Page:The Geologist, volume 5.djvu/132

108 nary strata, and known under the name of molasse. This molasse corresponds, without doubt, chronologically with the Crag. ..

"We will say in conclusion, that the Pompeii for us Belgian paleontologists is the geological basin of Antwerp. There a new world reveals itself to the attention of naturalists. Marine forms there alternate with terrestrial, and the species of the Brussels basin, of which the remains have been so carefully collected by the intelligent perseverance of M. le Captaine Le Hon, had long disappeared, when the Crag Sea was peopled with its new and curious inhabitants.

"To the fauna which has been buried in the clay of Boom and of Rupelmonde, and which is distinguished by its superb remains of marine turtles, succeeded a fauna of elegant cetaceans; after the appearance of these giants of the sea, the soil was prepared to receive the mammoth and tichorine rhinoceros,—to finish in that which alone could complete the grand work. Millions have been spent in clearing out ruins and passages; let us profit by the millions spent in the national defences and set ourselves to the study, not of temples and forums, but of sandy shores frequented of old by that old-world creation, so rich in variety of forms, so full of the power of primitive nature.

"Let us found in the capital a Belgian museum, and unite our efforts to those of the Government to preserve in the same locality all the treasures of our soil. The galleries of the Belgian Museum should be spread beside the strata—those leaves of the grand book of our country, and the mineralogical and paleontological collections located with the actual fauna and flora; and by the side of these products of the soil should be shown the chefs-d'œuvre of art and the marvels of industry."

.—In the January number of the 'Geologist,' the editor states in his interesting article on "Some Fossil Fruits from the Chalk," that it is one of the features of the Magazine, "that matters not understood should be brought before the world in its pages." The following remarks, if they do not give information, may, at least, cause some intelligent reader to answer certain questions regarding what have been termed travelled or scratched boulders.

Sir C. Lyell, in his 'Principles of Geology,' has given a map, showing the extent of surface in Europe which has at one period or another been covered by the sea since the commencement of the deposition of the older or Eocene Tertiary strata. In his interesting and valuable description of this map, he remarks that the researches of Mr. James Smith, of Jordan- hill, and others, among the northern deposits, enable us to discover the signs of a climate colder than that now prevailing. The Jordanhill here mentioned is a small estate in the neighbourhood of the city of Glasgow, not far from the river Clyde, and occupies a very small part of the area which can be proved by geological evidence to have been covered by the sea. The talented and highly respected proprietor above mentioned has published, in the Proceedings of the Geological Society, etc., descriptions of the arctic shells discovered by him when examining the till, or boulder-clay, on his estate and in the neighbourhood.

The scratched or rounded travelled boulders found in the till at Jordan-