TUANSACnOXS OF SECTION C. 



713 



nipnse aceumnlation of arfyillaceous am/ carbonaceous sediment. In 'Jio Cumber- 

 land coal-lield a long-continued alternation of sliale and sandstone allowed tho 

 fonniition of sixty-seven coal beds, only two of which in tlie ' Jo<rgi:is Section ' are 

 of workable size. 



It is noticeable that in the ^^'iton and ( 'uniberlan<l coal-fields the racst produc- 

 tive liiirizon is at the base of the coal-measures, and comparatively speaKini.'. ot 

 limit"d thickness. Thus a* Pictou, the lower 1,.'50() feet hohl fifteen beds, yieldinnr 

 Hi) fuet of coal. At Sprinfih.ill, in the Cumberland district, tiie lower 1,000 feet 

 of till' coal measures hold twelve beds, containing 51 feet of coal. The overlying 

 lueasines are more arenaceous, and hohl a much smaller proportion of coal in both 

 districts. In the Cupe IJreton coal-field there are now exposed only l,oO() feet of 

 productive measures immediately overlying the .Millstone Grit, and holding the 

 workable seams. 



The rpiestion nattu'ally arises if it might not Ije considered that at one time the 

 Tape Breton coal-field may not have iiad a total thickness of strata equalling that 

 recorded in Pictou and Cumberland, and that possibly the upper section was similar 

 ill development. 



The coals from these districts present several points of difference. Thus tho 

 sli;.'litiy higher ash contents of the Pir-tou and Cum1x>rland coals may be coiniected 

 vitli the prt'dominance of the including beds of shale as compared with the more 

 nrenafeous measures of Cape JJreton, and a low ash percentage in the coals. 



Otlier diiferences between the districts may be referred to conditions of deposi- 

 tion, foldings, drainage, &c. 



As yet tiie study of the fo.ssils of the tnree districts does not show any points 

 of ditl'erence calling for remark, but thi.>i subject has not yet received a simre of 

 attention equal to that bestowed on the points of economic interest. 



Tiie above and other diflerences beiween the districts are perhaps more justly 

 considered due to local dillt'rences of the deposition extending over large areas 

 than as marking distinctions between individual and isolated coal-fields. 



3. On the Coals of Canada. Tiij II. A. Buudkn. 



Coal is widely distributed over the Dominion ; from the extreme eastern point 

 on the Atlantic, in the Island of Cape Breton, it occurs, and tiirough a portion of 

 Nova Hcotia and New Ih'unswick; from thence a wide Ijlank exists, until about 

 the ninety-seventh parallel is reached ; from it to th.e base of the Rocky Mountains 

 vxtonsive fields are being develo])ed ; it is also met at various points in JW'itish 

 Columbia, but A'ancouver Island on the I'acitic contains the most valuable 

 deposits. 



Central Canada, although deprived of coal, is contiguous to the immense fields 

 of IVniisylvania, Ohio, &c., and through the medium of the great lakes and tho 

 railways, is readily served at moderate cose. 



The principal fields are five in number. Tho>e in Nova Scotia are carefully 

 described by Sir AVilliam Dawson, in his ' Acadian Cteology,' but among others, 

 !Sir Charles Lyell, Sir William Logan, Alessrs. Drown, Hartley, l{(djb, and gentle- 

 men in the service of the (geological Survey of Cainidn, have given much attention 

 to the subject. The North-West fields have been surveyed partially by the fJeo- 

 logical Survey, Dr. C^eorge Dawson doing the ])rincipal work. Vnncouv3r Island and 

 liritisli Columbia are indebted to the late Mr. Uichardson and Dr. tJeorge Dawson 

 f'lr the results ♦'rom their surveys ; tlieir reports are to be found in the records of 

 the Geologica' '■'urvey. 



Viipo Breton. — Tiie coal-field is carboniferous, the measures consist of an 

 accumulation of strata, comprising shale, siuul -stone and lire-clay, with numerous 

 valuahlo seams of bituminous coal. The princijial field is al)out tliirty-one miles 

 long, bounded on the nortli by the ocean, on the woutii by the Millstone (Jrit, tho 

 outcrops of tlie seams are found on 'le shores oi the deep bay. The measures lie at 

 an easy angle, dipping; under tiie spa. 



I'idou County has the next important field, and is widely known on account of 



h 



