﻿174 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  Island 
  and 
  are 
  well 
  represented 
  from 
  Staten 
  Island 
  to 
  the 
  vicin- 
  

   ity 
  of 
  Camden, 
  New 
  Jersey, 
  are 
  important 
  in 
  the 
  manufacture 
  

   of 
  pottery. 
  Some 
  of 
  the 
  clay 
  beds 
  contain 
  plant 
  remains 
  and 
  

   about 
  50 
  species 
  of 
  land 
  plants 
  have 
  been 
  recognized 
  here. 
  

   Among 
  these 
  are 
  many 
  genera 
  which 
  exist 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  day, 
  

   such 
  as 
  the 
  cinnamon, 
  sassafras, 
  oak, 
  gum 
  etc. 
  The 
  character 
  

   of 
  this 
  vegetation 
  suggests 
  that 
  a 
  temperate 
  climate 
  prevailed 
  

   in 
  this 
  region 
  during 
  cretaceous 
  time. 
  A 
  little 
  later, 
  in 
  the 
  Ter- 
  

   tiary, 
  a 
  sub-tropical 
  climate 
  prevailed 
  in 
  what 
  are 
  now 
  the 
  Arctic 
  

   regions. 
  West 
  of 
  the 
  Mississippi 
  the 
  Cretaceous 
  deposits 
  of 
  our 
  

   country 
  are 
  divided 
  into 
  three 
  principal 
  groups; 
  the 
  Dakota, 
  

   which 
  consists 
  of 
  sandstone 
  and 
  conglomerate 
  with 
  beds 
  of 
  clay; 
  

   the 
  Colorado, 
  a 
  group 
  of 
  limestone 
  and 
  bituminous 
  shales; 
  and 
  

   the 
  Laramie, 
  which 
  is 
  a 
  bed 
  of 
  passage 
  into 
  the 
  Tertiary 
  and 
  con- 
  

   tains 
  important 
  deposits 
  of 
  lignite, 
  a 
  variety 
  of 
  coal. 
  

  

  Life 
  of 
  the 
  Cretaceous 
  period 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  Cretaceous, 
  mammals 
  were 
  still 
  insignificant. 
  The 
  mem- 
  

   bers 
  of 
  the 
  ammonite 
  group 
  of 
  the 
  cephalopoda, 
  were 
  numerous 
  

   and 
  varied 
  in 
  form. 
  The 
  other 
  mollusks 
  were 
  closely 
  allied 
  to 
  

   those 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  day. 
  Many 
  bony 
  fishes 
  appeared 
  and 
  sup- 
  

   planted 
  the 
  ganoid 
  fishes 
  which 
  had 
  previously 
  prevailed. 
  The 
  

   reptilian 
  fauna 
  was 
  prominent, 
  but 
  became 
  greatly 
  diminished 
  

   before 
  the 
  tertiary. 
  With 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  this 
  period 
  occurred 
  a 
  

   great 
  change 
  in 
  the 
  life 
  of 
  the 
  globe. 
  

  

  Cenozoic 
  Time 
  

   Following 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  the 
  Mesozoic 
  age 
  begins 
  the 
  Cenozoic, 
  

   v.'hich 
  includes 
  the 
  Tertiary 
  and 
  Quaternary 
  systems 
  and 
  is 
  char- 
  

   acterized 
  by 
  a 
  marked 
  resemblance 
  of 
  its 
  life, 
  to 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  

  

  present 
  day. 
  

  

  TERTIARY 
  SYSTEM 
  

  

  Sir 
  Charles 
  Lyell 
  divided 
  the 
  European 
  Tertiary 
  into 
  three 
  

   parts; 
  the 
  Eocene, 
  Miocene 
  and 
  Pliocene. 
  The 
  Eocene 
  was 
  esti- 
  

   mated 
  to 
  contain 
  about 
  10% 
  of 
  living 
  species, 
  the 
  Miocene 
  about 
  

   50% 
  and 
  the 
  Pliocene 
  about 
  90%, 
  but 
  these 
  percentages 
  are 
  not 
  of 
  

   world 
  wide 
  application, 
  

  

  