(; J I A TT KU III. 



Til I-: DIM' V I A I, Ii i: P n s IT S. 



Ill tlie iiitniiliictory iliaplor we liiivc iilitii'ly skitrli.-d tin- iiuhIc in wliicli 

 tlio very iinjxntant oliUr (luatenmry «tr.ilu liavc Uvri (U'lMisit«-»! uiiik'r tlm 

 siirfiico t>f th« fi»'n iit a jieiitxl anU'rinr to tin? proHcnt (or alluvial) a<ie. Those 

 stnitn C'liitaiu in sunie Ciises rumains of extinct aniiniU, Init in .Ja|Hin do not 

 betray any tmccs of glacial oii'^In. Owinj; to tlie horizontal |>osition niaint.tinc«! 

 hy tlirsf strata from the iH-giniiiiig, tlicy have 1h.i'Ii cut through liy rivi-rs and 

 rivulets; and along tin' lianks of ihc stre-uus as well a« in road-cuttinp< and 

 banks along the sea, wo have guologicjil scrtions tlirough these diluvial ftrntft 

 which ponietinies expose tlieir whole extent. In many caw«, whidi have 

 already litH'u alluded to, and which will lie mentioned in the follouing 

 cha]iter8, these sections are of the highest value for our investigation ; wliilst, iu 

 other instances, we have the b1ojk?8 made less ste«'i» by su|)erficial waters whicli 

 always tend to sweej) down jiarts of the soil and to obliterate any sharp contnu<(H 

 of level in the surface of the earth. In con.'^eijuence of this «ction there an' also 

 cases in whirli the n| jut parts of the diluvial formation liave lieen sliding di>wn 

 along a sloping hill ; as uTule, however, the «pjier strata only cover the surfiux' 

 of the higher plain. 



A few instances, moreover, are to Ik- noted where the lower |>art of tlie 

 formation is, as it were, a little swollen, and therefore apjK'ars at the surface. 

 This is mostly the oise where sands prevail, and we may say, that in such 

 localities the ujiper part of the diluvial de|M)sits is wanting or reduci-d to a very 

 thin layer scarcely to be [lerceived in a gcologicsd section and often entirely niixe«! 

 up with the fertile and huiuosc sftil sup|>orting the vegetation. It is also im|>o<>- 

 sible to say whether fossil remains found in such Kn'silitii's n-ally In'long to the 

 up|ier part of the diluvial fonnation, even if they arc found directly under the 

 fertile soil— as this has l>een the cose witli one or two of tlie remains of elephants 

 to be raentioned Ijelow. As all those remains, uls)nt which we have motv 

 aecumte information, have U-en either foimd in dcejior cuttings or have lie«'n 

 dug out under water, it will Im safer to refer all the ele|ihants' remains to the 

 lower part of the diluvial fonnation. 



The vpptr jnnt of the diluvial dejmsits is surprisingly uniform, and the 

 c.iutributes much to the even character of the surface of thi^ up|xT plain In 

 the cuttings we S4« almost invariably u stratum of 3 to G meters thickness ovi r- 

 lying the a-st of the diluvial formation. 



This up]K'r stratmu is a s-omewhat coarse clayish sjind of u reiblish biown 

 Cf.lor. An analysis made under the direction of rrofes.«or AtkiuMin, of the 

 l>aigaku, by one of the students, gave the following result. 



