1010 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XV. No. 391. 



the name of the Blonteregian Hills. These 

 hills form a most remarkable petrograph- 

 ical province, consisting of a dual series of 

 alkali-rich rocks, represented on one hand 

 by the essexitetheralite series, and on the 

 other by the pulaskite and nepheline- 

 syenite series. There are also a great num- 

 ber of dyke rocks of consanguineous types, 

 bostonites, tinguaites, monchiquites, fon- 

 chites, camptonites, alnoites, etc. The hills 

 are erosion remnants of volcanoes or lae- 

 colites, dating back probably to Neo- 

 Paleozoic times. Dresser, who has recently 

 studied Shefford and Brome, considers them 

 to be partially uncovered laceolites. About 

 Mount Royal, on the other hand, a few 

 remnants of the ancient tufa pile remain, 

 showing that the molten material at this 

 point found a passage to the surface. 



A detailed description of Mount John- 

 son was given. This very interesting oc- 

 currence is 875 feet high and nearly circu- 

 lar in cross section, being a little over half 

 a mile in average diameter at the base. It 

 is a typical neck or pipe, consisting of 

 theralite in the center, which passes gradu- 

 ally over into pulaskite on going outward 

 to the periphery. It is situated about seven 

 miles from the town of St. Johns, P. Q. 



Dr. G. F. Matthew discussed some geo- 

 logical questions arising out of his studies 

 of the Cambrian faunas of eastern Canada, 

 especially the initial faunas of this system, 

 to the examination of which he has devoted 

 himself with great industry for many 

 years. 



Six genera (and subgenera) of brachio- 

 pods are found at the very base of the sys- 

 tem; and it is seen that there is a gradual, 

 though no very marked, increase in size of 

 these forms when traced through the basal 

 Cambrian faunas. The genera (and sub- 

 genera) found were— of Atremata— iep- 

 toholus, Oboliis, Lhigulepis and Lingulella 

 — of Neotremata, Acrothyra and Acrotreta. 

 The first of these two was the only genus 



that exhibited no increase in size as time 

 went on, and it was found only in the basal 

 Cambrian (below the Paradoxides zone). 



The increase of bulk of the individuals 

 of these old genera during this Geological 

 Age is in accordance with the development 

 in this respect of higher forms of life, but 

 less noticeable in degree. 



Another subject taken up by Dr. Mat- 

 thew was the development of the Canadian 

 Oboli, as shown in impressions of the mus- 

 cle scars, of the vascular trunks, and by the 

 surface ornamentation of the shells. 



It was stated that in the first determi- 

 nation of these shells we must often depend 

 on the form, as this is the most obvious, and 

 sometimes the only, available character. 



But further luiowledge of the nature of 

 the species, as shown by the internal mark- 

 ings, etc., has proved that there are several 

 independent lines of development of the 

 Oboloid shells, and that the typical Ololus 

 (0. Apollonis) is nearer in structure to 

 the typical Lingulella {L. Davisii) than to 

 these earlier species, which outwardly, as 

 regards the form, are indistinguishable 

 from Oiolus. 



Of these shells one type belongs to the 

 Lower Etcheminian fauna, one to the Up- 

 per Etcheminian fauna, two to the Proto- 

 lemus fauna (all these are below Paradox- 

 ides), one to the Peltura fauna, and one to 

 that of Dictyonema {D. flahelliformis) . 



Another subject discussed in these notes 

 was the evidence of the direction of the 

 migration which brought these early 

 faunas to the Atlantic region of Canada. 

 It was shoAvn that during the time when 

 the Upper Etcheminian fauna prevailed in 

 Atlantic Canada, there was a steady cur- 

 rent setting along the then existing shores 

 to the northeast. This is shoivn by the ori- 

 entation of the valves of the inarticulate 

 brachiopoda, the apices of the valves being 

 directed to the southwest. Hence it is in- 

 ferred that the migration of the fauna was 



