360 



THE AZOIC SYSTEM AND ITS SUBDITISIONS. 



NEW BRUNSWICK. 



In this Province it is not necessary to go back in the geological his- 

 tory earlier than the first edition of Principal J. W. Dawson's Acadian 

 Geology^ for in his writings and those of Messrs. Bailey and Matthew 

 nearly all the evidence bearing on our subject is to be found. The 

 methods of work appear to be the same as those of the Canadian Sur- 

 vey, and therefore similar results were to be expected. 



In 1855 Dr. J. W. Dawson^ on lithological grounds, would have re- 

 ferred the rocks in the vicinity of St. John to the Lower Carboniferous ; 

 but on account of the statement of Dr. Gesner, that similar rocks un- 

 derlie the Carboniferous sandstones, he says, " I must be content in the 

 mean time to consider them as Silurian rocks of uncertain age." (Aca- 

 dian Geology, 1st ed., p. 324.) 



Later he states regarding these rocks : - — 



r 



" The limestone and its associated shales underlie unconformahly tlie Lower 



Carboniferous conglomerate This arrangement is general throughout 



the belt to which the St. John rocks belong. Tlie whole of the beds of the St. 

 John group, appear to be conformable to one another, and to constitute one 

 formation." (Canadian Nat. and Geol., 1861, (1 ) VL 164.) 



From the resemblance of these rocks to the Devonian of Gaspe, and 

 from the plants found in them, he considers them all to be of that age. 

 Later he writes regarding this cntirn series of rof^^^s : — 



" The Devonian age of the upper mcnibcrs of this great series of beds 1 j-e- 



gard as established by their fossils, taken in connexion with the unconformable 



superposition of the Lower Carboniferous conglomerate. The age of the lower 



members is less certain. They may either represent the Middle and Lower 



Devonian, or may be in part of Silurian age." (Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc^ 1862, 

 XVIII. 303.) 



In the later editions of this Acadian Geology (18G8, 1878), he fol- 

 lows in tlie main Messrs. Bailey and Matthew; therefore we need only 

 incidentally refer to those editions. 



Mr. Geo. F. Matthew, in 1863 (Canadian Naturalist, 1863, (1 ) VIIL 

 241-260), divided the rocks at St. John into the following groups : 



" 1st Portland Series containing fragments of plants in the upper beds j 

 2dj Coldbrook Group; 3d, St. John Group, containing liugula, a conchifer, 



