NOTE ON THE SYDNEY COAL FIELD — GILPIN. 437 



■■opened dipping at an angle ot" about 20*^ nearly east. The course of 

 these seams, allowing for the presence of the fault as an anticlinal, 

 may bring them into range with the continuation of the LeCras 

 .seam, in which case the seams of the east side of the Uossitt Basin 

 would curve round to the eastward at McPherson's road and 

 become conformable with the measures underlying the Glace 

 Bay coal seams. If, however, the fault be present in any mag- 

 nitude then these seams would continue in a north-westerly 

 course along the east side of the fault, leaving the fteams in the 

 Cossitt Basin isolated. The increase in dip of the Murra}^ seams 

 over the normal dips hitherto observed in this vicinity maj' be 

 due to an anticlinal character here of the fault already described, 

 which may be found to pass a short distance to the south-west 

 of these seams. 



One of the problems of this coal field i.s the Trace}^ seam. This 

 bed of coal occurs very low down in the measures, man}^ feet 

 below any seam hitherto worked. It is known only at False Bay 

 between the head of Cow Bay and Mira Bay. Here, emerging 

 from the Atlantic, after a land course of about one mile it is lost 

 again in the False Bay Lake. Here it was opened and worked 

 a number of years ago, and is said to be of fair quality. The 

 extension of the outcrop of this seam into the district lying 

 between Cow Bay and Sydney has been the dream of many a 

 prospector, and has led to an expenditure of much money, pro- 

 ducing only negative evidence. The theoretical production of 

 its outcrop, as laid down by Sir William Dawson, the Geological 

 Survey and others, would bring it not far from the Murray 

 seams. The subject, while interesting geologically, is not with- 

 out a practical value, for owing to the prevailing low dips, the 

 seam would be accessible over a wide expanse of country if it 

 preserves a size admitting of economic mining. 



The identification of the Tracey seam with the Murray seams 

 .and their further identification with those of the Cossitt Basin 

 will prove an interesting subject. 



There is another point of interest in connection with the 

 Cossitt coal field. A collection of fo.ssils from one of the open- 

 ings on the LeCras seams was submitted to Sir William Dawson 



