136 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Jan. 3, 



clay, and must consequently be referred to the same age. It is also 

 found in the neighbourhood of Stettin, Oldenburg, Liineburg, and 

 other places. Other tertiary beds also occur further north towards 

 Hamburg, Schleswig Holstein, &c., which are, however, referred to 

 a more recent period. They are aUuded to by Prof. Beyrich in his 

 work on the tertiary shells of the North of Germany. The only two 

 beds to which I wish to call the attention of the Society at present 

 are the AVesteregeln or Magdeburg sands, and the Septaria-clay of 

 BerUu. These two beds belong to one system, and are particularly 

 interestins; as beins; the beds which have been shown bv the German 

 geologists to have the greatest resemblance to those of Hesse Cassel 

 and of Weinheim, as well as to those beds of Belgium with which 

 the sands of Weinheim have been paralleled. 



One feature in the Section of the Ti'esteregeln or Magdeburg sands 

 deserves particular attention, and it is the more remarkable inasmuch 

 as it is in some respects at variance with what we know respecting 

 the sands of Weinheim ; while on the other hand it confirms some of 

 the views which I have stated respecting that formation. The Marine 

 sands of Westeregeln overlie the Brown-coal beds, thus sho>ving the 

 anterior existence of a freshwater or terrestrial tertiary period; whereas 

 at AVeinheim and in the ]\Iayence basin the jNIarine tertiary sands 

 repose at once, as far as our present information goes, on the under- 

 Ivino: Carboniferous or Rothe-todte-lieo;ende formation. It is true that 

 these lowest beds of tertiary sand, when we approach the margin of 

 the basin (where alone they are seen reposing on the red sandstones), 

 are non-fossiliferous ; and, being CAidently derived from the disinte- 

 gration of the older rocks, cannot be assumed as proving with abso- 

 lute certainty the non-existence of older tertiary beds nearer the 

 centre of the basin. x\ll that we can say at present is, that none 

 such have been discovered. 



III. The Relative Age of the Tertiary Beds of Northern 



Germany. 



There are three distinct localities to which I intend referring in 

 the following observations, viz. : 1. The Mayence basin, and parti- 

 cularly the Marine sands of Weinheim. 2. The Marine beds of 

 Hesse Cassel, Biiude, &c. 3. The sands of Westeregeln and of 

 Magdeburg. 



Philippi, in his notice of the tertiary fossils of the north-west of 

 Germany*, gives the lists of fossils from three different localities 

 belonging to the same epoch. 1. Cassel ; 2. Freden and Diekholz ; 

 and 3. Luithorst. The results at which he has arrived are the same 

 with respect to all these localities, viz. that the fossils in question 

 have the greatest number of species identical with the Subapennine 

 formation ; and the next greatest number identical with living species. 

 He has made no comparison between the German and the Belgian 

 formations, nor had he any opportunity of comparing the Cassel 



* Beitrage zur Kenntniss. Cassel, 1844. 



