375 



are exposures of schists and gneissic rocks apparently 

 altogether foreign in character to the strata of the Little 

 River and Mispeck formations. It has been suggested 

 that these schists and gneisses which occur towards the 

 centre of the syncline of Mispeck and Little River strata, 

 are deformed contemporaneous volcanic rocks. Possibly, 

 however, they are of much greater age and it may be 

 that the Red Head beds rest directly on them and not 

 on the Mispeck formation 



The red strata of the Red Head formation outcrop 

 over a second considerable area lying northwest of St. 

 John city. At this locality, the measures repose on Pre- 

 Cambrian strata. They extend to the shores of Kenne- 

 becasis lake and lithologically similar strata outcrop 

 on Kennebecasis island where they are conformably 

 succeeded by a series of grey sandstones and shales with 

 plant-bearing beds. The late Dr. Ells stated that the 

 lower red strata on Kennebecasis island, the supposed 

 equivalents of the Red Head formation, have been traced 

 westward to the Maine boundary and there found to be 

 the equivalents of the Perry formation. The Perry 

 on the evidence of its contained plants has been assigned 

 by Dr. David White to the Devonian. Both Dr. Ells 

 and Dr. Matthew correlate the upper, grey plant-bearing 

 beds of Kennebecasis island with the Albert series of New 

 Brunswick and the Horton series of Nova Scotia. By 

 Sir. J. W. Dawson, L. M. Lambe, and other paleon- 

 tologists, the Albert and Horton series are considered 

 to be of Lower Carboniferous age and older than the 

 Windsor marine limestone. 



Paleobotanical material has been collected by Mr. 

 W. J. Wilson from the plant-bearing beds of the upper 

 grey series on Kennebecasis island. The flora indicates 

 that the containing measures are of early Carboniferous 

 age and that, at least approximately, they are the equiva- 

 lents of the Albert and Horton series 



The measures occuring on Kennebecasis island, as the 

 above evidence indicates, are of Lower Carboniferous age 

 or possibly in part of upper Devonian age. If the red 

 strata of Kennebecasis island are the equivalents of the 

 Red Head formation which apparently unconformably 

 overlies the Mispeck and which in turn overlies the Little 

 River group, then it is manifest that the Little River 

 group and the contained Fern Ledges, cannot be younger 



