HONEYMAN — ON NOVA SCOTIAN GEOLOGY. 355 



These rocks are exposed in the upper and lower openmgs of the 

 Tunnel of Big Whetstone Brook ; in the upper the rocks are 

 brownish slates, in the lower they are massive diorites, similar to these 

 already met with. In the beginning of the next cutting are slates 

 with a bed of diorite, associated with a brown porphyry. These 

 slates produced a large lingula of the Middle Silurian type, — the 

 strata have a high southerly dip, being apparently synclinal to the 

 ** Went worth " group. The stratification is obscure. The bed of 

 diorite and porphyry is assumed as conforming with the possible 

 dip of strata. There is an apparent physical division between the 

 two, or a depression which extends into the mountains. Big 

 Whetstone Brook flows through it. At the end of the cutting is 

 another dark brown porhjoyritic rock. After an obscure interval 

 there is another cutting, having at its commencement a thick bed 

 of green diorite and then slates, without any farther occurrence of 

 crystalline rocks. 



After another obscure interval we come to a cutting having on 

 either side sections of lower carboniferous conglomerate with 

 overlying sandstones. The conglomerate is largely composed of 

 boulders of the proceeding crystalline rocks. One boulder of 

 porphyry embedded, was remarkable on account of its size — its 

 weight was-jestimated at two or three hundred pounds. In the 

 overlying sandstones were found embedded several masses of red 

 syenite. One of these which we detached was very large — at least 

 two hundred pounds weight. It was surrounded by carboniferous 

 flora, compressed calamites and cordaites, some of these remained 

 adhering to the syenite (vide specimens in the Provincial Museum.) 

 These syenites must have lain on sandy flats surrounded with 

 vegetation, both having become simultaneously embedded in the 

 sand, and intimately associated. These are the earliest flora of 

 the Cumberland Coal Field. The nearest red syenite rocks are 

 two miles distant. These ybcc^^ were noted as remarkable. 



Descending Big Whetstone Brook at the junction of the Lower 

 and Middle Silurian, we pass from the massive diorites in the lower 

 opening of the tunnel, and then through slates, and then we come 

 to g7'its of Lower Carboniferous age — succeeding these are sand- 

 stones. In these sandstones I found abundance of rain prints. 



