184 
Mines and Mineral Statistics. 
ravines of tlie Grose and Dargan’s Creek, the one eastward and 
the other westward of the Darling Causeway traversed by the 
Western Eailway Line, tho slopes arc studded by fantastic pillars 
sculptured by denudation and decay into imitative architectural 
forms. Similar foi’ms cap the extension of the coast range to the 
head of tho Goulburn Eiver. 
This group of Hawkesbury rocks, very improperlu denominated 
by some Avrilers ^ijdney sandstone^'^ (Avhich is not a type of the 
Avholc formation, and is borroAved from the first explorers, Avho 
had never gone far into the country, besides invohdni? a confusion 
with the sandstones of the vSyduey Coal-field of Cape Breton 
in North America), is surmounted l)y another group,’ or series 
of strata, called by me 'Wianamatta beds, Avhich are, if not in all 
places, generally conformable Avith underlying, pot-holed Hawkes- 
bury rocks (as is avcH seen at Myrtle Creek, near Bicton), 
but are connected with the underlying group by means of shales 
holding ironstone nodules, abundant fossil Avood, fish rcjuains 
and freshwater shells allied to Unio, Cychis, &o. These beds 
pass upAvards into highly calcareous sandstones, Avhich also 
contain plants, stems, and leaA'es, and cone in cone carbonate 
of iron. These harder beds also contain Eutomostraca, some of 
which Averc long ago suhinitted.hy me to Pi'ofessor Enpert Jones. 
The fishes were examined by Sir Philip Egerton, Avho considers 
them to be Permian, as before stated. The last specimen of fish 
from the Pljeoniscus beds, reported by me to Sir Philip Egerton, 
AA^as a portion of a jaw of a fish whose teeth Avere of a Saurichth- 
yian typo, but the learned Icthyologist cousidered it also to 
be Permian. 
Could I have procured tho remains of fishes that haA^e been 
reported to me from beds below the upper coal, and of the find- 
ing of which there is prett}^ good evidence, avc miglit have been 
able to show that tlie same genera that we find ranging from the 
Wianamatta doAvn to the coal measures of Newcastle, all through 
the Hawkesbury series, occur still loAver. 
A Palseoniscus, found since my discoATry in 1800 Avas exhibited 
by the Surveyor General (who gleaued after my harvest), in the 
Exhihiton of IS75 at Sydney, and a specimen of Clcithrolepis 
found in a railway cutting on the Blue Mountains Avaa shown by 
Mr. T. Brown, M.P., to Avhom it had been given by the finder 
after I had had it photographed. These formed part of the 
collection exhibited by the timing Department. 
Whatever may bo the age of the llaAvkcshury and Wianamatta 
beds, they contain only patclics and threads, but no seams of 
coal In the former the coal occurs in tlio sandstone in little 
threads a few inches or perhaps feet long, and an inch or tAvo in 
thickness, and such may be seen in the aaMIs of buildings in Sydney.. 
