The Devonian Syste?n in Canada. — IVhiteaves. 217 
Nezv Brunswick. 
It would appear that Devonian rocks, or at any rate, rocks 
that have for many years been regarded as of Devonian age, 
were not recognized in New Brunswick until 1861. For, 
although Dr. Gesner made extensive geological explorations 
in the province last named, from 1838 to 1843, the strata that 
he refers to the old red sandstone, in his first report on a Geo- 
logical Survey thereof, published in 1839, and in a short para- 
graph in chapter eleven of his volume on New Brunswick, 
published in 1847, ^^'^ "ow regarded as of Carboniferous age. 
The occurrence of fossil plants in rocks near St. John, was 
noticed by Dr. Gesner as early as in his second report on the 
Geology of New Brunswick, published in 1840, and Sir 
William Dawson states that a well-characterized specimen from 
these rocks, which he subsequently identified with the 
Calamites transitionis of Goeppert, was shown to him by the 
late professor Robb in 1857.* 
In i860 a small collection of fossil plants from the shales at 
the foot of the city of St. John, near the barracks, recently 
made by Dr. G. F. Matthew, was submitted to Sir William 
Dawson for examination. On the evidence of their fossil 
plants these rocks at St. John were referred to the Devonian 
system by Sir William, in a paper "on the Pre-Carboniferous 
flora of New Brunswick, Maine, and Eastern Canada," pub- 
lished in the "Canadian Naturalist and Geologist" for June, 
1 86 1. Seven species are recognized in this collection, six of 
which are described as new. Professor L. W. Bailey in his 
report on the geology of southern New Brunswick, says that 
"the same author, in June, 1861, after an examination of cer- 
tain fossils in eastern Maine, asserted the Devonian age of the 
rocks containing them, and also of the sandstones constituting 
the peninsula of St. Andrews, which they closely resemble." 
Immediately after this, rocks containing similar fossils and 
presumably therefore of Devonian age, were recognized at 
other localities in the neighborhood of St. John, or in St. John 
county, as at the Little and ?\Iispec rivers, and more particu- 
larly at the Fern Ledges, in Lancaster parish. From the lat- 
ter locality extensive collections of fossils were made by Dr. 
*Acadian Geology, Second Edition, page 502. 
