— io- 
di sieiiite, di granito e di arenarie, di cui parla Ma Ile t, provengono dal Flysch eoce- 
nico- miocenico e i blocchi di diaspri variegati furono strappati dalle acque agli scisti 
silicei del trias medio, che sono tanto sviluppali nelle montagne del gruppo del Sirino 
e in quelle del Vulturino. Più oltre (voi, I, pag. 430; voi. II, pag. 4) descrive accurata- 
mente le argille sabbiose lacustri di Montemurro e le arenarie del Flysch, che fanno a 
quelle da base: « Once landed on Ihe left (north) bank of Ihe Agri, we reach a new set 
of formations. The limeslone and breccia bere disappear, and are succeeded by thick 
argillaceous beds, wilh Ihin bands of something approaching to day iron-stone; some 
beds of calcareous clays, much indurated, and, occasionally, heavybeds of a yellow and 
grey calcaroous soft sanstone, ali not very far from horizonlal, and dipping to the 
north and N.E. The whole of tliese are overlaid by enormous dcposits of dense tenacious 
clays, red, brown, and yellow, almost without a pebble. These sland, as soft shedding 
cliffs, above Ibis slream — now a brawling terreni of liquid mud, which is undercntting 
and sweeping them away, in masses. In many places 400 feet in deepth of these clays, 
overlay Ihe soft rocks benealh. Near the junclion of Ibis torroni with the Agri, I had no- 
liced many fragments and some large lumps of lignite in its bed, and when ascended, 
to wilhin about a mile of Montemurro, 1 was enabied to see the lignite beds in sita be- 
nealh the day cliiTs at the opposile (cast) side ef the Laderana, and nearly on the level 
of the water. Thcy appeared to be from i to 2 feet in thickness, perfectiy black, bui as 
fuel of very inferior qualily; Ihey are unused, and apparently unknown to Ihe inhabi- 
lants The mass of the plateau of Montemurro seems at ih-st to be nolhing bui day; 
2. 
Grandi scoscendimenti e fratture nel piano delle Mattine sul fiume Agri, presso Viggiano. 
(Da R. Malie t, Great neapolitan Earthquake, voi. II, pag. 14). 
bui upon the highest points of the town, and a little beyond il lo the north and N.E., 
the soft, crumbly, yellow, calcareous sandslone, a half compaded rock, comes bare 
up lo the surfacc,and obviously forms a great cono, upon and around which the immense 
day deposits are heaped up ». xMollo interessanti sono le notizie sugli scoscendimenti 
recenti da lui osservati al piano delle Mattine (voi. II, pag. 14) e sulla rapidità e forza dt 
erosione del fiume Agri (voi. II, pag. 16): aPassing along the Piano Mattine below Vig- 
giano, and further northward, I found several mosl remarkable landslips, at the steep 
banks of te Agri; one of these is ligured from eye-scketch in Diagram No. 274. Il oc- 
curred at the salienl boss of a curve of the river, wliere the bed was about 400 feet 
