i877*J Notices of Books. 257 
the territories of the Republic.” The country appears to have 
been a tropical forest region somewhat resembling the valleys of 
the Orinoco and the Amazon. Of many plants whose remains 
have not adlually been found, there is indirect evidence in the 
presence of certain insedts. The following passage is of a 
nature so instructive to the student that we quote it in full : — 
“ Although the species of insedts of the Miocene are distindt 
from those now living, they are frequently so nearly allied to 
them as to permit comparisons and inferences. Thus a Galeruca 
found at CEningen enables us to assume that pond-weeds existed 
there, and in the same way the presence of a forget-me-not is 
indicated by a small and elegant Monanthia , that of brambles by 
a Syromastes, that of nettles by a Heterogaster, that of a viper’s 
bugloss by a Pachymerus, that of a trefoil by a Clythra, that of 
thistles by a shield-beetle as well as by a Glaphyrus, and that of 
a figwort by a Cionus. Other inserts give us intimation of 
flowery meadows : the Syrphi, Anthomyce , and Malachii no 
doubt sunned themselves upon the flowers* and the bees and 
humble-bees of CEningen collected their nedfar just like their 
relatives of the present day. The dung-beetles also announce 
the presence of grassy meadows.” 
CEningen, Prof. Heer calculates, must have possessed a flora 
at least twice as rich as that of any Swiss region of similar 
extent at the present time. Eleven species of palms flourished 
in Switzerland, whilst only a single species — the dwarf fan palm 
— maintains a footing in the extreme south of Europe. Bignonias 
twined about the trees of the dense forests ; species of cinna- 
mon, laurels, myrtles, and magnolias were conspicuous. “ If 
we bring together, according to their native countries, the living 
homologues of the Swiss Miocene species, we find that 33 spe- 
cies live in America, 16 in Europe, 12 in Asia, 3 on the Atlantic 
Islands, and 2 in Australia. If we extend the comparison to 
both homologous and analogous species, we obtain the following 
numbers : — Of the species most nearly resembling the Swiss 
Miocene species, 83 live in the Northern United States and 
103 in the Southern United States, 40 in tropical America, 6 in 
Chili, 58 in Central Europe, 79 in the Mediterranean zone, 23 in 
the temperate, 45 in the warm and 40 in the torrid zone of Asia, 
25 in the Atlantic Islands, 26 in Africa, and 21 in Australia.” 
Hence the floral affinities of Miocene Switzerland must be 
pronounced to be, in a predominating degree, American. 
Of inserts we have 876 Miocene species belonging to Switzer- 
land or its immediate environs. Of these, 543 species are 
Coleptera, 81 Hymenoptera, 3 Lepidoptera, 64 Diptera. Of the 
latter the majority are gnats and midges. Among the beetles 
the Curculionidse and the Buprestidac* predominate. But though 
* We note that the term “ gold-beetles” is used as an English name for the 
Buprestids. It and the corresponding German word “ gold-kafer ” have hitherto 
been applied to the Cetoniadse. 
VOL. VII. (N.S.) 
S 
