Geology and Natural History. 155 



(2.) Prof, de Lapparent, of Paris, answers a query as to an ap- 

 parent contradiction between his theory and his argument: "It is 

 true that the words, (page 468), make me say the contrary of 

 what I said. I have maintained that the same eruptions which 

 took place during the Carboniferous epoch were maintained during 

 the Permian epoch, of which the porphyries and melaphyres were 

 the incontestable continuation of the porphyritic and trappean 

 rocks of the Carboniferous; that in consequence, the Permian epoch 

 was the termination of the ' Primary eruptions? I will add that 

 (page 467) ascribes to me a not very accurate opinion. I said 

 that the cephalopods of the deposits anterior to the Tertiary ter- 

 ranes furnished an excellent means of forming homogeneous groups ; 

 but that this means only commenced to be easily applicable with 

 the Trias. Nevertheless if one considers the pelagic Faunas of 

 the Cai-boniferous and of the Permian, not only do they appear 

 intimately connected, but no one among those who are acquainted 

 with the pelagic Permian will ever be able to establish sub- 

 divisions iu it. Now, that which distinguishes the systems is that 

 they are groups susceptible of being sub-clivided. The Permian 

 then, cannot form a system by itself. It cannot but be an etage in 

 the great Permo-Carboniferous system." 



2. Cretaceous of Northwestern Canada. — In a paper by Sir 

 W. Dawson in the Canadian Record of Science, the subdivis- 

 ions of the northwestern Canadian Cretaceous are giveu as fol- 

 lows, beginning below. (1) Lower Cretaceous (Neocomian, etc.): 

 (a) The Kootanie series of the Rocky Mountains containing 

 Cycads, Pines and Ferns; (b) the Suskwa River beds and Queen 

 Charlotte Island coal series, containing Cycads, Pines and a few 

 dicotyledons. (2) Middle Cretaceous: (a) Mill Creek beds of 

 Rocky Mountains containing dicotyledonous leaves similar to 

 those of the IT. S. Dakota group ; (b) Dunvegan series of Peace 

 River with many dicotyledons, Cycads, etc. (3) Upper Cretace- 

 ous: (a) Coal-measures of Nanaimo, B. C, probably in this posi- 

 tion with many dicotyledons, Palms, etc.; (b) Eelly River beds, 

 the Sequoia and Bi-asenia beds of S. Saskatchewan, Belly River, 

 etc., with lignites; (c and d) Fort Pierre and Fox Hill series, 

 marine ; (e) Lower Laramie or St. Mary R. beds, the Lemna and 

 Pistia beds of Bad Lands of 49th Parallel, Red Deer River, etc., 

 with Lignites. (4) Transition to Eocene: U/pper Laramie or 

 Porcupine Hill beds, the Platanus beds of Souris River and Cal- 

 gary. These results are largely from the investigations of Dr. G. 

 M. Dawson and the author. The latter has a memoir on the sub- 

 ject in process of publication in the Transactions of the Royal 

 Society of Canada. 



■3. Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South 

 Wales for 1884, vol. xviii. — This volume contains, among its 

 papers, brief notes on the development of Ceratodus and the 

 Monotremes by Mr. W. H. Caldwell. The eggs of the Ceratodus 

 were found in the waters of Burnett River in the early part of 

 September. They were laid singly in the weeds and resembled 

 those of the common newt. They were fertilized in the water and 



