144 Dr Boue’s Geological Comparative View of the 
or limestone, or even with limestone, identical with the shell 
limestone (muschelkalk), and with flinty concretions. Thus, at 
Ischel, the marly mass lies between the shell limestone (muschel- 
kalk) and a series of marly and calcareous beds ; between Klos- 
ternenburg, near Vienna, and Nussdorf, the undulated beds of 
the deposit contain many limestones, which are here and there 
traversed by minute ferruginous veins, like the reniform marble 
of Florence. After this short description, I imagine no one 
can any longer doubt the identity of this deposit with the red 
marl. This formation fills up the valleys of the Alps, and 
forms only in the eastern part, and in the Carpathians, most ex- 
tensive ranges of hills, like the Spessart. It is the gres houiller 
of Beudant, and of my former memoir *. 
As this deposit lies upon a very irregular surface, it forms, as 
elsewhere, many undulations, and affords the first origin of the 
undulated stratification of the hills of shell limestone ( muschel - 
kalk) 3 which overlie this formation. The alpine shell limestone 
(muschelkalk) is a compact limestone, of a whitish, greyish, 
yellowish, brownish, and rarely blackish or reddish colour. It 
contains imbedded flinty concretions, and is traversed by many 
small veins of calcareous spar, which are generally totally differ- 
ent from those of the transition limestone, and the thin nume- 
rous veins of the magnesian limestone, in short, are analogous 
to those of the shell limestone (muschelkalk). These rocks, 
which are in some few instances of a particular granular or 
oolitic structure (roggenstein), afford marbles intermediate be- 
tween the marbles of the transition limestone, and those of the 
lias or Jura limestone. They contain many of the same fossils 
as the shell limestone (muschelkalk) of the north of Germany, 
Ammonites, Modiola socialis, Nautili, Strombites, Turbinites, 
fragments of Echini, Madrepores, Tubipores, Alcyons, &c. 
They form very high hills, composed of thin beds always stra- 
tified, which affords a good test to distinguish this limestone from 
the magnesian, upon which it often lies in patches or hills. It 
abounds around the salt district, in Austria, Switzerland, Dau- 
phine ; in short, it is a part of the Alpine Limestone of authors. 
* Memoir in vol. iv. of the Memoirs of the Wernerian Society . 
2 
