2i6 The American Geologist. October, i899 
possess the characteristics of a Coal Measure flora. "Judged 
from a European comparison, no other conchision can be ar- 
rived at." 3. Lastly, he says that "the question of the age 
of the Riversdale series is inseparably connected with the ques- 
tion of the age of the plant beds of St. John, New Brunswick." 
"The species contained in the Riversdale series are also met 
with in the St. John plant beds, where, however, a greater 
number of species has been discovered." "I do not," he adds, 
"wish to express my views as to the age of the St. John plant 
beds too strongly, but from what I have been able to learn 
from a study of the literature of the subject and an examina- 
tion of specimens from these beds, it appears to me that they 
possess a flora of a much higher horizon than that assigned to 
them, and that in reality they are most probably Upper Car- 
boniferous." "It must, however, be remembered that since 
Sir William Dawson wrote his work on the Pre-Carboni- 
ferous flora, very much has been done in Europe to work out 
the zones of the Coal Measure flora, and careful and accurate 
figures have been published which did not exist at the time he 
was carrying out his investigations." "A thorough revision 
of the work, especially in the light of subsequent collections 
and possible discovery of more perfectly preserved specimens 
seems most desirable, and also that a better series of figures 
be published." 
As complete a collection as possible of the fish remains of 
the Horton and Riversdale series of Nova Scotia was sent to 
Mr. A. Smith Woodward in January, 1899, for examination 
and study, but no report upon these specimens has yet been 
received. 
The Devono-Carboniferous problem in Nova Scotia and 
New Brunswick is far too complicated a question to be dis- 
cussed at any length in an address of this kind. At present, 
however, it is obvious that there is some discrepancy between 
the views of the two geologists on the Canadian survey staff 
who have studied the question from a stratigraphical and litho- 
logical point of view, and those of the paljeontologists whose 
names have been cited in this connection, as to the age of the 
Horton and Riversdale series of Nova Scotia, and of the plant- 
bearing beds near St. John, New Brunswick. 
