AMERICAN GEOLOGISTS AND NATURALISTS. 65 



and its deposition in a series of northwest-dipping planes. As 

 gi-eatly favoring this view he mentioned the fact generally ob- 

 served in this belt throughout Virginia, that the strata become 

 steeper in their inclination as we proceed towards the northwest ; 

 whereas, the reverse should have been expected from a force tilt- 

 ing them from a horizontal or gently inclined position into the 

 present northwestern dips. This opinion he conceived, was still 

 further confirmed by the appearance of the strata in some parts 

 of the district, where, in consequence of the removal of the sedi- 

 mentary rocks from a narrow space entu'ely across the tract, he 

 was able to trace the beds from their outcrop nearly to the bottom 

 of the trough in which they were deposited. In this case he 

 found the inclination of the beds to continue unchanged down- 

 wards, instead of becoming more gently inclined towards the 

 bottom, as might be expected on the hypothesis of an originally 

 horizontal position with a subsequent uptilting movement. 



JVIr. Redfield spoke of fossil rain-marks of a very perfect char- 

 acter which he had observed with Mr. Lyell, at the quarries of 

 new red sandstone near Newark, N. J. He also gave notice of 

 the discovery of a new 'species of fossil footmark in the new red 

 sandstone of Connecticut. The specimen which he had seen 

 was found in the well-known quarries at Portland, (formerly 

 Chatham,) by Mr. Russell, one of the proprietors, and is now in 

 the possession of Dr. Barratt of Middletown. These footmarks 

 are wholly unlike the Ornithichnites described by Prof. Hitchcock, 

 some of which have been found in the same quarries ; but they 

 have some little resemblance to the CJieirotherium minus, which 

 is figured in the BuUetin of the Geological Society of France. 



Mr. Redfield also exhibited a new species of fossil fish from 

 Sunderland, Mass.. which seems referable to the genus Palcco- 

 niscus ; and also called the attention of the Association to a dif- 

 ference of structure in the PalceoniscA of the Sunderland locality 

 from those of Connecticut in the same formation ; while the lat- 

 ter have a perfect resemblance to the fossil fishes of New Jersey. 

 He had also discovered an apparent error in his own printed no- 

 tice of American fossil fishes, in having named Sunderland as 

 one of the localities of the genus Catoptervs, as further examina- 

 tions had led him to doubt on this point ; although this genus is 

 more common than PalcBoniscus in the new red formation, both 

 in Connecticut and New Jersey. 



Ml". Lyell and Mr. B. Silliman, Jr. offered some remarks on 

 Mr. Redfield's observations. 



Mr. John L. Hayes, in explanation of the fossil footmarks in 

 the sandstone of Connecticut river valley, gave some account of 



