110 C. D. Walcott— Review of Dr. R. W. Ells's Report 



by Logan in 1863, in connection with the lists of fossils 

 determined from them by Mr. Billings. According to Logan, 

 the conglomerate in the Sillery series was the highest of the 

 conglomerate beds; the fossils in its bowlders were not 

 described. The Levis conglomerates were interbedded with 

 the graptolitic shales, and contained fossils in the matrix 

 and also in the bowlders imbedded in the matrix or paste. 

 Mr. Billings identified the fossils, bnt did not distinguish 

 between those found in the paste and those obtained from the 

 bowlders. This led to a mixing up of the Upper Cambrian 

 and Lower Ordovician faunas, such as is unknown elsewhere. 

 Mr. Billings never felt assured that the fossils occurred in situ 

 in the paste or matrix of the conglomerate, and hence he corre- 

 lated the Levis beds with the upper or Chazy zone of the Phil-- 

 lipsburgh section, under the name of Upper Calciferous, instead 

 of with the central or true Calciferous strata of the Phiilips- 

 burgh section. The conglomerates of the Quebec city rocks 

 were not known to contain fossils when described by Logan. 



Dr. Ells describes three zones of limestone conglomerates 

 (p. 83K). 1st. Those of the Upper Sillery interbedded in the 

 green, black and reddish or purple shales ; 2d, those of the 

 Levis series, and 3d, those of the city of Quebec. The first or 

 lower*zone contains the Oleuellus or Lower Cambrian fauna ; 

 the second, Potsdam and Calciferous fauna, and the third, the 

 Lower ? Trenton fauna. In the first no fossils have been found 

 in the paste or matrix. In the second Dr. Ells quotes Mr. 

 Billings .as follows : " All the specimens described in this article 

 were found in the conglomerate limestones near Point Levis, 

 opposite Quebec. It is not yet decided whether the fossils occur 

 in the bowlders of the conglomerate or in the matrix." In 

 the succeeding paragraph Sir Wm. E. Logan is quoted as say- 

 ing : " I am satisfied, notwithstanding the conglomerate aspect 

 of the bands of rock which contain our new fossils, that the 

 fossils are of the age of the strata." 



Page 39K. " It follows from a consideration of the facts 

 just presented . . . that the rocks of Point Levis, viz : the 

 Point Levis conglomerate limestone and graptolitic shales, are 

 at least 2000 feet above the true Calciferous formation." It is 

 stated in the next paragraph that from the known data the 

 Levis conglomerates and associated graptolitic shales are supe- 

 rior at least to the Upper Calciferous of the Phillipsburgh 

 series. 



Of the collections made from tjie Levis conglomerates, 

 during Dr. Ells's survey, he says (p. 56lv) : " Other collections 

 were made from the interstratified beds of conglomerates, but 

 as these were in all cases from the limestone oebbles, and not 

 from the matrix, their value in determining exact horizons 



