  The spectrum of the normal Type Ia SN 1990N observed very early on (14 days
before B maximum) was analysed by Fisher et al (1997), who showed that the
large width and the unusual profile of the strong line near 6000\AA can be
reproduced if the line is assumed to be due to \CII 6578, 6583\AA and if Carbon
is located in a high velocity shell. This line is one of the characterising
features of SNe Ia, and is usually thought to be due to \SiII. A Monte Carlo
spectrum synthesis code was used to investigate this suggestion further. The
result is that if a standard explosion model is used the mass enclosed in the
shell at the required high velocity (25,000--35,000 \kms) is too small to give
rise to a strong \CII line. At the same time, removing Silicon has a negative
effect on the synthetic spectrum at other wavelengths, and removing Carbon from
the lower velocity regions near the photosphere makes it difficult to reproduce
two weak lines which are naturally explained as \CII, one of them being the
line which Fisher et al (1997) suggested is responsible for the strong 6000\AA
feature. However, synthetic spectra confirm that although \SiII can reproduce
most of the observed 6000\AA line, the red wing of the line extends too far to
be compatible with a \SiII origin, and that the flat bottom of the line is also
not easy to reproduce. The best fit is obtained for a normal SN Ia abundance
mix at velocities near the photosphere (15,500-19,000 \kms) and an outer
Carbon-Silicon shell beyond 20,000 \kms. This suggests that mixing is not
complete in the outer ejecta of a SN Ia. Observations at even earlier epochs
might reveal to what extent a Carbon shell is unmixed.
