136 Canadian Record of Science. 



tion commenced along the south-eastern line of the ancient 

 gneissic continent, which gave rise to the division that now 

 forms the western and eastern basins. The western basin 

 includes tho^c strata which extended over the surface of 

 the submerged continent, together with the Pre-chazy 

 rocks of Lake Superior, while the Lower iSilurian rocks of 

 the eastern basin present only the Pre-chazy formations, 

 unconformably overlaid in parts by Upper Silurian and 

 Devonian rocks. In the western basin the measures are 

 comparatively flat and undisturbed, while in the eastern 

 they are thrown into innumerable undulations, a vast ma- 

 jority of which present anticlinal forms overturned on the 

 north-western side. The general sinuous north-east and 

 south-west axis of these undulations is parallel with the 

 great dislocation of the St. Lawrence, and the undulations 

 themselves are a part of those belonging to the Apalachian 

 chain of mountains. It is in the western basin that we 

 must look for the more regular succession of the Silurian 

 rocks, from the time of the Chazy, and in the eastern, in- 

 cluding Newfoundland, for that of those anterior to it." 



The last sentence may, in the light of recent discoveries, 

 be regarded as little less than a prophetic anticipation of 

 the work of Hartt, Matthew, Walcott and others. 



It may be asked, however, why, if these rocks are of 

 Chazy-calciferous age, give them a distinct name. The 

 answer is that there is in such cases a real value in local 

 names. They designate the special development of par- 

 ticular groups in distinct localities ; and it would be well if 

 geologists, instead of wrangling about these names, would 

 recognize each in its several sphere. Old Ked, Devonian, 

 Esfelian and Erian, may all be names for one set of rocks, 

 but they designate entirely distinct developments, and are 

 therefore useful, though it is no doubt more desirable to 

 have uniform names for systems of formations than for series 

 under these. More especially names of this kind, which 

 distinguish the older rocks of the Atlantic basin from their 

 contemporaries on the submerged continental plateaus, are 

 eminently useful in the present state of science. Let it be 



