Aslibiirncr.] OoU [Fob. 16, 



of its existence could be found, althougli some parts of tlie slate itself 

 seem to be slis^btly carbonaceous. Tbe wliolr- member is quite argillaceous 

 and contains a great deal of oxide of iron, wbich, on weathering, renders 

 the surfaces of the strata of a dull brown color. 



3. The loicer member, or Conglomerate proper is for the upper ten feet 

 composed of (No. 24.5) hard, massive, gray sandstone ; the surfaces are 

 very much coated with iron, and the layers contain a great many floral 

 impressions (lepidodendra, calamites and sigillaria). 



The remaining 70 feet of this member consists (in the upper part) of a 

 hard, massive, gray and white sandstone and conglomerate, the latter pre- 

 dominating toward the central part, where the pebbles are larger. In the 

 lower part there is less conglomerate, the sandstone becoming dark gray 

 and flaggy and containing micaceous specks. 



A careful stud}^ of the section reveals some very sharp horizons between 

 sandstone, shale and slate, and coal and sandstone, conveying tlie idea of 

 sudden and great changes of the conditions attending the deposit. 



In Clinton county, in north central Pennsylvania, I have measured the 

 conglomerate (probably lower member) and found it only 25 feet thick. 

 To the soutli-west of Broad Top the series expands very rapidl}-, the expan- 

 sion taking place in the middle member. At Pottsville No. XII is 1030' 

 thick. 



On the Kanawha River, in Raleigh Co. West Virginia, Prof. W. M. 

 Fontaine reports the following section (Silliman's Journal, April, 1876) : 



Upper conglomerate 150 to 200 feet thick. 



Kanawha coal series (Fontaine's New River Series), composed of sand- 

 stones, shales and slates, C(mtaining nine seams of coal, whose aggregate 

 thickness is 20 feet. The coals occur in the centre and toward the top of 

 the series. Thickness 967 feet. 



Lower conglomerate, thickness 80 feet. 



The thickness of the upper and lower members at Broad Top and on 

 the Kanawha River is the same, while the middle (coal-bearing strata) 

 on the Kanawha is 24 times thicker than the same series at Broad Top. 



A number of years ago Prof. Lesley reported on two workable beds of 

 coal in Montgomery county, Virginia, and his discovery of more than a 

 dozen coal beds along the western flank of Peak Mountain in Wythe County, 

 in No. X. and named the coal series after the New River. This name, 

 takes precedency of Prof. Fontaine's name of New River, applied in recent 

 publications, to the Conglomerate coal series, of No. XII which Mr. Les- 

 ley therefore proposes to call the Kanawha River series. 



No. XI. Mduch Chunk ( Umbral) red shale. 



Upper member (shales and sandstones) 243 to 232 910' 



Middle " (mountain limestone) 231 to 221 49' • 1100' 



Lower " (shales and sandstones) 220 to 213 141' 



1. The upper member is made up of red shales and sandstones, with alter- 

 nations of gray, flaggy sandstone and shale. Its upper limit is well-defined 

 by a gray mottled carbonate of iron, No 243, which, along its out-crop has 



