walcott.1 NEWFOUNDLAND* 53 



In the report for 18G9 a description is given of the Lower Paleozoic 

 rocks studied by Mr. Howley as they occur on Trinity Bay and St. 

 Mary's Bay. 1 The variegated slates of Jukes are described as contain- 

 ing Paradoxides and the superjacent argillaceous shales and sandstones 

 carry Criiziana and other fossils. These last represent the rocks of the 

 Bell Islands in Conception Bay. In the report for 1870 2 a summary is 

 given of the then existing knowledge of the Primordial formations in 

 southeast Newfoundland. In descending order the upper formation is a 

 brown and black micaceous shale with the gray micaceous sandstones 

 of Great Bell Isle, Conception Bay. The organic contents are: Two 

 species of Lingula, four species of Palaeophycus, Eophyton linnceanum of 

 Torrell, another Eophyton and Gruziana semiplicata Salter. Thickness, 

 476 feet. He says that the slates of Little Bell Isle and the beds of 

 shale beneath the water are considered to have a thickness of 1,426 

 feet, to which the Kelly's Island sandstone and shale are to be added, 

 with a thickness of 720 feet. [As now known this forms the upper 

 division of the Cambrian.] Beneath this he describes the black slates, 

 with Paradoxides bennetti, having a thickness of 150 feet. On St. 

 Mary's Bay this division, united with the red, green, and black shales 

 or slates, in which Paradoxides bennetti, Conoeephalites gregarius and 

 other fossils were recognized, has a thickness of 1,045 feet. [This forms 

 the middle division of the Cambrian as now known.] Below this the 

 hard thick beds of gray and reddish limestone of Topsail Head, Brigus 

 South Head, Conception Bay, and the Little Salmonier River of St. 

 Mary's Bay are united with various outcrops of red, green, and blackish 

 argillaceous slatejs and a series of sandstones below. [These form the 

 lower division of the Cambrian as now known.] The total thickness 

 of the section described is 5,972 feet. 3 Several sections are illustrated 

 to show the relation of the Primordial-Silurian to the subjacent rocks. 



In the report for 1872 the Primordial-Silurian rocks are described as 

 they are exposed on Trinity Bay, etc., by Br. Murray. 4 He states that 

 on paleontological grounds Mr. Billings is disposed to draw a marked 

 distinction between the upper strata of the section of 1870 and the 

 lower members of that section, in consequence of an apparent hiatus or 

 break in organic development between the Paradoxides beds and the 

 fossiliferous strata of Great Bell Island in the Conception Bay section. 

 The lower measures he [Billings] appears to regard as the equivalent of 

 the lower Lingula flags of Great Britain, or the Menevian group of 

 Salter and Hicks ; while the upper parts contain forms in some degree 

 typical of the horizon of the Upper Potsdam. 5 This is followed by a 



'Murray, Alexander. Of the rocks and associated minerals [of Bonavista Bay, etc.]. Report 

 upon the geological survey of Newfoundland for 18C9. Revised edition. 1881, pp. 200-203. 



^Murray, Alexander. Of Primordial, Silurian, and related formations. Geol. Surv. Newfoundland for 

 1870, St. John's, 1870, pp. 30-43. Revised edition, 1881, pp. 232-241. 



3 Op.cit., pp. 237-239. 



•Distribution of the formations [of Avalon]. Report upon Geol. Surv. of Newfoundland for 1872. 

 St. John's, 1873, pp. 14-34. Revised edition. London, 1881, pp. 285-297. 



6 Op.cit.,p. 291. 



