CVl PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



of a great world-epocla, and that the same climatological conditions 

 existed in England as in Switzerland. 



The following chapter (fourth) gives us an equally interesting 

 and graphic description of tlie great Jurassic sea, its depths and its 

 shallovYS ; the latter generally show^n by the greater abundance of 

 organic life, its coral-reefs and atolls, and the tortoise banks of 

 Solothurn, &c. Dividing the Jiirassic formation into the northern 

 and the Alpine, the author points out that the former, from its 

 greater abundance of fossil contents, was formed in a shallow sea full 

 of coral reefs, while the latter, generally unfossiliferous, was de- 

 posited in a much deeper ocean ; and he thus accounts for the con- 

 stant difference in colour between these two formations. The brow^n 

 colour of the limestone of the deeper sea is owing to the carbon 

 probably derived from marine Algse ; and he calls in as illustrations 

 the Sargasso region of the Atlantic, and a remark of Darwin's re- 

 specting the Keeling Atoll, that wherever masses of sea-weed had 

 attached themselves to the Coral-limestone, the calcareous de- 

 posits, instead of being perfectly wdiite, were invariably coloured 

 by the vegetable matter mixed up with them. 



The fiflJh chapter describes the Chalk, with its seas and con- 

 tinents, and their respective Flora and Fauna, all of which are 

 laid before us in the same graphic manner as the earlier formations. 

 The Eocene formations of Switzerland occupy the sixth chapter ; 

 amongst the oldest of them are the slates of Matt and other 

 places in Canton Grlarus, remarkable for fossil fish, of which 

 fifty-three species are knoAvn, besides two of Chelonia and two 

 of Birds. This also is shown to have been a deep-sea formation; 

 the climate and all the fish are peculiar to this locality, and are 

 probably of an older epoch than those of Monte Bolca. The 

 Flysch formation is next described, wdth its granite boulders, the 

 origin of which has not yet been ascertained ; its fossil contents 

 are confined to fucoids, a very remarkable fact ; and this absence 

 of organic life, except the fish of the Matt slates and the fucoids 

 of the Flysch, renders it very difficult to determine whether these 

 beds belong to the Upper Chalk or Lower Eocene, although the 

 latter is most probable. The Flysch is shown to be in close con- 

 nexion with the Nummtditic formation, which is found in the 

 same district, and respecting the age of which there can be no 

 doubt. It occurs on the Titlis and the Surenen Pass, and appears 

 to form the summit of the Todi ; and both Studer and Escher von 

 der Lintli look ujjon it as older than the Flysch. To this Eocene 

 period is also referred the Bohnerz formation, in which the re- 

 mains of numerous Vertebrata have been found, one half of which 

 belong to the Pachydermata. 



The Molasse formation of Switzerland is described in the 

 seventh chapter. This is divided by the author into five forma- 

 tions, representing the Lower, Middle, and Upper Miocene. 



I. The Lower Miocene is chiefly a freshwater formation, con- 

 sisting of, 1st, Tongrian, or marine molasse of Basle, Pruntrut,. 

 and Delsberg ; 2nd, Lower Brown- coal formation and Red Mo-^ 

 lasse ; 3rd, G-rey Molasse. 



