudden 

 downthrow. The sides of the hollow are perpen- 

 dicular and rugged, and they show on their faces 

 distinct scorings of the character of " slickensides." 

 These were probably caused by the friction of the 

 opposing strata in their descent. Covering the bot- 

 tom is a rich alluvial soil in which a wealth of wild 

 trees and plants, including the convolvulus, orchis, 

 juniper, polyandrium, mathiola, cactus, fig and 

 carouba luxuriate all the year round. According 



