78 BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 



As far back as 1838 Dr. A. Gesner, in the reports of the 

 Provincial Survey, speaks of the great quantities of vol- 

 canic rock in New Brunswick, and continually emjDhasizes 

 the importance of igneous outbursts in the southern part 

 of the province. He appears to have considered these 

 eruptions as geologically recent, for he connects them with 

 the earthquakes and changes of level within historic 

 times, and considers that " the lofty mountain, the verti- 

 cal cliff, the foaming cataract, the rude outline, and other 

 sublime features of the district," are to be attributed "to 

 the earthquake and the volcano." lie figures in the 

 second report some supposed volcanic cones, of remark- 

 able perfection, considering that they are of pre-Cambrian 

 age. However, his general ideas as to the character of 

 the rocks were correct enough, considering the time of 

 writing. 



The Dominion Survey from 1868 to 1888 (?) confirmed 

 the early views as to the character of these rocks, show- 

 ing the eruptives to be very widely distributed through 

 the province, and to be in part of very early age. It was 

 accompanied by accurate maps constructed on a scale of 

 four miles to the inch. 



From the pre-Cambrian down to the Triassic, New 

 Brunswick must have been the seat of great, though in- 

 termittent, volcanic activity. Rocks known to be eruptive 

 cover a considerable part of the superficial area, and their 

 thickness is locally enormous. It is probable that they 

 underlie a large area now covered by sedimentary strata. 



The oldest rocks in the province are the highly meta- 

 morphic gneisses, schists, and limestones, forming the 

 so-called Laurentian. These are entirely sedimentary, 

 showing no trace of contemporaneous volcanic activity. 

 With them are associated large areas of granite, some of 

 which are certainly, and many more probably, intrusive.. 



