Abstract
1. A Notice on Fossil Plants found at the Col de Balme, near Chamouny in Savoy .— By H. T. De la Beche, Esq. F.R.S. &c. [Read Nov. 3, 1820.] The Col de Balme, which closes the valley of Chamouny to the northeast, and separates Savoy from Switzerland, has long been known for the superb view which it commands of the valley of Chamouny, with the Mont Blanc range in one direction, and the mountains of the Valais in the other. The iron cross on the highest part of the Col, or passage, is, according to M. De Saussure, 7086 French feet (7558 6/15 English feet) above the level of the sea. The Col is composed of beds of clay slate, of limestone, and of a few thin beds of sandstone. The rocks of the Col de Balme have been called primitive by M. Ebel, in his Bau der Erde in dem Alpen-Gebirge; but were with more justice named secondary by M. De Saussure*. The beds which compose them seem to be a continuation of the limestones which are remarked in patches in the valley of Chamouny; and which probably once occupied the whole length of the valley. While crossing the Col de Balme, in the autumn of 1819, I picked up two portions of the thin beds of sandstone above mentioned, which I found to contain vegetable impressions, precisely similar to what have been termed coal-plants, because they are usually found in coal formations. But I tried in vain to
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