95 



some fossil leavefj and fragments of wood were found in the upper 

 divisions (E. F. and Gr.,) also one or two obscure organisms in the middle 

 conglomerates (E.,) but these last may have been derived from the 

 underlying Middle Shales, or Division D. 



The fossils, as a I'ule, are remarkably well preserved, but as they are 

 nearly always much softer than the hard and tough matrix in which they 

 are imbedded, it is difficult to hammer them out without breaking them. 

 By far the largest number of species from any one locality, and the most 

 perfect specimens, were collected by Mr, Richardson in 1874 and 1875 

 from the south-west side of the largest island of the Sucia group, in 

 Washington Territory. These islands, however, as already mentioned, 

 are situated within the limits of the N'anaimo Coal-field, and many of 

 the species found in them occur also on Yancouver or on other islands in 

 the Strait of Georgia. 



In a paper read before the Geological Societ}' of London in April, 

 1861,* and since printed in its proceedings, Dr. Hector says: "Some 

 fossils transmitted to the Jermyn Street Museum many years ago " from 

 Vancouver Island " were first rightly recognised by the late Professor 

 E. Forbes, as being Cretaceous," f but as far as the writer has been able 

 to ascertain, no statement to that effect was ever published by Forbes. 

 Mr. F. B. Meek appears to have been the first palaeontologist who 

 published specific descriptions of fossils from this part of the Vancouver 

 Cretaceous. His earliest paper on the subject appeared in 1857, and 

 from that year to the close of 1876, thirty-four species of mollusca from 

 these rocks have been described either by Mr. Meek, Dr. B. F. Shumard, 

 or Mr. W. M. Gabb. The following are the titles of the papers in which 

 these descriptions are to be found, with references to the publications in 

 which they appeared : — 



1857. Meek, F. B — " Descriptions of New Organic Remains from the Cretaceous 

 Rocks of Vancouver Island." Transactions of the Albany Institute, Vol. IV., pp. 37-49. 



Twenty species of mollusca from Nanaimo are characterised in this paper. 



1858. Shumard, Dr. B. F. — " Descriptions of New Fossils from the Tertiary 

 formations of Oregon and Washington Territories and the Cretaceous of Vancouver's 

 Island, collected by Dr. John Evans, U. S. Geologist, under instructions from the 

 Department of the Interior." Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis, 

 VolL, pp. 120-125. 



Three of the species are from Nanaimo. 



* " On the Geology of the Country between Lake Superior and the Pacific Ocean (between the 48th 

 and 54th parallels of latitude), visited by the Government Exploring Expedition under the command of 

 Captain J. Palliser. By James Hector, M. D." — Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. Lend., Vol. XVII, pp. 388-445, 



t Do. p. 429. 



