328 GEOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE 
conglomerate at the East River more nearly resemble those of 
the coal measures of McLellan Brook than those from Permian 
rocks? But when we remember the vagaries of this method of 
classification with regard to fossils from the Millstone Grit in 
Cape Breton? and in New Brunswick,’ and the striking similarity 
of fossils from these formations both in Europe and America,* 
too much importance need not be attached to such a statement. 
Mr. R. G. Haliburton in 1867° inferred, on evidence obtained 
from explorations undertaken for the practical purpose of dis- 
covering and developing coal mines, that discoveries similar to 
those already made must soon be mad» in other directions. He 
described the Pictou coal basin as constituting two distinct 
basins, the one lying to the southward and the other to the 
northward of the conglomerate, which, according to him, under- 
lies the productive measures. But he could find no equivalents 
of the southern coal measures in the northern basin and assumes 
that they were always distinct basins, and now differ from their 
measures having been formed under different circumstances. 
On the assumption that the conglomerate was the base of a 
coal formation, the productive portion of which was concealed 
by unconformity and might be reached, a borehole was in 1876 
put down 734 feet, under the direction of Sir Win. Dawson, at 
Sutherland Point on the East River below New Glasgow. No 
such coal measures were, however, found to intervene. 
In 1893, Mr. H. S. Poole, whose intimate knowledge of 
the field is the result of many years of close observation and 
study, discussed the geological position of the New Glasgow 
Conglomerate in a paper on the Picton coal field, classifying it 
as the base of his Permian series while pointing out that it 
has an interest of a practical character in connection with the 
1 Trans. N.S. Inst. Se. Vol. X, Session 1899-1900, p. 178; Sum. Rep. Geol. Surv. 1897, 
p. 134. 
? Geol. Survey Report for 1874-75, page 192. 
5 Geo]. Sur. Can. Report for 1872-73, page 222 and subsequent reports and maps. 
* Geol. Mag., London, May 9, 1900; Acadian Geology, p. 283; Trans. N.S. Inst. Se. 
Vol X, p. 235. 
5 Trans. N.S. Inst. Se., Vol. 11, Part 1, p. 93 and Vol. II, Part 3, p. 155. 
6 Trans. N.S. Inst. Se., Ser. 2, Vol. I, Part 3, p. 240. 
