654 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BALTIMORE MEETING 



been recognized by either a distinct fauna or flora in the series of conformable 

 strata under consideration, it is quite possible that a Cenomanian flora, once 

 established, continued its existence in America later than the close of the Ceno- 

 manian epoch in Europe. At the same time it is conceivable that the earlier 

 elements of the invertebrate fauna are somewhat older than paleozoologists 

 have recognized, and that a greater or less portion of the series under discus- 

 sion must therefore be regarded as Turonian. The evidence of the plants is 

 certainly favorable to this interpretation, as the European Turonian flora, 

 although a very sparse one. presents some marked points of agreement with 

 portions of the flora under consideration. 



In conclusion, it may be well to direct attention to the fact that the use of 

 the minor European time divisions of the Cretaceous in this connection, as has 

 been often done, may well be questioned in any event, as it is clear from the 

 conflicting evidence presented that it is impossible to assign sharply defined 

 limits to them in the Atlantic and Eastern Gulf regions. 



The Eocene deposits of the Atlantic Coastal plain show many points of simi- 

 larity with those of the Gulf. The Shark River beds of New Jersey, which 

 apparently overlie the Upper Cretaceous, conformably contain what is probably 

 a Midway fauna, while the Aquia-Xanjemoy formations of Maryland, which 

 are clearly unconformable to the earlier formations, contain a fauna that is 

 distinctly Wilcox, and may be even in part Lower Claiborne. The Trent and 

 Castle Hayne formations of North Carolina are of very late Eocene age. and 

 so far as their molluscan forms are concerned suggest the Jackson, although 

 Bassler has regarded the bryozoan species as Yicksburg, thus making those 

 beds Oligocene in age. No such complete sequence of Eocene strata has been 

 found in the middle and northern Atlantic Coastal plain as in the Gulf, but 

 the faunas found in the beds indicate that they should be correlated with the 

 divisions of the Gulf Eocene above referred to. 



The insufficient data available from the Miocene and Pliocene formations of 

 the Gulf make it impossible to correlate the deposits of the two areas with any 

 degree of accuracy, although the strata known as Lafayette have been traced 

 along the Piedmont margin to the Gulf district, where the formation was first 

 described. 



It is impossible to compare the Pleistocene formations of the Atlantic coastal 

 border with those of the Gulf district, as no adequate differentiation of these 

 deposits has been attempted in the latter area. Whether similar terraces occur 

 facing the coast and bordering the estuaries and streams can not be stated 

 as yet. 



The paper was discussed by Bailey Willis. 

 This paper was followed by the reading of 



