1892. ] NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 97 
except some fragments of lignite, had been foundin them. Neverthe- 
less, nearly every geologist who had occasion to study the region 
recognized what the probabilities were and concluded that the strata 
must be of cretaceous age and that they underlay the entire area 
mentioned, 
On April 4, 1881, Dr. N. L. Britton read a paper before this 
Academy, entitled ‘‘The Geology of Richmond County, N. Y.” 
This was published in the Annals, vol. ii, No. 6, and in it the pre- 
diction was made that cretaceous clays would be found beneath the 
drift to the south of the archzan ridge wherever this drift might be 
removed. In regard to organic remains, I quote as follows from 
Dr. Britton’s paper: ‘‘ No fossil leaves or shells have been taken 
from the clays of Staten Island, but it is not improbable that they 
will be found when the excavations are more advanced than at pre- 
sent.” All geologists agreed practically with these views, and the 
failure to discover any fossil] marine organisms in the clays, either 
on Staten Island or in the adjacent New Jersey beds, was consid- 
ered as an indication that these clays had been deposited in fresh 
water, especially when coupled with the presence of land plant 
remains. ; 
Facts have been slowly coming to light, however, and especially 
during the past five months important discoveries relating to the 
subject have been made. Most of these were recorded by me in 
the Proceedings of the Natural Science Association of Staten Island, 
and by Dr. Britton in the Transactions of this Academy, bat their 
full importance has never been discussed. 
Following is a brief review of the sequence of these discoveries, 
which will be of value as a prelude to the consideration of the de- 
tails in connection with them :— 
In June, 1883, a single cast of a large shell was found by Mr. Wm. 
T. Davis on the surface of a sandy cultivated field at Tottenville. 
It was identified by Prof. R. P. Whitfield as Pachycardium Bur- 
lingtonense, Whitfield. Its significance was not realized, however, 
and it was regarded as most likely to be an accidental estray. 
In November of the same year, while in company with Dr. Brit- 
ton, I found on the shore of Tottenville a few blocks or concretions 
of ferruginous sandstone containing imperfect impressions of vege- 
table remains, evidently similar to specimens previously found at 
Glen Cove, Long Island,-and Keyport, N. J. The identity of these 
was at once noted by Dr. Britton and Prof. J. S. Newberry, by 
whom they were declared, almost with certainty, to be of cretaceous 
age. 
In November, 1885, fossil vegetable remains, consisting of leaves, 
fruit, lignite, and amber, were found in one of the clay beds at 
Kreischerville. They were too fragmentary for determination, but 
were apparently identical with similar remains from the Amboy 
clays. 
During the autumn of 1888 a piece of ferruginous sandstone con- 
taining impressions of leaves was found at Arrochar by Mr. Gilman 
