76 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria. 



For the geological features of the Table Cape beds we are 

 indebted to Mr. R, M. Johnston, who has given full details in 

 his papers contributed to the Royal Society of Tasmania, yet 

 when writing these papers he was in no wise certain as to the 

 coiTect age to which they should be assigned. 



In 1876* Mr. Johnston was of the opinion that sufficient was 

 not then known of either the living or extinct forms, and on that 

 account any attempt at classification would be premature and 

 misleading. 



In 18791 Mr. Johnston states : — "Of the testacea only about 

 five per cent, are known to exist. This continual lessening of 

 the percentage of living to extinct forms as our knowledge 

 increases is most significant. According to the principle which 

 has been adopted by Mr. Lyell, and through him by nearly all 

 the English geologists, this low percentage of living representa- 

 tives indicates rather more an eocene than a miocene age for 

 our marine beds at Table Cape." 



In 18841 the same author remarks : — " If we are not prepared 

 to reject the percetitage method in the determination of the 

 great divisions of the tertiary period, we must assuredly refer 

 the Tal)le Cape beds not to the miocene^ but to the eocene or 

 " early dawn " of the tertiary period in Australia. Also: "The 

 investigations carried on by Professor Tate and other indefatig- 

 able workers since that time [1879] have placed this matter 

 beyond all reasonable doubt, and now there is every reason to 

 believe that the Table Cape beds, with their Australian equiva- 

 lents, ma)'k the earliest dawn of the eocene period in Australia." 



Yet following this, in 1887,!^ and again in 1 888, || Mr. Johnston 

 seems to have had some misgivings, as he apparently could not 

 then see his way clear to adopt any more definite classification 

 for the Tasmanian tertiaries than that indicated by the introduc- 

 tion of such terms as paheogene and neogene. 



From the percentage of living species herein stated it can, I 

 think, be seen that we cannot do otherwise than regard these 

 beds as of eocene age. I ara also of the opinion that further 

 investigation of the fauna of these beds will tend rather to lower 



* Proc. Roy. .Soc. Tas., 1876, p. 89. t Op. c!t., 1879, pp. 86, 87. 



: Op. cit. 1884, p. 224. § Op. cit., 1887, p. 135 et xeq. 



I Geolog'.v of Tasmania, p. 208 et .<C7. 



