328 GEOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE 



conglomerate at the East River more nearly resemble those of 

 the coal measures of McLellan Brook than those from Permian 

 rocks. 1 But when we remember the vagaries of this method of 

 classification with regard to fossils from the Millstone Grit in 

 Cape Breton 2 and in New Brunswick, 8 and the sinking similarity 

 of fossils from these formations both in Europe and America, 

 too much importance need not b^ attached to such a statement 



Mr. R. G. Haliburton in 1867 5 inferred, on evidence obtained 

 from explorations undertaken for the practical purpose of dis- 

 covering and developing coal mines, that discoveries similar to 

 those already made must soon be made in other directions. He 

 described the Pictou coal basin as constituting two distinct 

 basins, the one lying to the southward and the other to the 

 northward of the conglomerate, which, according to him, under- 

 lies the productive measures. But he could find no equivalents 

 of the southern coal measures in the northern basin and assumes 

 that they were always distinct basins, and now differ from their 

 measures having been formed under different circumstances. 



On the assumption that the conglomerate was the base of a 

 coal formation, the productive portion of which was concealed 

 by unconformity and might be reached, a borehole was in 1876 

 put down 734 feet, under the direction of Sir Win. Dawson, at 

 Sutherland Point on the East River below New Glasgow. No 

 such coal measures were, however, found to intervene. 



In 1893, Mr. FT. S. Poole, whose intimate knowledge of 

 the field is the result of many years of close observation and 

 study, 8 discussed the geological position of the New Glasgow 

 Conglomerate in a paper on the Pictou coal field, classifying it 

 as the base of his Permian series while pointing out that it 

 has an interest of a practical character in connection with the 



1 Trans. N. S. Inst, Sc. Vol. X. Session 1899-1900. p. 178; Sum. Rep. Geol. Surv. 1897, 

 p. 134. 



'Geol. Survey Report for 1874-75, page 192. 



1 Geol. Sur. Can. Report for 1872-73, page 222 and subsequent reports and maps. 



4 Geol. Mag., London, May 9, 1900 ; Acadian Geology, p. 283 ; Trans. N. S. Inst. Sc. 

 Vol X, p. 235. 



8 Trans. N. S. Inst. Sc., Vol. II, Part 1. p. 93 and Vol. II, Part 3, p. 155. 



8 Tranr. N. S. Inst. So., Ser. 2, Vol. I, Part 3, p. 240. 



