o 



69 



only the head and bill were left. I found several dead sheep, but noth- 

 ing seemed to have touched them. Probably hawks frequent the place. 



" Green Island is about the size of ' George's Island ' in Halifax har- 

 bor, and is almost round in shape, being, however, a little longer in its 

 east and west diameter than in that running north and south. It is com- 

 posed of a blue slate rock thickly barred with grayish veins, and cov- 

 ered with a light, brown, turfy soil. A good deal of grass grows on the 

 place — hence its name. And there is a small pond of half stagnant 

 rain-wator on the top of it in a little valley, bordered with the wild flag. 

 Not a tree or shrub grows on it. The only flowers I saw were the flag 

 blossoms, white violets, and a small plant with a leaf like that of the 

 wild rose and a blossom like the buttercup. The rock of which the 

 island is composed is fireproof, and is the same as that at the ' Raggeds,* 

 — some scattered islets and points lying about northwest from Green 

 Island, and near Lunenburrj. 



" I had not time to examine the shore for shells as thoroughly as I 

 wished, as the men were pressed for time ; but I fear the sea soon 

 smashes all that are washed ashore, as the beach is more than half com- 

 posed of small fragments of shells. Large masses of stone are to be 

 seen, which have evidently been split off by the frost, but the rock 

 not being liable, like granite, to disintegrate by rain, retains its square 

 shape." 



The following is the full report on the subject referred 

 to by Mr. Marcou at the preceding meeting : — 



ON THE PRIMORDIAL FAUNA AND THE TACONIC SYSTEM, BY 

 JOACHIM BARRANDE ; WITH ADDITIONAL NOTES, BY JULES 

 MARCOU. 



The discovery of Paradoxides Harlani at Braintree, and that 

 of Paradoxides Bennetti and Conocephalites at St. Mary's Bay, 

 Newfoundland, in slates until then regarded as Azoic and placed 

 among the crystalline and primary rocks, show plainly that the 

 Primordial fauna is represented also on the Atlantic coast of 

 North America. These are not isolated facts, but rather two 

 landmarks showing the existence of strata occupying an impor- 

 tant place in the system of stratified rocks. 



In a letter dated Paris, 29th May, 1860, M. Barrande 

 says : — 



" If you see Prof. W. B. Rogers I beg you to thank him for his three 

 beautiful photographs of Paradoxides Harlani (Green,) which he was 



PROCEEDINGS B. S. N. H. VOL. VII. 24 DECEMBER, 1860 



