300 Doll — .Miocene and Pliocene of Martha's Vineyard. 



cene V. granulata. On the whole these specimens indicate a 

 more recent fauna than the Miocene above described and may 

 perhaps be regarded as representing the Pliocene. 



The Phosphatic Rock of the Ashley District, South 

 Carolina. 



A year ago Mr. Wood worth had found on the southern 

 shore of Block Island some fossiliferous pebbles which indi- 

 cated for themselves a Tertiary origin. A visit to the island 

 and subsequent enquiries showed that these were derived from 

 the wreck of a vessel loaded with phosphate rock from the 

 east bank of the Ashley river about ten miles from Charleston, 

 S. C. It is of the variety known as "land phosphate," ob- 

 tained by excavating. The wreck occurred July 17, 1877, but 

 similar rock I am informed is being excavated and shipped 

 to-day. 



An examination disclosed some discrepancies between the 

 rock with its contained fossils and the descriptions current in 

 the literature relating to the South Carolina phosphates. The 

 material consists of fragments of limestone rock, containing 

 numerous casts of shells and small solitary corals {Balanophyl- 

 lia), worn by the sea into irregular rounded lumps and bored 

 by boring mollusks (GastrocAcena, etc.) This material (which 

 has the appearance of having been phosphatized after being 

 worn), lies on a bed of sand, or sand and clay, which is some- 

 times several feet thick and at other times disappears alto- 

 gether, when the phosphatic nodules and other things asso- 

 ciated with them lie directly on the worn surface of the Ashley 

 and Cooper marls. Among the nodules are found many bones, 

 teeth and other remains of animals, some of which are not 

 older than the Postpliocene, and even relics of aboriginal man 

 have been gathered from the same stratum according to 

 Holmes,* who consequently assigned the aggregation to the 

 Postpliocene, while recognizing the more ancient character of 

 the rock from which the nodules were originally formed. 



Penrose (Bull. U. S. G. Survey, No. 46, pp. 61-2, 1888) in 

 discussing the South Carolina phosphates says " the nodules 

 generally contain casts of Eocene shells and, in some cases, 

 marine bones and sharks' teeth." In this he was probably fol- 

 lowing Holmes and others who, notwithstanding the usual in- 

 tervention of the sand and clay beds between the top of the 

 Ashley River marls and the bed of phosphatic nodules, have 

 regarded the nodules as waterworn fragments of the Ashley 

 marl rock. The latter was doubtfully referred to the Eocene 

 by Tuomey (Geol. S. Car., p. 167, 1848) because three Eocene 



* Phosphate beds of South Carolina, p. 62, 1870. 



