562 Reviews — Geological Survey of Canada. 



of tlie basalt to the drift has however not yet been proved in the 

 Bengera district, but should the drift pass under it, the known 

 diamond-bearing area will be greatly increased. Up to the present 

 time all the diamonds have been found within a foot or so of the 

 surface, in fact just at the grass roots. In no case have the work- 

 ings been carried to greater depths than two or three feet ; in some 

 parts examined the drift itself is not thicker than that. Mr. Liver- 

 sidge describes in detail the mineralogical nature of the drift, or 

 " wash-drift," as it is termed by the miners. The list of gems, 

 stones, and other minerals accompanying the diamond includes the 

 following: — Tourmaline, Zircon, Sapphire, Topaz, Garnet, Spinelle, 

 Quartz, Brookite, Titaniferous iron. Magnetic iron-ore. Wood-tin, 

 Gold, and Osmiridium. H. B. W. 



liE VIS "W S. 



I. — Geological Survey of Canada. Paleozoic Fossils. Vol. 

 11. Part I. By E. Billings, F.G.S. (Montreal : August, 1874.) 



THIS part, consisting of 144 pages of descriptive text, with nume- 

 rous woodcuts and ten lithographed plates, contains descriptions 



(1) of fossils from the Silurian and Devonian rocks of Gaspe, 



(2) of new species from the Primordial rocks of Newfoundland, (3) 

 of the genus and Canadian species of StricJdandinia, (4) of fossils 

 from the Upper Silurian rocks of Arisaig, Nova Scotia, and (5) notes 

 on the structure of the Crinoidea, Cystidea, and Blastoidea. The 

 first section is preceded by a short geological notice of the Gaspe 

 series of rocks, which comprise 7000 feet of Gaspe sandstones, with 

 interstratified arenaceous and calcareous shales with plant-remains, 

 underlain by 2000 feet of the Gaspe limestones with intercalated 

 shales, these limestones being classed in descending order as Devo- 

 nian, Passage-beds, and Ujoper Silurian. The fossils are chiefly 

 Brachiopods and Lammellibranchs, with some few Gasteropods, 

 mostly all obtained from the Upper or Devonian beds. The Primor- 

 dial rocks of Newfoundland are estimated to have a thickness of 

 about 6000 feet ; the upper 500 feet, constituting Bell Island, hold a 

 peculiar group of fossils, the exact age of which has not been deter- 

 mined ; they consist of Lingulce, Cruziana, and Fucoids, referred to the 

 genus Eophyton, which in Sweden has only been found below the 

 Paradoxides-beds. Below the Bell Island beds there are about 2000 

 feet of unfossiliferous strata, except Fucoids. These, with the Bell 

 Island rocks, may represent the Middle and Upper Lingula-flags. 

 They are immediately underlain by about 2000 feet of slates, sand- 

 stones, and limestones, holding fossils which prove them to be of 

 the age of the Lower Lingula-flags or Menevian group of Salter and 

 Hicks (p. 69). Fossils are abundant but imperfect, including Agrau- 

 los, Paradoxides, Anopolenus, with other Trilobites, and IpJiidea, a 

 new genus of Brachiopods. 



Under the article on StricTclandinia the generic characters are con- 

 sidered and compared with Pentamerus, and six species noticed, two 

 of which, S. Salteri, S. melissa, are new and from the Anticosti or 



