432 



TifE GEOLOGIST. 



Geological Age of the Austealiax Fauna. — Mr. Ludwig Becker, 

 in the TransactioDS of the Philosophical Institute (now the Eoyal Society) 

 of Victoria, contributed a paper on the age of the animal and vegetable 

 kingdoms of Australia relatively to that of the rest of the world, in which 

 Professor Phillips's belief that the fauna and flora of the Australian con- 

 tinent is that of the long-past Oolitic age, is supported, and additional 

 proofs given of its correctness ; the result finally arrived at by Mr. Becker 

 being, that " the existing Australian fauna is the oldest living animal 

 kingdom ; that a great number of trees and flowers, planted in Oolitic 

 times, are still blooming in Australia ; and that the present external form 

 of this portion of the earth is the oldest aspect of the earth preserved in 

 these times." As these opinions have been, to a certain extent, contested 

 by Mr. David Page in his eloquent little work on the ' World's Life-Sys- 

 tem ' (8vo, Lond., 1861), it is interesting to find them su]3ported by a geo- 

 logist resident at the Antipodes. 



Separation of the Isle of Wight. — Sir, — Might I again trouble you 

 with the question about the date of the separation of the Isle of Wight 

 from the mainland. 



I have never yet met with any specific statement of the supposed time 

 of the occurrence, and should like to know how far science supports the 

 curious passage in ' Diodorus Siculus,' which is supposed to allude to that 

 island ; but where the writer states that in his day, at low tide, the channel 

 between the island and the mainland was dry, and passable for carts and 

 traffic. — A Constant Reader, Lymington, JSants. 



rOEEIGN INTELLIGEjSTCE. 



The Baron I'Espine, medical inspector of the waters of Aix, in Savoy, 

 has communicated a note to the French Academy, " On the Eecent Disco- 

 very of Lacustrine Dwellings in the Lake of Bourget, near Chambery." 

 The lake is about ten miles long and two broad, and, amongst other 

 objects found in the exploration of its depths, he records a fragment of 

 coarse pottery formed of black clay, and similar to the Celtic vases in the 

 collection of M. Boucher de Perthes. 



Excavations have been recently made in the grotto Da Portel, in the 

 commune of Coubens (Arriege). The grotto is situated at four hundred 

 metres above the sea, and has but one entrance, at the extremity of the 

 Bois de la Peyrade. By M. Troyes' labours here there have been brought 

 to light a few fragments of pottery, ancient and modern, and a few 

 bones of sheep and dogs near the surface. At a further depth the bcn^^s 

 of bears of three distinct sizes, two of which were at least equal in 

 stature to the horse ; the third was much smaller, but different from the 

 bear of the present day.* The other remains comprised those of dogs, 

 wolves, hyaenas, pigs, a large kind of ox, reindeer,! and another ruminant, 

 probably antelope.;}; Three implements of human manufacture have been 



* Query, Ursus speJavs, prisciis, aiul arctoideiis. 

 t Kcmaius of roiiuloer have been luuihl ia the bone-cave of Anrignac. 

 + Qntny, the chamois {Ji/f/'/op,' r/'p/capra), remains of which have been found at 

 Massat, aiuI in the Pfahlbautcn of Suuzerland. 



