170 The American Geologist. March, isoo 
gard these few forms as characteristic enough to determine the 
age of the beds definitely I should think they might be early 
Miocene or late Eocene." 
Mr. J. E. Spurr collected some poorly preserved shells. from 
the Esmeralda formation about ten miles southeast of Colum- 
bus. These were referred to Dr. W. H. Dall, who was unable 
to identify any of them with certainty. He found a bi-valve 
which may be a Sphaerium, and a gastropod that might have 
been a Planorbis. Dr. Dall thought the forms suggested a 
fresh water origin. 
The dicotyledonous leaves from near the coal horizon are 
being examined by Prof. F. H. Knowlton, who makes the 
following provisional statement regarding them: There are 
represented "an Ilex close to I. quercifolia Lx. ; Rhus fraterna 
Lx. ; probably two species of Myrica, a Ficus and a fine Quer- 
cus. 
"The Rhus fraterna and Ilex quercifolia are found at Floris- 
sant, Colorado, the age of which is now regarded as Oligocene. 
I, therefore, do not hesitate to say that the plants seem to in- 
dicate a middle Tertiary age." In the same sandstone forma- 
tion with the leaves and shells there are some silicified trunks 
of very large trees, six to eight feet in diameter. 
Fish bones and scales were found scattered throughout 
the formation but the good specimens were obtained from lo- 
calities near the middle of the series. These are being studied 
by Prof. F. A. Lucas, of the U. S. National Museum, who con- 
siders the two species of Teleostei represented as new, and sim- 
ilar to the existing genus Semotilus (chubs). 
Mr. J. E. Spurr, in a recent trip through Nevada and 
southern California, observed old lake beds at many points, 
which he is inclined to correlate with the beds of the Esmeral- 
da formation. His report of the distribution of these lake de- 
posits and their containing fossils will be looked forward to 
with interest, indicating as they may the existence of a lake of 
enormous size in late Eocene or early Pliocene time in the 
southwestern part of the Great Basin. 
