014 THE OIL-FIELDS OF EASTERN CANADA. — ELLS. 



of the experts maiiitainiug its asplialtic nature. Subsequent 

 investigation has clearly shewn that this early decisio'n of the 

 court was erroneous, and it has long since been establislied that 

 Albert it©, as tihe mineral was called, is merdy an altered 

 })etroleum. 



The Albert shales were for many years regarded as a part of 

 the Lower Carboniferous formation, purely on the evidence of 

 certain fossils, cbiefly the remains of fishes. The detailed in- 

 vestigations of 1876, however, shewed them to unconformably 

 underlie the lowest known Lower Carbo'niferous sediments, and 

 they are now generally held to form the upper part of the 

 Devonian system. 



The peculiar feature of these Devonian shales is the pres- 

 ence of bituminous matter throughout their whole extent. 

 While the great bulk of these sediments are shales, beds of 

 sandstone and limestone also occur as a part of the series, and 

 both, are also highly bituminous. Interstratified beds of a tough, 

 blackish and massive shale also occur, which break with a 

 roughly conchoidal fracture and contain a much higher per- 

 centage of bitumen than the shales of the ge'neral mass, which 

 are often thin-bedded. 



The source of all this bituminous matter is somewhat obscure ; 

 for while according to strict orthodoxy the contained bitumen 

 is supposed to be derived from organic matter contained in the 

 mass of the rock itself, and while in certain layers the remains 

 of fossil fishes are fairly abundant and occasiionally the tnaces of 

 plant life are visible, the proportion of fossiliferous strata, as 

 compared with the gTeat body of bituminous shales, is very 

 insignifica'nt. 



The bands of rich oil-shale are sometimes styled Cannelite. 

 They are occasionally grey in colour l)ut for the most part are a 

 blackish-brow'n. They are clearly a portion of the series, 

 occurring as regular beds. At the old Albert mines, which 

 were near the eastern end of the Caledonia mountain, a very 



