336 Correspondence — R. Brough- Smyth. 



The following is a section of the strata at Welcome Eush : — 



= ft. in. 



1. Surface soil and yellow clay . . . . (1) 4 



2, Ferruginous conglomerate 



8. Brown iron ore with shells 



4. Very hard ferruginous conglomewte 



5. Very fine white sand ^ , . . . . W •••.•• 3D 



6. Auriferous wash-dirt »«a.«o.»»«.» (6) 10 



7. Red Rock (Silurian) V///////// (7) 78 



This section and specimens of rock- containing casts of shells were 

 sent to me by Mr. Bernhard Smith, the warden of the gold field. 



As soon as I received the specimens, I placed them in the hands of 

 Professor McCoy, who has been good enough to give me the follow- 

 ing report respecting them. He says, "The rock mass from the 

 Wimmera, resting on the gold drifts, submitted for my opinion as to 

 its age, and whether marine or freshwater, has been examined by 

 me as far as the imperfect nature of the fossils will allow. I can 

 state that the fossils are certainly marine ; and I have no doubt of 

 the older Pliocene Tertiary age. Species of Turritella, Terebra, and 

 apparently Turbo, and two genera of bivalves, apparently Area and 

 Mactra, but requiring more perfect specimens to determine, are 

 common. I do not think this evidence clashes with my old sugges- 

 tion that the gold drifts of this Colony were of the age of the 

 Mammaliferous Crag, as in Eussia, based on the jaw of Phascolomys 

 pUocenus (McCoy), found in the cement at Dunolly, as this deposit 

 in Europe contains marine, generally like this Wimmera rock, 

 littoral genera of MoUusca with the bones of terrestrial mammals." 



Mr. Smith informs me that it is now very difficult to get any rock 

 containing shells from the spoil-heaps, but I have asked him to 

 employ some of the miners in putting up a stage in one of tlxe shafts 

 whence they can make a drive into the shell-bed and collect rock- 

 masses enclosing these interesting remains. All the specimens will 

 of course be submitted to Professor McCoy for examination, and in 

 due time, if I am able to get specimens, the results will be com- 

 municated to you. E. Bkough-Smyth. 

 Flemington, Victokia, 20th April, 1872. 



