146 PROCEEDINGS: BOSTON SOCIETY NATURAL HISTORY. 
obsoi'vations of Mr. Matthew dc^rivod additional importance- 
from the fact that the rocks alonj^ the supi)os(;d Vine, of junction 
were at several points found to hohl organic remains which, it 
was hoped, would be the means of fixing; definitely the aj?e of the 
beds in which they are contained. . . . Unfortunately, however, 
the fossils obtained, [in a careful re-examination of the Becca- 
guimic area by Bailey] though they embrace a (;onsiderable 
variety of forms, such as brachiopods, crinoids, trilobites, ortho- 
cerata and graptolites, and in some instances are pretty well 
preserved, arc mostly fragmentary and have proved too imperfect 
for even generic determination. ..." 
"It is further noticeable that in api)roaching the frontier to 
the southwest, these l)asal beds of the Silurian successively over- 
lap different members of the Cambro-Silurian system and hide 
them from view [it would not seem from this description that the 
Cambro-Silurian rocks were very badly crumpled. This kind of 
overlap is characteristic where a younger formation overlies an 
older series which has been gently tilted]. Thus the uncon- 
formity of the two systems is strongly marked, as these are also 
in strong contrast in their lithological characters and in the con- 
ditions of their origin. ..." 
"It is but right, however, to state that in referring to the 
horizon first above named [Cambro-Silurian], this is done in 
the absence of any positive proof of their true position. Within 
the region examined they have as yet yielded no fossils, and the 
only evidence of age is that furnished by the unconformable 
overlap of the Silurian rocks, as described in previous pages, and 
the fact that they have supplied material for the formation of 
conglomerates at its base. They are thus at least as old as the 
Cambro-Silurian, to which they are here provisionally referred. 
Amid strata, however, of such diverse character, which include 
at many points rocks of igneous or semi-igneous origin, which 
are not only in contact with, but are penetrated by great masses 
of intrusive granite, and which are themselves, over large areas, 
of a highly crystalline character, the writer would hesitate to 
assert that there may not also occur rocks of Cambrian or even 
Pre-Cambrian age."' 
iBailey, L. W. Aon. Rept. Geol. Surv. Canada 1882-83-84, p. 7-100, 
1885. 
