ANNIVEESA.ET ADDRESS OP THE PRESIDENT. Ixxvii 



the Faluns of Touraine, aud even witli our own Englisli Crag. 

 Amongst the many labourers in this field, no one of late has 

 devoted so much zeal and labour to the subject as M. Eaonl 

 Tournouer, who has published most of the results of his investi- 

 gations in the 'Bulletin' of the Greological Society of France. One 

 of the most interesting features in the Bordeaux beds is the re- 

 markable sequence of fossiliferous strata, from those which appear 

 to be newer than anything in Touraine, down to the Asteria-lime- 

 stone containing Natica crassatina, the equivalent of the Fontaine- 

 bleau sands, and of the lowest marine bed in the Mayence basin. 

 In the Bordeaux beds, however, the sequence extends still lower, 

 whilst at Dax, further south, the stratigraphical sequence is sup- 

 posed to extend higher, until it reaches a level which has been 

 supposed to be identical with the British Crag. 



I have recently received from M. Tournouer some account of 

 the results of his recent investigations respecting the Miocene 

 deposits in the South of France. He says that he has continued 

 and is still continuing the researches which he had commenced in 

 the Department of the G-ironde, following up the Garonne into the 

 Department of Lot and Garonne, and the neighbourhood of Agen. 

 By this work he has been enabled to confirm in all essential points, 

 and usefully to complete in many others, the observations which 

 had hitherto only been made in the Department of the Gironde. 

 In fact the Miocene lacustrine limestones play a very important 

 part in the country of Agen (Agenais), and the intercalation of 

 various marine deposits on the left bank of the river enables us to 

 assign to them very exact limits. At the same time, the remains 

 of vertebrated animals, which are very scarce near Bordeaux, are 

 here much more abundant, and he has already been able to fix for 

 them several interesting horizons. Amongst others, the bones of 

 Dinotherium and Mastodon have been found in the upper beds 

 which represent the Faluns of Saucats. 



These observations of M, Tournouer will be shortly published in 

 full in the ' Bulletin ' de la Societe Linneenne de Bordeaux, when 

 we shall be better able to appreciate their importance. In the 

 meantime I may venture to point out what strikes me as a very 

 significant fact, viz., the increase of the lacustrijie fresh Avater 

 limestone, and the greater number of its intercalations with 

 marine beds as we recede from the shores of the Atlantic and 

 approach the more elevated regions of the interior. We can 

 here trace the greater amount of oscillation of level to which this 

 country was exposed during the Miocene period in the mountain 

 districts, and we seem, as it were, to catch a glimpse of the 

 causes which finally raised these beds permanently above the level 

 of the sea. 



There is another question, too, connected with these upper 

 Tertiaries of France, whether in Touraine or at Bordeaux, to 

 which I would wish briefly to allude. I mean their age relatively 

 to the Crag of England. Although there can be no doubt that 

 the Crag contains a much larger percentage of recent shells, 



