THE PICTOU COAL FIELD — POOLE. 279 



mill and the Middle river. Red haematite is a prominent con- 

 stituent of the unconformable red conglomerate on Sutherland's 

 river above the mouth of McLean's brook, where it is sufficiently 

 abundant to cause the question to be asked, would it pay to 

 work ? The basal part of the bed below Angus Robertson's barn 

 carries the greatest number of ore pebbles and even of small 

 boulders six inches in diameter. This bed rests on Lower Car- 

 boniferous. It extends westward across McLean's brook and it 

 may be a severed extension of the bed that skirts north of the 

 Vale coal lease from McGlashen's farm eastward to the high 

 lands behind Barton's on Olden's road.^^^ 



The strata overlying the conglomerate are, with the exception 

 of the till, the highest in the lield. They are comparatively 

 little disturbed. Sir W. Logan^-^ gives those immediately above 

 the conglomerate on the top of Eraser's mountain in a sec- 

 tion, beginning with 20 feet of grey limestone which has been 

 quarried for burning, and ending with LS inches of good coal and 

 three feet of black shale which was at one time used for burning 

 the limestone. The dip is given as N. IS"" E. 47" and belief is 

 expressed that the same series can be recognized on Small's 

 brook three miles to the eastward where the dip is deflected to 

 due N. 9°. 



Westward on the East river the measures immediately over- 

 lying the conglomerate are concealed, but on the left bank 39 

 chains below the bridge and 50 yards below the last exposure 

 of conglomerate there are near a spring fragments of the agglom- 

 erated and botryoidal limestones peculiar to this horizon. They 

 prove the continuation of the same series also westward, and at 

 this point under the white fine bedded sandstones'^' and succeed- 

 ing deposits of which as the river is descended numerous exposures 

 are noticeable. The inclination of the strata is northward at 

 right angles N. 25° E. 5° undulating in parts and possibly re- 

 peated, traversed by few faults they are nowhere uptilted in mass. 



When in 1860 there was a general exploration for coal and oil 

 bearing shales pits were put down at Sinclair's cove,^"*) at the 



(1) Fletcher Geol. Snr. Vol. IV, 86: 69, 92, '97 P. 



(2) Geol. Report 1869, p. 14. 



(3) Losran, 1869, p. 15. 



(4) Trans. March 1S63, p. 9 ; also H. Poole, Canadian Naturalist, August 1860. 



