2(30 The Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal. 



in these appearing as regular elliptical granular-foliated particles. 

 Further researches regarding organic influence on the formation of 

 limestone have afforded him new and remarkable results. The chalk 

 of Puskaresz, in East Prussia ; of the Island of Rugen ; of Schonen ; 

 of the Danish Islands ; of Gravesend, Brighton, and Norwich, in 

 England ; of Ireland ; of Meudon near Paris ; and from Cattolica and 

 Castrogiovanni, to the coast at Girgenti, in Sicily, exhibits two different 

 conditions ; one inorganic, which is distinguished by its extremely 

 regular elliptical granular-foliated particles, and their fragments or 

 beginnings ; and the other organic, consisting of microscopic poly- 

 thalamise. Every thing that has been said of microscopic calcareous 

 animals, — creatures so minute as to appear only like very small 

 grains, — of nautili, or polythalamise of the sea-sand and of the tertiary 

 formations, — all that has been said of these, from the period of Janus 

 Plancus, and Soldani, now a century ago, up to the most recent 

 times, is far surpassed by the countless myriads of animals, much 

 smaller in dimensions, and much less visible to the naked eye, which 

 the author has observed forming whole mountains of chalk. Although 

 D'Orbigny, Nilsson, Pusch, and other distinguished geological and 

 zoological observers, since the year 1826, have noticed individual 

 larger forms of poly thalamic nautili in the chalk of France, Sweden, and 

 the Bukowina ; although the author himself (in 1836) proved to the 

 Academy the existence of many calcareous polythalamise in the flints of 

 the chalk which enabled us to infer the presence of prodigious 

 multitudes of such bodies in chalk ; and although, in the tabular view 

 printed in 1837, he named these Rotalites ornatus (Lenticulina, Londsdale), 

 and Textularia globulosa (Discorbis, Londs.), as the chief forms of the 

 Polythalamice, and Cypris Faba? (Cytharina, Londs.), as an Entomos- 

 tracon of the chalk ; although, moreover, Mr. Londsdale, of London, 

 lately (in 1837) reckoned, with the naked eye, 1000 white granules 

 in a pound of English chalk ; yet the numbers and masses of forms, 

 chiefly invisible to the naked eye, which the author of the present 

 paper has very recently observed, though anticipated by him, are 

 very much greater. In these investigations he employed a new and 

 peculiar mode of observation. 



" As limestone and chalk, by being mixed with water, and magnified 

 300 times, are seen to contain, besides the granular-foliated particles, 

 likewise coarser opaque particles, which at first seemed to be mere 

 dark parcels of these elliptical granules, or small fragments of larger 

 organisms, the author tried several oils and balsams that increase 

 transparency. These had previously been employed by the author 

 with advantage and success, in the case of infusory animals ; but there 



