I 
1878.] Excursions of the Geological Soc. France, 1878. 775 
point our route lay again through vineyards and low forest, and 
along a public highway. Here piles of the meuliéres of the 
Lower Miocene of Beauce, containing myriads of Chare and 
Lymnaee@, with the solid bed of the road, testified to the value of 
this material as a macadamizer. At length we reached the part 
of the hill which overlooks Sannois, and descending, examined 
a complete and beautiful exposure of the gypsesand other strata 
of the Upper Eocene. On the most elevated ground we had the 
Meuliéres de Beauce, and then in the descending order, the Sables 
de Fontainbleau with Cytherea incrassata, and Ostrea scitula. 
Then a greenish bed of strontianiferous marl, and below it a few 
feet of clay containing gypsum crystals and fish bones, with Cyrena 
convexa. This stratum terminates the Lower Miocene, resting on 
a lacustrine bed which is referred to the Eocene. It consists of 
marl and soft limestone containing Lymnea strigosa, from which 
shell it takes its name. With it occur the vertebre of birds and 
remains of Azphodon gracilis, which belongs especially to this 
horizon. The Zymnæa strigosa marl lies immediately on the 
gypsum, of which the escarpment at the quarries of Sannois 
is about one hundred feet in elevation. The material of this cele- 
brated deposit differs from that of Nova Scotia, Virginia and 
New Mexico, in its waxy color and coarse fracture. Its continu- 
ity is interrupted by two beds of white limestone of no great 
thickness, and at its base is found a heavier bed of marine origin 
containing Pholadomya ludensis. This in turn rests immediately 
on the “ Calcaire de St. Quen,” which is followed in descending 
order by the Calcaire de Ducy. This was the superior member in 
the section of La Frette already mentioned, so that with this junction 
we completed the series of the Upper, and a large part of the 
‚Middle Eocene, with much of the Lower Miocene. To connect 
fully the Middle and Lower Eocene was the work of another 
excursion, viz: that to Compiégne. From the upper part of the 
gypsum, at Sannois, I had the gratification of obtaining portions 
of both jaws, with teeth, and several bones of a Pal@otherium 
medium. 
Compiégne is a small town at a distance of about a two hours’ 
ride to the north of Paris, on the Northern railway. It is situ- 
ated on the border of the forest of the same name, and was the 
favorite autumn residence of Napoleon III. The excursion 
passed by public conveyance for about two hours through the 
