92 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. ix. 



My object in making these remarks on Canadian Stratigraphy 

 is to eliminate, as far as possible, from Mr. Selwyn's paper, the 

 facts upon which he bases his conclusions, and to examine how 

 far the latter are new, or acceptable. Mr. Selwyn in referring to 

 the opinions of those wbo have gone before him in the study of 

 Quebec rocks, asserts that '-most of these opinions have been ad- 

 " vanced on palaeontological, mineralogical or theoretical grounds, 

 " without any study of the actual stratigraphy of the field." 

 Indeed, he has expressed himself to the efi"ect that his views are 

 the result of a careful examination and mapping of the strati- 

 graphy, while those of myself and others are the results of either 

 mineralogical or palasontological comparisons, the former of which 

 especially he supposes to be very misleading. From theses utter- 

 ances, and from the very excellent opportunities which we know 

 Mr. Selwyn possesses for making observations in the field, we are 

 entitled to expect to find in his memoir a careful description of 

 the new facts and data which have influenced his opinions, and 

 these I shall endeavour to point out. We must, however, dis- 

 tinguish betwixt these and Mr. Selwyn's general geological descrip- 

 tions, and also try to ascertain whether they involve negligence or 

 inaccuracy on the part of previous observers. 



I. Among these newly observed phenomena is that having 

 reference to the Champlain and St. Lawrence fault. " The line of 

 "this dislocation," says Mr. Selwyn, "or unconformity — which- 

 " ever it may be — has been supposed to pass in rear of the Quebec 

 " citadel. This I hold to be a mistake, and I think it can be dis- 

 " tinctly shewn that it passes from the southwest end of the Island 

 " of Orleans, under the river, and between Point Levis and Que- 

 bec." To an ordinary observer the rocks underneath th^ city 

 and citadel of Quebec bear a much greater resemblance to the 

 contorted strata of Point Levis than to the even-bedded shales 

 and limestones which generally occur on the northwest side oi 

 the fault. But, after all, even if the fact be as Mr. Selwyn 

 states, he will probably admit that this is not of the slightest 

 importance so far as regards the correctness of his theoretical 

 views. 



II. Mr. Selwyn places on record the results of an actual exami- 

 nation of certain supposed Potsdam rocks, described in the Sur- 

 vey Report for 1866-9, and has not observed anything in their 

 architecture or fossils to justify their separation from the L^vis 

 formation. This is quite an important fact, of which I shall 



