STEVENSON— INTERRELATIONS OF FOSSIL FUELS. 63 



conglomerate. Silicified stems of trees and of bamboo-like plants 

 were observed in many beds. On top of a small table-land in 

 western Queensland, H. Y. L. Brown discovered a grove of fossil 

 stumps standing erect. Thirteen are large, the greatest diameter 

 being 4 feet and the usual height is 4 feet 6 inches. Many of the 

 stumps are hollow and fragments lie in all directions. " The matrix 

 having been denuded, they stand as evidence of how trees have 

 degenerated in size in this part of the country since Cretaceous 

 times." 



The features of this formation throughout are those of a vast 

 flood plain, subject to frequent overflow and to frequent changes 

 in direction of drainage. As one should expect, the coal deposits 

 of the Desert Sandstone are lenses of moderate extent and com- 

 mercially unimportant. Within the Cooktown region, seams were 

 seen 6 and 15 inches thick; the bottom of the latter is crowded with 

 quartz granules. The coal is worthless; four samples from the 

 Cooktown region gave 9.65, 19.02, 30.20 and 36.53 per cent, of 

 ash. The coals vary from semi-bituminous to high-grade bitumi- 

 nous, though in the description of this region, no reason for this dif- 

 ference appears. Pellets of coal were seen frequently in rocks 

 associated with the coal. 



The Rolling Downs formation is mostly marine, with inter- 

 calated deposits, which may be of fresh-water origin. The higher 

 rocks on the Upper Flinders River contain bands of ferruginous 

 sandstone with markings which are suggestive of reptilian foot- 

 prints. Farther up the river are thick-bedded sandstones, with grits, 

 pebbly grits and conglomerates. These hold coal seams, one of 

 which is in five benches with 22 inches of coal and a total thickness 

 of 4 feet 9 inches. Other but thinner seams were seen in this 

 neighborhood. The coal is very good and cakes. Near Winton, 

 borings have passed through some seams of coal, but all are thin, 

 none exceeding 2 feet, and the coal in the several seams varies, the 

 ash being from 4.58 to 20.34 per cent. Some seams, 3 feet thick, 

 have been observed elsewhere in Queensland, but they are merely 

 lenses, marking sites of swamps occupying depressions in sandy 

 river plains. 



Identifiable remains of plants are rare in the Queensland Cre- 



