SECOND REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 1905 



'7 



wholly with the relations of the rock masses to one another as fos- 

 sils are entirely absent from the field. This work, which will be 

 extended to cover the entire crystalline area of the Highlands, is 

 in charge of Dr C. P. Berkey. 



Stratigraphic relations of the Oneida conglomerate. In the final 

 reports of the original survey the geologists held very different 

 views as to what constituted the Ontario system. Hall and Em- 

 mons included the Oneida conglomerate as the highest member of 

 the Champlainic system and the Medina sandstone as the base of 

 the Ontaric. On the other hand Vanuxem regarded the Oneida 

 as above the Medina and made the gray Oswego sandstone, which 

 is below the red Medina, the base of the Ontaric. In more recent 

 years the Oneida has been regarded as lying below the Medina and 

 forming the base of the Ontaric or Upper Siluric system. 



Recent studies by Mr Hartnagel show that the Oneida wherever 

 known is but a short distance below the base of the Clinton and 

 that this condition holds for more than 40 miles eastward from the 

 type section of the Oneida conglomerate. The rock is shown on 

 the Oswego river at Fulton in Oswego county. The Clinton comes 

 in a short distance above and the red Medina below, continuing 

 nearly to Oswego, where the gray Oswego sandstone is shown along 

 the lake shore. A conglomerate at this same horizon is found near 

 Wolcott in Wayne county, and in its western extension the Oneida 

 probably represents the gray Medina as known at Lewiston and 

 Lockport. 



From the above facts it follows that if we regard the Oneida as 

 the base of the Upper Siluric, the lower red Medina and the Oswego 

 sandstone must be considered as belonging to the Champlainic 

 (Lower Siluric), or else the base of the Ontaric must be placed 

 lower than the Oneida conglomerate. 



The passage of the Lorraine to the Oswego sandstone appears 

 to be a gradual one and the latter may represent the stratigraphic 

 and time equivalent of the Richmond beds of Ohio and Indiana. 

 At present the Oswego sandstone is regarded as Upper, and the 

 Richmond beds as Lower Siluric. 



From the standpoint of paleontology it is not possible to cor- 

 relate the Richmond beds and the Oswego sandstone since 

 the latter is without fossils. It is quite probable however that 

 the Oswego sandstone represents a near shore condition, which 

 was unfavorable for life, but farther west the Richmond fauna 

 flourished under more suitable conditions. These determinations 

 corroborate the accuracy of Vanuxcm's views arid will be parried, 

 out in full detail by Mr Hartnagel, 



