168 Macfarlane on the Primitive Formations 



exist. May they soon be appreciated, and taken advantage of, 

 as they deserve. 



These crystalline rocks in the Eastern Townships are re- 

 garded by the Geological Survey of Canada, as a meta- 

 morphosed portion of the Quebec group, which belongs to the 

 inferior part of the Lower Silurian series. This view of their age 

 coincides somewhat with that of Keilhau, relative to the similar 

 formation around Trondhjem, which according to him " appears, 

 through transitions, to stand in intimate connection with the 

 fossiliferous Silurian strata." 



In the foregoing, I have endeavoured to compare in their pe- 

 trographical and economic relations, the three groups of rocks 

 mentioned at the commencement of this paper. It was not 

 originally my intention to pursue the subject farther than this ; 

 but seeing that the comparison which I have endeavoured to in- 

 stitute would be incomplete without some reference to the mutual 

 geological relations of these groups in Norway, I oflfer the follow- 

 ing remarks before concluding. 



The oldest of these groups is the Primitive Gneiss formation. 

 This at least was the opinion of the older geologists, such as Nau- 

 mann, Keilhau and others, who specially studied the saviour 

 Scandinavian formations, but Kjerulf and Dahll, to whose re- 

 searches I have yet to refer, have lately declared themselves op- 

 posed to this view. According to Keilhau, the gneiss formation 

 of Kongsberg and of Flesberg, is, to the east of these districts, con- 

 formably overlaid by the Tellemarken quartzose group, into the 

 rocks of which the gneiss forms a gradual transition. The same 

 relations are described by Keilhau, as occurring at other points 

 of junction, and he concludes that the Tellemarken quartzose 

 group is to be regarded as filling up a very broad depres- 

 sion in the underlying gneiss formation. The quartzose group 

 is not found in contact with any of the schistose series described, 

 but the analogous quartzose group of Alten and Quaenanger is 

 overlaid conformably by the mica schist rocks of Trorasen and 

 Senjen. The relations of the latter to the DovreQeld slates are 

 unknown, for wherever the last mentioned come in contact with 

 strata belonging to the primitive gneiss formation, both the 

 quartzose and mica schist groups are absent, and the slates 

 of Dovrejeld rest conformably on the gneissoid strata. On 

 the other hand, these Dovrejeld slates form a continuous transi- 

 tion, through less and less crystalline slates, grey wa eke slates, and 



