1897.] Geology and Paleontology. 531 
Kemp to the conclusion that the gabbro was intruded as one or more 
sheets which pierced the gneisses parallel with the present direction of 
foliation. Subsequent to the intrusion and to the ore deposition came 
the dynamic metamorphism which developed the gneissoid foliation. 
The ore deposition, the metamorphism and the folding are of pre- 
Cambrian date, but some faulting is probably later. The author re- 
gards the ores as contact deposits. formed by the influence and stimulus 
of the gabbro intrusion. (Trans. Amer. Inst. Min. Eng., 1897). 
Pa.eozoic.—The affinities of the perplexing genus Vertebraria 
have been finally settled by M. R. Zeiller. Among the collection of 
plants obtained by M. de Launay from the permo-triassic deposits of the 
Transvaal, were a number of specimens of Vertebraria, which upon 
minute examination showed not only the rhizome structure, but also 
that the rhizome consisted of a central axis with a variable number of 
longitudinal wings anastomosing two by two from placeto place. This 
suggested to the investigator that Vertebraria belonged to the Glos- 
sopteris. Other specimens verified this conjecture by permitting the 
tracing of a group of bundles starting from the anastomosis of longitu- 
dinal ridges into the midrib of a Glossopteris leaf. Vertebraria is, 
therefore, the rhizome of Glossopteris. (Records Geol. Sury. India, 
Vol. XXX, 1897). 
Mrsozoic.—A small collection of plants from the Cretaceous marl 
at Cliffwood, N. J., is reported upon by Professor Hollick. The re- 
mains number 26 species, of which 10 are new ; the latter are described 
and figured. Conifers are the most abundantly represented. This col- 
lection is of interest as supplementing our previous knowledge of the 
Cretaceic flora of eastern North America. (Trans. New York Acad. 
Sci., 1887). 
Cenozorc.—Dr. George Dawson reports the finding of Globigerina 
cretacea and Textularia globulosa, as well as other forms of marine or- 
ganisms in the boulder clays of the Great Plains which appear to be 
contemporaneous with the deposition of the clays. This fact corrobo- 
rates the author’s previous suggestion that the water covering the 
western plains at this time may have been at the level of that of the 
sea and in more or less direct communication with it. (Journ. Geol., 
Vol. V, 1897). 
The evidence thus far gathered concerning the petroleum yielding 
rocks of California leads to the following conclusions :— 
(1) That the Oligocene and Eocene formations contain a primary 
deposit of petroleum. 
