124 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [mAR. 28, 



white, has every appearance of stalagmitic growth, and fades 

 imperceptibly into quartz. In some few instances the quartz 

 crystals terminate with chalcedony coating on them. The sides 

 of the prismatic faces i are striated and have all the unevenness 

 of having been made up of crystalline plates. The hollow 

 crystals themselves are usually made up of six flat individuals so 

 systematically arranged as to leave the centre hollow, the whole 

 being often one distinct crystal. Many of the crystals are 

 terminated with the pyramid face R only; I when present is 

 usually very small and only slightly developed. Some, however, 

 have both R and I. In general appearance they resemble the 

 amethyst of Schemnitz, Hungary. 



The figures were all carefully drawn and are of the natural 

 size. In this connection it may be mentioned that from near 

 Crouch's Mill, Gaultney's township, Alexander Co., North 

 Carolina, the writer obtained a beautiful group of quartz radiat- 

 ing from one of these chalcedonic nuclei, and forming a com- 

 plete flower that measured seven centimetres across. None of 

 these crystals, however, were hollow. To Mr. J, G, Heistand. 

 I am indebtei for information concerning the locality. 



President J. S. Newberry read a paper on 



THE FAUNA AND FLORA OF THE TRIAS OF NEW JERSEY AND 

 THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY. 



(Abstract. ) 



The Triassic rocks of New Jersey and the Connecticut Valley 

 were laid down in estuaries that in Triassic times indented the 

 east coast of North America. Being surrounded by land and 

 having no great depth of water, these basins were for the most 

 part filled with the wash from the surrounding shores, gravel, 

 sand, and clay. In the New Jersey basin the water was never 

 clear and deep enough for limestone to form, but in the Con- 

 necticut valley, locally a few feet of limestone are contained in 

 the Triassic rocks, a record of an interval when the water was 

 deeper and more pure. 



Tides probably swept up and down these estuaries, sorting 

 and transporting the sediments and giving alternations of clay 



