Notice of Active and Extinct Volcanos. 253 



" The trachyte of the Euganean hills rests upon a calcareous 

 rock, which appears to correspond with the chalk of Great Brit- 

 ain. It is called Scaglia, from its slaty structure, being disposed 

 in thin horizontal layers. Its color is commonly white, now and 

 then with a shade of red, and its compactness usually is quite 

 equal to that of our hardest chalk, though softer varieties are 

 sometimes met with. 



" The points however chiefly to be insisted on, as establishing 

 the identity of the two formations, are, the kidney shaped masses 

 of flint disposed in beds throughout the Scaglia, as in the chalk 

 of England, and the nature of the petrifactions that occur in it, 

 which, from the list given in the Abbe Maraschini's late work, 

 appear to consist of ammonites, terebratulites, and various spe- 

 cies of the echinus family ; viz. the echinoneus, galerites, anan- 

 chytes, spatangus, cidaris, nucleolites, and echinus proper, of La- 

 marck." 



" Indications of volcanic action may perhaps be gathered from 

 the springs of hot water impregnated with sulphuretted hydro- 

 gen, which gush out from the rock near the village of Battaglia, 

 and are still in repute, as they were in the time of the Romans, 

 for their medicinal qualities. 



" Perhaps the fable of Phseton, who was said to have fallen 

 from heaven, or to have been struck by lightning on the borders 

 of the Po, may refer to some tradition that existed of volcanic 

 phenomena, which may have continued here as they now do in 

 Transylvania, long after the formation of the trachyte." 



Vicentin. — This country is interesting, especially on ac- 

 count of the alternation and mixture of volcanic products 

 with limestones containing organized remains, with lignites, 

 &c. The petrifactions are such as indicate a tertiary forma- 

 tion, and in the hill of Bolca are contained those remarka- 

 ble ichthyolites (usually called the fossil fish of Mount Bolca, 

 near Verona,) which are so conspicuous in cabinets, and 

 which are so interesting to the geologist. As there are fine 

 specimens of these ichthyolites in the Cabinet of Yale Col- 

 lege, the following passage relating to them will be interest- 

 ing to those who visit that collection. 



"At Monte Bolca, the only locality which I visited, the ichthy- 

 olite limestone, as it may be called, rests upon a calcareous rock 

 with nummulites, and is covered by the same ; whilst a deposit 

 consisting of volcanic tuff lies both under and above. The alter- 

 nations indeed between these two classes of deposits are often 

 extremely numerous ; at a place called Ronca alone we have in 

 a very short compass no less than six, but the lowest volcanic bed 



