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^OVA SCOT/4

PROVINCE HOUSE

"■^«:SM"W

^'^O

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*;' '-■''

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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