156 



THE GEOLOGIST. 



to Gallus Bravardi, also, are put in the Eocene instead of the Miocene 

 columns. Lathornis 1 emuinus is also accidentally put in the Maestricht 

 instead of in the Eocene column. Insert the X in Pliocene column against 

 Cygnusferus ; and the X in Cavern column against Falco ; and the X against 

 Gastornis Parisiensis in the Eocene column ; the X in the Pliocene column 

 against Cygnus ferus. 



EE VIEWS. 



Geological Observations on South Australia, principally in the district 

 South-east of Adelaide. By the Kev. J. E. Woods, F.Gr.S., etc. 8vo. 

 Longman. 1862. 



We have in this book the results of an amateur geologist's well-directed 

 observations on the geological structure of a considerable portion of South 

 Australia during his residence there as a missionary, actively employed, 

 and both willing and able to find occupation and amusement, during his 

 leisure hours and solitary rides, in studying nature and the physical fea- 

 tures of the country. The chief geological feature of the south-eastern 

 portion of South Australia is a wide-spread limestone, mostly white and 

 friable, composed largely of Bryozoa, especially of a large Cellepora 

 (C. gambieriensis, Busk). The upper part of the limestone is often com- 

 pact and without fossils, and it passes by degrees into the lower softer bed, 

 which is full of Bryozoa, Terebratulse, Pectines, and other bivalves, with 

 numerous Gasteropods (chiefly casts), several Echinoderms, Shark-teeth, 

 etc. The author gives a full account of" this limestone, its flint-layers, 

 iron-pyrites, rock-salt, and fossils ; and remarks that, though it has some 

 characters in common with the white chalk of England, yet it is really to 

 be compared with the Suffolk Crag. He ascribes the origin of this deposit 

 to a great reef, or reefs, of Bryozoa, such as have given given rise also to 

 the Maestricht chalk and the Crag of Suffolk ; but in explaining the na- 

 tural history of such a reef, Mr. Woods has very unfortunately confounded 

 " corallines," " corals," and " moss-corals " (partly by intent, and partly 

 for want of exact zoological knowledge), to such an extent, that few of his 

 non-scientific readers (to whom he particularly addresses himself) will 

 understand that " corallines " are really stony seaweeds or algse ; corals, 

 humble animals, but little raised above the sponge families; whilst moss- 

 corals or Bryozoa (termed also Polyzoa) rank higher in the animal scale, 

 and belong to a very different group. The external resemblance of cer- 

 tain Bryozoa to corals, long ago led some geologists to regard the lower 

 Crag of Suffolk as being made up of " corals," and to give it the name 

 "Coralline," — a word which already had another meaning in connection with 

 the calciferous Alges. As neither corals nor corallines occur (or but very 

 rarely) either in the Suffolk or the South Australian Crag, " coralline " must 

 be a misnomer for either of them ; and we hope that Mr. Woods will re- 

 collect this if his work comes to a second edition, as we hope it will. 

 Some of the fossils of the white limestone under notice are illustrated by 

 indifferent woodcuts ; we trust that Mr. Woods will find some opportunity 

 of having all his fossils carefully figured and determined by some working 

 palaeontologist. Mr. Busk has examined and named some of the Bryozoa 

 (p. 84) ; the Foraminifera have been determined by Mr. Jones, of the Geo- 

 logical Society (p. 71) ; and Professor M'Coy seems to have examined 

 others of the fossils; Mr. Woods, therefore, has made some progress in the 

 elucidation of the palaeontology of the interesting formation which has 



