Von Richihofen on the Porcelain rock of Chi 



celain ear^ was made on the erroneous suppo?itic 

 white earth which he received from a member of 

 embassies (I think, Lord Amherst) occurred natur 

 state. The second kind of material bears the nanu 

 (" white clay "). I have quite a cargo of both, and t 

 from which either is prepared. Their examination 

 oratory may be a subject of s -'"'" ■" 



The locality (Loping) is the first in China which has bccninc ol 

 practical value to foreign enterprise; it supplies tho i:iv:it(r 

 portion of the coal used by the American steamers on the 

 Yaiig-tse. I found not a single fossil plant ; but certain hiyei-s 

 of hmestone which overlie the coal carry an abundance of 

 fossil shells, almost exclusively Brachiopods, in an excellent 

 state of preservation. Though I could collect only on the 

 waste-dumps at the pits, I gathered a large number both of 

 specimens and species. As for beauty, the collection ranks 

 first among all I have made in China. The fauna difters Ironi 

 those which I found formerly associated with the coal-nu;tsiir(\< 

 in the northern provinces ; but as I have no paleontolo.uist to 

 consult with, nor even paleontological books, I do not under- 

 take to say what relation in age it bears to those other coal- 

 riekls. Productus prevails in number. But the former leading 

 iossil, P. semireiiculatus, is here represented only by a few and 

 ^inall, though very distinct, specimens. Its place is occupied 

 I'v other Producti with spirous shells, of which there are several 

 ^^pecies ; some of them of the shape of P. horridus, but costate. 

 Spmters are very scarce. There is one Cyrtia, several Odhis, 

 etc. But the most curious fossil is one which can only be a 

 ^iphonotreta. The natural shell has the shape of a night cap, 

 with an opercule on the top, but no area, and is dotted with 

 what appear to be the basal parts of spines ; the folds are irreg- 

 ^ilar. The dorsal shell is smooth. Both shells are of a homey 

 substance. Orinoids. Orthoceras, small PorcelUas, corals and 

 sponges make up the list of the prevailing fossils. tit 



I believe that the comparison of the various faunas which 

 have collected in different coal-fields will afford muclj oi mtrn-t. 

 No two of them are alike, yet all bear a certain resenil .Uuuc in 

 a few leading types. I have not yet found anv locahty tliat 

 afforded an opportunity for collecting fossils at difl^erent geolo- 

 gical levels. But every new observation supports my former 

 conclusion, that in the vast extent of China the depositions 

 of coal-beds continued during an extraordinarily long per 



which it shifted repeatedly to diflferent portions 

 country. I have some reason for believing that this 

 commenced even before the Carboniferous epoch, and, 

 culminating in this, continued on beyond its end 



the 



