105 



^ossiliferous strata ; almost unique as regards high Southern 

 lands. 



My reading-acquaintance with the geology of the land-masses 

 in high southern latitudes may be for the most part summarised 

 in the following words of Captain Hutton, F.R.S., " On the 

 Origin of the Fauna and Flora of New Zealand," Presidential 

 Address, Phil. Inst., Canterbury, 1884 : — " From what is known 

 of the geology of the Antarctic Islands, it appears that all are 

 volcanic, except South Georgia, which is part of an old slate- 

 mountain range." Nevertheless, Captain Hutton has over- 

 looked the observations of Dr. Kidder, which indicate the 

 occurrence of stratified deposits in Kerguelen Island ; who 

 remarks in his " Contributions to the Natural History of 

 Kerguelen Island made in 1874-75," Bull, U.S. Nat. Mus., 1876 : 

 — " The main rocks are basalt and dolerite. The streams had 

 cut their way deeply in places, exposing extensive surfaces of 

 rock, but diligent search failed to disclose any stratified or 

 fossiliferous beds " in the southern part of Kerguelen Island. 

 "At the northern end of the island, however, in the neighbour- 

 hood of Christmas Harbor, stratified rocks are abundant, with 

 extensive deposits of coal of poor quality, and contain many 

 trunks of petrified trees," p. 34. 



Position, Nature, and Fossil-contents of the Marine 



Deposit. 



From Mr. Hall's field-notes and sketches the position of the 

 fossil development occupies a depression on the west side of the 

 peak known as Cat's Fiars ; it is squeezed in between eruptive 

 masses at a steep slope, and attains to an elevation of 826 feet. 

 The stratum seems as if it had been upth rusted from its 

 horizontal position by the eruption of the volcanic mass which is 

 crowned by Cat's Ears. 



The rock is a fine-grained friable sandstone of a grey colour, 

 somewhat dappled with rust-coloured grains. About 50 lbs. 

 weight of the rock was submitted to it ; it is richly prolific in 

 fossils, constituting for the most part a lumachelle. However, 

 the number of species is only fourteen, the Chiones and Turri- 

 tella being the only ones occurring abundantly. They consist of 

 Natica one sp., Turritella one, Chione three, Gari one, Mytilus 

 two, Polyzoa two (impressions on the casts of Chione), Balanus 

 one, Spirorbis one (2.25 mm. diam., whorls 2^), Serpula two (one 

 fasciculated, tubes 2.5 mm. diam, the other solitary, long, and 

 vermiculate). * 



The facies of the fauna is Tertiary, and may belong to any part 

 of it, because, as regards the well-defined species of mollusca, not 

 one is referable to living creation — certainly not in reference to 



