MERIAN ON THE GEOLOGY OF PARAGUAY. 15 



Journal of the Naturalists of Berne appeared, in which M. Thurmann 

 announces the interesting fact, that in the borings also made by M. 

 Kohly in 1828, at Cornol near Pruntrut, after passing through the 

 Keuper at the surface, and a remarkable thickness of Muschelkalk 

 beneath it, unquestionable Oxford Clay with its characteristic fossils 

 was reached at a depth of 1 100'. 



This is a still more remarkable instance of displacement than those 

 observed at Wysen and Oberdorf. Cornol moreover is in the western 

 prolongation of the great line of elevation, which from Baden to Mel- 

 tingen has brought the Muschelkalk to the surface, but further west- 

 ward, in the Valley of the Vorburg, near Delsburg and near Cornol, 

 the Keuper only. 



M. Kohly has also bored near Grellingen, six miles above Basle, 

 close to the right bank of the Birs. The strata consist of compact 

 beds of the Great Oolite, with a southern dip of about 10°. Higher 

 up the valley is surrounded by rocks of the Coralline Limestone. The 

 work was undertaken with the view of boring through the Great 

 Oolite, the entire thickness of the Lower Oolite, the Gryphite lime- 

 stone, the Keuper, and the Muschelkalk, down to the saliferous marls. 

 The depth to be bored was consequently very considerable. Accord- 

 ing to M. Kohly's estimate, he first sank through 270' of compact 

 oolite, then dark grey marls, which by falling in greatly impeded the 

 boring. It was frequently necessary to put down iron pipes, to take 

 them up again and replace them by new. The consequence was, 

 that it was impossible to be certain in what strata the workings were 

 being carried on. At last iron pipes were put down to a depth of 

 1200', and the boring-hole cleaned out. At 1283' variegated marls 

 with gypsum, clearly of the Keuper series, were reached, and con- 

 tinued to 1413', the depth attained by the borings at the latest in- 

 telligence, 12th November, 1850. M. Kohly thinks that he passed 

 through the Muschelkalk at the depth of between 900' and 1200' ; 

 then, that he reached an inverted mass of that formation, and lastly, 

 again found himself in the Keuper. These sinkings, however, do 

 not appear to M. Merian to justify this conclusion. In this gentle- 

 man's opinion there is no proof of an abnormal succession of strata, 

 by which, as the depth increased, newer beds were found under older, 

 especially since in this view of it the thickness of beds between the 

 Oolite and Keuper would be considerably greater than where they 

 are exposed to dav in that neighbourhood. 



[J. C. M.] 



On the Geology o/ Paraguay. By P. Merian. 



[Bericht Verhandl. Naturf. Gesellsch. Basel, 1851, ix. pp. 51-53.] 



Paraguay is upon the whole a flat country, especially in its southern 

 part near the confluence of the Paraguay River with the Parana. In 

 this quarter no rock is exposed, but merely silt, underlaid by clay 

 and sand. After the inundations, culinary salt (which is collected 

 for domestic purposes), mixed with sulphate of soda and sulphate of 



d2 



