THE OIL-FIELDS OK KASTEKX CANADA.— ELLS. 611 



In the flat country lying- east of Lake St. Peter, wliicli is an 

 ■expansion of the St. Lawrence between Montreal and Quebec, 

 boring operations have been carried on for more than twenty 

 years, some of the holes being sunk to depths of more than 

 1000 feet. The rocks of the district in which the borings have 

 been made belong to the Lorraine and Medina formations, 

 Avhich lie in a comparatively flat basin extending across the St. 

 Lawrence westward. Though natural gas in considerable quan- 

 tity has been found, this has not yet assumed large commercial 

 im2>ortance, but no petrolemn has yet been met with. 



Li ISTova Scotia, rocks supposed to be oil-bearing occur at 

 several places. Probably the most important area of these is 

 found in Cape Breton on the shores of Lake Ainslie, where 

 attempts have been made for a number of years to find petro- 

 leum in quantity by boring. Here, as in Gaspe, the indications 

 of rock-oil are observed in the form of springs and oozings, 

 which escajje from shales along the lake shore. 



The ro<:-ks consist of shales and sandstone, generally of grey 

 or greenish shades, which contain plant stems and fucoids. 

 They have been classed provisionally as Lower Carboniferous, 

 but as they clearly underlie the lowest known rocks of this 

 formation it would seem more fitting to include them, on 

 stratigraphical evidence, as a part of the Devonian series. They 

 correspond closely i'n character and position with those rocks 

 which are regarded as of the Devonian age elsewhere in this 

 province and in Xew Brnnswick. 



Attempts to obtain oil by boring were commenced on the 

 east side of this lake half a century ago ; but though many holes 

 have teen put down, S(jme of \\-liich reached a depth of 3000 

 feet, these have as yet been unsuccessful in finding oil in 

 quantity. As in Gaspe and elsewhere, the strata are usually 

 much broken up and inclined at high angles, with a well marked 

 faulted structure in places. This feature is pointed out by Dr. 

 I. C. White, of Virginia, in his report on the probable oc- 



