Campbell.]  MEADOW    BRANCH    COAL    FIELD    OF    WEST    VIRGINIA.        333 
They  represent  the  following  species:  Palssophycus  sp.;  Sphenopteris  vespertina  n.  sp..; 
Triphyllopteris  sp.,  cf.  T.  (Cyclopteris)  virginiana  (Meek);  Lepidodendron  scobiniforme 
Meek;  megaspores  (Iriletes). 
This  flora  is  typical  of  the  Pocono,  the  second  and  fourth  species  in  the  list  being 
nearly  always  present  in  that  formation.  The  Sphenopteris  is  present  at  practically 
all  localities  from  the  Schuylkill  River  gap,  below  Pottsville,  Pa.,  to  the  old  coal 
mines  on  Stony  Creek,  Wythe  County,  in  southwest  Virginia.  At  several  of  these 
points  it  has  been  identified  as  Sphenopteris  floccida  Crepin. 
The  Triphyllopteris  is  closely  related  to  T.  virginiana,  and  is  abundant  at  the  Pocono 
coal  mines  in  Price  Mountain,  Montgomery  County,  Va.  The  trunks  listed  as 
Lepidodendron  scobiniforme  are  nearly  as  common  as  the  Sphenopteris  vespertina.  By 
some  paleontologists  this  species  has  been  combined  with  T.  corrugatum  of  Dawson, 
which  is  similarly  characteristic  of  the  basal  Mississippian  of  Nova  Scotia  and  New 
Brunswick.  Many  of  the  fragments  are  in  a  state  of  preservation  recently  described 
by  Kidston  as  Eskdalia,  and  since  the  American  species  does  not  conform,  in  its 
generic  characters,  with  Lepidodendron,  it  should  probably  be  designated  as  Eskdalia 
scobiniforme.  So  far  as  known,  the  genus  Eskdalia  is  characteristic  of  the  ' '  Calciferous 
sandstone  series,"  which  in  Great  Britain  corresponds  to  the  American  Pocono. 
It  is  greatly  to  be  desired  that  additional  paleobotanical  search  may  be  prosecuted 
in  the  rocks  of  the  Mississippian  in  the  United  States  in  order  that  additional  plants 
may  be  brought  to  light  and  our  knowledge  of  the  floras  of  this  interesting  series 
enriched. 
Stratigraphy. — In  a  broad  way,  the  Pocono  rocks  of  this  district 
consist  of  massive  sandstone  or  conglomerate  beds  alternating  with 
thin  bands  of  soft  shale,  which  easily  breaks  down  and  seldom  shows 
in  outcrop.  The  debris  from  the  heavier  beds  tends  to  obscure  the 
softer  shales,  and  unless  they  are  of  such  a  color  as  to  show  prominently 
by  their  debris  they  may  be  passed  over  without  notice.  Gradation 
from  the  Devonian  shales  below  into  the  Pocono  rocks  above  seems  to 
be  fairly  regular  and  complete,  and  at  present  no  paleontological 
evidence  has  been  obtained  to  show  where  the  division  line  between 
these  two  systems  occurs.  The  red  sandstones  and  shales  of  the 
upper  Devonian  are  well  exposed  along  the  sides  of  both  Sleepy 
Creek  and  Third  Hill  mountains,  and  presumably  extend  upward  to 
the  base  of  the  coarse,  quartz-pebble  conglomerate  which  is  here 
regarded  as  constituting  the  base  of  the  Pocono  formation.  At  sev- 
eral points  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  syncline  a  still  lower  bed  of 
heavy  sandstone  makes  its  appearance,  but  presumably  it  is  of  Devo- 
nian age  and  occurs  interbedded  with  the  upper  Devonian  shales. 
The  coarse  conglomerate  just  mentioned  is  succeeded  upward  by  a 
mass  of  soft  material  which  has  an  approximate  thickness  of  250  feet. 
This  is  bounded  on  its  upper  side  by  a  very  massive  sandstone,  or  fine 
conglomerate,  which  is  the  most  conspicuous  stratigraphic  member  of 
the  Pocono  formation,  and  constitutes  most  of  the  crest  of  Sleepy 
Creek,  Third  Hill,  and  Short  mountains.  This  sandstone  is  of  a  sugary 
whiteness,  and  seems  to  range  in  thickness  from  40  to  60  feet. 
The  rocks  above  this  massive  sandstone  are  generally  poorly  exposed, 
so  that  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  obtain  a  clear  comprehension  of  their 
