36 L. W. BAILEY ON THE SILURIAN 
some of the other localities which have been referred to above, more particularly those of 
Square Lake and Temiscouata, with the hope that some additional light might be thrown 
upon these points. The results of the comparisons thus made seem to him to be of suf- 
ficient interest to justify their presentation here. 
In order to understand these comparisons, some further reference is necessary to the 
Beccaguimic region. Briefly stated, the conditions here seen are about as follows. In the 
bed of the North Branch stream, just above Shaw’s Mills, are a few exposures of dark grey 
siliceous slates, having a nearly vertical dip, which are here and there capped by brownish 
red conglomerates, in a nearly horizontal position, and through which ridges of the slate 
project irregularly. From observations elsewhere made in the vicinity it seems certain 
that the bulk of these conglomerates are of Lower Carboniferous age, though Some, which 
are harder and of somewhat different aspect, appear to be older, and may be Silurian. 
A little higher up siliceous slates again appear, but these now contain calcareous bands, 
from which, in 1879, Mr. Matthew succeeded in obtaining a number of small shells, 
chiefly of a species of Leptæna (allied to L. decipiens of Billings), as well as others apparently 
of the genera Lingulella, Strophomena and Discina, to which later collections, made by 
myself, Mr. W. McInnes and Mr. W. T. Reed, have added several, though fragmentary, 
specimens of the trilobite genus Harpes. There can be but little question that these beds 
are of Cambro-Silurian age, either Trenton or lower, and they tend to confirm the view so 
long entertained that this is the real age of a part at least of the great bands of slates 
and quartzites which constitute so marked a feature in the geology of this part of New 
Brunswick. 
Passing now to the hills which, at a distance of a few rods only to the north, over- 
look the valley at this point, we meet with strata of a widely different character. Among 
these is a band of grey conglomerates and grits, in which are contained numerous frag- 
ments of black siliceous slate and quartzite, apparently identical with that of the beds in 
the valley below, cemented by a calcareous paste, in which, as observed by Mr. Matthew, 
are contained numerous encrinal fragments. These conglomerates, which at a short dis- 
tance to the north are followed by heavy beds of limestone, are regarded as the base of the 
Silurian system, and, with the associated limestones, containing numerous fossils, have 
been traced for considerable distances through the adjacent country. A ridge of these 
conglomerates crosses the North Branch valley three miles above Shaw’s Mills (their high 
inclination being again strongly contrasted with that of the red Lower Carboniferous con- 
glomerates near by), but between these points are other beds which give further interest 
to the exposures of this vicinity. These consist of a series of sandstones and slates, of 
which the former are often grey, purple or chocolate-brown in colour and in aspect not 
at all unlike some portions of the Lower Carboniferous formation, while the slates are 
dark-grey and black. Both are fossiliferous, but in the sandstones the fossils are few, 
consisting of scattered relics of Crinoids, Orthocerata, and Brachiopods, mostly frag- 
mentary, while the shales on the other hand, at Jeast in certain layers, abound in the 
remains of Graptolites. These were at first believed by Mr. Matthew to contain 
diprionidial forms, but, in larger collections subsequently made, none of the latter could 
be detected, while a further study of the adjacent district confirmed the idea that both the 
slates and sandstones were of the same age as the gray conglomerates, and all Silurian. 
It only remains to state, with further reference to this region, that here and there 
