232 Reviews—On the Geology and Minerals of N. S. Wales. 
The Upper Silurian occur in many places throughout the Colony, 
but chiefly on the western watershed of the Great Dividing Range. 
They consist of conglomerates, sandstones, slates, and limestones, in 
some places highly contorted and cleaved and considerably metamor- 
phosed, near Bathurst, and even altered into gneissoid granite as at 
Adelong. Some beds are rich in corals, crinoids, mollusca, and trilo- 
bites, specially near Yass, the limestone of this and other localities 
being chiefly composed of corals and crinoids. Mr. Wilkinson enume- 
rates about 70 species from these beds. 
The Devonian consist of sandstones, conglomerates and limestones, 
the lower beds of which are related by their fossils to the Silurian, 
and the upper to the Carboniferous. Near Rydal these beds are not 
less than 10,000 feet thick. The fossils have been examined by Prof. 
De Koninck, and comprise about eighty species. 
The Carboniferous strata are about 10,000 feet thick, the lower beds 
contain many plants and a marine fauna, but no workable coal-seams 
are known. Gold-bearing quartz reefs however traverse this series 
and are worked in the Copeland gold-field. The Upper Carboniferous 
series include the Lower Coal-measures of N. 8. Wales, they comprise 
marine strata with interstratified plant-beds and workable coal seams, . 
one being, as at Greta, 26 feet thick. The Glossopteris and Phyllotheca 
occur with an undoubted marine Carboniferous fauna, while in India 
‘Dr. Feistmantel regards the Glossopteris beds asof Triassic age. More 
than 200 species of plants and invertebrata have been obtained from 
this series. The Upper Coal-measures are provisionally classed as 
Permian, they contain abundant plant-remains, Glossopteris, etc., but 
no marine shells. Nearly all the coal-seams of the Newcastle Coal- 
field occur in this upper series. About 25 fossil plants and one hetero- 
cercal fish have been noticed. 
The lithological characters and fossil contents of the Mesozoic group 
are successively given, including the Hawkesbury and Wianamatta 
series of Triassic ? age, the Clurence river beds (Jurassic), and strata 
in the north-western portion of the Colony which are provisionally 
referred to the Lower Cretaceous. 
Mr. Wilkinson describes somewhat fully the Cainozoic or Tertiary 
strata; they are of the highest economical importance in yielding the 
chief supply of gold and tin production of N.S. Wales, and are also 
replete with scientific interest, ‘‘for not only in them may be traced the 
development of the principal physical features which form our beautiful 
landseape scenery, but they also reveal much information regarding the 
early history of the ancient forms of life now characteristic of this 
portion of the globe.”’ 
‘The last two pages are devoted to the igneous and metamorphic rocks, 
the former of which occupy about one-eighth of the whole area of the 
Colony, or not less than 39,500 square miles; while under metamorphic 
rocks some interesting points are discussed as to alteration and gradual 
passage of the sedimentary into the igneous rocks. Altogether those 
interested in Australian geology will be indebted to Mr. Wilkinson for 
this careful and useful resumé of the geology of N.S. Wales, accom- 
panied as it is by an excellent geological sketch-map compiled by the 
author from the original map of the late Rev. W. B. Clarke. 
