NOTES A?fD QUERIES. 



23^ 



NOTES AND QUEETES. 



Decomposing Basalt — At page 139 we gave a view of the "Cheese 

 Grotto" of Bertrich, Baden in the Eifel, in illustration of the peculiar 

 spherical condition assumed in some cases by blocks of basalt. We give, 

 in Plate XII., another excellent illustration of the phenomena presented 

 by decomposing basalt, from an admirable sketch taken over the " Giants' 

 Causeway," in Antrim, by our talented friend and geologist, Mr. G. V. Du 

 Noyer. 



Human Eelics. — I have just received intelligence of a human skeleton 

 haAdng been found in a fissure in the limestone-rocks at Kellet, in Lan- 

 cashire. The skull will be transmitted to me, and, should any abnormal 

 peculiarities present themselves, will be described in the ' Geologist.' — 



ilfay 26, 1862, Charles Carter Blake. 



Mammalian Eemains. — Eemains of ElejjJias primigenius have been 

 found nine feet deep in ferruginous sand, at Demblans (Jura), in the rail- 

 way-works Besan9on and Bourg. These relics have been placed in the 

 Museum at Lons-le-Saulnier. 



Microscopic Organisms in the Paleozoic Eocks of New York. 

 — At Professor Dana's suggestion. Dr. M. C. White, well known for his 

 devotion to the microscope, has examined various specimens of the horn- 

 stone nodules found in the Devonian and Silurian rocks of New York, 

 and this research has been rewarded by the discovery of abundant organ- 

 isms referable to the Desmidise, besides a few Diatomacese, numerous 

 spicula of sponges, and also fragments of the teeth of Gasteropods. Among 

 the Desmids, there is a large variety of forms of Xanthidia supposed to be 

 the Sporangia of Desmids, besides an occasional duplicated Desmid ; also 

 lines of cells, some of which appear to be sparingly branched. The re- 

 searches have been mostly confined to the hornstone of the Corniferous 



Microscopic organisms from Palseozoic rocks of New York. 



limestone ; though extended also to the hornstone from the Black Eiver 

 limestone'and that of the Sub-Carboniferous limestone of Illinois, both of 

 which contain some organisms. 



The hornstone nodules from the Black Eiver limestone (as well as the 

 Corniferous) have been since examined also by Mr. F. H. Bradley with 

 similar results. 



These observations will be regarded with much interest by geologists as 

 well as by microscopists. They carry back to a very early epoch forms of 

 life which have hitherto been looked upon as belonging only to a much 

 more recent era in the life of our planet. 



The analogy of these hornstone nodules to the flints of the chalk is 

 obvious ; and the discoveries here announced may be regarded as esta- 

 blishing their similarity in origin. The organisms figured so closely re- 

 semble those of the flint that they might be taken for them ; it is difficult 

 in all cases to make out a difi'erence of species. 



