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^OVA SCOT/4 
 
 
 PROVINCE HOUSE 
 
"■^«:SM"W 
 
 ^4 
 
 ^'^O 
 
 AT 
 
 REMARKS ON RECENT PAPERS ON THE GEOLOGY 
 OF NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 (From a Paper eommunicatud to tUu Nova Scotian Institute of 
 Natural ycience, by J. W. Dawson, LL.D., F.U.S., &c.) 
 
 The following remarks have reference to two papers by the 
 Rev. D. Honeyman. D.C.L., Curator of the Provincial Museum, 
 Halifax, published in the Transactions of the Nova Scotian In- 
 stitute of Natural Science, Vol. iv., Part iv., 1878. These papers 
 are respectively entitled — " Pre carboniferous Formations of 
 Annapolis and King's Counties," and " Nova Scotian Geology, 
 Pre-carboniferous, Lower Carboniferous, &c." Special reference 
 will be made to the following points: (1., The age assigned by 
 Dr. H. to the fossiliferous rocks of Nictau^ aad New Canaan 
 and their relation to the intrusive granites of the region. (2.) The 
 Geology of the Pre-carboniferous Rocks of the Eastern part of 
 Nova Scotia and Cape Breton. 
 
 1. NicTAUX AND New Canaan. 
 
 In the first of the papers above referred to, Dr. H. very freely 
 criticises my conclusions respecting the age of the rocks of these 
 localities, but docs not take the trouble to state what these con- 
 clusions are, so that a reader unacquainted with the fact*? might 
 take it for granted that all these rocks had been referred to the 
 Devonian t-ystoni, or that no dofinitJ idea of their age had pre- 
 viously been given. For tliis reason I shall take the liberty to 
 quote from a paper on the Silurian and Devonian Rocks of 
 Nova Scotia (April, 18G0), my actual results, which are given 
 in nearly the same form in Acadian Geolo,:iy, 2nd edition, 1868. 
 I may premise that these results were worked out at a time when 
 
 ^iiSSw*;' '-■'' 
 
2 
 
 there were no railways or county maps to assist the explorer, 
 and when the aids in determination of fossils were much leas 
 accessible than at present ; and also that I have added some 
 explanatory notes, which are included in brackets. 
 
 " The oldest fossiliferous beds seen (at New Canaan) are the 
 fine fawn-coloured and gray clay slates of Beech Hill, in which 
 Dr. Webster, many years since, found a beautiful Dicft/onema, 
 the only fossil they have hitherto afforded. It is a new species, 
 closely allied to D. retiformis and D. gracilis of Hall, and will 
 be described by that palaeontologist under the name of D. Websteri, 
 in honour of its discoverer. In the mean time I may merely state 
 that it is most readily characterised by the cellules, which are 
 very distinctly marked in the manner of Graptolithus.^' 
 
 " The Dictyonema slates of Beoch Hill are of great thickness, 
 but have in their upper part some hard and coarse beds. They 
 are succeeded to the south by a great series of dark coloured 
 coarse slates, often micaceous, and in some places constituting a 
 slate conglomerate, containing small fragments of older slates, 
 and occasionally pebbles of a gray vesicular rock, apparently a 
 trachyte. In some parts of this series there are bands of a coarse 
 laminated magnesian and ferruginous limestone, containing fossils 
 which, though much distorted, are in parts still distinguishable. 
 They consist of joints of crinoids, casts of brachiopodous shells, 
 trilobites and corals. Among the latter are two species oi' Astro- 
 cerium, not distinguishable from A. pi/ri/orme and oennstnm of 
 the Niagara group, and a Hiliolites allied to //. elegans, if not 
 a variety of tliis species.* On the evidence of these fossils and 
 the more obscure remains associated with them, Prof. Hall re- 
 gards these beds as equivalents of the Niagara formation of the 
 New York geologists, the Wenlock of Murchison. Their general 
 strike is N. E. and S. W. ; and to the southward, or in the pro- 
 bable direction of the dip, they are oucceeded, about six miles 
 from Beech Hill, by granite. They have in general a slaty 
 structure coinciding with the strike but not with the dip of the 
 beds, and this condition is very prevalent throughout this inland 
 metamorphic district, where also the principal mineral veins 
 usually run with the strike. The beds just described run with 
 S. W. strike for a considerable distance, and are succeeded in 
 ascending order by those next to be described." 
 
 • [These corals fortunately show their structure very distinctly 
 when cut ami polished, though from the hardness of the rock their 
 external forms are obscure.] 
 
 -i '^^-^ 
 
-1 
 
 " At Nictaux, 20 miles westward of New Canaan, the first old 
 rooks that are seen to emerge from beneath the New Red Sand- 
 stone of the low country, are finegrained slates, which I believe 
 to be a continuation of tiie Dictyoncma slates of Beech Hill. 
 Their strike is N. 30 to 60 E., and their dip to the S. £. at an 
 angle of 72°. Interstratified with these are hard and coarse 
 beds, some of them having a trappcan aspect. In following these 
 rocks to the S.E., or in ascending order, they assume the aspect 
 of the New Canaan beds ; but I could find no fossils except in 
 loose pieces of coarse limestone, and these have the aspect rather 
 of the Arisaig series than of that of New Canaan. In these, 
 and in some specimens recently obtained by Mr. Ilartt, I observe 
 Orthoceras elcgantulum, Bucania trilohita, Cornulitcs Jlcxuusug, 
 Spirlfer rugoecosUi f and apparently Chonetes Novi-scotiai, with 
 a large Orthoceras, and several other shells not as yot seen else- 
 where. These fossils appear to indicate that there is in this 
 region a continuance of some of the Upper Arisaig species nearly 
 to the base of the Devonian rocks next to be noticed." [Some 
 Lamcllibranchiate and Gastropod shells in the limestone above 
 referred lo, led me to infer that some member of the Upper 
 Silurian series not seen at Arisaig m;iy occur here, and may re- 
 present the Salina formation of the Aniericati geologists, just as 
 distinct Niagara fossils, not seen at Arisiig, occur iu New Canaan.] 
 
 "After a space of nearly a mile, which may represent a great 
 thickness of unseen beds, we reach a bind of highly i'ossiliferous 
 peroxide of iron, with dark coloured coarse slates, dippii)g 8.30*^ 
 E. at a very high angle. The iron ore is from 3 to 4^ feet in 
 thickness, and resembles that of the East River of Pictou, except 
 in containing less silicious matter. The fossils of this ironstone 
 and the accompanying beds, so far as they can be identified, are 
 Spiri/tr areuosits,'''' Strophodontd mnyiiijicit, Atrypa ungui'/ormis 
 
 • TluTc! is in the iron ore and assdciated iicds, ivnotlirr and snuiller 
 S/iiriJiT, :iA yvt.iHtt idcnfilied with any dcM riliid simciis, lnit riniiicntly 
 fiiaractcristif of the Nictjiiix (ic])<)sits. It is usually sicn only in the 
 statu of rusts, anil often ,sti!tM;,'tdy dist(jrti-ct by tin: slaty .stnutui-o of 
 the brds, TIk' siK'ciini'ns least distorti'd may he desLiihod as follows : 
 General form, senii-iiiiular ten<linj; tn semi-oval, convexity moderate ; 
 hin^i- lino about i'(inal to width of shell : a rounded mesial sinus and 
 ek'vation with al)out ten [to twelve-J siili-angular plications on each 
 side ; a few sharp f;rowth riilges at the margin of the larger valves. 
 A verafje diameter about one inch; mesial sinus e(iual in width to 
 about three plications. I shall call this species, in the meantime, 
 S. Nictai'ennin." [It is ncarlj allied to the well-known Spirijer mucro- 
 naltii of the Hamilton group.] 
 

 [now known as Orthis hipparioni/x'], Strophomena dcpratsa 
 [now UHually known as S. rhomboidalis^, and species of Avicula, 
 Bellerophon, Favosites, Zaphrentis, &c. These Prof. Hall com- 
 pares with the fauna of the Oriskany sandstone ; and they seem 
 to give indubitable testimony that the Nictaux iron ore ia of 
 Lower Devonian ago. 
 
 " To the southward of the ore, the country exhibits a .succes- 
 sion of ridj^cs of slate holding similar fossils, and probably repre- 
 senting a thick series of Devonian bed.s, though it is f|uitc po.ssible 
 that some of them may be repeated by faults or folds. Farther 
 to the south these slates arc associated with bands of crystalline 
 greenstone and quartz rock, and arc then interrupted by a great 
 ma.ss of white granite, which extends far into the interior and 
 separates these beds from the similar, but non-fo.ssiliferous rocks 
 on the inner side of the mctamorphic band of the Atlantic coast. 
 The Devonian beds appear to dip into the granite, which is in- 
 trusive and alters the slates near the junction into gneis.soid rock 
 holding garnets. The granite sends veins into the slates, and 
 near the junction contains numerous angular fragments of altered 
 flate. 
 
 " Westward of the Nictaux River, the granite abruptly crosses 
 the line of strike of the slates, and extends (juite to their northern 
 border, cutting them off in the manner of a huge dyke, from their 
 continuation about ten miles further westward. The beds of slate 
 in running against this great dyke of granite, change in strike 
 from south-west to wfst, near the junction, and become slightly 
 contorted and altered into gneiss, and filled with granite veins ; 
 but in some places they retain trace-' of their fossils to within 200 
 yards of the granite. The intrusion of this great mass of granite 
 without material disturbance of the strike of the .slates, conveys 
 the impression that it has melted quietly through the .■stratified 
 deposits, or that these have been locally cry.><tallised into granite 
 ill situ. 
 
 " At Moose River, the iron ore and its as.sociated be<ls recur 
 on the western side of the granite before mentioned, but in a state 
 of greater metamorphism than at Nictaux. The iron is here in 
 the state of magnetic ore, but still holds fossil shells of the same 
 species with those of Nictaux. 
 
 '' On Bear River, near the bridge by which the main road 
 •crosses it, beds equivalent to those of Nictaux occur with a pro- 
 fusion of fossils. The iron ore ia not seen, but there are highly 
 
fossiliicrous slates and conrec arenaceous limestone, and a bed of 
 gray sandstone with numerous indistinct iuiprosnions apparently 
 of plants. In addition to several of the fossils found at Nictaux, 
 these beds afford Tcutaadites, an Atn/jxi, apparently identical 
 with un undescribcd species very characteristic of the Djvonian 
 sandstones of Gaspe [this is now known as Liptuanlin jlabclliU's], 
 and a coral which Mr. Billinj^s identities with the l*lcunj(Urti/um 
 prolilematlcitm, Goldfuss, a I'orni which occurs in the Lower De- 
 vonian in England, and on the continent of Europe." 
 
 It will thus bo seen that I recognized, on the evidence of strati- 
 graphy and fossils, in the district extending from New Canaan 
 to Bc';ir River, the following groups of rocks : — 
 
 1. The Niiigiira si-ries, tin. Wciihck of English geologists, re- 
 prc.'^ented by the Dictyonenia sliales and the coral bearing rocks 
 of New Canaan. This group may be called either Middle or 
 Upper Silurian, according to different classiticatious in use. 
 
 li. The Upper Arisaig series (of my arrangement, not of that 
 Bubsiquently advocated by Dr. II.) This is the e(juivalent of 
 the Lower llelderberg series of Amerie.i. tlic Ludlow ol" England, 
 and is the upper meniber of the Upp' r Siiuii .n as held at that 
 time. 
 
 3. The Oriskany series, represented by iron ores, sandstones 
 or slates. At that time the Oriskany was regarded by all as 
 Lower Devonian. More recently .some American geologists iiavo 
 proposed to place it in the upper part of the Upper Silurian, 
 above the Lower llelderberg, with which its fossils have some 
 affinity. 
 
 If I understand Dr. II., he admits the ages which I have 
 assigned to Nos. I and 2 above mentioned, though, after his usual 
 manner, without giving tlie slightest credit for the original dis- 
 covery of the facts, but he a.ssigns JTo. v{ to the horizon of the 
 Medina sandstone, a formation older than the Niagara, and re- 
 garded as an equivalent of the Mayhill .sandstone (Llandovery) 
 of Great Britain. The first reason assigned for this opinion is 
 one based on mineral character, " I at once recognized tiie May- 
 hill sandstone," &c. On this I may merely remark that any 
 geologist who would profess to distinguish at sight the Oriskany 
 sandstone from the Medina sandstone would be more character- 
 ised by boldness than prudence. The stratigraphy of the district 
 is confessedly somewhat obscure, and I fail to find in Dr. H.'b 
 paper any new light tending to the inversion of the section as it 
 
was understood by me many years ago. The fossils must in this 
 matter furnish the most reliable information, and in this depart- 
 ment unfortunately Dr. H. merely gives lists of genera, most of 
 which have a very wide range, and which prove nothing, unless 
 the species can be determined with accuracy. In this, however, 
 there is some diflSculty. The specimens are u.sually merely casts, 
 they arc much distorted, and from tlic hardness of the rocks 
 they can usually be procured only in fragments. When in 
 the region, I collected very diligently, and have since carefully 
 studied my collections, and compared them with fos.«ils of various 
 portions of the Upper Silurian and Devonian ; but though I have 
 arrived at much more definite determinations than those given 
 by Dr. li., I have hesitated to publish detailed lists. It is now 
 necessary, however, to go into details, and I trust I can show to 
 the satisfaction not only of palaoontologists but to that of any 
 student who possesses a geological text-book, that Dr. H.'s con- 
 clusions on this subject arc wholly illusory. 
 
 The following list refers to my collections from the Nictaux 
 ore and the neighbouring beds, and from Moose Iliver and Boar 
 Kiver, on approximately the same horizon : — 
 
 1. Zaphrcntis, a large species with deep calyx ; but a cast 
 merely, and therefore not determinable t-pecifically. — Nietaux. 
 
 2. Favosites. General form and size of cells similar to those 
 of F. cei-vicornls, Ed. and Haiuie; tabulao continuous and very 
 close. — Nictaux and Bear River. 
 
 3. Fleurodictyum prohlematicum, Goldfuss. Cast of a large 
 specimen. — Bear Kiver. 
 
 4. Stennpora. A branching species with very fine cells. 
 [Of the above corals No. 3 is characteristically Devonian. 
 
 The others are found in association both in the Upper Silurian 
 and Devonian.] 
 
 5. Strophxhntn magn'tJicK, Hall. A large Strophodonta, re- 
 sembling, as far as the specimens admit compari,-on, the above 
 species, characteristic of the Oriskany. — Nictaux and Bear River. 
 Dr. II. somewhat disingenuously writes of Strophodonta as if it 
 were a characteristically Clinton genus. In point of fact, of 56 
 species of this genus catalogued by Miller in his American Palae- 
 ozoic fossils, 43 are found in the Orisknny and overlying forma- 
 tions, and only three as low as the Clinton and Niagara, while 
 no species whatever is known in the Medina. 
 
6. Strophomena rhomhui'ialU. Fragments from Niotaux. 
 
 7. Spiri/er arenofuK, H»ll. Tins oharaoteristically OriskaDy 
 species iH 80 abundant at Nictauz, thut though the Hpccimens are 
 imperfect, I think its recognition certain. It is found also at 
 Bear River. 
 
 8. Spiri/er arrectus, Hall, or allied, also an Oriskany species. 
 — Nictaux. 
 
 9. Spiri/er N^ictdvensis. This is the most abundant species 
 in the Nictaux ore, some specimens of which arc crowded with 
 it, and it is also found at Bear River. It is very nearly allied 
 to the well known Spiri/er muvronntits of the Devonian. It is 
 perhaps still nearer to S. Gaspensis of Billings from the 0;isp<S 
 sandstone ; and no Spirifers of this type are known to extend so 
 low as the Medina. — Nictaux and Bear River. 
 
 10. Orthis hijtpariom/x, Hall. A characteristic Oriskany shell, 
 apparently represented by casts of the interior. — Nictaux. 
 
 11. Leptoci'liii Jidhellites, Hall. This little .shell is abundant 
 at the base of the Devonian in Gaspe, and the same or a very 
 similar species is found at Nictaux and Bear River. 
 
 12. lienscllccria ovoides, Eaton. A very characteristic Lower 
 Devonian species at Gaspe and elsewhere. — Nictaux. 
 
 13. Ahgnmhonia, very near to the Oriskany .species M. lamel- 
 losa, Hall. — Nictaux. 
 
 14. Avicula, a large species of the type of the Oriskany spcoiea 
 A. textilin, but too imperfect for determination. — Nictaux. 
 
 15. Tentaaditcs, not distinguishable fmm T. eloiigatus, Hall, 
 of the Lower Helderbcrg. — Bear River. 
 
 16. I group together u Phttycerax very near to an Oriskany 
 species, a Belhrujihon and an Orthocerus, found at Nictaux. 
 
 Fragments in my collection indicate several other species; but 
 the above I hold to be amply sufficient to prove that the beds in 
 which they occur are approximately of the age of the Oriskany 
 sandstone, and cannot possibly be so old us the Clinton formation. 
 I may notice in farther evidence of the facts stated above, that 
 slates very near to the ore-bed hold Upper Arisaig (Helderberg) 
 species, so that there appears to bo a passage from the Lower 
 Helderberg to the Oriskany, which would be quite natural ; 
 whereas the juxtaposition of Lower Helderberg and Medina 
 fossils could take place only by extensive faulting or the absence 
 of all the intermediate formations. It is also to be observed 
 
that independently of the determination of Bpcoies, the whole 
 anpect of the t'auua of the Nictaux iron bed, in its abundunoo of 
 large ribbed spirifers, of large Htrophonienoid shells, and of great 
 lamellibranchiatu Hpcoicfl, in different from that of the Medina, 
 and on the contrary reniindH an observer forcibly of the Orisknny 
 sandstone of Gaspe and of western Canada. I shall show in tho 
 sequel that it is also distinct from that of the l^pper Silurian 
 red hematite of Pictou. 
 
 It should, however, be distinctly understood, tiiat, in so far as 
 I have held Devonian rocks to exist at Nletaux and Hear River, 
 the upward extc^nsion of such rocks is liniited to the Oriskany 
 sandstone, and should any one hold tliat this formation may bo 
 included in the Upper Silurian, I have no objection; though I 
 think that on physical grounds and by virtue of its close relation- 
 ship with the overlying formatif)ns, it has (juite as good claims 
 to be correlated with the liower Devonian. 
 
 The (juestion which has been raised respecting the ;ige of tho 
 granite, can only be discussed profitably on the ground. My 
 notes of many years ago assure me, however, that I have traced 
 the Lower Devonian beds into contact with the granite in such 
 circumstances as prove the later date of the latter, and there are 
 now in my collections .specimens showing the gradations from the 
 fossiliferous to the altered strata, including some which hold 
 Oriskany fossils, but have assumed an incipient gnei.ssic struc- 
 ture, and were penetrated by granite veins. It is further to be 
 observed that the age assigned by me to these granites accords 
 with the fact that in Nova Scotia the formations older than the 
 Carboniferons are more or less iu an altered and disturbed con- 
 dition, and that granite debris does not occur as a prominent 
 ingredient in our formations till the Lower Carboniferous age. 
 In the district in question, the thick beds of granitic sandstone in 
 the Lower Carboniferous near Wolfville and Lower Horton, 
 afford a good illustration. I hope that this interesting district 
 may soon be surveyed and mapped by the officers of the Geolo» 
 gical Survey when we may expect to have more light thrown on 
 this subject. In the meantime I would caution geologists against 
 accepting the somewhat crude deductions of the paper referred 
 to, more especially as this question affects our conclusions as to 
 the age of the auriferous veins of the Atlantic coast, and as to 
 the correlation of the intrusive granites of Nova Scotia with those 
 of other parts of Eastern America. 
 
 
2. Pre-caruoniferouh Rocks of Eastkrn Nova Scotia, 
 
 The second paper, nbovo rercirod to, is of u character so uuto- 
 biogruphical, contaiiiH ko little that in new in u Ncientifio point 
 of view, nnd deals so unceremoniously with the reputations of 
 nearly all who have worked in the f;eolo<;y of Novu Scotia, that 
 it is difficult to criticise it without biMiii; jicTHonal. I shall en- 
 deavour, however, to av id this, and to eontine myself to the 
 fieoloixical (jui'stioiis involved. 
 
 The first attempt, uftt-r Dr. Geviner's Geoloijy of IH'.U't, to deal 
 with tiie complexities of the older rocks in Eastern it'ova Scotia, 
 was made nearly thirty years ago, in a paper ou the Mctamorphic 
 and Metalliferous Uoekf' of Nova Scotia, published in the Journal 
 of the (ieolo^ical Society in 1H50; a very imperfect attempt, no 
 doubt, but still a step of progress, and one involving much hard 
 labour under very difficult circumstances. Before preparing the 
 paper, 1 had examined lines of section from Pictou to the Atlantic 
 coast, and had collected fossils at Arisuig and on the East River 
 of Pietou. In this paper, the " shales, slates and thin-bedded 
 limestones of Arisaig" were referred to tiie Silurian system, ou the 
 evidence of their fossils, as were al.so the similar rocks occurring 
 on the east side of the East River of Pictou. 1 was obliged, 
 however, to add that .specimens taken to England by Sir C J-iycU, 
 with whom 1 had visited the East River in 1S42, had been re- 
 ferred by palaBontologists there to the Lower or Middle Devonian 
 age, and that Prof. Hall, tliC best American authority ou these 
 fossils, appeared to lean to a similar conclusion. 
 
 The cause of this doubtful position of the matter is easily ex- 
 plained, without attaching any blame to the eminent geologists 
 above named. At that time the line of separation of the Devo 
 nian and Upper Silurian was not very clearly defined ; and indeed 
 it may be said yet to be in some uncertainty, since it is only 
 within a few years that it has been propo.sed to transfer the 
 Oriskany .sandstone to the Upper Silurian, and in the latest 
 classification of the (iaspe series by the Geological Survey of the 
 Dominion,* no less than 880 i'eet of shales and limestones are 
 designated as "passage beds" between the two. In addition to 
 this, the ibssils from the Nova Scotia beds were to a large extent 
 different from those both of the New York series and of England, 
 
 ♦ Billing's Palaeozoic Fossils, 1874. 
 
m 
 
 80 that their general facies only could be compared, many of 
 them \rcrc in an imperfect state of preservation, and our whole 
 •collections were not liirge. 
 
 Matters remained in this state until the preparation of my 
 Acadian Geology, published in 1855, when it became very desir- 
 able to obtuin some clearer light on the subject, and accordingly 
 considerable collections of the fossils were made and sent to Prof. 
 Hall, and to palaeontologii friends in England, in the hope that 
 these difficulties might be ideared up. But up to the time of 
 the publication of the book, and for some time thereafter, no aid 
 came from either quarter. In these circumstances, being con- 
 vinced that some of the lower fossiliforous beds must be Silurian, 
 and supposing that some of the upper beds were Devonian, but 
 having no means of separating tlieni, I included both under one 
 chapter, and placer! over the i'cvf fossils I ventured to figure, the 
 title " Devonian and Upper Silurian." 
 
 On my removal to Canada in 1855, I at once availed myself 
 of access to the collections of the Geological Survey, and of the 
 advice of Mr. Billings in the arrangement of my collections, and 
 sent further specimens, along with a number of species commu- 
 nicated to me by Dr. Honoyman, the late Dr. Webster of Kent- 
 ville, the late Dr. Harding of Windsor, and Mr. Hartt of Wolf- 
 ville,* to Prof Hall ; and in 1859 I received from him the series 
 of descriptions of the Nova Scotia Upper Silurian fossils published 
 in 1860 in the Canadian Naturalist, and which really constituted 
 the " first step " in the palaeontology of these diflScult rocks. The 
 only credit that the gentlemen above named or the writer can 
 claim is the collection of materials ; and Nova Scotia owes a debt 
 of gratitude to the New York Palajoiitologist for his gratuitous 
 labours in our behalf, at a time when ho was pressed with many 
 and engrossing occupations. It was at this time, and wliilc I was 
 in correspondence on the subject with all the friends in Nova 
 Scotia above named, and with Prof Hall, that, in advance of tho 
 latter gentleman's full report, T sent to the Nova Scotia Literary 
 and Scientific Assoriation a communication, in which I referred 
 to the labours of all these gentlemen, and stated the results arrived 
 at as follows : — " At Arisaig and other places in the East, where 
 
 • Afterwards Prof. Hartt of Corntll, anil the near! of tlie Survey cf 
 Bra/.il ; a very al)le geologist, too I'arly removed by death, and who 
 worked most successfully in the geology of New Brunswick und Nova 
 iScotia. 
 
11 
 
 the older rocks come out from beneath '•he Carboniferous system, 
 we have a series of shaly and calcareous beds, consisting of two 
 members. The Uppei , and more calcareous and fossiliferous of 
 the two, is of the same age with the Lower Heldcrberg of the 
 New York geologists and the Ludlow of the English geologists. 
 The Lower, more shaly and containing Graptolites, maybe as old 
 as the Clinton, the Upper Llandovery of England." In the fol- 
 lowing sentences the occurrence of similar fossils on the East 
 River and at Earlton is indicated, and the several ages of the 
 New Canaan and Nictaux scries already stated are referred to. 
 This paper was written in the summer of 1859, and was pub- 
 lished in a Halifax newspaper, I suppose, in the winter of the 
 same year. It appears that Dr. Honoyman had previously, in 
 a paper which he calls his "debut" in writing on Nova Scotia 
 geology, and dates April, 1851), asserted the Upper Silurian age 
 of the Arisaig series, and on this ground has based very large 
 claims with reference to Nova Scotia geology. I have not a copy 
 of this paper, and do not remember its contents, if indeed I ever 
 saw it ; but on his testimony I have, both in my paper of 1860 
 and in the 2nd edition of Acadian Geology (page 5(5(5), acknow- 
 ledged his prior publication, feeling, however, that the credit ot 
 establishing the age of these rocks on a firm basis belonged to 
 Hall, and that Dr. H.'s reiterated assertion of his claims, coupled 
 with sneers at my " supposed Devonian age ' of these rocks, was, 
 to say the least, in very bad taste. In truth, what we required 
 at that time was not a mere opinion from any local geologist as 
 to the ^cje of these rocks, but a careful comparison by a palaeon- 
 tologist of the wide experience of Hall. 
 
 Here intervenes an unfortunate circumstance, on which Dr. H. 
 dilates with evident pleasure, though he perfectly well knows the 
 trno explanation of it. In the masterly description of the Pictou 
 c^'al-tiold by Logan and Hartley (Reports ol' Geological Survey, 
 18G1)), one of the most thorough geological investigations ever 
 made in Nova Scotia ; by some unexplained oversight, these 
 authors referred to the older rocks, east of the East liiver, as 
 Devonian, and gave my authority for this; althnngh in my paper 
 of 18G0 and again in 18(58 in Acadian Geology, I had described 
 these rocks as Upper Silurian. Immediately on noticing this 
 error, I mentioned it to Sir William, but this was not till after 
 the publication of the Report. The rocks in question were not 
 within the direct scope of Sir William's work at the time, and 
 
12 
 
 were merely incidentally noticed, but I know that he regretted 
 the error very much, though of course as I had, eight or nine 
 years before, abandoned all idea of ihese roiiks being Devonian, I 
 could not be blamed fur it. 
 
 Another point raised in the paper now in question, is the use 
 of the terms Upper Arisaig and Lower Arisaig, a point perhaps 
 of no great geological importance, but of some consc(|uence since 
 the abuse of those names has tended to cause confusion. Dr. H. 
 calls this a " new division introduced in the second edition of the 
 Acadian Geology, 1808," but it was really introduced in my 
 paper of I8r)9 above quoted, and this Dr. H. has himself ad- 
 mitted in the Journal of the Geological Society, vol. xx, p. 233, 
 though it seems now to have escaped his memory. The reasons 
 for this division were as follows. The term "Arisaig series" is 
 a usei'ul local name for the peculiar development ol' the Upper 
 Silurian in Eastern Nova Scotia. The results of Prof. Hall 
 showed that the fos.sils were referable to the Ciinton and Lower 
 Helderberg, without the intervention of any distiuct. representa- 
 tive of the Niagara limestone, and as the lower and upper mem- 
 bers were somewhat distinct in mineral character, it seemed the 
 most natural course to divide the series into Lower and Upper. 
 Dr. H., who had an opportunity of showing his fossils to the 
 late eminent palaiontologist Mr. Salter, gives on his authority a 
 more minute subdivision into five members. This will be I'ound 
 discussed in Acadian Geology, I trust in a fair spirit, and the 
 relations of the two arrangements pointed out. But more recently 
 Dr. H. has thought proper to change the name of the whole Ari- 
 saig series as before understood, to '• L'ppcr Arisaig," and to in- 
 clude as " Lower Arisaig " rocks which he regards as Laurentian. 
 This is objectionable, not only as interfering with established 
 and useful names, but as extending local terms to a degree which 
 no other geologist can possibly accept. It amounts in fact to 
 calling the whole Eozoic and Lower Palaeozoic by the local name 
 " Arisaig series." For these reasons I shall continue, as hereto- 
 fore, to use the terms Upper and Lower Arisaig for the subdivi- 
 sions of the Upper Silurian as represented at that place. 
 
 Another question raised in this paper relates to certain 
 rocks at Lochaher, in which Dr. H. afl&rms that he found fossils 
 of the genus Fetraia, which I had informed him belonged to the 
 genus Zaplirentis, and thereby misled him as to their age. The 
 epecimcns referred to were sent to Montreal in 18G0, along with 
 
13 
 
 a paper by Dr. H., which was read before the Natural History 
 Society, and I was requested by him to give some opinion aa to 
 their age and nature, which I did, after consulting the lute Mr. 
 Billings, !jnd added a note on the subject to Dr. H.'s paper when 
 it was published. Some time afterwards I was surprised to find 
 Mr. Salter's authority cited in direct opposition to mine, with 
 the usual flourish of trumpets as to a great mistake discovered 
 and exposed. On re-examining the fossils, which still remain in 
 my collection, I could not change my opinion of their nature ; 
 and never having had an opportunity to compare notes with my 
 poor friend Salter, one of the soundest palajontologists of our 
 time, and who has on more than one occasion done us good 
 service in determining difficult fossils, as the pages of Acadian 
 Geology show, I have not yet had any solution of the mystery, 
 and have not complained of this, though I felt that I had received 
 a poor return for an intended service. The fossils themselves 
 are however of some interest. They consist of two turbinate 
 corals from Lochaber, one from Marshy Hope, one from Doctor's 
 Brook, and one from French River, with a few other species from 
 Lochaber. These corals are in the form of mere impressions, in 
 which state it is not always easy even to distinguish genera. 
 Still, in the deep fossette, the character of the septa, and the 
 traces of the horizontal tabuhc, they all have the characters of 
 Zitplirentin rather than Petniid; except one from Lochaber, which 
 which can scarcely be anything other than a IleUnphijUnm. The 
 other fossils from Lochaber are a Stennpnra similar to one found 
 at Arisaig and East River, Strnphomnia rhomhouhtlis, an Orthis 
 resembling 0. clcgfintuln, and shells resembling Fentdmcrus and 
 Alri/pd, but not well preserved. The Znphrcntis from Doctor's 
 Brook resembles Z. Stokcst!, a species of Niagara age. That 
 from 3Larsliy Hope seems different, and in its form and deep cup 
 resembles the Z. nigulnfti of Billings from the Gaspe limestones. 
 These might fairly belong to the Lower Arisaig series, and pos- 
 sibly to the lower part nf it. The French River specimen is 
 merely a cast of the exterior and ([uite undeterminable. But the 
 Lochaber species seems different, having a shallow cup, witli deep 
 fossette, and from its association with //e/lo/thi/l/um and the 
 other fossils, I still think it probable that it belongs at least to a 
 higher horizon than that of the Lower Arisaig. Of course as I 
 have not seen the specimens submitted to Salter, T cannot expreo" 
 any opinion as to them ; but if similar to mine, I am at a loss u 
 account ^br his opinion, and as the specimens in my possessioa 
 
 i 
 
14 
 
 Beem to contradict the greater age assigned to the rocks, I have 
 not ventured to adopt that opinion — though, up to thi.s time, 
 without taking any notice of Dr. H.'s references to my supposed 
 mistukc.* 
 
 Another point in which I find I am at issue with Dr. H. is 
 the age of the great iron ore bed of " Webster's " or " Blanch- 
 ard's " on the East River of Pictou, and wliich also has been 
 traced to the eastward in Mcrigomish. This I have assigned to 
 the Lower Helderbcrg on the evidence of stratigraphy and fossils. 
 Of the latter large collections have been made by Mr. D. Fraser 
 and myself in connection with the recent explorations of these 
 ores. They appear to be of unequivocal Upper Ari&aig facics, but 
 include many new and interesting forms which I had hoped to 
 have described ere this time, but this has proved absolutely im- 
 pcssible from want of leisure. They may represent a special hori- 
 zon in the Upper Arisaig, or even between the upper and lower 
 members, or their peculiarities may be the result of local condi- 
 tions of deposit. Dr. H. seems to affirm that this iron ore is of 
 the same age with that of Nictaux, and that both are of the ago 
 of the Clinton or Medina sandstone. Neither of these positions 
 can be correct, for the fossils of the East River hematite seem 
 closely related to those of the typical Upper Arisaig series, 
 while those of the Nictaux ores are, as already shewn, newer 
 than the Ujiper Arisaig. These two great deposits of iron oro 
 are therefore not of the same age, and neither of them can be as 
 old as the Clinton. Dr. H. correlates them with the Clinton 
 ore-beds of the United States, but he omits to notice that there 
 are also ore-beds in the Helderbcrg series of that country. 
 I should not, indeed, be surprised were some of the newly 
 opened beds at Nictaux, which I have not seen, to prove of 
 Helderbcrg age, or were beds oi' Oriskany ago to be found at 
 Pictou. It is probable, however, that these ore-beds are less 
 constant than some of tiie strata associated with thom. 
 
 The remarks made by Dr. H. on the alleged Lower Silurian 
 of Wentworth, scarcely merit criticism. It is to be regretted, 
 
 * It is to ho ol)serv((i hen.' tliiit Uw relations of the gcni'ia I'ltraia 
 and Zii/i/iirnli.i ar<' not so clearly defined as tliej' should lie. Soine 
 |)ala>oiitolo{i;ists of eminence reject /V/rrnVmltogetiicr, and unite tiioHo 
 corals with Ct/athop/ii/Z/iim, and the limits of tlus genus ZaphreiUis aro 
 dilTereiitly understood by dilfennt authorities. Still there are certain 
 forms, by whatever name known, which are, in our American geology, 
 characteristic of certain formations, and it is by this indication that 
 I have bucn guided in this case. 
 
16 
 
 for his own sake, that he b us ventured to attack Mr. Billings's 
 determination of the age o'' the fossils, as he has done (p, 480), 
 and also that he has republished his section of the Wentworth 
 cutting, in which the well-known intrusive dykes of dark diabase^ 
 so abundant in the Cobcquids, figure as bedded diorites, and 
 swell the thickness of a section which is in many respects truly 
 " remarkable." I have not had an opportunity to examine Dr. 
 Honeyman's collections from Wentworth ; but those I have my- 
 self made, and those I have seeu in the Museum of the Geo''^gical 
 Survey, by no means warrant his determination of a Bala or 
 Hudson River age. This subject will be found noticed in the 
 Supplement to Acadian Geology, p. 75. 
 
 This review has extended to too great a length ; but one is 
 tempted to notice the Laurentian discoveries of the author. Dr. 
 Honcymun, when employed by Sir W. E. Logan in 1868 in ex- 
 ploring at Arisaig, examined the coast east of Malignant cove, 
 and found there the extension to the seacliflf of rocks apparently 
 identical with that old metamorphic series which I have named 
 the Cobc(iuid series. These he has described as Laurentian, and 
 quarrels with Sir W. E. Logan, Dr. Hunt and myself for failing 
 to admit this age. My own justification is, — first, that, as Dr. H. 
 admits, there is no good evidence from stratigraphy or fossils to 
 prove this gre it age ; and secondly, that after somewhat exten- 
 sive studies of Laurentian rocks, I have been unable to see any 
 resemblance between the typical rocks of this age and the stv 
 called Laurentian of Arisaig, the Cobequids and southern Cape 
 Breton. All these rocks I hold, for reasons stated in the Supple- 
 ment to Acadian Geology, to bo probably cither Lower Silurian, 
 Cambrian or Huroiiian. Dr. H. repeatedly taunts me with affirm- 
 ing these rocks, and even those of St. Anne's in Northern Capo 
 Breton, to be Devonian ; and goes so far as to relate an anecdote 
 (p. 453) which would seem to .show that so late as 18G7 he had 
 retailed this fiction to Sir Wyville Thomson, in connection with 
 epeeiniens of Eozoon stated to have been obtained in the.se rocks. 
 Lest the same practical joke should be played on other.'*, it may 
 be well to say that I have never seen anything resembling Eozoon 
 from St. Anne's, and that I am not aware of ever having supposed 
 the crystalline rocks of that promontory to be Devonian. In 
 reality, after much study of specimens, and after revisiting in 
 1877 some of the most instructive sections in Nova Scotia, I fail 
 to perceive any good lithological evidence for the Laurentian age 
 of any of the older rocks of the Province, except some of those id 
 
KMM 
 
 16 
 
 Northern Cape Bieton, and notably those of St. Anne's moun- 
 tain, which have, apparently on good grounds, been referred to 
 this uge by the late Mr. Hartley and Mr. Fletcher. 
 
 One word as to the geolor^ioal map in * Acadian Geology,' which 
 notwithstanding its imperfections, needs no apolo^, when its 
 nature as a mere preliminary and imperfect sket4zih, the result of 
 private effort and not of a regular survey, is fairly considered. 
 The materiah do not exist for a detailed map of the older forma- 
 tions of Nova Scotia. They are being slowly accumulated by the 
 labours of the Geological Survey of the Dominion; but I do not 
 expect to live to see them complete. Dr. H.'s criticisms, which 
 are so microscopic as scarcely to allow for the accidents of printing, 
 would be unfair, if applied to a map on this scale, even had I been 
 employed to make a regular survey of the country, and had many 
 years been spent iu the work. They are specially objectionable 
 when applied to a work executed without public aid ; and when 
 proceeding from a man who has enjoyed opportunities of official 
 employment not accorded to me. The time was when I had 
 hoped to have spent my life in working up the geology of my 
 native province, and more than twenty-five years ago I suggested 
 a method in which at little public expense this end miglit have 
 been secured. Had I been engaged for those years in an official 
 survey, and had the result been as incomplete as it stands at 
 present, there might have been reason for complaint. My excuse 
 for attempting a map at all, is the necessity of it in order to 
 render descriptions of local geology intelligible ; and if any apology 
 is heeded for my continuing to work in the geology of Nova 
 Scotia, I must plead my affection for my native country, and my 
 interest in its structure, which have induced me, perhaps un- 
 wisely, to prefer such work to pursuits of other kinds, in some 
 respects more tempting or more remunerative. Nor sliall I regret 
 this, even though, in my advancing years, I may receive from my 
 countrymen no other reward than that scant courtesy which they 
 extend to me through the Curator of their Provincial Museum. 
 
 NiiTK. — Sinrc writing tlic abovo, I have received Volinne " F " of 
 the Report oyf the Second Survey of Pcinnsylvania, relatinjjf to th(! 
 " Fo«sil Iron Orfl Beds " of Middle Pennsylvania. In this report, 
 bedi'.ed iron ore dej)osits are described as occuriMug in the Clinton, 
 Lower Heklerberg. (>riskaiiy, Corniferous and Mari'elliis, so that the)' ' 
 rangt;, fjB I believe the.y do in Nova Scotia, from the Middle of the • 
 Upper Silurian to the Lower Devonian incl^usive. Tlie principaVij 
 , dtffinsitft in Pi'nusylvania are in tlie Clinton, Oriskany and Alarcellus.'-^' 
 In^Jtovft. Scotia only small layers are known to me, at Arisaig-and' 
 East iliver, so low as the Clinton, and the principal deposits seem to 
 be LoVer Helderbcrg and Oriskany. The analogy is thus sufficiently 
 cl|)se,»bedH of the age of the Marcellus not having been recognisud 
 in Nova Scotia. ' . , 
 
 I have used the term "Devonian" in the above paper; but, 
 owing to the doubts and controversies respecting the Devonian rocks 
 o&England, I greatly prefer the term " Erian," derived from the great 
 development of the typical rocks of this ago on the shores of Lake Erie. 
 
 ^February, 1879. 
 
 M. 
 
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