THE MEDITERRANEAN NATURALIST 
129 
rotta and Mount Sinai’s region, but it is never a 
common oiant. 
The rock varies in its lithological structure in 
various part of Tie beds, sometimes being very 
Linnaeus on Brown’s authority adds Jamaica 
to its habitat (Mas. Med. 52 A Sp. pi. 1375, Amaer. 
Acad.' I. 2 ; 351), but Weddal remarks that it is 
probable that he mistook an Helosis for it. 
It must be added lastly that the Cynomorium 
has been thoroughly studied in Weddell’s “Me- 
moir per le Cynon cocc. 1841” which contains all 
considerable information on the subject. 
Alf. Cartt ana Gatto. 
Observations on the Geology of the 
Maltese Islands 
BY 
John H. Cooke. 
I have, so far, been considering the general 
geological and physical features of the Islands. 
I will now proceed to investigate more closely 
the numerous phenomena that exemplify the laws 
to which the strata owe their structural charac- 
teristics, and to note the principal facts relating 
to their stratigraphy, lithology, and paleontology. 
The Loiver Coralline Limestone : — This forma- 
tion is the lowest of the series of strata of which 
the Maltese Islands are composed. It extends 
throughout the length and breadth of all of the 
islands, but it is not exposed to any great extent 
in either Malta or Gozo, nor does it appear in the 
islets of Filfola, Comino, and Cominotto. In Malta 
it forms mural cliffs that extend all along the 
southern coast, and which in many parts rise to 
a height of upwards of 400 feet above the level 
of the sea. The surface exposures are limited 
in area and are found to occur cnly in the eastern 
half of the island. The denudation to which 
the overlying Globigerina Limestone has been 
subjected has laid bare tracts of it of varying 
extent around Marsa Scala, the greater part of 
the area between Casals Aseiak, Chircop, and 
the shores of Marsa Sirocco, the shores of Ricasoli, 
St. Julians, the Dragonara, Pembroke, and the 
Salines; and in the interior, the areas in the vici- 
nity of the Lunatic Asylum, Zebbug, and Musta. 
In the islands of Gozo where the work of 
denudation has not been so effective, a much 
smaller area lies exposed. The sides of the north- 
west, and south-west coasts are the only localities. 
granular, and having a coarse oatmeal texture, 
and sometimes being of a decided crystalline 
character. 
Dr. Murray subjected several specimens to a 
chemical analysis the results of which showed 
the rock to contain about 97. 5 per cent of carbo- 
nate of .time, the remaining 5 .per cent being made 
up of oxide of iron, alumina, and minute grains of 
quartz, augite, felspars, tourmaline, and glauconite. 
It contains no phosphoric acid or the merest 
traces of it, and this combined with the extreme 
hardness of the rock tends to render the soil 
formed from it very poor in quality, and very 
scant in quantity. 
It furnishes large quantities of excellent build- 
ing material, the softer kinds being largely 
used for external decorative purposes, while the 
harder varieties, which take a good polish and are 
therefore known locally as (( Gozo Marble” or 
“ Gozo Granite,” are nsec in si b-marme construc- 
tions.. and in those portions of buildings that are 
subjected to hard wear and -tear ana in which 
durability is therefore a sirxt cua non. 
Of the thickness of the formation it is impossible 
to give any definite information as there are no 
means of determining how far the esc extends 
below the sea level, but at Emtahieb and Duera 
the Lower Limestone cliffs tower to a height of 
about 400 feet, while the 50 fathom line runs close 
in shore in both of these localities so that we 
may conclude that thickness is much greater than 
that which is shown by the cliff faces. 
Every portion of the bed abounds with organic 
remains, but as a rule the extreme hardness of 
the matrix in which they are embedded renders 
the work of extracting them, a cask of great 
difficulty. Dr. John Murray’s researches showed 
the rock to be made up almost entirely of 
Nullipores ( Lithothanmion), and other calcareous 
Algae, intermixed with which were Foraminifera 
fragments of Molluscs, Polyzoa, Corals, and 
Echinoderms. Diatomacse (navieulce) and coral- 
lines are specially numerous in the lower divisions 
of the bed;- while the corals Styloccenia lobato 
rotundata, and Denarophillia irregularis occur in 
separate masses in abundance in the upper por- 
tions. The shores of Duera Bay in Gozo, of the 
