SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



i6s 



llial Lirt,'c si/i.' which chaniclcriscs ihis luraiii in Koccnc 

 times. Ai ihe prcscnl d.iy Ahvolhia melo i,s a siimll 

 fomii), rari-ly exceeding Vn inch in (lianicter, nowhere 

 very abundanl, though with a wide dislribuliun in 

 shallow tropical seas. When these rock.s were 

 deposited it must have heen by far the most abundant 

 form of marine life ovev extensive areas of sea bottom, 

 alt.»ining the comparatively gigantic sijie of \ inch and 



would considerably increase it, althougli deposits such 

 as these, in which one species largely predominates, 

 seldom contain many other kinds. 



I had also an opportunity of examining a scries of 

 rock specimens collected by Major Skinner during 

 the same campaign in Ihe neighbourhood to the east 

 ofMiramshah in the Toehi valley, but as they come 

 frimi a locality untouched by his paper, they do not 

 call for a detailed notice. They are chiefly .Vlveoline 

 limestones in a highly crystalline form, with imbedded 

 corals. Many of them are capable of being worked 

 as ornamental marbles, of the most beautiful descrip- 

 tion. Indeed, as Major Skinner says, from the 

 abundance of such building material, it should be a 

 land of palaces instead of huts. Among the speci- 

 mens I found one containing what I think is a 

 dimorphous variety of Atveolina melo, which may 

 call for further description. This foram came from 

 near Kohat. 



.\nolher specimen of Major Skinner's, from the 

 Sheranni Pass, deserves special mention. It is an 

 oblong slab of limestone, about the size of a half brick. 

 In this small thickness of deposit, the limestone had 

 altered from Alveoline to \uiiimulilic, markin;.; a 



Aiiitilfur pItiHoiy J. 1. HOl.UliH. 



Alveolina Lisiestone (.a. meloI from Ixdia X 8. 



occasionally \ inch in diameter. The specimens of 

 AlTiolina hoscii on the other hand are appro.ximately 

 of the same dimensions as recent examples, which 

 abound in many shallow tropical seas. 



Amimg the Nummulitic limestones the predominant 

 species is NiimiituliUs laa'igala of Lamarck, a species 

 with a world-wide distribution in Eocene times, and 

 one which abounds in our own liracklcsham beds. 

 The specimens .as usual vary largely in size, but the 

 m.ajority are under J inch in diameter. Associated 

 with it, but in lesser numbers are NiiiiiiiiiiUles com- 

 /'lanala Lamarck and N. pcyforala Montfort. The 

 former is a flat discoidal form which reaches i to 

 I \ inches in diameter. The latter is almost spheroidal 

 and varies up to J inch. The meaning of the specific 

 term pirforata. is not obvious, unless perhaps 

 Montfort described the form from specimens which 

 had been pierced for use as beads, as the South Sea 

 Islatulers now pierce and use OrhiloliUs (oiiiplaimla. 

 Perhaps some reader of SciE.NC'E-Gossir, with means 

 iif access to Montfort's original description, will settle 

 this point. 



Other foraminifera, which have been identified on 

 the surface of Major Skinner's rock specimens are 

 Miliolina sp., Orbitolitcs sp., Rotalia sp. , and 

 Orhiloides sp. The latter is fairly common in the 

 Nummulitic rock specimens, but usually broken. 

 TitiiiialtiUna lobatuhi W. and J. also appears 

 adherent to a fragment of a bivalve shell. The list is 

 short, but no doubt careful examination of sections 



AimUcurtholohy ./■ T. IU)1.DF.R. 



Nummulitic Limestake from Hingarv x S. 



change in the conditions of life, probably due to a 

 considerable variation in the depth of the sea, 

 sufficient to bring about a radical alteration in the 

 local fauna of the epoch. 



2S, Gknwood Road, Caljoni. 



MicROscoi'iCAi. PREr.\R.\TiONs. — M. J. Tempcre, 

 of 168, Rue St. .-^ntoine, Paris, publisher ol the 

 recently issued " Marine Diatoms of France" (S. 0., 

 \'ol. vi., N.S. , p. 120), has sent us his catalogue of 

 microscopical preparations for igoo. This is the 

 largest and best-arranged catalogue of its kind that 

 we h.ave seen. As might be expected, it is especially 

 strong in Diatoms, but all other objects are well 

 represented, and numerous lantern slides are also 

 listed. The slides are priced at I fr. 25 (is.) and 

 upwards. 



