New South Wales . 
4i 
in New South Wales. But if the latter aro proved to he of 
younger age than that which has been assumed for them, it is 
not necessary to place the two series (so widely separate in 
space) on the same actual horizon. 
AVe have not recognised in New South AVales the Cycadeous 
plants of Victoria, nor is there a perfect agreement in tho 
phvtology of the Wianainatta and ATctorian strata. In 1SG1 I 
mentioned (“ Recent Geological Discoveries , ifc,f p. 45) three of 
M‘Coy’s New Soutli AVales Plants, Gleicheiiifcs odontopteroides 
(called Pecopteris by IMorris and Carruthers) ; Odontopteris 
microphylla , and Pecopteris tcnuijolia, as occUring in the AViana- 
matta beds ; these are not reported from A'ietoria, whilst Spheno- 
ptcris alata , Prong. (Grandini oj Goe/ip. and Schimper) from New¬ 
castle, belongs to the Old Carboniferous in Germany, and not to 
any Mesozoic formation. 
In the list given in “ Progress Report of Victoria, 1874,” Pro¬ 
fessor M‘Coy mentions three species of Gariftamopteris , from his 
Upper Carbonaceous beds ; 2 Neuroptoris, 1 Pecopteris, 3 
Sphenopteris, 1 Treniopteris, with 3 Zamites and 1 Phyllotheca 
from the Lower Carbonaceous and only one animal form, Unio 
Dacombii . The alleged abundance and value of coal in these beds 
have been proved to bo a myth. There is, however, more coal 
therein than in the smaller area of the Wi ana matt a and Hawkes- 
bury rocks; and probably that is the reason why the Professor 
would place them below tho former group of New South AVales. 
But when wo consider the great improbability that a series of 
strata having a thickness of at least 5,000 feet could ever liavo 
existed between the llawkesbury and Wianainatta series, and 
that not a trace remains anywhere in New South AVales of such 
interpolation,—that the fossil evidence is in opposition to it, — 
and that tho areas are totally disproportionate,—it would appear 
a mere caprice of fancy to hold such a notion as that hinted at. 
It may be well to make a final remark respecting Mr. Brough 
Smyth’s idea that the coal beds of New South AVales lie on 
“ limestones .” ( Progress Report , p. 20.) Had he visited them 
himself ho would have seen that limestone, as such, is rather a 
rare rock in connection with tho Now South AVales deposits of 
coal, which clearly interpolates the marine beds, but the latter are 
more frequently conglomerates, or sandstones and grits. The 
Upper coal measures rest frequently on granite and slates as well 
as on other rocks. The limestones in the Carboniferous rocks 
aro rare, being few and of limited extent and far between. Tho 
author just mentioned considers the relation of the “ coal-bearing ” 
to u palceozoic rocks” as “obscure,” but it is not obscure to those 
who have examined for themselves, nor moro so than the feeling 
which induces philosophers to keep out of sight and ignore the 
evidenco which contradicts their own pre-conceived opinions. 
