The third Asiatic Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History has been ce-operating with the staff of the Geological Survey of China, and, im view of the interest taken in their joint researches, (My. J, G. Anderson and his colleagues of the Chinese Survey have issued a brief summary of the results of the Survey's operations so far as carried out (Bull. Amer, Mus. Nat. Hist., xvi. art-13) The fossil invertebrates are being worked out by Dr. A. W. Gvabau, now paleontologist to the Geological Survey of Ohina. At present these have been obtained almost exclusively from the palwozoia deposits, and will be described in the near future in a work devoted to Chinese paleonology, initiated by Dr. V. K. Ting, the director of the Geological Survey of China, and entitled "Palwontologia Sinica,''
Of considerable interest is the discovery of the first Burypterus in China in the oval measures of the K. g basin in strata of Lower Permian age. Coal deposits are plentiful and range from Paleozoic to early Tertiary. By far the most interesting among the plant beds of China are the Permo-Carboniferous coal series, while those of the Jurassic of northern China come next in importance, and the Oligocone flora of Fushun, in Fengtien, is the most representative of the Tertiary beds. Of the fossil verte. brates the principal description hitherto has been that of Schlosser, who, however, procured his material from Chinese medicine shops. Mr. Anderson has now brought together extensive collections. 7
The Hipparion clays of northern China prove the richest deposits so rarely contains fossils. One of the commonest is the egg of a big j Ostrich, Struthiolithus chersonensis. There is also an elephant, doubtfully referred to Blephas namadicus. No undisputed proof of the existence of Paleolithic man has as yet been obtained, nor of any Older Neolithic culture.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.