%
{- ii
' i
M w .
¡ 4 k
I h
l^<
Ü
Ii « I
I« L
II
!! .If !
■V Ü'
i"-' i
i
!-1'
to the catholic faith, he has, I am informed,
been made a member of the Aulic Council
by the Austrian court.*
Professor Meisner, of Berne, has an interesting
cabinet of natural history, in its
different departments; the most remarkable
object which it contains is a perfect
fossil tooth of a small species of mastodon,
and one less p erfect; both found in the
roof of a bed of coal at Alpnach.
The extraordinary fact of teeth and bones
of the large mammalia occurring at a great
depth under a series of regular strata, is
deserving of much attention. The professor
obligingly gave me a specimen of the
stratum containing the bones, and a section
of the mine in which they are found. The
strata consist o f—
No.
1 . Light grey sandstone 24 feet.
2. Light grey limestone, like
that of the Jura - - 24 do.
3. Molasse, or soft sandstone 227 do.
* I was told at Geneva, that M. Haller had published
a defence of the principles of the Holy Alliance
at Naples, in which he attempted to prove, that
sovereigns are not bound by their oaths to subjects;
a doctrine which is not without its defenders in this
country.
I
L
6 feet.
l i d o .
7 d o .
No.
4. Light grey sandstone, with
mica, like No. 1 . -
.5. Light grey argillaceous
limestone - - -
6. Bituminous shale in layers
7. Stink stone—a bituminous
limestone, with fluviatile
shells, and bones - - i to 2 do. the roof of the
coal.
8. Coal - - - 6 inches.
9. Schist highly bituminous 6 to 8 do.
10 . Coal - - - 2 do.
11. Bituminous clay - - 6 feet.
13. Molasse and sandstone - 66 do.
I must refer the reader to the Appendix
to the present volume, for further observations
on this singular geological fact.
The professor accompanied us to the
Public Library and Museum: the latter
contains a splendid display of the zoolog}-
of Switzerland. The quadrupeds and birds
are well preserved, and the attitudes in
which they are placed are natural and spirited.
I was much surprised to see so great
a variety of species, unknown in the British
isles. The lynx, which Cuvier, in his
Regne Animal, describes as having disappeared
in Germany, still exists in the Haut
Valíais. It is nearly the size of a wolf, and
is a formidable animal to tbe chamois: it is