REPORT OF THE STATE PALEONTOLOGIST 1901 543 



intercalated sandstone layers and eventually Into the pure 

 dolomites of the Beekmantown series. These facts are re- 

 served for more detailed discussion in a future report. 



3 No evidence obtained. 



4 Certain physical characters have been found to be more 

 characteristic of one portion of the formation than of another, 

 and to some extent are useful as means of recognizing the 

 different horizons. 



The presence of feldspar grains appears to be restricted to 

 the lower portion; if the feldspar be accompanied by other 

 minerals, as magnetite, it may be taken for granted that the 

 base of the formation is near at hand. Ked and brown are 

 more usually the colors of the lowermost portion. Coarseness 

 of materials with little sorting of the grains according to sizes 

 are also characteristic of this portion. 



The middle portion of the sandstone is made up of well sorted 

 materials, of finer grain, compactly cemented, and of white, 

 steel gray, or j^ellowish color, with very little or no feldspathic 

 content. The grains of sand are both angular and rounded with 

 the former predominating. The layers are more regular though 

 their surfaces are ripple-marked, and in section they are seen 

 to be almost universally cross bedded. Pebbles are found on the 

 surfaces of some layers of the middle portion, but unlike those of 

 the upper portion they seem to have been of soft mud derived by 

 erosion of contemporaneous sediments, cast on the beach at 

 times of rough water and flattened and squeezed out by the 

 subsequent pressure and consolidation of the superimposed 

 sand deposits. 



The upper portion of the formation has frequent beds of 

 irregular laminated sandstone with partings of greenish 

 arenaceous shale. The shale surfaces are covered with fucoids 

 and worm trails. Pebbles of shale and dolomite, which were 

 hardened before the time of their entombment, are found em- 

 bedded in the sandstone layers, and their disintegration 

 causes cavities to form in the lavers containing them. The 



