John Allen Howe

“ The character of the fossils in the Permian of the Mediterranean and south-east Europe-well exemplified in the deposits of Sicily—together with their more generally calcareous nature, indicate a more open sea and more stable marine conditions than obtained farther north. This sea is traceable across south-east Russia into the middle of Asia, through Turkestan and Persia, into the Salt Range of India, where the Productus limestone may be taken as representative of the normal marine plan of Permian times. ”

“ The lower subdivision attains its greatest development in the vale of the Eden, where it consists of brick-red sandstones, the Penrith sandstone series, with some beds of calcareous conglomerate or breccia, locally known as "brockram," derived from the waste of the Carboniferous Limestone. These red rocks extend across the Solway into the valleys of the Nith and Annan, in the south of Scotland, where they lie unconformable on the Lower Silurian rocks. ”

“ Permian rocks of the Rothliegende type are scattered over a wide area in France, where the lower beds are usually conformable with the Coal Measures. In the upper beds occur the bituminous or “Boghead” shale of Autun. In Russia strata of this age cover an enormous area, in the Ural region, in the governments of Perm, Kasan, Kostroma, and in Armenia. The Russian Permian shows no sharp division into two series; the two types of deposit tend to be more mixed and include in addition some deposits of the more open sea. ”