REVIEWS — GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OP CANADA, 271 



In the second part of his Eeport, Mr. Richardson speaks highly of 

 the climate and agricultural capabilities of the Valley of Lake St. 

 John. He remarks — " the cultivable land of the Valley of St. 

 John most probably occupies a very large proportion of its area 

 [estimated at about 5000 square miles], and, as in the settled part of 

 it good crops seem to be the general result, it appears to me very 

 probable that the valley will hereafter support a very considerable 

 population. There appears to be no doubt in the minds of the settlers 

 that they are able to grow all the kinds of grain produced in the 

 neighbourhood of Montreal, and in equal abundance ; and the unex- 

 plained superiority of climate in the valley over places more to the 

 south, renders the investigation of this part of the Province a subject 

 of considerable interest." The greater part of the valley is occupied 

 by Laurentian rocks, including many beds of lime feldspar, and cap- 

 ped in places by thick deposits of Drift or Post-Tertiary clays and 

 sands. Lower Silurian strata occur however in the islands and on the 

 shores of the lake. These strata, as clearly indicated by their fossils 

 belong to the Trenton group and to the Utica slate ; but traces of the 

 Hudson Eiver group, and probably also of the Middle Silurian series (?) 

 appear to have been met with on one of the islands : indicating per- 

 haps a geological connexion between this district and Anticosti. In 

 reference to this view, the occurrence, at least, on this island, of the 

 curious JBeatricea undidata (so abundant in Anticosti) is a fact of no 

 little interest. Another important palseontological discovery made 

 by Mr. Hichardson on Lake St. John, is the association of Halysites 

 catenulatus, the well-known " chain coral/' with Trenton fossils. 

 Until recently, this species was looked upon as exclusively confined 

 in America to the horizon of our Niagara and Clinton group. Mr. 

 Kichardson found it in Anticosti* associated with Hudson River types 

 and he now recognises it in a still lower position. 



In addition to Mr. Barlow, the Surveyor, Mr. Richardson was 

 accompanied in his exploration by Mr. Robert Bell ; and the latter 

 gentleman has drawn up a Report of considerable merit on the mol- 

 lusca and natural history generally of the districts visited bv the 

 exploring party. As a knowledge of our living mollusca is of the 

 greatest importance for the proper investigation of our Post-Tertiarv 

 deposits, we have collected in the following classified list the different 



* See our Review of the Eeport of Progress for 1856 : Canadian Journal, vol. Ill, p, 327, 



