Diller — Klamath Mountain Section, California. 353 



their determination by Professors Fontaine and Ward as 

 doubtful, it seemed desirable to have them examined by other 

 paleobotanists who worked in different fields. Accordingly 

 Mr. David White, who is especially familiar with plants of the 

 Carboniferous period, and Mr. F. H. Knowlton, whose studies 

 are chiefly of upper Cretaceous and Tertiary forms, were 

 asked to examine them. 



Mr. White reports : " After carefully examining the Slatonis 

 collections I can say but little except that the material is so 

 fragmentary, so badly macerated, and so altered as not to jus- 

 tify any conclusions regarding its age." After fully describing 

 all the plant fragments found in the specimens and weighing 

 probabilities, Mr. White remarks : 



" In brief, with the exceptions of the supposed cone fragments, 

 I find nothing in the collection which is not entirely in accord- 

 ance with an Upper Paleozoic date for the plants, while there 

 is slight evidence, entitled to but very little weight, that the 

 plants are of Upper Devonian or Lower Carboniferous age. The 

 other plant material in hand is, however, of little weight to the 

 contrary if the supposed cones are genuine, for, in the latter case, I 

 believe the beds should be regarded as post-Paleozoic. Concern- 

 ing the genineness of the cones I personally am somewhat in 

 doubt." 



Mr. Knowlton says : " I have given them a very careful study 

 not only to-day but before this. In size and shape they do at 

 first glance strongly suggest cones, but the more carefully they 

 are looked at the less can I satisfy myself that they are cones. 

 Mr. White has well described their appearance and it is not 

 necessary for 'me to again go over the ground. There are a num- 

 ber of 'remains' on the rocks that have the same size and out- 

 line as the supposed cones, but a glance is sufficient to show that 

 they are not such, and hence in the two or three examples that 

 look most like cones I am inclined to regard them as also acci- 

 dental. In any case I think it is perfectly safe to say that the 

 material is too poorly preserved and fragmentary to base any 

 important geological differentiation on, certainly as deciding 

 whether the beds are Paleozoic or Mesozoic." 



The geological age of the Bragdon formation is yet a mat- 

 ter of doubt. It is certainly younger than the Middle Devo- 

 nian and probably belongs to the base of the Carboniferous 

 section in that region, although it is absent in some places 

 where it ought to appear. Largely on lithological evidence it 

 has been referred by Hershey* to the Jurassic, and by Ander- 

 sonf to the Triassic, but the fossils found thus far do not 



*Am. Geol., xxvii, p. 236. 



f Calif. State Mining Bureau, Copper Resources of Calif. — Geological 

 Map of western part of Shasta County. 



