NOTES AND QUERIES. 



313 



etc. ; besides " Lapides circulares," " Nummi lapidei," diabolici, " Num- 

 mularii lapides," " Lapides numismales," etc., for Nummulites. See 

 G-esner, Langius, Scheuchzer, Mercatus, etc. The last-mentioned of these 

 old observers has the following remarks on some " Lapides frumentarii," 

 or " Poecilospermi," as he terms them, in his ' Metallotheca Vaticani ' 

 (Michaelis Mercati Samminiatensis Metallotheca, opus posthumum, studio 

 J. M. Lanciscii : Roma? ; fol. 1719). 



At page 285, " Pcecilospermos. Confert.ua siliquis agrestis cumini cor- 

 niculatis, inter ponit alias in gyros convolutas, quales sunt Medicse ; non- 

 nullas bifidas specie coluteee, rimam agentes, per quam semina minuta os- 

 tenduntur." The locality of this specimen is not given ; the figure indi- 

 cates Bolalia Beccarii, Peneroplis (?), etc., in the stone. 



At page 286, " Pcecilospermos alius. Huicsunt ferulacei generis semina, 

 foeniculi, anethi, multaque minuta, qusedam tritici, aliqua in gyros collecta, 

 qualia diximus Medicse, adjectis insuper hirculis, cauliumque sarmentis." 

 This specimen is of a dull yellow colour, as is also the foregoing ; the lo- 

 cality was not known. The Foraminifera in it seem to be Miliolae, Eota- 

 ]ise, etc. Other specimens from Verona are then mentioned as being full 

 of wheat, and it is observed, "utvideatur in eo necessitas vita? nostra? ludi- 

 brium Naturse debuisse." 



The title of Langius's book, in which the Lapides frumentarii are men- 

 tioned and figured, is : — " Caroli Nicolai Langii, Lucernens. Helvet. Phil, 

 et Medici, Acad. Caes. Leopold. Nat. Curioss. German, et Physio-Crit. 

 Senens. Historia Lapidum Figuratorum Helvetia?, ejusque vicinia?, in 

 qua non solum enarrantur omnia eorum Genera, Species et Vires ameisque 

 tabulis repra?sentantur, sed insuper adducuntur eorum loca nativa in qui- 

 bus reperiri solent, ut cuilibet facile sit eos colligere, modo adducta loca 

 adire libeat." Venetiis, mdccviii. 



At p. 69, etc., are described certain specimens which are figured on 

 Plate 18; namely, — " Salicites Helveticus, niger, foliolis candidis " (a piece 

 of Nummulite limestone). " Lapis frumentarius Helveticus, niger, semina 

 melonum cumini cum conchitulis albis referens " (a piece of JNummulitic 

 limestone). " Lapis frumentarius Helveticus, cinereus, semina melonum 

 anisi foeniculi referens " (apiece of Nummulitic limestone). " Cenchrites " 

 (Oolitic rock ?). " Meconites " (Oolitic rock ?). 



Page 270, "Lapis piriformis" or " pyriformis." — Any pear-shaped cu- 

 rious scone would be sufficient for this. I have an excellent flint one from 

 the Chalk. — Yours truly, T. E. Jones. 



15, Terrace, Tor/down, July \Mh } 1863. 



[I used the term Lias Bone-bed as being the first given to it, and because I am not 

 yet prepared to admit the deposit as a portion of the Keuper. I do not however wish at 

 present to dispute its assignment to that formation. I am not a believer in palseontolo- 

 gical determinations of the geological age of strata, and admitting the fossil organic 

 forms in the Bone-bed to be Rhsetic, it seems to me that they were cut off out of living 

 existence by the commencement of the Lias deposits, — that is to say, the commencement 

 of the deposition of the Lias strata was the period of the destruction of the llhsetic 

 fauna. Does the presence of Bhsetic forms under such circumstauces take the Bone-bed 

 out of its proper stratigraphical relationship to the Lias? Such are the reasons why I 

 have called it Lias Bone-hed. I did not notice the Egerton Dolichosaurus as a portion 

 of Mrs. Smith's specimen, although I was well aware Professor Owen had done so in 

 his ' Monograph of Cretaceous lteptiles,' for the reason that Professor Owen records 

 Mrs. Smith's specimen as from the Middle Chalk, while Sir Philip's specimen in the 

 British Museum is decidedly Grey Chalk. Mrs. Smith's collection being no longer ac- 

 cessible to inspection, I preferred to leave the reputed association unnoticed. With re- 

 gard to the "Lapis pyriformis," it seemed to me that many of the fossil sponges might 

 VOL. VI. 2s 



