No. 5.] GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 303 



GEOLOaiCAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 



March 25th, 1874. — John Evans, Esq., F.R.S., President, in 

 the chair. The following communication was read : 



1. "On the Upper Coal-Formation of Eastern Nova Scotia 

 and Prince Edward Island, in its relation to the Per.uuin." By 

 Principal Dawson, LL.D., F.R.S., F.G.S. 



The author described the Carboniferous district of Pictou 

 county as showing the whole thickness of the Carboniferous system 

 arranged in three synclinals, the easternmost consisting of the 

 Lower series up to the Middle Coal formation, and including all 

 the known workable Coal-measures in the district, the second 

 towards the west of the middle and the lower part of the Upper 

 Coal-formation, and the third showing in its centre the newest 

 beds of the latter. On the north the bounding anticlinal of the 

 first depression brings up the New-Glasgow Conglomerate, which 

 contains boulders 3 feet in diameter, often belonging to Lower 

 Carboniferous rocks, and represents the upper part of the Mill- 

 stone-grit or the lower part of the Middle Coal-formation. The 

 author regards this as representing an immense bar or beach, 

 which protected the swamps in which the Pictou main coal was 

 formed. 



The succession of the deposits above the Conglomerate was 

 described in some detail as seen in natural sections. The Upper 

 Coal-formation, as shown in the section west of Caribou Harbour, 

 consists of, 1. Red and grey shales, and grey, red and brown 

 sandstones ; and 2. Shales, generally of a deep red colour, alter- 

 nating with grey, red and brown sandstones, the red beds be- 

 coming more prevalent in the upper part of the section. In 

 Prince Edward Island beds apparently corresponding to these 

 are found, and als ) gradually become more red in ascending. 

 These are overlain, apparently conformably, by the Trias. 



The author gave a tabular list of 47 species of plants found in 

 the Upper Coal-formation of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward 

 Island, and stated that all but about ten of these occur also in 

 the Middle Coal-formation. The number of species decreases 

 .rapidly towards the upper part of the formation ; and this is 

 especially the case in Prince Edward Island, some of the beds ia 

 which are considered by the author to be newer than any of 



