Vol. 50.] GOSAU BEDS OF THE GOSAU DISTRICT. 151 



stratigraphy, palaeontology, and physical history of these interesting 

 deposits. No doubt there had been much pre-Cretaceous oscillation 

 in that area before the deposition of the Gosau Beds. Whether the 

 study of them will ever throw light on the question of Alpine up- 

 heaval appears doubtful. He would like to ask the Author whether 

 there was any evidence of the existence of a central crystalline axis 

 during the deposition of the Gosau Beds. As to correlation with other 

 strata in North-western Europe, it was curious to note the occur- 

 rence of so many reef-building corals and gasteropoda in beds 

 parallel with the Micr aster-chalk in England. 



Mr. W. "Whitakee, Sir John Evans, and Prof. J. F. Blake also 

 spoke. 



The Author, in replying, said that a considerable quantity of 

 white mica occurred in the flaggy beds of the Upper Gosau series. 

 This he regarded as indicating the existence at that time of schistose 

 rocks belonging to the axial portion of the chain to the south. As 

 regards the correlation of the Gosau Beds with British Upper 

 Cretaceous zones, he considered that such correlations were always 

 useful, if not necessary ; and although the Gosau Beds could not be 

 directly correlated with English rocks, they could be closely com- 

 pared with the Turonian and Senonian zones of the South of 

 France, which in their turn could be correlated with the Upper 

 Cretaceous zones of the Paris Basin and England. The Gosau Beds 

 represented, on the whole, a distinctly littoral type of formation, 

 and certainly could be made use of in searching for the shore- 

 line of the Upper Cretaceous Sea in Central Europe. 



