Miscellanea. 331 



Conclusion. 



Having far exceeded the limits I had originally intended for the 

 preceding part of this paper, I find it only possible to give a brief 

 outline of those general topics on vt^hich 1 intended to have dwelt. 

 First, as to what has been already done : geologists are familiar, 

 from the labours of M. de Strzelecki and others, with the fact that 

 there exists a series of stratified deposits, consisting of siliceous 

 and argillaceous slates, limestones and sandstones, stretching at 

 irregular intervals from the Liverpool range of mountains in New 

 South Wales to the extremity of Van Diemen's Land, and forming 

 detached masses, probably at one period continuous ; those contain 

 abundant fossil remains of animals referable to the palaeozoic 

 period. 



Above these we have a series of clays, shales and sandstones, 

 with remains of fossil plants and beds of coal, occupying three 

 great basin-shaped hollows ; one in the district about the Hawkes- 

 bury River in New South Wales, and called the Newcastle basin, 

 and the two others in Van Diemen's Land, called respectively the 

 South Esk and the Jerusalem basins. The animal beds containing 

 the paleeozoic remains are found, with one doubtful exception, to 

 dip constantly under the coal-bearing strata, at every point of 

 observation ; for the most part at the same angle as that at which 

 the coal crops out : the exception alluded to is a point near Spring 

 Hill, Van Diemen's Land, where masses of clay containing 

 Pachi/domus globosus seem to rest on a sandstone containing 

 remains of plants, and which is known to belong to the top of the 

 coal series : Count Strzelecki, Avho made this observation, doubts 

 its correctness himself, and expressly states that it needs re-exami- 

 nation to establish the fact of those Pachydomus clays really 

 existing in this position. Nevertheless the inference has been 

 drawn from this observation, that the Jerusalem coal-basin was 

 much older than that at Newcastle, New South Wales, where the 

 sandstones containing the Pachydomi were always seen to dip 

 distinctly under the coal-measures : countenance was apparently 

 given to this supposition by the few plants Vi^hich were collected 

 from Jerusalem coal-field proving to be all specifically and some 

 generically distinct from those known to exist in the Newcastle 

 basin. When to this we add, that the beds containing the fossil 

 animal remains rest on a siliceous breccia, the age of which is 

 unknown, and that the coal strata are overlaid by variegated sand- 

 stone and yellow limestone, supposed from its few organic remains 

 to belong to the pleiocene period, we have I believe stated all that 

 is known on the geological relation of those deposits. 



With regard to their palaeontology,* we have seven species of 

 plants noticed in M. de Strzelecki's work by Mr. Morris, one of 

 which is identical with a species from the Indian coal-field of 

 Burdwan ; and the general resemblance to the oolitic plants of 

 Britain is noticed, as well as the absence of the characteristic forms 



* Since the above was printed, I learn from a letter of Mr. Dana's that 

 he is just putlinjj to press his account of the pala;ontolo<i;y of this district, 

 which, as Naturalist to the United St^ites Exploring Expedition, he has 

 recently investif;ated under more favourable circumstances than any of his 

 predecessors ; we may soon, therefore, expect from this accomplished naturalist 

 a great addition to our knowledge on this subject. 



3s 



