182 
EQUIVALENTS OF THE RED DEPOSITS. 
forms masses a foot or two in thickness. Mineral milk, or fossil leather of mine- 
ralogists, formerly recognized in these tracts by Strangways, Fischer and other 
writers, occurs here, and was also observed by us at intervals between Gorbatof 
and Viasniki. 
At Viasniki on the Kliasma and in the ravines to the east of the town, there is a 
clear section of marls, sometimes slightly micaceous and sandy, with other beds of 
light red and green colours, very finely laminated, overlaid by blood-red, incoherent 
sands passing into sandstone, yellowish sands and marls, and variegated, highly cal- 
careous grit. In the light red, variegated marls towards the middle of the cliff, and 
in a ravine to the north of the high road, we detected a profusion of microscopic 
crustaceans resembling Cytherinee, associated with a small flattened bivalve shell, 
having the general form of Cyclas, and these, as before said, are the only organic 
remains with the exception of a very small (fish?) bone observed near Nijni and 
now unfortunately lost, which we have been able to detect in these widely spread 
red strata of such very persistent lithological characters. 
After thus describing the chief distinctions of these marly deposits, it will be 
seen, that although they overlie the beds with Zechstein fossils, yet as they 
agree in position and mineral character with other members of the Permian group 
of the governments of Perm, Viatka and Orenburg, in which Permian plants and 
thecodont Saurians occur, we cannot rigorously exclude them from that system. 
We have not indeed any sort of evidence to prove, that the masses we are de- 
scribing constitute a portion of the Trias of Europe, or that they can be placed in 
parallel with the New Red Sandstone of the British Isles ; but knowing as we do, 
how long a period elapsed before any characteristic organic remains were disco- 
vered in the Bunter Sandstein of Germany, the gres bigarre of the French, or in 
the New Red Sandstone of England, and how much longer a term passed before 
that x’ock was separated from the Keuper, we think we act in the spirit of true ob- 
servers by leaving this mass under the name of Upper Red Sandstone, thus simply 
considering it a great and copious cover of the Permian system. If, in the sequel, 
fossils should be found, which connect a part of these deposits either with the Per- 
mian system or with the Trias, we shall not have taken any step to prevent such 
collocation by merely stating the fact, that this variegated group overlies the Zech- 
stein strictly so called. On the whole, however, we confess we are disposed to 
view these variegated sands and marls like those of Orenburg as a part of the Per- 
mian system. 
