New South Wales. 
77 
of nature. Yet these ought to know better — that truth is dis¬ 
covered, not invented.” “It is fiction to assume that Palaeozoic and 
Mesozoic faunas have not co-existed upon the earth.” “The facts 
of our Gonihvana rocks arc certainly puzzling to systematists: 
on the West in Jvach (Cutcli) we have the flora of the top Gond- 
wana group, which lias a Bathonian facies, associated with 
Marine fossils of Tithonian affinities; while on the the South-east, 
in Trichinopoli, beds with a flora (so far as known) like that of 
the Rajmahal group, which is taken to be Liassic, have been de- 
eribed by Mr. H. F. Blanford Q’Mcm. Geol. Sur vohiv.,p. 47) 
as overlaid, in very close relation, by the Ootatoor group, the 
fauna of which has been declared, upon very full evidence, to 
have a Cerioinanien facies,” 
“ These questions of homotaxis concern the whole body of 
naturalists as much as they do us; and I hope some guiding 
spirits amongst them will keep a watch on our proceedings. 
Happily these foreign relations do not interfere with the local 
regulation of our rock systems. The terrestrial fauna and flora 
of the Gondwanas is developing into a compact unity of its own, 
and its relations to contiguous Marine fossil faunas is normal, so 
far as this word can bo legitimately used.” (“Records Geol. Sur. 
India” vol. x., pt. 1, LS77, pp. 2, 8.) 
On this plan of dealing with the Australian and Indian Coal 
formations in relation to their fossil vegetables, there must be a ne¬ 
cessity for very close examination of the individual plants to satisfy 
the inquiry; and relationship to the Marine fossils of the former 
which do not exist in the latter cannot, on the plea expressed by 
Medjicott, be excluded. We may, therefore, look to Dr. Feist- 
mantel’s comparison of the respective floras of the two countries. 
In order to assist in this Iliad placed in the hands of my friend 
I)r. Oldham, at Calcutta, a considerable series of our New South 
Wales plants, from Newcastle, Hunter River, TUawarra, Lith- 
gow, Merigang, Clarence River, Ac., in New South Wales, and from 
Queensland, Tasmania, and Victoria, including the Coal-seams of 
this Colony and the overlying strata of the Ilawkesbury and 
Wianamatta groups. A few of these were contributed by Mr. 
C. S. Wilkiueon, and the collection was left in the hands of Dr. 
Feist mantel when Dr. Oldham retired from the direction of the 
Indian Survey. 
On these, the latter gentleman has reported to me his opinion. 
Since then, 1 forwarded at his desire a further collection, com¬ 
prising additional specimens of plants from the lower Coal- 
seams of the Hunter, collected in part by Mr. Mackenzie, from 
Greta, Stroud, Queensland, Ac., including the Ashes of the Gib 
Tunnel, with sections and papers, Ac. These arrived safely, and 
an account of them will be found in Appendix XX. 
