41 



place, but great have been the changes as regards vegetation 

 and animal life. Whole orders and genera have become 

 extinct, their place being taken by totally new forms ; and 

 the huge animals of the past are rej^laced by a lesser-sized 

 race of descendants. 



From the absence of marine deposits being associated 

 with the strata of this period, it is inferred that the land had 

 not suffered an immersion by the sea since that time. 

 Everything j^oints to the sedimentary deposits having a 

 freshwater origin. 



The fruits that have been discovered are of the most 

 value, as they serve to indicate the natural order to which 

 they severally belong. And so, with this knowledge before 

 us, we can form some idea of the kind of forest that once 

 flourished on this continent in those early times. 



Already can be shown that there once grew specimens of 

 the natural order Conifer, by the finding of the seed-vessel 

 Spo7idylostrobus Smythii ; of the order Magnoliacece, by the 

 finding of Illicites astrocarpa ; Sajjindacece, by Wilkinsonia, 

 hilaminata ; and other orders, as Menispermece, as well as 

 ferns, etc. And to show that they have as well a more 

 practical value, it has been observed that auriferous strata 

 are associated with the Spondylostrohus Smythii, and also 

 with another fossil fruit, Pentenne Clarlcei. The finding, 

 then, of either of these fossils ought to encourage the gold- 

 seeking miner to further efforts, as most probably success 

 would not be far off. 



It is singular, and of much interest, that a fossil fruit, 

 something similar to the Pentenne Clarlcei, was found by the 

 late lamented Morton Allport at Geilston Bay, Tasmania, in 

 tertiary travertin. A further search in the neighbourhood 

 might lead to the discovery of the source whence this one 

 came, as probably it was washed there from some distance 

 during the Pliocene period, when this bed was being formed ; 

 for should, upon sinking a shaft, a drift or bed be found 

 containing these fossils, I should not at all be surprised to 

 hear of it being discovered to be auriferous. 



As yet no flowers have been found, probably from their 

 having perished before leaving indehble impressions of their 

 forms. Even the more resisting leaves are not perfectly pre- 

 served, as can be seen in these specimens ; and soon after 

 exposure to the air, when brought up from below, unless 

 artificially preserved, they soon begin to crumble into dust. 



The leaves, or what is left of them, are generally found 

 •embedded in the clay in successive layers, as if they had 

 been gently strewn while being covered uj) by the argillaceous 

 ■deposit. They all present the same soft thin delicate 



