10 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIKS. 



municated to the Geological Society of Paris, Prof. Hebert remarked 

 that in the Triassic period there existed in the north-west of the 

 Mediterranean a continent which included Corsica, Sardinia, Elba, 

 the Tuscan coast, and the " Maures " and Esterel Mountains in the 

 Western Alps. This region was quite distinct from the Central 

 Alps, and nearly of the same age as the Scandinavian mountains and 

 the central plateau of France. This opinion may be well founded 

 as regards Corsica, Sardinia, and the Hyeres ; but the eastern part of 

 Elba is related to the Tyrrhenian central zone, exactly like a frag- 

 ment of an Alpine subsidiary zone ; and both in the environs of Genoa 

 and along the Tuscan coast the strike of the crystalline formations is 

 parallel to the direction of the Apennines. Gastaldi, who also affirms 

 that the crystalline rocks of "Western Italy form the direct continua- 

 tion of the central chain of the Alps (Studii Geologici suUe Alpi 

 occid. vol, i.), even regards the so-called serpentines occurring in the 

 Piedmontese tertiaries and in the " Macigno " of Tuscany as the 

 projecting peaks of the Central Alpine " pietre verdi." 



[CotTKT M.] 



4. On the Suljphuriferous Teetiaeies of SiciLr. 

 By T. F. Sebastiano Mottura. 



[Proc. Imp. Geol. Inst. Vienna, March 19, 1872, from ' Memorie per servire alia 

 descrizione della carta geologica dell' Italia,' vol. i. p. 63, 1871.] 



These deposits are thus divided by the author in ascending order : — 



I. Eocene. Eed marls, chiefly at the base, flysch containing 

 fueoids, often with alternating red marls, and JSTummulitic limestones. 

 In the flysch Fucus intricatus and F. Targierii abound. The J^um- 

 muhtic limestones, which also frequently alternate with the flysch, 

 contava. Nummulites Lucasanus, intermedius, and contortus. Some of 

 these beds may be Cretaceous. 



II. Lower Mioceke. 



a. Ferruginous quartzose sandstone. 

 h. Gypsiferous ferruginous clay. 



c. Compact, cellular, or brecciiform limestones, with Numm. 

 perforata. 



d. Bituminous marly shales, with iron- and copper-pyrites and 

 some small petroleum springs. North of Caltanisetta these shales 

 contain impressions of a small fish {Rhombus minimus ?). The Sici- 

 lian amber is probably derived from these shales. In close con- 

 nexion with the limestones (c) a kaoliniform substance, used as soap, 

 is found. 



e. Saliferous deposits. 



III. Middle Miocene. Conglomerates, sandstones, and marls. 

 The conglomerates, which are sometimes greatly developed, consist 

 in part of fragments of the preceding formations. The sandstones 

 contain Pontes incrustans, Heliastrcea Ellisii, H. plana, and Sar- 

 cinula Michelottii. 



