COASTS VISITED BY THE ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 569 



Succeeding these, in lat. 82° 40', there appears to be a Devonian 

 series, judging from the broad-winged Sjnriferce brought home from 

 Cape Joseph Henry and Feilden Peninsula, lat. 82° 47'; and pro- 

 bably much of the extreme northern coast of Grinnell Land contains 

 a clearly developed Carboniferous-Limestone fauna identical with 

 that so widely distributed over the North- American continent, and 

 referable also to our British and Spitzbergen species. Of the Coal- 

 measnres above them (if they occur) we know nothing at present. 



The large series of fossils obtained during the voyage of H.M. 

 ships ' Alert ' and c Discovery' was placed in my hands for exami- 

 nation. The chief interest attached to the series arises from the 

 fact that no previous expedition had reached so high a latitude, aud 

 certainly no collection ever exceeded in magnitude that under ex- 

 amination, which, including the rocks, comprises nearly 2000 speci- 

 mens. Great credit is due to those who collected and succeeded in 

 bringing or conveying them through the arduous sledge-journeys to 

 their respective ships. The series collected by Captain Feilden are 

 all so carefully noted, labelled, and localized, that their history is 

 complete and satisfactory ; so also with the fine series belonging to 

 Dr. Coppinger: rarely, indeed, in the most accessible localities in 

 Britain, have specimens been better or more carefully collected than 

 by the officers of the Expedition. The fossils of Miocene age, col- 

 lected by Messrs. Feilden and Moss from Discovery Bay, were sent 

 to Prof. 0. Heer, of Zurich, for determination ; and that distinguished 

 naturalist has furnished a valuable report upon the fragmentary 

 remains of the fossil plants (chiefly leaves) occurring in the black 

 shales that overlie the great coal-seam at Discovery Bay, which is 

 undoubtedly of Miocene age and the same as that at Disco Island. 

 Prof. Heer catalogues no less than thirty species, and has been en- 

 abled to correlate these with the Spitzbergen Miocene beds : about 

 eighteen species are common to the Miocene flora of the Arctic zone ; 

 and, so far as the collection shows, the Discovery-Bay (Grinnell 

 Land) Miocene beds are more nearly allied to the Spitzbergen depo- 

 sits than to the Disco or Southern-Greenland beds, 11° further south. 

 Species of Equisetum, Torellia, Thuites, Taxodium, Pinus, Populus, 

 SalLv, Betula, Corylus, Uhnus, Viburnum, NympTicea, &c. occur in 

 the black shales overlying the great coal-seam. None of the above 

 genera now exist within the Arctic circle. A small collection of 

 Silurian Mollusca and Corals from Cape Joseph Henry has also been 

 sent to me by Dr. Moss, of the ship 'Alert.' A considerable number of 

 the rock-specimens and minerals have been named by Mr. W. Eudler, 

 and the remainder by myself ; at present no deductions have been 

 drawn from the result of this examination. Large numbers of spe- 

 cimens of fundamental gneiss, mica-schist, quartzites, slates, impure 

 limestones, and conglomerates occur in the collection, affording com- 

 plete evidence as to the geology and physical structure of the coasts 

 on both sides of Smith Sound, Kennedy Channel, HaH Basin, and 

 Robeson Channel, and round the north shore of Grinnell Land, the 

 most northerly land ever yet reached. The series of rocks col- 

 lected by Lieut. Aldrich, E.N., during the arduous journey made 



