NOTES AND QUEETES. 
313 
etc. ; besides " Lapides circulares," " ]S'ummi lapidei," dia"bolici, " Niim- 
mularii lapides," " Lapides numismales," etc., for T^ummulites. See 
Gesner, Laugius, Scheuchzer, Mercatus, etc. The last-mentioned of these 
old observers has the following remarks on some " Lapides fruraentarii," 
or " Poecilospermi," as he terms them, in his ' Metallotheca Yaticani ' 
(Michaelis Mercati Samminiatensis Metallotheca, opus posthumum, studio 
J. M. Lanciscii : Eomae ; fol. 1719). 
At page 285, " Poecilospermos. Confertus sHiquis agrestis cumini cor- 
niculatis, interpouit alias in gyros convolutas, quales sunt Medicae ; non- 
nullas bifidas specie coluteae, rimam agentes, per quam semina minuta os- 
lenduntur." The locality of this specimen is not given ; the figure indi- 
cates JRotalia Beccarii, Peneroplls (?), etc., in the stone. 
At page 286, " Poecilospermos alius. Huic sunt ferulacei generis semina, " 
foeniculi, anethi, multaque miuuta, qujedam tritici, aliqua in gyros collecta, 
qualia diximus Medicae, adjectis in^uper hirculis, cauliumque sarmcntis." 
This specimen is of a dull yellow colour, as is also the foregoing ; the lo- 
cality was not known. The Foi aminifcra in it seem to be Miliola?, Rota- 
lioe, etc. Other specimens from Verona are then mentioned as being full 
of wheat, and it is observed, " ut videatur in eo necessitas vitse nostrse ludi- 
brium Naturse debuisse." 
The title of Langius's book, in which the Lajjicles friimentavii are men- 
tioned and figured, is: — " Caroli 2sicolai Langii, Lucernens. Helvet. Pliil. 
et Medici, Acad. Ca?s. Leopokl. Nat. Curioss. German, et Physio-Crit. 
Senens. Historia Lapidum Figuratorum Helvetia^, ejusque viciniap, in 
qua non solum enarrantur omnia eorum Genera, Species et Vires aineisquc 
tabulis reprgesentantur, sed iasuper adducuntur eorum loca nativa in qui- 
bus reperiri solent, ut cuilibet facile sit eos coUigere, 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 JS^ummulite limestone). " Lapis frumentarius Helveticus, niger, semina 
melonum cumini cum conchitulis albis rcferens " (a piece of iSummulitic 
limestone). " Lapis frumentarius Helveticus, cinereus, semina melonum 
anisi fceniculi referens " (a piece of Nummulitic limestone). " Cenchrites " 
(Oohtic rock ?). " Meconites " (Oolitic rock ?). 
Page 270, "Lapis piriformis" or " pyriformis." — Anj pear-shaped cu- 
rious stone would be sufficient for this. I have an excelleut flint one from 
the Chalk.— Yours truly,T. E. Jones. 
15, Terrace, Yorktoicn, July UM, 1863. 
[I used the term Lias Boue-bed as beiucr the first given to it, and because T am not 
yet prepared to admit the deposit as a portiou of the Keupcr. I do not however wish at 
present to dispute its assigumeut to that formation. I am not a believer in palfeontolo- 
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 Rhaetic 
fauna. Does the presence of Khaetic forms under such circumslauccs take the Boue-bcd 
out of its proper stratigraphical relationship to the Lias? Such are the reasons why 1 
have called it Lias Bone-bed. I did not notice the Egerton Dolichosaimis as a portion 
of Mrs. Smith's specimen, although I was well aware Professor Owen had done so in 
his ' Monograph of Cretaceous Reptiles,' for the reason that Professor Owen records 
Mrs. Smith's specimen as from the Middle Chalk, while Sir Phili])'s specimen in the 
British ^^useum is decidedly Gicy 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. 'I S 
