The Fossil Plants. 
163 
coal is sufficient to establish the Mesozoic age of the 
coal. There are coal-bearing beds, for instance, on the 
Clarence River, but with them are found Tceniopteris. 
On this account geologists do not hesitate to place these 
coal-beds much higher up in the geological series than 
our true Australian Coal Measures, as developed at 
Newcastle (see Fig. 44). Another illustration of the 
importance of this fossil in geological chronology is 
seen in its relation to the artesian water-bearing beds of 
the North-Western district of New South Wales.:. For 
many years past the Cretaceous rocks of the colony — 
a marine formation, by the way — were believed to be 
the source of artesian water. Recently attention has 
been drawn to the fact that rocks very much older 
than Cretaceous were supplying artesian water at 
’Oubbo and Coonamble. More recently the beds that 
supply artesian water on Salisbury Downs Station 
were found to underlie Cretaceous rocks, and to con- 
tain Tceniopteris} This at once shows that these beds, 
whatever else they are, are not Cretaceous. And we 
are brought face to face with the question as to whether 
there is any real evidence of artesian water being 
derived from Cretaceous rocks in New South Wales. 
Tamiopteris , then, is an excellent illustration of the 
principles to which the study of fossils has beeh re- 
duced. it may be well, while dealing with this fossil, to 
say that it is never found in the Newcastle beds, or 
associated with coal of the same age as Newcastle coal. 
1 Sue abstract of a Report by the Author, Daily Telegraph, January 2(Hh, 
1894 ; ami also an abstract of a Paper on Artesian Water in New South Wales, 
Sydney Morning Herald , January 12th, 1898, page 4. 
