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MACQUAEIE HAEBOUR LEAE BEDS. : 



By E. M. Johnston, P.L.S. 



la tlie Tasmanian Museum there is a most valuable collec- 

 tion of fossil leaves belonging to the earlier tertiary period of 

 Tasmania, but in respect of which there is no record as to the 

 locality from which they were originally obtained. I was long 

 of opinion that this peculiar group of fossil plants was obtained 

 by Dr. Milligan from Macquarie Harbour in the early days of 

 the colony's history, and this conviction was one of the main 

 reasons which induced me to visit and examine the leaf 

 deposits of Macquarie Harbour in the year 1887. In this 

 examination I was unsuccessful in discovering the exact 

 deposit from which the Museum collection was obtained, but 

 the discovery of the same forms in the lacustrine beds in the 

 neighbourhood of Long Bay tended to confirm me in the 

 notion that the unknown deposit was a member of the 

 iacustrice leaf beds extending from the latter locality to Kelly^s 

 Basin ; and in my work on geology (p. 203, " Geology 

 of Tasmania "), I ventured to predict that an examina- 

 tion of the many fine sections further east " may in the future 

 determine this matter." I am happy now to be in the position 

 to declare that the hitherto unknown locality has been dis- 

 covered; for in a fine collection of fossils made by that 

 indefatigable member of our society, Mr. T. B. Moore, and 

 sent last year to Mr. Beistead, I was fortunate in recognising 

 the identical rock, together with the usual impressions of leaf 

 forms, so characteristic of the museum collection referred to. 

 I now present a specimen of the rock in question, in order 

 that those interested may be able to judge of its value in 

 clearing up this interesting point in our tertiary geology. 

 On a future occasion I may be able to give a description 

 of the more remarkable plants contained in this deposit. 



