Carhoniferous System in Eastern Canada. 155 



The Terms Union and Pdversdale I would raise to the 

 degree of formations, as they are easily recognized over 

 wide areas, geographically, and characterized by a well- 

 defined fauna and flora, at least as far as the Eiversdale 

 formation is concerned, the overlying Union formation 

 proving rather destitute of fossil organic remains. 



These two together carry a remarkable flora and 

 fauna, which cannot be mistaken as one truly appertaining 

 to the Carboniferous system, inasmuch as the types are all 

 akin and generically related to types in the productive coal 

 measures higher up in the system. 



I have no hesitation in stating that in the Union and 

 Eiversdale formations we have obtained in Nova Scotia a 

 fauna and flora which, while not as extensive nor as 

 varied as that obtained in the productive coal measures, 

 are nevertheless remarkably similar, consisting of a series 

 of sediments, terrigenous in character, and for the most 

 part estuarine, forming carbonaceous shales and sand- 

 stones, underclays and conglomerates, constituting a series 

 of strata, which, having begun in Early Carboniferous time, 

 were interrupted, then an encroachment of the Carboni- 

 ferous Sea occurred, in which marine conditions prevailed, 

 and limestones were deposited, holding abundance of shells 

 and other fossil organic remains characteristic of a salt- 

 water fauna. These constitute the Windsor and Hopewell 

 formations. 



These limestones were followed by the newer and 

 later productive coal measures characterized by terri- 

 genous deposits also and enclosing a fauna and flora, 

 whose affinities are remarkably akin to the forms found in 

 the Eo-Carboniferous, giving the following succession : — 



III. Coal Measures ■) Estuarine.. Land plants, land animals and 



Millstone Grit ) Estuarine forms. 



i Hopewell formation. .Estuarine.. Insects and plants and Estuarine 

 II. ■; forms. 



( Windsor " Marine fossils, corals, shells, etc. 



I. Union formation I .. ..Estuarine. .Land plants, land animals and 

 Riversdale " ' Estuarine forms. 



