216 



THE CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM. 



Feet. 



Dark gray limestone .....••• 3 

 Alternations of gray and reddish sandstone and shale. In the 

 lower part a bed of coal six inches thick, with Stigmaria under- 

 day about 300 



Gray sandstone ...•••••• 20 



Alternations of reddish sandstones and shales and gray sandstone, 

 v/ith thin layers of clay ironstone and a layer of coaly 

 shale about 300 



This is evidently very like some of the more barren parts of the 

 Joggins shore, especially near the lower part of the coal measures. 

 I may remark, hoAvever, that if the section at Malagash was exposed 

 in a cliff like that of the Joggins, I have no doubt that more beds 

 with erect plants would appear. The erect tree mentioned in the 

 section was described and figured by me in the Proceedings of the 

 Geological Society in January 1846, Mr Binney had described a 

 similar specimen found in Lancashire in June 1845 ; and before the 

 close of 1846, Mr R. Brown of Sydney had described still finer 

 instances of the same kind from the Sydney Coal-field. These were 

 the three first instances in which the Stigmaria was ascertained to be 

 the root of the Sigillarife of the Coal period ; and even these were not 

 altogether sufficient to dispel the doubts of some geologists. As the 

 Malagash tree is thus an historical monument in the progress of 

 geology, I give a sketch of it in Fig. 59. 



Fig. b^.— Erect Sigillaria at Caye Malagash. 



1 r^ 



(a 6) Stigmaria roots. 



(rf) Woody surface with indistinct ribs. 



(c) Bark marked with furrows. 

 («) Internal axis. 



On the south side of Malagash Cape and head of Tatamagouche 

 Bay, the Coal formation rocks dip to the southward, but are not well 

 exposed ; and at Tatamagouche Harbour we find them dipping to the 



