older Deposits of the North of Germany and Belgium. 297 



calcareous flagstones are of great thickness, and their prevailing dip is N.W., 

 though they exhibit two sets of great flexures ; and they are overlaid by fine 

 tabular masses of zechstein without the intervention of any red conglomerate. Like 

 all the other calcareous bands in this region, they are underlaid by black pyritous 

 shales used in the manufactory of vitriol. 



In the absence of organic remains, of which we did not find a trace (with the 

 exception of one or two obscure indications of crinoidal stems), it is in vain for 

 us to offier any definite opinion respecting the age of the series of rocks above 

 described. When on the spot, we thought them, as a whole, older than the grau- 

 wacke of the Hartz ; and we are now disposed to class them provisionally with 

 the upper slates of the Ardennes {systeme ardoisier superieur of Dumont). Re- 

 specting the overlying deposits, we may remark, that the cliffs of zechstein or 

 magnesian limestone near Saalfeld are very striking, and that the formation there 

 maintains the same great development as on the southern and south-eastern edges 

 of the Hartz. 



It would be useless for us to attempt to offer a detailed section of the beds 

 observed in an oblique traverse, which we made by the great road from Saalfeld 

 to Coburg ; but the following memorandums may serve to convey some notion of 

 the structure of this mountainous country. 



(1.) At the first hill the dip was N. and N.N.E., with many irregular undulations. 



(2.) At the second hill the dip was S.S.E. and S.S.W., and after various undulations the beds for some 

 way were nearly horizontal. The prevailing rock is a hard close-grained grauwacke, passing into flag- 

 stone and slate, and sometimes into a hard quartzite. Many of the beds exhibited rude irregular con- 

 cretions and ferruginous joints. 



(3.) At Schmeidefeldt are deposits of iron ore in nearly vertical masses, striking N.E. by N., and S.W, 

 by S. with the regular beds. 



(4.) At Wallendorf are quartzose flagstones and red close-grained grits, like those of the Longmynd 

 and some of the older British slates. 



(5.) Beyond this place we found red arenaceous slates, and some hard greenish slates brought up in 

 long undulations ; but on the whole the dip to the S.E. or S.S.E. seems to prevail. 



6. At Hersach the whole series is carried under some black aluminous and pyritous slates containing 

 some subordinate masses of limestone. These limestones ofler analogies with the limestones on the Saal ; 

 and contain a few crinoidal stems, but no other fossils that we could observe. 



7. Beyond this place a change occurs in mineral structure — the hard greenish slates and bands of 

 quartzite disappear ; the beds become more earthy and arenaceous, resembling many of the rocks of the 

 Rhenish provinces described in the early part of this paper. 



8. Finally, the old rocks descend into the low hills at Sonnenberg, where they pass under the terrace 

 of the new red sandstone*. 



* The descending order through keuper, muschelkalk and hunter sandstein (trias) is very symme- 

 trically displayed on the sides of the slate hills of Coburg, through which we passed. 



