4394 

ProfessiOnal Paper No. 35 Senes { B, Descnpt1ve Geology, 49 

G, Systematic Geology and Paleontology, 70 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

UNITED 8TATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

CHARLES D WALCOTT, DIRECTOR 

• I 

THE 

GEOLOGY OF THE PERRY BASIN 

IN 

SOlJTHEASTERN MAINE 

• 

BY 

GEORGE OTIS SMITI--:[ and DAVID WHITE 

WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRIN'l'IN G OFFICE 

1905 

CONTENTS. 

Page. 

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL .•••••••••••••••••.••••••••••••.•••••••••••••• , • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • . i 

I l\THODUCTION................................... . . . • • . • • • • • • . . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . . . • • • • • • • • u 

Ex planation of the investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

Statement of conclusions ......... ·............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

CrrAPTllH I. Review of literature ....................................................... ·.... 11 

CrrAPTER II. Descriptive geology................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 

Con<litions of geologie work ....................................... .,................... 18 

Older formations...................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

Granite .. :........................................................................ 19 

Age of granite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 . 

Silurian strata .............................. '.. ........................... ·... . . . . . . . 21 

Associated lavas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2i 

Perry formation....................................................................... 28 

Subdivision ................. ~....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 

Occurrencfl .... , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 

General characters ........................................ c • • • . • • . • • • • • . . . • • • • • • • • 31 

Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

CHAPTER III. Paleontology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Plant-bearing localities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Collections studied . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Descriptions of species................................................................. 36 

Age of the Perry formation ..... _., ........... ______ . ___________ . _______ .. ___ ..... _____ . SO 

Distribution of the species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. .. . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 80 

Correlation . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 

CnAPTER IV. Economic geology .............................................. ., ........ ., . 85 

History of search for coal .............................................................. • 85 

Geologic data ................................... :. . . .. . . .. .. . .. .. . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8i 

Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . 89 

APPENDIX. Coal in other localities in Maine................................................. 90 

Greenfield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • • . 90 

Fish River . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 

Other localities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . • • . . . . . . 92 

INDEX ................................... - •••. - ••..•• :. • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 10:i 

3 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page 

PLATE I Geologic map of the Perry haHm. __ . _ .. _ ... _ .. _ ............ __ ...... _ ... __ . __ .. _ .. _ 18 

II Fossils of the Perry formatiOn, Platyphyllum, OtHlophyton, Dimeriptens, Tremocra<la, 

Barrandema, and Archreopteris. __ ..... _ 

III. Arclueoptens .. ____ ......... ___ ........... _ .. _ ......... ____ .. __ ... _ ............. . 

IV. Rhachwptens, Palreostachya, Barmophyton, Uarpol!thes, and Lep1<locystis ..•.... __ . 

V Ps1lophyton ...... __ ........... _ .............. __ ............ __ ........... _ ..... . 

VI Leptophkeuru, Lepidostrobus, Sporangites, and Psiloph:yton ....•..... _ .....•••.•... 

5 

94 

96 

98 

100 

102 

LETTER 0 F TRANSlVIITTATj. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE IKTEIUOR, 

UNITJm .STATES GEOLOHICAL SuRVEY, 

TVitshington, D. 0., Jl[ay 937, 1904. 

Sm: I have the honor to transmit the manuscript o£ a report on the geology 

o£ the Perry lms!n, in 'Jouthcastern Maine, hy George Otis Smith and David White, 

and to recommend its publication as a professional paper. 

This. report embodies the results o£ an investigation o£ alleged coal deposits, 

made in cooperation w1th the Maine State Survey Commission. \Vhile £rom an 

economical standpoint the results arc entirely negative, they are none the less 

important and ate o£ great scientific interest. 

Very rc'lpect£ully, 

c. w. HAYES, 

Hon. CHAIU:ES D. vV ALCOTT, 

Geologist in Ultct1'ge of Geology. 

Director United States Geolqgical Survey. 

7 

• 

,< 

THE GEOLOGY OF THE PERRY BASIN, IN SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

. By GEOHGE OTIS SMITH and DAVID vVHITE. 

INTRODUCTION. 

EXPLANATION OF THE INVESTIGATION. 

The geologic examination of the Perry district, in southeastern Maine, was 

undertaken at the request of the Survey Commission of the State of Maine. During 

the 1902-3 session of the Maine legislature an effort was made by petitioners resident 

in \Vashington County to obtain from the State an appropriation of $10,000 for coal 

exploration. The resolve proposed contained a ,proviso necessitating an additional 

contribution of $5,000 by individuals or corporations interested. The $15,000 thus 

procured was to be expended in drilling for coal at the most promising localities. 

The resolve failed to pass, but the Maine Survey Commission decided that the 

same results could be accomplished by the expenditure of a small portion of the 

general appropriation for geologic work in cooperation with the United titates 

Geological Survey. 

The authors were detailed by the Director of the United States Geological 

Survey to make the inv;._estigation of the Perry region, under the direction of the 

Maine commissioners, for the purpose of determining the possibilities of the 

occurrence of coal in commercial quantities. As will be shown later, the region is 

especially favorable to geologic work, and a ten-day reconnaissance yielded data 

upon which definite conclusions can he based. These condusions are presented in 

this paper, together with observations incidentally made that have a bearing upon 

the genen,I geologic problems of the region. It is believed that the results thus 

obtained in answer to the inquiry as to the occurrence of coal are even more definite 

than those which would have been reached by the expenditure of the proposed 

appropriation in extensive drilling operations. 

In the preparation of the report the observations and deductions of both authors 

have been used, but Chapters I and III have been written by Mr. White and 

Chapters ll and IV, with the added descriptions of other localities visited, by 

9 
10 GEOLOGY OF PERRY HASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAIN.E. 

Mr. Smith. A preliminary statement of the results was submitted to the Maine 

Commission AugiJ.st 5, 1903, and published by it in the daily press of the State 

on the following day. 

STATEMENT 011' CONCLUSIONS. 

In this paper it will be shown, regarding the geologic relations, that1. The Perry formation, consisting chiefly of brownish conglomerates and 

interbedded lavas, lies in irregular areas in marked unconformity on earlier 

formations, the yoll'ngest of which is probably of a date not later than the oldest 

Devonian. 

2. The formation is estuarine and was rapidly deposited, the materials being 

derived, without long transport, from rocks immediately adjacent to the area of 

deposition. 

3. The lower beds of the formation are more coarsely and massively conglomeratic toward the north, and the higher beds are accompanied by a larger proportion 

of intrusive rocks. 

4. Since the deposition of the Perry beds there has been no very marked 

folding and but slight alteration of the· sediments, though minor faulting and some 

cutting by intrusives have occurred . 

. 5. The lavas of the Perry f~rmation are basic as compared with those of 

Silurian age, which are of a rhyolitic type. 

6. The age of the formation is distinctly Devonian, and probably Chemung. 

Regarding the occurrence of coal it is found that1. The strata of the formation, which are exposed in exceptional completeness, 

bear no evidence of the presence either of any seam of coal, of whatever thickness, 

or of any of the usual and more or less characteristic accompaniments of coal seams, 

such as old soils, Stigmaria clays, leached plant shales, etc., there being no traces of 

even carbonaceous or black-shale beds or partingR. 

2. The fossils show that the rocks are of upper Devonian age; i. e., that they 

were laid down in a period earlier than the deposition of any commercially workable 

coals yet discovered on any continent. There is therefore no basis whatever for the 

hope of finding usable coal in any of the concealed parts of the Perry formation. 

3. There are no rocks of coal-bearing age under the Perry formation. The 

youngest of the remaining Paleozoic rocks of the region, beneath and surrounding 

the Perry formation, are far more ancient than the rocks of the Perry formation. 

The last drill prospect is shown to have passed through the Perry formation and into 

the lavas of Silurian age. 

4. The reports of coals do not, when investigated, conflict in the least with the 

foregoing conclusions. 

\ 
CHAPTER I. 

REVIE\V O:H' LITERATURE. 

By DAVID '''RITE. 

The vicinity of Perry bas perhaps attracted more attention on the part of 

geologists than any other portion of eastern Maine. The presence in the Perry 

ba:-~in of the youngest Paleozo~c rocks yet definitely .determined in the State, the 

relative proximity of this basin to the ~.oal fields of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and the lithologic resemblance between the rocks of the basin and those 

associated with the coal measures lying farther northeastward are conditions wh~ch, 

since the earliest geologic explorations in the State, have combined to excite 

interest in this region as one favorably situated for the occurrence of coal. The 

researches were therefore carried on chiefly with an economic motive. 

G-eographically and structurally the Perry basin is most closely bound to southern 

New Brum..;wick. Accordingly we find its geologic features compared with those of 

that Province, its formations having been included by the Canadian geologists in 

their discussions of the upper Paleozoic axis of the Bay of Fundy, with which the 

Perry basin is continuous. 

As early as 1836a Dr. Charles T. ,Jackson, in the service of both Maine and 

Massachusetts, published numerous details of the geology of eastern Washington County, including descriptions of ~e eruptives and red sandstones and 

conglomerates about Perry. The sandstones, described as extending along the St. 

Croix River from Indiantown to Liberty Point, in Robbinston, were identified as 

belonging to the coal formation of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, though, as was 

explained, until the sequence should be traced across from the Grand Lake (New 

Brunswick) coal field it remained impossible to fix their exact position with reference 

to any coal beds assumed to be near. The term ''New Red sandstone" was applied b 

to some of these beds along the St. Croix River, and they were correlated with 

the older Mesozoic of Connecticut and the gypsi.ferous and coal-bearing series of 

a First Rept. Geol. Pul>lic Lands, State of Maine; Mass. S. Doc. No. 89, March, 1837, pp. 11, 12, 18. First Rcpt. Geol. 

Maine, 1837, pp. 17, 18, 97. 

b First Rcpt. Geol. Jl!aine, 1837. p. 97. 

11 

• 
• 

12 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

Nova Scotia. On the basis of this supposed identity of formation Professor Jackson 

recommended the exploration, by boring or otherwise, for coal, which, if present, he 

thought should be found between Pembroke and the St. Croix. He says: 

"From the observations which we have been able to make it will appear that the 

sandstone here describe9. is a continuation of that which exists in New Brunswick 

and in which the bituminous coal of the Grand Lake is probably contained. It will, 

however, be impossible for me to speak positively on this subject until I have visited 

that district, for no survey of the region has ever been made. It is, however, an 

undoubted fact that the sandstone in question is identical with the red sandstone of 

Nova Scotia which contains gypsum, salt springs, and coal. In a subsequent 

excursion around Lubec Bay we found a salt spring, which :issues from the soil near 

the junction of this sandstone with the argillaceous limest,one rock, above the Lubec 

lead mines. The New Heel sandstone rests directly on the transition limestone at 

Pembroke. It occurs also at Red Head, Nutters Point, where it is of an exceedingly 

fine texture and will serve perfectly for the manufacture of hones and fine grindstones 

for delicate tools. · 

"If coal really occurs in this sandstone, it should be found between the villag-e of 

Pembroke and the St. Croi.x River. In the present state of our knowledge of the 

covntry it is impossible to say more respecting the occurrence of coal in this section. 

It not unfrequently happens that some members of the coal series arc wanting, which 

may possibly be the case here. It is, however, worthy of exploration, and by boring 

through this rock in a few places the question may be settled at little expense to 

those who may enter on the task. 

" Should no such operations be carried on before the next year, I hope to be 

allowed to extend my researches to the lmow1i coal regions of New Brunswick, on 

the Grand Lake, when more light may be obtained on this important subject. 

The numerous irregularities to which our coal measures are subject render it difficult, if iwt impossible, to trace them without the aid of immediate comparisons of 

one section with another. No geological observations would imply that the red 

sandstone in question should not contain coal; for if it should be found equivalent to the New Red sandstone formation of Europe, it will belong to the upper coal 

series. The occurrence of a salt sprin"g at its junction with the limestone appears 

to fa.vor this supposition."11 

The same views are implied m Doctor Jackson's second rep01V as State 

geologist, made in 1838. Nevertheless, as will be seen lat~r, the correlations on 

which he based his hope of developing a coal field in this basin, and which were 

accepted by Gesner, the geologist of New Brunswick, were entirely false and 

misleading. 

For a score of years following the close of Doctor ,Tackson's survey, the literature, so far as it concerns the Perry formation, relates chiefly to the classification 

and age of the coal- or copper-bearing red sandstones of North America. This discussion was participated in by the most eminent American geologists of the period. 

a First Rept. Geol. Maine, 1837, pp. 17, 18. 

b Second Ann. Rept. Geol. Public Lands of llfaine and 1\Iassachusetts, Roston, 1838, p. viii. 
REVIEW OF LITERATURE. 13 

In 1851 Jackson, though insisting that the red sandstones overlying the Silurian 

in Maine were of the same age as those in the Connecticut Valley or in New Jersey, 

suggested a that all of the deposits in question might belong in the Silurian system. 

This proposition was promptly combatted by Agassiz, who urged b that the vertebrute remains of the New Jersey red beds should not be regarded as older than the 

Trias. 

In 1859 the current of opinion as to the age of these rocks was turned from a 

later to an earlier age, apparently by a fossil plant. Itt that year Prof. W. B. 

Rogers laid before the Boston Society of Natural History,c "specimens of the supposed coal-bearing rocks of Maine, in which was an impression closely resembling 

Oycloter'is hibern'iC(l, so common in Great Britain." Professor Newberry concurred 

as to the affinities of this species, and Professor Rogers was accordingly of the 

opinion that the Perry beds were to be correlated with the "Kiltorcan" (Devonian 

or "Ursa," but regarded by him as lower Carboniferous) of Ireland, the "Albert 

shales" of New Brunswick, and the Pocono coal-bearing•series of the Appalachian 

region, all being referable to the lower Carboniferous. Later he was disposed to 

regard the Perry beds as upper Devonian, or transitional to the Carboniferous. 

About the same time .Tackson stated a that, although at first disposed to consider the 

Perry bed>:; as "New Red" or Triassic, he had since come to reg·ard them as 

Devonian, since he had traced the red sandstones from Perry to Trescott and 

Machias, where they rest on heds of Silurian if not Devonian age, but that "fossils 

recently discovered seemed to indicate that his first conjecture, that these rocks are 

Triassic, was well founded." This was followed by a reiteration on the part of 

Agassiz e that the red sandstone of southern New Brunswick was Triassic, additional 

proof being cited in the form of a Oalmnites supposed by him to be close to the 

Triassic Equisehnn columna1'e. 

In the meantime shafting and boring had been carried on in the Perry basin in 

the search for coal, and the careful s_crutiny of the rocks had led to the discovery of 

additional fossil plants. Accordingly, when, in 1861, Prof. U. H. Hitchcock entered 

upon his duties as State geologist of Maine, he ealled to his aid, in the determination 

of the vexed Perry qucstim_1, the services of Prof .• J. W. (later Sir ~William) Dawson, 

who had already begun the publication of his valuable series of papers on the 

Paleozoic floras of northeastern America. Hitchcock's reportf contains the most 

aceumte and detailed description of the geologic features of the basin that has yet 

appeared, though, as in previous reports, the Perry sandstone was not in all areas 

a Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. 3, p. 335. 

bLoc. cit., p. 337. 

c Proceedings, vol. 5, pp. SG, 170, 398. 

dLoc. cit., pp. 395-398. 

e Loc. cit., pp. 357, 398. 

!Sixth ,\.nn. Rept. Sec. :Maine Bf\. Agric., Augusta, 1861 (1862), pp. 247-257, 208. 
14 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTimN MAINE. 

distinguished from the red shales of the Silurian. The most important part of this 

report, however, so far as it relates to the prospect of finding coal in this basin, is 

that giving the resulttl of Dawson's study of the fossils and enumerating or describing 

seven species of fos:-;il plants found at Perry. In view of the character and distJ-ibution of these species Dawson unqualifiedly asserted hi;.; conclusion that the beds were 

of Devonian age, thus confirming his previous views, which were almost simultaneously publishcd,a but which had been based on a smaller amount of material. 

The conclnsions, accompanied hy paleontological evidence, first set forth by Sir 

'Villiam Dawson, met prompt and general acceptance at the time by Hitchcockb and 

others, though more precise correlations were not given until later, when, as 

additional material was discovered and the dbtribution of the species was better 

known, his compari:-;on of the Perry flora hecame more exact. Thus, in Dawson's 

next ptLpersc on the shbjcct, in the following year, he refers the Perry beds (estimated at 1,300 feet) to the upper Devonian and correlates them with the upper 

member of the "St. .1 olm •Series" and the upper Devonian of Gaspe. In the next 

year Daw:-;on a hnd recognized 16 f0rms in the Perry ~ora, which he correlated as 

before, while cautioning explorers of this region "that these rocks strikingly resemble in their mineml characters the lower Carboniferous red sandstones and conglomerates of some parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and also probably Mesozoic 

'New Heel sandstones' of these Provinces." 

These words of Dawson reflect his embarrassment in correlating the relatively 

unaltered Perry beds with the lithdlogically strikingly <lissimilar and somewhat 

metamorphic St. John beds, or "fern ledges," lying farther northeastward in the 

same basin at Lepreau and St. John, along the Bay of Fundy. This difficulty 

seems to disappear when he concludes e that the beds at Perry "may bclo~ng to a 

Devonian horizon somewhat higher than that of the St. John beds, and that this 

may possibly serve to account for their comparatively unaltered condition." He 

reiterates, however, that "the flora of the P_erry beds is precisely equivalent to 

that of the upper Devonian of Pennsylvania and New York, and quite distinct 

a On the pre-Carbomfernus flom of New Brunswick, Maine, and eastern Canadn: Canadiltn Naturalist, vol. 6,.June,1861, 

pp. 172-175. The collections studied by Dawson were those of the Portland Society of Natural History und a collection 

made hy Mr. Richardson, of the Geological Survey of Cnnada. 

b Proc. l'ortland Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. 1, pt. l, 1862, pp. 76-78. In this paper Professor Hitchcock points out the fact that 

the paleontological equivalents of the Perry beds underlie the lower Carboniferous of the Bay of Fundy region, a111l he 

calls attention to the consequent conclusion that the Carboniferous docs not occur in 1\Iaine, and that "we need no longer 

expect to find beds of coal in Perry." 

cOn the flora of the Devonian period in northeastern America: Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, vol. 18, November, 

1862, pp."-296-BHO, pls. xii-xvii; reprinted in part, Am. Jour. Sd.,2d ser., vol. 35, 1863, pp. illl-319. Descriptions of new 

fossils. Second Ann. Rept. Nat. Hist. and Geol. 1\faine, 1863, pp. 402, 404; reprinted in Proc. Portland Soc. Nat. Hist., 

vol. 1, pt. 2, 1863, pp. 99, 100, pl. ii. 

d Further observations on the Devoni!ln plants of 1\faine, Gaspe, and New York: Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, vol. 

19, November, 1863, pp. 458-169, pis. xvii-xix. Acadian geology, 1868, p. 513. 

eThe fossil plants of the Devonian and upper Silurian lormatwns of Canada: Geol. Survey Canada, 1871, pp. 6, 

11, 68, 71, 85. 
' 

REVIEW OF LITERATURE. 15 

from that of the lower Carboniferous," and in his table a the sandstones about 

Perry are put opposite the Chemmig of New York and the upper Devonian of 

Gaspe. 

The difficulties met in reconciling a Devonian correlation of tbe Perry beds 

with the great section near St. ,John adopted by the New Brunswiek geologists as 

typical of tl:ie Devonian for the southern part of their province seenis to. have 

inureased as the stratigraphic studies of Prof. L. Vv. Bailey, Dr. G. F. Matthew, 

and Prof. C. F. Hartt were carried along the Bay of Fundy to the. shores of 

Passamaquoddy Bay. In the same year in which Dawson's report, just mentioned, 

was printed we find Bailey and Matthew b placing the "Perry sandstone group" 

"at or near the base of the lower Carboniferous," although, since at Perry and 

St. Andrews they eontain ·Devonian forms of vegetation, it was thought that they 

might be of earlier date than the lower Carboniferous of the Kennebeeasis Valley. 

This reference we find reaffirmed in 1880 by Bailey, Matthew, and Ells, who, in discussing the outlying deposits on the shores ~f the Passamaquoddy Bay, explain that c 

"these are interesting as containing in their lower portions fossils of a Devoni_an 

type, while the beds themselves are uncornformably superimposed upon the true 

Devonian, and otherwise possess the eharacters of the lower Carboniferous rocks." 

. The second part of Dawson's Fossil Plants of the Erian and Upper Silurian 

Formations of Canada appeared in 1882,fl and among the more exact eorrelations 

contained therein we again find the Perry beds plaeed at the top of the Devonian, on 

a level with the "Pter-·ichthys beds" of Scanmenae, New Brun,wick, This conqlusion was unqualifiedly stated in all of Sir William's later referenees to the Perry 

formation. e Nevertheless, the stratigraphcrs of the Canadian Survey seem genrally to have decided that the stratigraphie tracing of the beds _admitted no 

doubt as to the identity of the Perry with the lower Carboniferous of the Bay 

of Fundy basin, to which it is very elosely similar lithologically; and we find 

the Perry formation mapped as lower Carboniferous by the Geologic~! Survey of 

Canada on the detailed geologie sheet embracing this portion of the international 

boundary/ 

An important paper relating to the Perry formation was published by Prof. 

N. S. Shaler in 1886, under the title "Preliminary Report on the Geology of the 

Cobscook Bay Distl'ict, Maine." !1 This paper is devoted chiefly to the lithology, 

stratigraphy, and fossils of the rocks, which he elassifies in four groups, three 

a Foss. Pl. Dev. Upp. Sil. Form., Canada, p. 11. 

b Geol. Survey Canada, Rept. for 1872, p. 200. 

c Geol. Survey Canada, Rept. for 1880, pp. 12D, 15D. 

dGeoL Survey Canada, for 1882, p. 113. 

e See Geological History of ·rJants, 1888, p. 107; also, Geology of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Eastern Canaqa, 

1891, SuppL, p. 73. 

/Geol. Survey Canada, Province of New Brunswick, No.1 S. W., 1880. 

gAm. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 32, pp. 35-60. 
16 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

of these being below the Perry group, the highest of the latter, the Cobscook, 

including dark sandstones and shales ("Moose Island Blaek shale"), probably 

approximately of the date of the "Ohio" ["Hamilton"] shale. These groups are1. A basa~ series, of unknown thickness, consisting of gneissoid, syenitic, and· 

granitic rocks and some mica-schists, probably of Laurentian age. 

2. The "Campobello group," comprising dark greenish, grayish, siliceous, 

and argillaceous rocks with very little lime and no fossils, over 4,000 feet thick, 

to be compared with the Cambrian. 

3. The "Cobscook series," not less than 4,000 feet of more or less altered 

sandstones, shales, limestones, ash beds, and intrusives, carrying at points Clinton, 

Niagara, lower Helderberg, and middle Devonian p) fossils. 

4. The "Perry series," over 2,000 feet of coarse, red conglomerates and 

sandstones unconformably deposited, of upper Devonian or lower Carboniferous 

age. 

The structure of the basin and the erosion intervals between the groups are 

discussed a.t some length, though the red Silurian does not seem at all points to 

have been distinguished :from the Perry, which, with its coarse, red sandstones, 

conglomerates, and reddish shales, estimated as certainly over 2,000 feet in thickness, he regards as a shore Dr estuarine deposit distinctly unconformable on the 

older groups. 

Professor Shaler adds: 

"If the lower part of the section at Perry should turn out to be upper 

Devonian or sub-Carboniferous, as ~eems not improbable, then the evidence will 

be to the effect that a period of erosion occurred in the interval between the close 

of the middle Devonian and the formation of the Perry beds. This is especially 

interesting, as it would seem to show that this portion of the continent was above 

the sea during a part of the Devonian or of the sub-Carboniferous period." a 

In the Cobscook group, which is ·next below the Perry group, Shaler 

recognizes four' faunas: A lower Helderberg, at Orange Bay; a fauna closely 

related to the Clinton or Niagara, at Dents Point; a Niagara fauna, near Demysville, and the fauna of the "Moose Island Black shales," for which he argues a 

middle Devonian age. For the latter correlation the age evidence, which is in part 

merely circumstantial and lithologic, does not appear sufficient. The paleontological evidence on which these age determinations were based will he briefly considered in a later part of this paper (p. 22). In a footnote" the author remarks: 

"It may be incidentally suggested that the conglomerates and sandstones of the 

Perry series should be compared with the deposits of the ' Catskill period ' of the 

Hudson district." ' 

a Loc. cit., p. 50. bLoc. cit., p. 51. 
REVIEW OF LITERATURE. 17 

Finally, it is interesting to note a conclusion regarding the Perry group more 

recently presented by Prof. L. W. Bailey, in a paper "On some Relations between 

the Geology of eastern Maine and New Brunswick," wherein the following statement -is made: a 

"In its fossil flora, so well described by Sir William Dawson, its aspect is 

undoubtedly Devonian, but to the other rocks of that system, as seen only a few 

miles to the eastward, along the New Brunswick coast, it bears no resemblance 

whatever, while, both in the nature of the beds and in their relations to the subjacent formations, it does bear much resemblance to the rocks of the lower Carboniferous system which spread so widely over other portions of the province. For 

this reason it was, in the survey reports and maps, represented as a part of the lastnamed system. On the other hand, however, it differs from the latter in the total 

absence of the marine limestones and gypsiferous beds usually found in connection 

therewith, and in this respect approaches more nearly a group of coarse sediments 

skirting the shores of the Bay des Chaleurs, which have been there shown to be 

unconformably overlapped by the lower Carboniferous or Bonaventure rocks. It is 

probable that in both instanees these coarse red beds, though true Devonian, are to 

be regarded as representing the most recent portion of that system, and like the 

Catskill group of New York, which they nearly resemble, constitute a transitional 

series he tween the two." 

It is thus seen that the conclusions of Professor Bailey and the suggestions of 

Professor Shaler arc in substantial agreement with the correlation first proposed by 

Sir William Dawson, notwithstanding the consequent difficulties involved in the 

correlation of the supposed Devonian and lower Carboniferous rocks along the Bay 

of Fundy between the St. Croix River and St .• John. 

a Trans. Royal Soc. Canada, val. 7, sec. ·1, 1889, p. 60. 

10325-No. 35-05-2 

• 
CHAPTER II. 

DESCRIPTIVE GEOLOGY. 

By GEOHGE OTis_Si\nTn. , 

CONDI'l'IONS Ol!' GEOLOGIC WOHK. 

The natural conditions in this coast region may be said to favor geologic mapping. f -·-

It is trilC.thatun the interior portion of the area outcrop:-; may not be evcrJ;where as 

rlumerons as the geologist might desire, although. i~1 our rapi_d traverse of the principal roads the rock exposures were found to be sufficiently· abundant to serve the 

purpose of the reconnai,sance. Yet the 'coast iine is here cha~·acterized by a very 

extensive development of deep indentations and projecting peninsulas, and along the 

most:of this complicated shore line the very strong tides of Passamaquoddy and Cobscook bays have been effective in sea erosi~n. Thus sea cliffs have been carved that 

expose large face" of rock, and i~r these and in the outlying stacks, ledges, and reefs 

the rock strata can be ea~?ily studied .... At. the ha.se of the cliffs the rock is in places 

swept clean by the tide, so that it is often possible to study contacts or·dikes in both 

horizontal and vertical sections. 

These favorable conditions prevail especially along the western shore of St. 

Croix River, where the Perry formation is exposed. Thus the conclusions reached 

concerning the stratigraphy and structure of this formation are for the most part 

definite. Rarely is the geology of an area so easily read and the problem to be 

investigated so readily solved. 

In this reconnaissance o'f the Perry district the greater part of the time was 

devoted to the Perry formation itself. The shore section was carefully studied from 

Red Beach as far a:-> the highway hridge at the northern end of Moose Island. The 

westem and northern limits of the area of Perry rocks were determined approximately by road traverses, and at the same time the rocks forming the floor upon 

which the Perry sediments had been depositf)d were observed, the reconnaissance 

extending as far west as Pembroke. For the purpose of obtaining a broader knowledge 

18 

• 
LEGEND 

DEVONIAN 

PERRY FORMATION 

Uppe

-r lava member 

Upper sa

-

ndstone member 

Lower con

-

glomerate member 

PASSAMAQ U DDY 

BAY 

GEOLOGIC MA P OF THE PEHRYBASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE BY 

GE O RGE O l 'l S S MIT H .Al'\10 DAV ID W HIT'E 

Scal e 

o"=====~==!::===::E-===-=-=3 1n ile ~ 

JULIUS BIEN &CO. LITH. N.Y. 
,~· 

DESCRIPTIVE G EO LOGY, 19 

of the Perry formation the adjacent parts of New Brunswick were also visited and 

the sections exposed there were studied. In short, the work was planned so as to 

obtain as much information as .possible reg:uding the stratigraphy, structure, and 

age of the Perry formation. The older rocks were studied chiefly in their relations 

to this formation, although some other observations will be recorded in this paper, 

bec:wse of their importance in the interpretation of the geology in other parts of 

the State. 

OLDRR FORl\1ATIONS. 

The rocks older than the Perry formation are of three classes-the granitic 

rocks, the Silurian sedimentary strata, and the associated volcanics. These will be 

described briefly, since some knowledge of them has proved to be essential to the 

solution of the question under discussion. Especially is this true of the Silurian rocks 

·lying directly beneath the Perry conglomerate, from the fact that coal prospectors 

have sometimes failed to recognize these as older than the formation in which they 

hoped to find coal. 

GRANITE. 

Granitic rocks extend along the St. Croix River from near Calais to Robbinston. At Devils Head there are prominent exposures of granitic rocks.· On 

the northwest slope of this promontory several types of igneous rock occur. In 

the same quarry opening light-pink granite and a dark-green rock are exposed 

in parallel sheets. The former is granite of the normal type, ·containing only a 

small proportion of biotite, while thjj latter has the composition of granite, but 

contains larger amounts and greater variety of the darker constituents, pyroxene 

being probably present with the hornblende and biotite. Some masses of coarse 

diabase also occur at this locality and the relatiops indicate a complex intermixture 

of several distinct intrusions of plutonic rock, which may, however, represent a 

common magma. 

Farther south, at Red Beach, the granite is uniform in both color and texture. 

This granite is quarried extensively and the product of the Red Beach quarries 

. has an excellent reputation in the market. Its attractive red color, :fine grain, and 

even texture are qualities that :fit it for the best work, since it takes a high polish. 

In the town of Eobbinston the red granite is slightly different in . charaet~p·. 

It is of even :finer grain, and quartz, orthoclase, and plagioclase constitute almost 

the whole of the rock. In the specimen collected here a slight amount of 

chlorite represents the ferromagnesian constituent, which was probably biotite. 

In texture it approaches graphic granite, the quartz not being a younger constit-
20 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

uent than the orthoclase, but in places showing the peculiar intcrgrowth with that 

mineral. Both the feldspars are deeply colored with iron oxide, the plagioclase 

being slightly lighter in tint. It is this coloring matter in the feldspars that 

gives the bright-red color to the granite of Red B·each and Hobbinston, and, as 

will be shown later, to the Perry sandstones as well. 

Age of granite.-The exact age of the granitic rocks is an interesting point 

for determination. This question bas no special importance in this investigation, 

but its bearing upon the geology of this portion of the State is direct enough 

to warrant brief mention here. 

The granitic rocks that directly underlie the Perry formation in the town of 

Robbinston were regarde~ by Shaler 11s "of presumably Laurentian age." B:1iley 

and Matthew, however, as early as 1872, recog~izt;Jd much of the granite as 

"intrusive," although there would be difficulty in separating this from the 

Laurentian granite. The "red sycnitic rock" on the east side of the St. Croix 

River i,; de,;cribed as appearing to graduate .into feldspatbic beds, which are in 

turn succeeded by "amygdaloidal traps" and sandstones containing JJ£od?:olopsis 

and L?:ngula." In , a later report 0 by these geologists this '' N erepis granite" is 

assigned to late Devonian time. 

The observations made in connection with the present investigation confirm in 

part the conclusions of Bailey and Matthew. The red granite at Robbinston is 

the western continuation of their "N ere pis granite" and in its general appeu,rance 

also resembles somewhat the '' felsites" interbedded with the Silurian sandstone. 

The red granite a11d the red spherulitic lava, already described, arc similar in 

composition and in the manner in which the orthoclase is colored. The latter 

feature probably has little value except as it explains the general resemblance of 

the two rocks as they are seen in weathered outcrops. In view, however, of their 

,;imilarity in mineralogic and inferred chemical composition, it seems probable 

that these rocks ~lre plutonic and effusive repi"esenttttives of the same magma and 

are to be correlated in age in a general way. The granitic intrusions thus may not 

have ceased until later Silurian time, the rhyolitic lava on the north end of Moose 

Island being a flow from the same magma from which the granite now exposed at 

Red Beach had been derived. Neither granite nor rhyolite contributed pebbles to 

the Silurian sediments, but their detritus constitutes the bulk of the Perry conglomerate, as will be seen from the descriptions in the following chapter. 

• The evidenee thus appears to support the conclusion that the red granite of 

Robbinston as well as the red rhyolitic rocks of Perry and the north shore of 

Moose Island are of late Silurian or of early Devonian age. 

"Geol. Survey Canad11, Rept., 1872, p. 188. b Geol. Survey Canada, Hept., 1880, p. 22D. 
• 

DESCRil"l'IVE GEOLOGY. 

SILUHIAN STRATA. 

A small area of slates was observed a short distance south of Red Beach. 

This occurrence, however, is not so favorable foi· detailed observation as are the 

larger areas south of Perry, and therefore the extent of the rocks here was 

simply mapped and their age provisionally considered as Silurian. 

The Silurian rocks in the southern part .of Perry and in the adjoining town 

of Pembroke, as well as on the n~ighboring islands, have been studied by the 

New Brunswick geologists and by Professor Shaler, who, in a report on the 

geology of Cobscook Bay,a has presented some results of observations made in 

this very interesting area. 

Collections of fossils were made by Professor Shaler: (1) At a point about 

half a mile south of Balls Mill, on the west side of 'Whitings, or Orange, Bay; 

(2) at the head of Leightoni3 Cove; (3) on the east shore of Sewards Neck at 

Rogers Island and at Reynolds Cove; and (4:) at Shackford Head on Moose 

Island, and at Princess Cove. 

From the first of these localities Professor Shaler provisionally lists 33 

species of invertebrates, which he interprets at> showing contemporaneity with 

the Lower Helderberg groi1p of New York, although failing to indicate any 

particular division of that series. 

The Leightons Cove fauna, of which he gives a preliminary list of 17 

species, he regards as proving a close relation of these beds to the horizons of 

the Clinton and Niagara in New York. 

In the Moose Island material he tentatively identifies 6 species, which are· 

considered by him as supporting a correlation of these -:-ocks with the middle 

Devonian of Ohio and Kentucky. 

The collections of fossils made by Professor Shaler in the Cobscook Bay region 

have more recently heen transferred to the hands of Prof. H. S. \Villiams, who· 

has been eng·aged in a special study of the upper Paleozoic faunas of Maine. In 

response to the request of the chief paleontologist of the Survey, Professor 

Williams has had the courtesy to review the fossils from the above-mentioned 

localities and to communicate provisional lists of the species, together with hi& 

conclusions as to the age of the fossiliferous beds. In his study of the specimens 

he has had the assistance of Dr. E. M. Kin,dle, whose knowledge of and experience 

in studying Silurian fossils is well recognized. 

From the Leightons· Cove collection (station 14:4:2) Profe;;;sor ~Williams reports 

16 species, as follows: 

a Shaler, N. S., Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 32, 1886, pp. 35-60 . 

-'· ---
' . ·' 

22 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

Fossil in-vertebrates collected at Leightons Cove, Me. 

Species. 

Lingula sp. 

Orbiculoidea sp. 

Stropheodonta? sp. 

Chonetes cf. hudsonicus. 

Dalmanella cf. planiconvexa. 

Dalmanclla cf. subcarinata. 

Rhynchotrema formosum. 

Camarotcechia sp. 

Trematospira cf. simplex. 

Orthonot'a '? sp. 

Nucula? sp. 

A vicula cf. communis. 

Modiolopsis? sp. 

Tentaculites elongatus. 

Cheirurus sp. 

Beyrichia sp. 

Reported range. 

Cam brian-Recent. 

Ordovician-Recent. 

Silurian-Devonian. 

" Becraft. " 

Lower Helderberg-Oriskany. 

Lower Helderberg. 

Lower Helderberg. 

Ordovician-Carboniferous. 

Lower Helderberg. 

Silurian-Carboniferous. 

Silurian-Recent. 

Lower Helderberg. 

Ordovician-Lower Helderberg. 

Lower Helderberg. 

Ordovician-Silurian. 

Ordovician-Carboniferous. 

It is the opinion of both Doctor Kindle nnd Professor Williams that the1:e are 

not among them "any purely diagnostic Clinton or Niagara species, and though 

the orthids and strophodontas and some other thing·s are similar to Niagara forms, 

they are closer to the eastern type of Lower Helderberg species of the same 

genera." a 

From the material from Whitings Bay (station 1440) Professor Williams 

provisionally lists the following 36 species: 

Species collected at Whitings Bay, Me. 

Species. 

Receptaculites infundibuliformis Eaton. 

Zaphrentis sp. 

Spirorbis sp. 

Cornu!ites ef. serpularius. 

Monomerella cf. ovata var. lata. 

Leptama rhomboidalis. 

Stropheodonta cf. Beckii. 

Stropheodonta planulata. 

Stropheodonta cf. varistriata. 

Stropheodonta ? sp. 

Chonetes cf. hndsonicus. 

Dltlmanella cf. perelegans. 

Dalmanella cf. snbcarinata. 

Rhynchotrema formosum. 

Uncinulus mutabilis. 

Reported range. 

Lower Helderberg. 

Silurian -Carboniferous. 

Paleozoic-Recent. 

Ordovician-Silurian. 

Guelph. 

Trenton-" "Varsaw." 

Lower Helderberg. 

Lower Helderberg. 

Lower Helderberg. 

·silurian-Devonian. 

"Becraft." 

LMrer Helderberg. 

Lower Helderherg. 

Lower Helderberg. 

Lower Helderberg. 

a Letter of May 12, 1904, to Dr. T. W. Stanton. 

• 
I 

Species. 

Atrypa reticu!aris. 

Spirifer cf. octocostatus. 

Spirifer cf. perlamellosus. 

Trematospira r;f. simplex. 

Nucula ?sp. 

Tellinomya n. sp. 

Cypricardites n. sp. 

Ambonychia cf. aphrea. 

Conocardium ? sp. 

A vicula cf, communis. 

Cyrtolites sp. 

Cyclonema sp. 

Loxonema cf. Fitchii. 

Tentaculites elongatus. 

Hyolithes sp. 

Cyrtoceras myrice. 

Oncoceras cf. ovoides. 

Proetus sp. 

Calymene sp. 

Dalmanites cf. micrurus. 

? Fish teeth. 

INVERTEBRATE FOSSILS. 

Reported range. 

Silurian-Devonian. 

Lower Heldl-rberg. 

Lower Helderberg. 

Lower Helderberg. 

Silurian-Recent. 

Ordovician-Lower Helderberg. 

Ordovician-Devonian. 

Niagara. 

Ordovician-Carboniferous. 

Lower Helderberg. 

Carnbrim2-Carboniferous. 

Ordovician-Devonian. 

Lower Helderberg. 

Lower Helderberg. 

·Cambrian-Carboniferous. 

Lower Helderberg. 

Lower Helderberg. 

Ordovician-Devonian. 

Ordovician-Silurian. 

Lower Helderberg. 

Silurian-Recent. 

23 

This list, in the judgment of Professor \Villiams, contains about the same number of diagnostic Lower Helderberg species as were_given by Professor Shaler. 

The single species which Professor \Villiams reports from Sewards Neck(Station 

1447) is called J.riodiolopsis cf. 1tnd1tlost1'ia'ius, a Niagara fossil which, he remarks, 

''is a form that might occur higher." 

Professor Williams appends the following very important and interesting correlations and observations: 

"Although the species listed from these three localitim. are· not the sarrie 

throughout, Mr. Kindle and I agree in thinking them to be youngP.i' than typical 

Niagara and more intimately related to the Lower Helderberg fauna of New York 

and the interior than to any other fauna of the country yet reported. 

"There are many species among them which in general characters have bo.th 

Niagara and Lower Helderberg representatives, with neither of which they exactly 

agree, but critical comparison favors the Lower Heldt;lrbei'g correlation. 

"The Monome'rell(t (No. 5 of the WhitingR list) i_s. v~ry close to the Gtl.elph 

species JYL ovatct var. lata Whiteaves," from Du:rham, -Ontario, Canada. Two specime!!S are i11 the collection from Maine .. _In. both: tb.e Dvrham, Canad~,· and· the 

Cobscook, Me., localities, this species is associated with Cy1'toceras my1'ice. · · 

. ''It is also important to note that no truly diagnpstic Niagar~J- species have been 

detected after-careful search. This distinguishes the fauna from that reported froni 

North Haven, in Penobscot Bay, and from each of the faunas of Aroostook-County~ 

a Pal. Foss. (Canada), vol. 3, pt. 1, p. 6, pl. viii, fig. 2a. 
·24 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

Me., which have been referred to the Niagara, namely, 'Aroostook limestone,' 

'Graptolite shale,' 'Sheridan sandstone,' 'Ashland' shales and limestone, a each of 

which has shown some true Niagara species. 

''On the other hand, although the species are not the same throughout, there are 

enough common forms to associate these Cobscook formations with the 'Squaw Lake 

limestone' and 'Chapman sandstones' in Aroostook County, and with the 'St. 

Helens beds' of Canada, as all belong to approximately the same general place in the 

time scale. The Cobscook faunas seem to me to be somewhat older than the typical 

Lower Helderberg taken as a whole, and particularly older than the other three 

eastern faunas above named." 

In his preliminary list of the fossils collected by Professor Shaler from Moose . 

Island Professor 'Villiams makes no distinction as to the two or three localities. 

The species enumerated are as follows·: 

Species collected at :Moose Island, J.fe. 

Species. 

Lingula cf. ligea. 

Orthis sp. 

Camarotmchia sp. 

Atrypa roticularis. 

S pirifer ? sp. 

Oyrtina ? Hp. 

Nyassa subalata. 

1\locliomorpha cf. subalata var. 

Murchisonia sp. 

· Beyrichia sp. 

Professor ·williams writes: 

Reported range. 

Middle-upper Devonian. 

Ordovician-Carboniferous. 

Ordovician-Carboniferous. 

Silurian-Devonian. 

Silurian-Car boniforous. 

Silurian-Carboniferous. 

Hamilton. 

Hamilton. 

Cambrian-Trias. 

Ordovician-Carboniferous. 

"The Moose Island fauna is very perplexing, as it contains nothing which, so far 

as I am able to see, can be taken as absolute evidence of Devonian. The genera 

reported arc all long-ranging Paleozoic forms, and on account of the distortion of 

the beds it is impossible to establish with certainty the specific characters of most of 

them. We have identified Nyassa subalata and a Linq1tlct as L. c:f. liqea, and a 

very cpmmon fossil as .jJfod-iomorpha snbalata. These are all Devonian, and although 

I think the fauna is probably Devonian, I would not be surprised to find, on more 

careful study· and on the discovery of more species, that it is Carboniferous. Provisionally, and until :further study and full comparison can be made with Nova 

Scotia, English, V\7 elsh, an<l European faunas, the first three faunas may be correlated with those of the early Lower Helderberg time, and the :fourth fauna may 

probably be assigned to middle Devonian time, its exact horizon being uncertain." 

It will be seen that Professor ·williams's opinion regarding the fossiliferous beds 

on Moose Island differs to an important extent from that based by Mr. Schuchert 

on the very small collections which were made by the writers at other points on· 

a Williams, H. S., and Gregory, H. E., Contributions to geology Maine: Bull. U.S. Geol. Survey No.l65, 1900, pp. 44-54. 
SILURIAN STRATA. 25 

Moose lsland, but which probably represent, -in part at least, the same series of 

rocks. 

The rocks in which the faunas from the three localities first mentioned were 

collected were grouped together by Professor Shaler and termed the "Cobscook 

series," while the rocks supposed by him to be Devonian are named the "Moose 

Island series." Messrs. Bailey and Matthew earlier described a these same rocks 

under the name of "Mascarene series," which was believed to measure about 2,000 

feet in thickness. 

As stated above, the Perry formation at the northern end of the basin is incontact with the granite; at the southern end it overlies strata that arc believed to 

belong to the "Cobscook series" of Shaler and the "Mascarene series" of Bailey 

and Matthew. Closely associated with these sedimentary strata are volcanic rocks 

which will be described in a later section. 

Inasmuch as no sections of the Silurian rocks were measured or carefully studied, 

only a general description of them can be given here. On the northern part of the 

Pleasant Point penins~la the more important members of the sedimentary formation arc dark-gray flags, which usually show ripple marks and contain abundant 

impressions of brachiopods. Shales and fine-grained impure limestones also occur in 

this section, while similar rocks were observed on the western shore of the cove 

west of this peninsula. The general strike of these rocks is N. 25° to 80° E., and 

their dip is northwest, at angles ranging from 35° to 75°. 

On Birch Point, on the north side of Uobscook ·Bay, similar ripple-marke-d 

flags,· shales, and impure limestones occur, striking N. 30° E. and clipping 30° 

to the north. 

In the ·western part of the area described in this report is a considerable 

thickness of purple shales, extending from the head of Sipp Bay westward to 

Pennamaquau River at Pembroke, where they are succeeded by dark, fossiliferous 

slates and sandstones. The belt of purple shales extends a mile or two up 

Pennamaquan River, and the shales arc remarkably uniform in character where· 

ever !'leen and show a fairly constant dip to the northeast. Professor Shaler 

provisionally assigned these purple shales to the Perry formation, apparently upon 

the basis of color and relations to the beds of the Cobscook series.b Bailey and 

Matthewc describe the same rocks, but place them in the next to the uppermost 

divisio~ of their "Mascarene series." That these shales belong to the pre-Perry 

formation is indicated both by their areal position and stratigraphic relations to 

the fossiliferous strata at Pembroke and on Cobscook Bay and by their lithologic 

differences from the Perry rocks. In the Perry section there are no shale beds 

that can be cor~pared with these, the thickness of which Shaler estimates as over 

1,500 feet. The purple shales are finer grained than the Perry rocks, have 

a Geol. Survey Canada, Rept. 1872, pp. 144-158. bAm. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 32, 1886, p. 49. cOp. cit., p, 157. 
26 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

a different color, and, moreover, show slaty cleavage, a structure not ob~erved in 

any of the shaly beds in the Perry section. These purple shales do not eomc 

into contact with the Perry formation, but dip beneath a mass of volcanic rocks 

that underlie the Perry formation. Interstratified with these, volcanic rocks, 

however, is a bed of similar purple shale, which lies unconformably beneath the 

Perry rocks. .From these considemticins it is believed that the purple shales also 

are to be included in the series regarded as Silurian. 

A small number of invertebrate fossils were collected by tpe writers in 1003 

from several localities in the vicinity of Perry. All these fossils, with the exception 

of a few -fragments from Mr. Farnsworth's yard at West Pembroke, come from 

the Moose Island series, which, as we have seen, is regarded by both Shaler and 

~Williams as probably Devonian. These small collections were place9- in the hands 

of Mr. Charles Sehuchert, curator of paleontology in the United States National ~ . Museum;- who h11s submitted a report upon them as follows: 

"1. ~Carlow Island, St. Croix River, Maine: 

"Lingula sp. ne1v. • 

"\Vhiteavcsia sp. new. 

"Bollia near B. Clarkei. 

"Leperditia of the L. alta type. ~ ~ 

"Beyrichia, two species, one of the B. Kliideni type. 

"Bythocypris, pro]?ably two species. 

"This fauna is unmistakably Siluric and beneath the Helderbergian. As all of 

the species appear to ]je new, no direct comparison can be made with Appalachian 

~ and Interior faunas. In general the aspect of this fauna reminds one of the J_\fedina 

and Manlius; and while it certainly is not so low as the former, it does not appear 

to be so high as the latter. Provisionally it should be referred to the Niagai·an 

(i. e.; Rochester shale and Lockport limestone of the Interior), as it has nothing in 

. common with the Helderbergian faunas of the Cobscook region. 

"2. Inlet south of Little River, 2 miles from Perry village, Me.: 

"Lingula sp. new. 

"Whitt>avesia sp. new. 

"Modiolopsis sp. undetermined. 

"Apparently the same horizon as at Carlow Island. 

"3 .. North end of Moose Island, 3 miles north of Eastport, Me.: 

"Psiloconchoid p~lecypod. 

"Bythocypris, probably the same species as the one found at Carlow Island. 

"Beyrichia, species restricted to this locality. 

"This fauna has nothing that can be certainly identified with that of Carlow 

Island, and yet its characteristics ate Siluric; It probably indicates the same age as 

that of Carlow Island. 

'' 4. A. S. Farnsworth's yard, "rest Pem-broke, Me,: 

"Brachiopod, possibly a rhynchonelloid. 

"Tentaculites. 

"Age uncertain, possibly Siluric. 

~.- ~, 
VOLCANIC ROOKS. 27 

"5. Pleasant Point, 4 miles northeast of Eastport, Me.: 

"A small, distorted, and poor bivalve; may be modiolopsoid." 

Although it is possible that none of the localities mentioned above arc representative of Professor Shaler's collections, and consequently are not in the lists given 

by Williams, it appears probable that the specimens from localities Nos. 1, 2, 3, and, 

5 are derived from the "Moose Island series," as defined by Professor Shaler. The 

testimony of the stratigraphy, so far as observed by the writers, as well as the 

correlations made by the Canadian geologists, tend to confirm the· assignment of 

the series to the Silurian. 

No attempt has been made to represent on the geologic map the exact distribution of the Silurian strata. They are intimately connected with the volcanic rocks, 

and detailed ,;tudy would be necessary to work out the structure. It is sufficient 

for the present purpose to observe that wherever these rocks are in contact with the 

Perry formation the relations are seen to be unconformable. 

ASSOCIATED LAVAS. 

A large proportion of the rocks in contact with the Perry formation are of 

volcanic origin. In part these arc closely associated with the Silurian sediments, 

but elsewhere the lavas predominate. · Doubtless these pre-Perry lavas may include 

several types, but only those occurring in the southern part of the town of Perry 

were examined. 

South of Gleason Cove these volcanic rocks are exposed both in the railroad cut 

and along the shore.. Two types were recognized in the field, the dark, compact lava, 

exhibiting flowage texture, and the breccia, in which fragments of similar lava can 

be seen. Later microscopic study bas verified this· recognition of the rocks as of 

volcanic origin and has shown them to he of rhyolitic composition. Quartz and 

orthoclase are sporadic constituents in the rhyolite, and the fluidal texture in the 

glassy base, now for the most part devitrified, is conspicuous. In the brecciated 

phase of lava, fragments of clear glass are included in darker glass. This rhyolite 

has special interest because of its connection with the drill core mentioned in a later 

portion of this report. Some coarse agglomerates are associated with the rhyolite. 

:Farther south, on Carlow Island, there is a red porphyritic rock which appears 

to be interbedded with the sedimentary strata. This roelc extends around the north 

end of Moose Island to the toll btidge. 'Nhen examined microscopically it is found 

to be in large part a spherulitic lava. The spherulites ar'e much altered and brightly 

colore_d with a red pigment, probably oxide of iron. Quartz occurs in large grains 

inclosing the spherulites, wP,ile what was probably ~rtboclase, now altered, forms 

phenocrysts at the center of a few spherulites. Another phase of this red rock is 
28 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

found to be fragmental and composed of angular particles of quartz, orthoclase, 

plagioclase, and spherulitic lava. 

In the rough and hilly region southwest of the village of Perry more spherulitic 

lava is associated with a purple shale. The spherulites arc readily seen on the 

wcathered.surface of the pinkish rock. Under the mieroscope this rock is seen to 

be a fine type of spherulitic lava. The spherulites exhibit both radial and zonal 

structures, and the radial crystallization, in the interior at least, is primary, while 

the fine quartz. and feldspar mosaics in the outer zones may be possifJly of secondary 

origin. There are also some fragments of pink glass, with delicate trichites. 

These rhyolitic lavas were termed "reddish felsite" and "felsite porphyry" by 

Shaler, and their occurrence was described by him as ~hat of extrusive flows with 

associated dikes .. These "felsites" were assigned by Bailey and Matthew to the 

"Mascarene series," forming division 5 of that series. In addition to recognizing 

the pre-Perry age of these xhyolitic lavas, which is most conclusively shown by 

the pebbles found in the Perry conglomerate, it is only necessary to call attention 

to the marked differences between these rhyolites and, the lavas described later as 

included in the Perry formation. 

PEHRY :E'OHUATION. 

SUBDIVISION. 

The Perry formation as exposed in the towns of Robbinston and Perry it-> 

divisible into four members. Two of these members consist of sedimentary strata, 

while the other two are interbedded lavas and associated volcanic breccia. The 

section may be described thus: 

Members of Perry formation. 

Upper lava: Green lava with coluinnar parting and amygdaloidal texture. Includes one bed 

of conglomerate and sandstone. · 

Upper sandstone: Coarse red and brown sandstone and conglomerate, with small amounts of 

shale. Includes one flow of lava near base. 

Lower lava: Basaltic lava and breccia. Includes one thin bed of conglomemte near top. 

Lower conglomerate: Coarse conglomerate and reel sandstone, with thin beds of sandy shale. 

The thickness of these members can not be definitely given. The lowest 

member is evidently the thir;kest, but probably its thickness varies considerably 

in different parts of the area. As will be noted later, the Perry sediments were 

largely shore deposits, so that the distance from the source of the material would 

control largely the thickness of the beds. In the case of the volcanic members 

the different lava flows give the impression of being rather more persistent in 

thickness than might be expected. The faulting in the southern part of the area 

of course precludes any comparison of thickness in the different parts of the shore 

section. 
PERRY FORMATION. 29 

OCCURRENCE. 

' The rocks of this formation are exposed continuously along the shore from 

Mill Cove, in the southern part of Robbinston, to Gleason Cove, in the town of 

Perry. A smaller area of the same formation occurs farther south in Perry, on 

the shore of Bar Harbor, at the northern end of the highway bridge. Another 

outlier of these rocks occurs on the shore in the northern part of the town of 

Robbinston. 

As shown on the geologic map, the area covere<l by the Perry formation is 

about 8 miles long and about 2t miles wide at its widest part, its total area being 

about 15 square miles. The Perry rocks occur on the opposite shore of St. Croix 

River, at St. Andrews, and their occurrence farther west on the Maine coast was 

reported in the early surveys. The Perry area, however, is doubt)ess of most 

importance, not only on account of the flora it bas yielded, but also because the 

formation is apparently more fully represented here than fa,rther east. 

·The lower conglomerate member occupies the larger part of the area here 

described. The northern outlier of Perry rocks is north of Hilchins Point, a 

connected tongue making up the shore of Brooks Cove. In the northernmost 

portion ()f this outlier the Perry conglomerate occurs with a dip of 20° to the 

southeast, while just north of Hilchins Point the conglomerate and sandstone have a 

northern dip of 30°. The basal beds here and. at Brooks Cove are coarse, and at the 

latter locality especially the conglomerate exhibits its derivation from the red 

granite of the vicinity; the bowlders of that rock predominate, and the matrix is of 

an arkose character. 

In tqe larger area the conglomerates predominate in this lowest member, but it 

appears to be true that the beds are of somewhat finer material in the southern part 

of the area than in the northern. The sandstone beds are massive and resist well 

the attacks of the waves, so that a high cliff is a characteristic shore feature. 

Pulpit Rock is a noticeable mass of red sandstone standing out at a little distance 

from the cliff, and was pictured in the atlas accompanying Jackson's first report. 

Throughout the shore section the rocks of this lower member are characterized 

by their red color, which varies from a bright brick red to a chocolate brown, 

although the brighter tints are possibly the more common. While this red color is 

so marked a feature, it can not be regarded as a safe criterion for the recognition of 

the Perry formation. The Perry sandstones and conglomerates share this color 

with older formations, from which they have been derived. So it is that at a short 

distance the red granite and lava underlying the Perry conglomerate in Robbinston 

or on the shore of Bar Harbor closely resemble the Perry rocks. The shore 

detritus from these igneous rocks that is seen along St. Croix River often can not 
30 GEOLOGY OF' PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

be distinguished from that derived from the disintegration of the . red sandstone 

or conglomerate. Moreover, this close resemblance is not fortuitous, since in the 

deposition of the Perry rocks it was in fact exactly similar shore detritus from 

the red granite and lava that made up the hulk of the sediments. The rocks of 

the Perry formation, therefore, are red because they were largely derived from 

red rocks, .. under conditions that allowed relatively little change in the detritus 

contributed to the basin of sedimentation. 

The Perry rocks exposed on the St. Andrews Peninsula, on the New Brunswick 

shore, appear to belong to this lowest member of the formation. It is evident, however, that here the sandstone and shale are more important than the conglomerate. 

Such differences in the character of beds of approximately the same age are to be 

expected in the case of a formation like the Perry, which consists essentially of shore 

deposits. The Perry rocks occurring in small areas at other points on the shores of 

Passamaquoddy Bay probably all belong to this lowest member. 

The next hig·her member of the Perry formation is that termed the lower lava in 

the table on page 28. This volcanic member is exposed from Gin Cove to a short 

distance beyond the next cove south." These same rocks are also exposed on the 

shore about half a mile north of Gleason Cove. These rocks are plainly of volcanic 

nature, the member including sheets of both lava and breccia. The lava exhibits all 

the characteristics of a surface flow and the succession of flows and sheets of breccia 

make a striking contrast to the stratified sediments below. The volcanic rocks are 

evidently conformable with the sedimentary strabt both above and below; at one 

place a thin bed of typical conglomerate occurs, interstratified with tlJe lava flows, 

and at another some fine-grained red shale occurs, noticeable since it is less arenaceous than any beds farther north. Thus the volcanic member represents simply an 

interval in the deposition of the Perry sediments, probably only of short duration, 

when the lavas were erupted; and the occunence of the thin conglomerate shows 

that this outbreak constituted only a partial interruption of the processes of 

sedimentation. 

The lavas constituting this volcanie member arc different from the Silurian 

lavas described earlier in this chapter. The Perry lavas appear mueh fresher and 

are more readily recognized as the products of volcanic action. Not only do they 

lack the metamorphism of the Silurian rocks, but they are of a different type. 

The lava exposed in the vicinity of Gin Cove is a purple basalt. Examined 

microscopically it is found to consist of plagioclase in fine laths and augite in 

large ophitic plates. Dark reddish brown iddingsite is present, and probably 

represents grains of olivine, which must have been an important constituent in 

a The name Gin Cove is applied on the accompanying map to the cove locally so known, although this usage does 

not agree with the coast chart, ori. which this name is given to the next cove southward. 
PERRY FORM.A.TION. 31 

the fresh lava. Magnetite i~ also abundant. vVIth the exception of thb alteration of what was probably ohvine, the basalt IS fairly £rcsh for a Paleozoic lava. 

The upper sandstone member conformably overlies the basaltic rocks ]Ust 

llescribed. This division of the Perry formatwn is exposed on the shore north 

of Frost Cove. Its lowest b~d consists of conglomerate and coarse sandstone 

about 50 feet thick. Above this is a sheet of vo]camc rock about 30 feet thick, 

•which JS undoubtedly a lava flow, as the rock IS compact and shows imperfect 

parting in its lower portion, while above it 1s amygdttlOldal and exhibits flowage 

textures. It is followed by a number of beds of )sandstone a,nd conglomerate. The 

sandstone ir, for the most part thin bedded and the beds are not always continuous for any distance. -Small amounts of shale occur interbedded with the sandstone. Some of the sandstone is stream bedded, and In such rock it is noticeable 

that the flow of the currents depositing the sand i;:; shown always to have been from 

the northwest. At the top of this upper sandstone member is a conglomerate bed 

6 to 8 feet in thicknesR. 

The upper lava member is exposed for a short distance south of Frost Cove and 

constitutes the remainmg portion of thi:-; section of the Perry formation. This lava 

is dark green in color and apparently similar in composition to the basalt of the lower 

member, hut it is not so compact, and possibly may be more andesitic in character. 

Some phases of the rock have a decidedly muddy appearance and may repres~nt 

flows contaming considerable fragmental material. The lava exhibits both columnar 

parting arid amygdal01dal texture, so that it is readily recognizable as a volcanic 

rock. At one point this volcanic member includes a few feet of conglomerate and 

red sandstone, showing again how intimately connected were these vokanic outflows 

with ,the processes of sedimentation, the one interrupting the other only for brief 

intervals. On th1s account the subdivision of the Perry formation into these four 

members is somewhat arbitrary, and is helpful only a& It serves the purposes of 

descriptiOn. The representation of these four subdivision'> on the geologic map 

makes it possible to indiCate the general structure of the area. 

GENEJ{AL CHARACTERS. 

The above descriptions of the rocks of the Perry formation arc believed to be 

sufficient to indicate the general characters of the rocks in which the search for coal 

has been prosecuted. The more important question of the age of this formation i:; 

reserved for another chapter of th1s report. 

Two principal facts should he emphasized in the description of the Perry 

formation, namely, the difference in character of tb.e sediments in the several parts 

of the area, and the absence of carhonaceous or clayey beds in the section exposed. 
32 GEOLOGY OF' PERRY BA:SIN, 'WUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

The changing characters of these Perry rocks is an evident expression of the 

conditions of their deposition. The greater distance of the Gleason Cove locality 

and St. Andrews Point from the main source of supply caused conglomerate beds 

at these places to be thinner than at places farther north and west. At this greater 

distance the sediments consisted largely of sands and silts that formed the sandstones and sandy shales now exposed. These sediments were well sorted, and &o 

active were the shore currents that plainly at no time were the condition:; such as to 

• fav01 the accumulatiOn of fine mud or vegetal matter. It is not altog·ether 

surprising, therefore, that fine clays or coaly shales are wanting in the sectwns of 

the Perry formation. 

Still another important fact remains to be mentioned, and this pertain& to the volcanic members of the Perry formation. The lavas interbedded with the sedimentary 

rocks of this formation differ altogether from the lavas associated with the Silurian, 

strata. These two groups of volcanic rocks may have some points of geneml 

resemblance, but to the clo5e observer they appear quite distinct, and their petrographic dissimilarity is especially evident when they are studied microscopically. 

The distmction between the Silurian rhyolite and the Perry basalt is so mn,rked that 

there is no possibility of failure to identify each wherever found. This fact was 

recognized in the field and its applicatiOn to the purposes of this invcE>tigation will 

bo 'noted in a later section. 

STRUCTURE. 

The geologic map well exhibits the structure of the Perry baE>in. In general it 

may be stated that the rocks of the Perry formation are only gently inclined, 15° to 

20° being the maximum dip except for a short distance north of Gleason Cove. Low 

dips are also characteristic of the Perry rocks as exposed on the St. Andrews shore. 

The general 5tatement may be made, therefore, that the rocks of this formation are 

only gently flexed. 

Tho areal diHtn bution of the four memb€'rs which a1 e distinguished on the 

geologiC map serves to show the general form of the basin so far as the Mame portion 

is concerned. It is really only the western part of the ba:;in that is preserved on thrs 

southeastern shore of Maine. Other edges arc found on the New Brunswick shores, 

but the central portwn IS beneath the waters of Passamaquoddy Bay. It seems 

probable, however, that tho greater part of the formt1tion is represented m this 

western part of the basin. The smaller area of Perry sandstone west of Bar Harbor, 

in the southern part of the town of Perry, has low dips, and the small thickness of 

rock exposed here shows that outliers of this formation may perhaps occur .,till 

farther southwest, and these may later be found to connect this basin with the 

Machias area of red sandstones described in the early Maine reports. 
PERRY FORMATION. 33 

The heavy sandstones of the Perry formation are plainly jointed. In many 

places the vertical joint planes have been taken advantage of by surface waters 

and deep chasms have been thus eroded. These breaks in the cliff are eonspicuous, 

but are plainly the product of erosion, there being no displacement of the strata 

on either side. In some cases wave erosion has combined with the work of surface 

rivulets and considerably enlarged these openings. Pulpit Rock was probably 

separated from the main cliff by erosion of this type. 

Faulting has played some part in the development of the structure. In the 

southern part of the area two faults were observed and their positions are indicated on the map. These faults both have a general east-west trend, and while 

definitely observed at the shore, their extent farther west was not determined. 

Their extension, as shown on the map, is based upon observations as to the dis- . 

tribution of the rocks. As may be noticed on the map, two marked offsets in 

the basal boundary of the Perry formation are in line with these faults. No 

evidence of faulting was noticed at these offsets and the suggestion is offered 

that in passing westward the faults become sharp monoclinal flexures, which find 

expression in the sharp bendR in the Perry-Silurian contact. 

The more northern of the two faults brings the upper lava member on the 

north in contact with what is probably the upper sandstone member. The fault 

plane is vertical and the sanqstone, which shows a normal dip to the southeast 

at an angle of 20°, is sharply upturned until it is vertical or even slightly overturned at the contact with the lava, which is itself disturbed at the line of contact. These relations show the downthrow to be on the north side of the fault, 

but there is no reason for believing the displacement to, be very great. 

The other fault strikes N. 70° E. and brings what appears to be the lower lava 

in contact with the lower conglomerate member. Here again it does not seem 

probable that the amount of displacement is great, although there are evident 

indications of disturbance in the vicinity of this fault. The sandstone strata 

immediately south of the fault hiwe been thrown into sharp folds, and the axes 

of the folds nearest the fault have a trend parallel to that of the fault plane. 

A minor syncline next to the fault is overturned and at the fault contact both 

sandstone and lava are crumpled and crushed. 

Further evidence of the disturbed character of this south side of the main 

syncline is found in the continuance of the steep dips along this sh~re as far as 

the mouth of Little River. Here the sandstone has a dip of 50° to the north, 

while on the opposite shore of Gleason Cove the more prevalent dip of 20° is 

observed. 

10325-No. 35-05-3 
34 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHI<;ASTERN MAINE. 

Another fault was noted at the head of the long cove south of Gleason Cove. 

A westward extension of the Perry conglomerate here overlies the 8ilurian flags, 

with a low northern dip. A ·short distance farther north the cong·lomerate has 

its dip steepened and is then abruptly cut off by the SHurian lava. . At the 

contact the lava shows a slickensided surface. This fault differs from the two 

before described in that here the downthrown bloc.k is on the south side of the 

fault. . Doubtless other faults exist in this area, but these are the more 

important ones, the others being too small to be detected in this rapid survey of 

the section. 
CHAPTER III. 

PALEONTOLOGY. 

By DAVID \VHITK 

No fossil remains of animals have yet been recognized in the Perry formation. 

Fragments of stems ot; algm are found in many of the beds that are of suflicicntl.y 

fine composition to preserve or reveal them, but such beds constitute a very smail 

part of the formation. The plant remains found consist chiefly of bro:mn and 

waterworn stems, generally so fragmentary and abraded that they can not be 

identified paleontologically, or used to determine questions of stratigraphy. 

PLANT-BEARING LOCALITIES. 

The discoveries of recognizable land plants are confined essentially to two 

localities in different horizons in the lower divison of the formation. Descriptions 

of these places are given in considerable detail by Dawson in his earlier papers. 

Most of the fossils from the formation arc said to have come from a thin stratum of· 

green, sandy shalesa outcropping on the right bank of Little River, about one-half 

mile below the wagon-road bridge at Perry. This thin bed, which is described as a 

green-shale !'ens, is stated by Dawson b to have been worked out and exhausted 

by 1863. We were, howeyer, so fortunate in 1903 as to find and to uncover the 

edge of this lentil and to obtain considerable material, though in excellence if not in 

variety it is inferior to some of that collected in larger quantity in earlier years by Mr. 

Jethro Brown, a systematic as well as an arduous collector at Perry, and by Dawson, 

Hitchcock, ·Richardson, the Rogers Brothers, and other geologists who visited this 

region. A second locality is on the Robbinston road about one-half mile north of 

the Perry post-office, where, near McPhail's house, red sandy shales and red sandstones with land plants occur just above the lava sheet on which the road runs. 

arrhis is one of the extremely rare oeeurrences of greCIH'l.httle parting, green·shale strata being almost unknown in the 

Perry formation. 

bQuart. Jour, Geol. Soc. London, vol. 19, p. 460. 

35 
36 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

Other plant remains, consisting for the most part of fragments of stems such as 

have generally been referred to P~ilopliyton, are found at various places in the more 

southern outcrops, while fragments of algre are not rare in the less conglomeratic 

beds along Little River and near the fault north of Gleason Cove. 

COLLECTIONS STUDIED. 

The task of restudying the old as well as the new collections, necessary to a 

critical examination of the evidence as to the age of the Perry beds, ha~ been 

very difficult _by reason of the unfortunate dismemberment and dispersai of the 

earlier collections, whieh included many of the types. It is believed, however, that 

in the preparation of the following descriptions the greater part of the Perry 

material existing in our American museums has been passed in view. Special I 

acknowledgment:;; are due the officers of the Portland Society of Natural History, 

to Dr. E. 0. Hovey and the American Museum of Natural History, to Prof. C. 

W .• Tohnson and the Boston Society of Natural History, and to Dr. R. T. Jackson 

and the Museum o~ Comparative Zoology of Harvard University for generously 

placing at my disposal the fossil plants from Perry in these institutions; also to 

General Manager Evans of the Maine Central Railway, and Mr. Jackson Brown, 

.of Perry, for the contribution of specimens more recently collected by the latter. 

We are also particularly indebted to Prof. D. P. Penhallow, of McGill University, 

Montreal, for his courtesy in placing in my hands for examinat.ion and comparison 

typical Psilop/iyton material from the university collections studieq and labeled 

by Sir William Dawson. 

DESCRIP'l'IONS 0.1!' SPlWIES. 

On aecount of the generally very fragmentary nature of the fossil materials 

and the equally fragmentary literature on Devonian plants the descriptions and 

synonymy in the following section are somewhat detailed, a number of the specimens 

being described individually in order that these rare Devonian types, many of 

which a1;e at best difficult of interpretation, may be' more accurately as well as 

more frequently recognized and identified. 

Concerning the botanical relations and structure of many of the types of this 

period we have little knowledge. Yet many of the fragments of .stems, foliag·e, 

or problematic fructifications reveal superfieial features and peculiarities of form 

which distinguish them from the plant types of other geologic times and thus 

render them eharacteristic of the period. 
DESCRIPTION 01!' THE FOSSILS. 37 

T~NIOCRADA D. White. 

Rept. State Palcont, New York. 1902, p 603. 

T .iENIOCJtA DA p ALl\IATA D. 'vV. 

PI II, Fig. 10 

Frond small, spreading broadly palmately from the apex of a slender, rounded 

stipe, deeply dissected, nearly to the base, in diViswns 2-3 mm. wide, which fork 

repeatedly and somewhat divaricately at a moderate angle, at intervals of ahont 

5 <'111.; lobes fiwshy, smooth, rapidly diminishing in width at each dichotomy; 

central strand or axis indistinct. 

The alga described above is essentially characterized by the palmate arrangement of the rapidly dichotomising lobes at the apex of a stipe. In the specimen figured, .Pl. IT, Fig. 10, the stiP,e i<; concealed for a short distance, when 

the cleavage of ·the rock shows its continuation to a length of 3 em. on the 

opposite side of the shale fragment. The lobes appear to have been somewhat 

crowded or fasciculate in the middle of the frond. As indicated by the smooth 

surface of the impression and a slight shckcnsiding ncar the base, the lobes were 

probably fleshy. In the basal portions there are faint signs of axial strands, but 

these become indistinct on passing upward. It is po::.sible, however, that better 

presm·ved specimens will show this plant to possess well-developed axial strands, 

thus removing all doubt as to the reference of the species to the genu.., 

T&3niocrada. 

The specimen comes from just east of the fault west of Gleasons Cove, near 

the mouth of Little River. 

PLATYPHYLLUM Dawson. 

Foss Pl Enan and Upp Sil Form Can, pt 2, 1882, p 101. 

PLATYPHYLLUl\1 BROWNIANUl\I Dn. 

PI II, Figs 1, 2 

1862. Oltclopten~ Browmana Dawbon, Rept Nat Hist. and Geol Me , 1861, p 250, fig li 

1862 Cyclopter!S Browmana Dn , Hitchcock, Rept Nat Hist anrl Geol. i.\'Ie , 1861, p 248. 

1862 Cycloptens Browmana DawRon, Proc Portland Soc. Nat Hist , vol I, pt 1 p. 77, pi I, fig 3. 

1862. Cycloptens Brownzan(t Dawson, Quart Jour Geol Sot· London, vol. xvm, p 320, pl xu, fig 9. 

1863 ()yclopterlB Browmana Dawson, Am Jour Sci , 2d ser, vol xxxv, p 313 

1863 C1fcloptms Browmana Dawson, 2d Ann Rept N~tt Hist and Gt>ol :He, 1862, p 403 

1863 Cycloptens Brownwnn Dawson, Proc Portland So<' Nat I-T 1st, Yol I, pt 2, p 100, pl n, fig 5 

1863 CltclopterlB Brownn Dawson, Quart .Jour Geol Soc. London, vol XIX, p. 463, pl xvu, fig G 

1871. C!jcloptats Br01vrm Dawson, Fo~s PI Dcv and Upp ~II Can, p 46, pi xv, fig 172, p 85 

1877 Cycloptens B1ownn Dn, Peach, Trans Geol Sot' Edmb, vol m, p. 151. 

1883 Oyclopter1B Brownu Dawson, Can Nat, vol x, No 1, p 10 

1888. Cycloptens Brm&nn Dawson, Quart Jour lieol Soc London, vol xxxYH, p 307. 
38 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, ~OUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

1882. Cyclopteris (I'latyphyllum) Brownii Dawson, Foss. Pl. Erian and Upp. Sil. Can., pt. 2, p. 10i, pl. 

xxiii, figs. 11-13 (?). 

1884. Arch!J!opteris ( Cyclopteris) Brownii (Dn.) Lesquereux, Coal Flora, vol. iii, pp. 837, 850. 

1886. Pal:mpteris (?) Brownii (Dn.), Kidston, Cat. Pal. Foss. Pl. Brit. Mus., p. 229. 

1888. I'latyphyllurn Brownii Dawson, Gcol. Hist. PI., p. 265. 

1889. Rhacophyllurn Brownii ( Dn.) S. A. Miller, N. Amer. Geol. and Pal., p. 139. 

1894. Cyclopteris sp., Nathorst, Zur. Pal. Fl. d. Arkt. Zone, pt. 1, Lief. 1, p. 13, pl. 1, fig. 12. 

Fronds or pinnulcs large, often 15 em. or more in length, more or less orbicular, 

-obovate, or ovate, deeply and often broadly cuneate-lobate, sinuate margined, membranaceous; nerves very thin, obscurely if at all fibrous, distant about 2-3 mm. midway 

of the leaf, and forking four or five times in passing, gently arcping, to the margin. 

Little is known as to the precise affinities of this interesting species, which was 

named for Mr. Jethro Brown, the original collector at Perry, the type locality. 

The small fragments collected in 1903 agree in all respects with that figured in 

pl. ii, fig. 5, of vol. 1, pt. 2, of the Proceedings of the Portland Society of Natural 

History, 1863, and which, through the courtesy of the Boston Society of Natural 

History, we are able to reproduce in Pl. II, Fig. 1. Sir William Dawson, in his later 

observations, a ~vas disposed to regard these fossils as either epiphytic on fern stems 

or as growing in clusters from rhizomes. The latter view is based on the specimens 

from Scaumenac, which were erroneously, I believe, identified with this species. As 

to their fern nature, I would add that in the State paleontological collections at Albany 

I have seen large cyclopterid pinnules superficially resembling these on the rachis of 

large petioles taken from the Chemung, near Hancock, N. Y., and probably belonging to Archmopteris obtusa (Lx. ). 

It seems possible, however, that the plant in hand is to be assigned to the Algre, 

to which the fragments before me appear to be bound by the characters of the membr;anaceous lamina and by the thin nerve bands, which arc evidently thickened as 

compared with the intervening lamina, but which; to my mind, do not show indisputable signs of fibro-vascular structure. In this respect they are in exact agreement 

with the typeD described by- Lesquereuxe as Rhacoph-yllwn trmwatum, which was 

considered by both its author and Sir William Dawson as probably identical with the 

plant from Perry. I had collected a number of similar specimens from the Catskill o£ 

northeastern Pennsylvania, all of which are apparently algoid, but hesitated to refer 

them to Platyphyllum on account of their more dissected fronds, until opportunity 

was given me, through the courtesy of the Portland Society of Natural History, to 

examine its collections, in which I found the highly divaricate specimen illustrated 

in our Fig. 2. I do uot, however, regard Platyphyllum truncatum as specifically 

identical with the Perry species, though it is evidently very closely related to it. 

aCanadian"Naturalist, vol.lO, No.1, 1883,p.10. 

b Lacoe collection, No. 19414, U.S. Nat. Mus. 

cCoal flora, vol. 1, 1880, p. 311, pl. I, fig: 7. 
.. DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOSSILS. 39 

The nerves of Platyphythtm Brownianmm fork four or five times at a rather 

wide angle, as is well shown in Pl. II, Fig. 2, which show<; one of the types. The 

earliest figured specimen, a though a mere morsel from the interior of a leaf, reveals 

an identical nervation. The statement that the nerves fork but once, made in all of 

Dawson's descriptions, and illustrated in all other figures of the plant, i'3 wholly 

erroneous. The specimen from Scaumenac, figured by Dawson as P. Browniwnum,, 

can not, if drawn correctly, be regarded as representing this ;,pecies, since the nerves, 

as shown in the figure, are very much closer, rarely forking, and parallel. None of 

the Perry specimens show nervation of this type in any portion of the frond. 

The fronds obtained from the Catskill of Pennsylvania and regarded as gymnospermous in Rogers's Geology of Pennsylvania, 1858, vol. 2, pl. xxii, can not 

safely be included in Platypl•yll1tm Br·ownianum, though they are evide•ntly closely 

related and are no doubt congeneric. Comparison of the Pennsylvania figures, which 

I will designate Platyphylvwn Rogersi, should be made with our Fig. 2. 

The specimen from the Devonian of the west coast of Spitzbergen, figured by 

Nathorst,b agrees so well with the fragments of the Mame plant that, notwithstanding 

the insufficiency of the material, I hardly hesitate to place it under the same name. 

ARCHJEOPTERIS Dawson. 

Foss. Pl. Dev and Upper S1l Form Can, 1871, p 48. 

ARCH1EOPTERIS J ACKSONI Dn. 

Pl III, F1gs 1, 2, 2•, R, ( 4?). 

1861 (Jycloptens Jackoom Dawson, Can Nat, vol v1, No. R, pp 172,173, figs 9, 9a, 9b. 

1862 Cyclopten~ Jacksom Dn., H1tchcock, Rept Nat H1st and Geol Me, 1861, p 248 

1862 Cyclopterts Jacksom Dawson, Proc Portland Soc Nat H1St, vol 1, pt 2, p. 76 

1862 CyPloptens .Tacksom Dawson, Quart. Jour Geol. Soc , vol xvm, pp 298, 319. 

1863 Cyclopte118 Jacksom Dawson, Am Jour Sc1, 2d ser, vol xxxv, p 313 

1863 Cycloptens Jaclcsom Dawson, 2d Rept. Nat H1st and Geol, Me, p 402 

1863. Cycloptens .Tacksom Dawson, Quart Jour Geol Soc, vol xix, p 462, pi xu:, figs 26, 26a-c 

1868 Oyclopter18 Jaclcsom Dawson, Acad Geol., p. 547, figs. 191a, 191b 

1891 (Jycloptens Jacksom Dawson, Geol N S and N B , p 546, fig 191 

1870. (Jycloptens (Archxopterts) Jaclcsom Dawson, Nature, vol u, p 87, fig 3 

1871 (Jyclopt~rts (.A!·chxopterts) Jaclcsom Dawson, Foss Pl Dev. and Upp S1l Can., p 45, pl xv, figs 

167-169, p 85. 

1871 .Archxopter11> Jacksom Dawson, Foss Pl Dev. and Upp S1l Can , p 48 

1880 . .Archxoptens Jacl..som Dawson, Cham of L1fe, p 98, fig 89 

1881. .Archmoptms Jacksont Dn , I C Wh1te, Rept. 2d Geul Surv Pa , G5, pp 63, 187. 

1882 .Archxoptem Jadsom Dn , I. C Wh1te, Rept 2d Geol Surv Pa , G6, pp 103, 320 

"Rept Nat HlSt and Geol Me , 1861 (1862), p 250, fig 5 

b Fooslle Flora der ark!lschen Zone, pt 1, If 1, pi 1, fig 12 
• 

40 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

1883\ Archreopteris Jacksoni Dawson, Can. Nat., vol. x, No. 1, p. 307. 

1888. Archxopteri8 .Tucksoni Dawson, Geol. Hist. Pl., p. 74, figs. 24, 24a, 24b. 

1894. A1·ch:.eopteris Jacksoni Dn., Prosser, Bull. U. S. Gcol. Survey No. 120, pp. 13, 14. 

1895. Arclueopteris Jacksoni Dn., Dana, Man. Gcol., 4th ed., pp. 592, 622, figs. 898, 899. 

1897. Archreopteris Jacksoni Dn., Dun, Rec. Geol. Surv. N. S. \Vales, vol. v, pt. 3, p. 120. 

1880. Archxopteris Halliana ( Gopp.) Lesquereux, Coal Flora, vol. i, p. 305, syn. in part only. 

Fronds sometimes of large size, with thick, striate, or rugose-striate, sometimes·obscurely transversely corrugated rachis; lateral pinnre close, relatively short, 

occasionally attaining a length of ·over 12 em., straight or more commonly curving 

slightly outward, oblong-linear, tapering but slightly, abruptly obtuse, open or 

oblique, alternate to opposite, with intermediate alternating pinnules, usually not in the 

same plane, on the main rachis; pinnules varying in size, relatively oblique, broadly 

imbricated, rather broadly and decnrrently attached, narrowly rhomboidal, the lower 

proximal nlargin nearly straight or slightly concave for about one-half the length 

of the pinnule, the inner distal border nearly straight and vertical for about onethird of the length of the pinnule, then gradually curving outward, the upper half 

of the pinnule being strongly asymmetrically ovate, and more or less narrowly 

rounded at the apex, and entire or faintly denticulate; nervation thin, from three or 

four very obliquely decurrent or coaleseent basal nerves, forking· three to five times 

at a very acute angle, while passing nearly parallel with very slight but increasing 

curvature, :tt about 40-45 per centimeter, to the margin, which they meet very 

obliquely; fertile pinnre borne alternately at the base 'of the frond, short, much 

reduced, probably without sterile pinnules at their bases, and alternating on the ::;ame 

side with slender rudimentary or laciniate rachial pinnules; sporangia small, apparently brevipedicellate, erect, oblong, or slightly clavate, m~rrowly rounded at the 

apex, probably stalked or borne on reduced nervilles near the base of the pinnm, 

though seemingly 1irranged in a single row along the midrib in the distal portion of 

the pinna . 

The more conspicuous characters of the species described above are the closely 

placed dense and very obtuse pinnm, on which the rather broadly overlapping pinnules 

arc rather narrow aild are somewhat narrowly as well as obliquely rounded at the 

apex, the inferior proximal margin being long and nearly straight, while the border 

on the distal ::;ide of the base is likewise straight and nearly parallel to the rachis. 

The nerves are slender, close, parallel, and but gently curved. None of the fragments 

in our collections show the very large terminal pinnules described and figured by 

Sir W illia111 Dawson as characteristic of the species. The general aspect and features 

of the species are well illustrated in Pl. III, Fig 1, prepared from one of the original 

specimens studied by Dawson, now in the collection of the Portland Soeiety of Natural 

History. This example is typical of the dense arrangement of pinnm and pinnules, 

commonly, though not invariably, found in this fern. The rachial pinnules, 

though not so well exhibited as in one of the fragment::; collected in 1903, are 

· nevertheless indicated by several small fragments between the secondary pinnre. The 

main rachis in this specimen is less rugose, transver::;ely, than in other examples in 

• 
'\ 

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOSSILS. 41 

hand. In Pl. Ill, Fig. 2, is shown one of the typical fragments of a pinna collected 

in 1903, the details of the nervation, which suggests the Coxton Narrows specimens 

of A. minor, being given in Fig. 2a. 

The identity of the fructification of this species is still in doubt, but the specimen 

here figured (Pi. III, Fig. 4) can hardly be other than the same species as that from 

Scaumenac illustrated by Dawson a as A1'clueopteris Jackson£. It is difficult to discern the position of the sporangia on the pinnules in this specimen, and so to ascerSain whether or not they are pedicellate and fasciculate as described for this species 

by Dawson; but from my examination of the specimen I am disposed to believe that 

in the upper part of the pinna they may be in a single row along the midrib, which 

is prolonged in a narrow, upward curved semispinose process, after the fashion of 

many other species of the genus. This fragment I am, however, disposed to regard 

as perhaps but a young stage of the form shown in Pl. III, Fig. 5, which, although 

placed undm~ A. Rogers1: in deference to the judgment of Dawson, I suspect may 

belong,· like other examples of A. Rogersi from Perry-the type locality-to 

A. Jaol.:soni. In his description of A. Rogers'i, Dawson pointed out the more elon-. 

gated, cuneate, and distal pinnules with more nearly parallel nerves, and the transversely rugose rachis as distinctive of the former as compared with A. Jacksoni. 

ln leaflets of the latter, said to be the more common species at Perry, the nervation, 

as shown in Pl. III, Fig. 2n, does not seem distinguishable from that given by Dawson b 

for A. Rogersi. As to the form of the pinnules, it is but poorly described and figured 

by Dawson; but the pronounced variation in width seen in different portions of the 

same frond in species of A'rclueoptePis, as showcy by Kathorstc in closely related species, 

or as ma,Y be seen in some of the fine slabs in the Lacoe collection of the United States 

National Museum, caution us against the specific separation of small fragments of 

the frond on account of the width of the pinnules. The same series of figures g-iven 

by Nathorst and the same Lacoe specimens also illustrate the transverse rugosity of 

the rachis in some fragments, especially those nearer the base of the frond, while the 

more distal portions may be merely striated. In the example illustrated in Pl. III, 

Fig. 1, there is but faint indication of transverse corrugation in the rachis, but in 

some of the fertile examples, and in several of the fragments of larger rachis like 

that shown as A. Rogerwi, Pl. II, Fig. 12, there is evident corrugation, though I have 

not seen any sterile pinnre or pinnules which are not clearly A. Jaolesoru:, judging 

from the ch!tracters of the leaf form and the nervation. 

The distinctions between A·rohceoptm'is gwpiensis and A. Jaoksoni, for which 

Dawson at first mistook the former, are perhaps still less evident The former species 

. a Fossil Plants of Erian and Upper Silurian Formations of Canada, pt. 2, pl. xxiv, fig. li. 

bQuart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, vol. 19, pl. xix,-fig. 27b. 

c Oberdevonische Flora d. llaren-Insel, 1892, pl. v. 
42 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

was originally described a as differing by the broader pinnules and the broader scaly or 

ramentose petioles, and especially by the arrangement and form of the sporangia, 

which are larger, more oblong, and are placed in pairs sessile on the midrib. It 

would seem also that the distinction between A. Jack~oni and A. gaspiensis is valid 

according to the characters of the fertile pinnre, if we accept fertile fragments of the 

form of Sphenopteris Hitclwocki as representing A. Jacksoni. "\V e are not yet in a 

position to determine the interrelations of A. Jacksoni, A. Rogersi, and A. gaspiensis. 

It is interesting to note that none of the numerous fertile fragments which Dawson. 

,must have had from the same bed and plaee were referred by him to A. Rogersi, 

since he says the fertile pinnre of the latter are unknown, though examples like that 

which I give under the latter species, PI. III, Fig. 5, do not appear to be very rat·e. 

The specimens of the latter type are to be compared with the fertile pinnre of 

A. gaspiensis figured by Dawson.b Incidentally it is perhaps significant, though 

merely·circumstantial, that the fertile pinnm at Perry which I thus tentatively place 

under A. Rogersi are possibly specifically indistinguishable from those of A. 

gaspiensis, which is described as distinguished chiefly by the absence of the transverse 

rugosity of the rachis, and as being otherwise difficult of separation, while A. Rogel'si 

is recorded by Dawson c as associ~ted with A. gaspiensis in the Gaspe region, just as 

it is with A. Jacksoni at Perry. I would add not only that some of the sterile 

pinnules of A. Jacksoni, in one of the larger specimens in the ,museum of the Portland 

Society of Natural History, have the form and size of..A. gaspitnsis, as figured by 

Dawson, but also that the specimens from Montrose, Pa., published by Lesquereuxd 

as A. Roqersi, include fragments which, in my judgment, are hardly distinguishable 

from the sterile pinnre of A. Jacksoni or A. gaspiensis. The fructification of the 

same fronds in the Montrose specimens seems to agree with that figured by me, 

Pl. III, Fig. 5, under A. Rogersi. It is hardly necessary to remark that the specific, 

differentiation of the American species of Ardwopteris is at present in a confused 

condition, which can not be satisfactorily resolved without a careful reexamination 

of the scattered types. For this reason, pending an opportunity. to make such a 

special study of the American material, I leave the discrimination of the Perry species 

essentially as proposed by Dawson. The combination by Lesquereux of Archwopteris Jacksoni and Sphenopteris Hitclwocki with Arclueopteris laxa ( Oyclopteris IIalliana Gopp.) appears to be unwarranted, tbe pinnre of the latter being much more 

slender and flexuous, while the pinnules arc delicate and less imbricated. 

Archwopteris Jacksoni is present both in the shale bed on Little River and in the 

field near McPhail's. 

a Fossil Plants of Erian and Upper Silurian Formations of Canada, pt. 2, 1882, p. 99, pl. xxi, pl. xxiii, fig. 14. 

bLoc. cit., pl. xxi, fig. 2. cLoc. cit., p. 100. <I Coal flora, vol. 1, p. 307. 
DESCRIPTIONS OJ!' THE FOSSILS. 

ARCH.,EOPTERIS RoGERSI Dn. 

. Pl. II, Fig. 12, Pl. III, Fig. 5. 

1863. Oyclopteris Rogerlfi Dawson, 2d Ann. Rept. Nat. Ilist. and Geol. Me., 1862, p. 403. 

43 

1863. Cyclopteris Rogeni Dawson, Proc. Portland Soc. Nat. IIist., vol. i, pt. 2, p. 100, pl. ii, figs. 6, 7. 

1863. Cyclopte1·is Rogersi Dawson, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, vol. xix, p. 463, pl. xvii, figs. 17, 18; 

pl. xix, figs. 27, 27a, 27b. 

1871. Cyclopteris (Archxopteris) Rogeni Dawson, Foss. Pl. Dcv. and Upp. Sil. Can., p. 46, pl. xvi, fig. 

171, p. 85. 

1863. Cyclopteris Halliana Gopp., Dawson, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, vol. xix, p. 462, pl. xix, 

figs. 28, 28a, 28b, doubtfully identified from Perry, l\'le. 

1871. Archwopteris Rogersi Dawson, Foss. Pl. Dev. and Upp. Sil. Can., p. 48. 

1879. Archreopteris Rogersi Dn., Lesquereux, Coal Flora, Atlas, p. 9, pl. lxix, figs. 9, 9a; text, vol. i 

(1880)' p. 307. 

1888. Archxopteris Rogers-i Dawson, Geol. Hist. Pl., p. 279. 

1886. Palxopteris Rogersi (Dn.) Kidston, Cat. Foss. Pl. Brit. Mus., p. 228. 

Habit of growth resembling that of Oyctopteris Jacksoni, but with pinnuks 

more elongated and almost cuneate in form and less densely placed, and with veins · 

more nearly parallel; stipe stout, woody, furrowed longitudinally, and marked with 

strong transverse bars or punctures. 

Not having seen any barren pinn~ in our collection from Perry except such as 

belong to A. Jacksoni, I have here quoted Dawson's diagnosisa of Archmopteris 

Rogersi, which was bas~d on specimens from this locality, where it is said to be less 

common than A, Jacksoni. Its distinctive features, as compared to the latter, appear 

to be a stipc transversely corrugated and not leafy between the secondary pinnre, 

and less densely placed pinnm and pinnules, the latter being also generally narrower 

and more nearly cuneate. 

The species is very inadequately illustrated for diagnostic purposes, and is 

·therefore subject to some confusion, which can be resolved only by the examination 

of the type material. The two very small fragments of pinnre figured by Dawson 

are so insufficient for the basis of a species that it is hoped that additional materia,} 

from Dawson's hand in the original collections at Montreal may be found in support 

of the differentiation proposed by him. For reasons stated in my remarks on 

A1'chmopteris Jacksoni I am slightly inclined to regard A. Roger.si as representing 

narrow and more distantly arranged pinnules of the same species, such as are sometimes found in the upper part of large fronds of A1'chmopte1'is. This problem must, 

hmvever, for the present remain unsettled. 

The fragment of transversely corrugated rachis shown in Pl. II, Fig. 12, is one 

of a number of rachial fragments in our collections that are referable to Arclueopteris 

Rogersi. In its superficial features it closely resembles the corresponding specimen 

figured by Gilkinet 0 as Palmopteris Roemeriana. --------"-'--------------------------- a Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, vol. 19, 1863, p. 463. 

v Bull. A end. Roy. Belgique, vol. 39, 1875, p. 384. 
44 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOU'l'HEAS'l'ERN ~lAINE. 

In its corrugation the Perry rachis agrees well enough with Dawson's description of the original figure of a petiolar fragment, but in the traces of irregularly 

arranged scars to be observed in one or two examples our specimens strongly 

suggest fragments of the rachis of A. gaspiensis, described by Dawson as having 

indications of flat scales or ramentum. A similar specimen is in the collection of 

the Portland Society of Natural History. Since, however, the examination of 

several slabs of Archmopterois from the Devonian of Pennsylvania in th~ Lacoe 

collection of the Unlted States National Museum or of the figures of A. Roemeriana 

given by Nathorst in his Devonian Flora of Bear Island shows the occurrence of 

both smoothly striate and transversely corrugated portions of rachis in the same 

fronds, I am disposed to regard this character as probably due more or less directly 

to circums~ances of preservation and therefore of little specific value. It is not 

improbable that the corrugation itself is due to the presence in the cortex of horizontal sclerotic plates, which are expressed in the fossil according to the conditions 

of preservation, the cortical structure being presumably comparable to that described 

by Williamson and Scott in IIetemngium. 

Associated with the sterile pinnre of Aroclueopterois Jixcksoni I find several fragments of fertile pinnre, which, since they do not conform to the characters given by 

Dawson for the latter species, I provisionally place in the other Perry species of 

Archxopteri8, A. Rogeni, the fruit of w~ich was unknowt~ to the author of that 

species. As shown in Pl. III, Fig. 5, which represents an average specimen, the 

sporangia in this species "are oblong linear, obtusely rounded, about 4-6 mm. broad 

and 2.5-3.5 mm. long, arranged singly or in pairs, with very short pedicels along the 

the midrib, which extends beyond the sporangia in a slender upward-turned prolongation. The sporangium itself is marked by a narrow longitudinal line, probably· 

corresponding to the nerville. This character of the .Archmopteris sporangium which 

has been illustrated by Dawson (t is susceptible of interpretation as a rudimentary 

annu1us. In one of our speCimens the pinnre and sporangia are smaller and more 

delicate, hcing intermediate to those placed by me (Pl. III, Fig. 4) under .A. Jackson£. 

The difference in size is perhaps due to immaturity, since the mode of arra'ngement 

on the midrib appears to be that shown in the larger specimens. 

As already mentioned in my remarks on Archxopteris Jaclc8oni, it is possible, I 

believe, that this type of fertile pinna may belong to the last-named species. This 

supposition is to some extent supported by the relatively greater frequency of 

. this form of fertile pinna in association with A. Jacksoni at Perry, by their close 

resemblance to the fertile pinnre figured by Da\vson b under ArclLxopteris gaspiensis, 

and by the occurrence of A. Jacksoni with A.. ,qa8pien.~is in the Gaspe region. The 

a Geol. Hist. Pl.. 1888, p. 128, fig. 55a. 

b Fossil Plant• Erittn and Upper Silurian Formations of Canada, pt. 2, pl. xxi, fig. 2. 
· DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOSSILS. 45 

very close relations of the Perry specimen to those from Montrose, Pa., described 

by Lesquereuxa as A. Rogersi arc to some extent corroborative o~ this view. The 

fertile specimens from Pennsylvania in the Lacoe collection are of the form here 

placed in A. Rogersi. 

In hi;; Devonian Flora of Bear Island, Nathorstb seems to regard A1·clu;eopteris 

Rogersi as probably referable to A. Roeme1•iana Goepp. It seems not impwbable 

that the frag'ments from Perry, doubtfully identified by Dawsouc, as Cyclopteris 

Halliana Goppert, are but delicate specimens of A: Rogersi. 

ARCHlEOPTERIS HITCHCOCKI (Dn.) D. '\V. 

Pl. III, Figs. 6, 6", 6". 

1862. Sphenopteris'Hitchcocki Dawson, Rept. Nat. Hist. and Geol. l\ie., p. 251, fig. 6. 

1862. Sphenopteris Hitchcocki Dn., Hitchcock, Rept. Nat. Hist. and Geol. .Me., p. 248. 

1862. Sphenopteris Hitchcocki Dawson, Proc. Portland Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. i, pt. i, pp. 76, 77, pl. i, fig. 4. 

1862. Sphenopteris Hitchcockiana Daws01i, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, vol. xviii, p. 298. 

1863. Sphenopteris Hitchcockiana Da'wson, Am. Jour. Sci., 2d ser., Yo!. xxxv, p. 313. 

1868. Sphenopteris Hitchcockiana. Dawson,·Acad. Gcol., pp. 514, 518, 534, 552. 

1871. ~~pherwpteris Hitchcockiana Dawson, Foss. Pl. Dev. and Upp. Sil. Can., p. 49, pl. xv, fig. 175; also 

p. 52. 

1884. Sphenopteris Hitchcockiana Dn., Lesquereux, Coal Flora, vol. iii, p. 837. 

1869. Pal:xopteris Halliana (Gopp.) Schimper, Traite. vol. i, p. 478 (syn.). 

1895. Oljclopteris Hitchcockiana (Dn.) Solms-Laubach, Jahrb. d. K. preuss. geol. Landesanst:, 1894, 

p. 86. 

Main rachis large, very rugose, sometimes faintly corrugated transversely, and 

in fertile portions provided between the secondary pinnre with very slender, narrow, 

deeply dissected or laciniate, oblique and recurved rachial pinnules, the diehotomou;; 

lobes or nerves of which bear sporangia at their apices; fertile secondary pinnre, 

alternate, close, very oblique at the ba;;e and curving outward, the lower ones 

refiexed, tapering slig·htly, with moderately strong rugose rachises; lowest pinnules 

reduced to very narrow lacini::e, dichotomizing twice or more, the lobe;,; fertile at the 

apex, the sporangia being broader than the laciniro, more distal pinnules reduced to 

the usually once or twice dichotomous short midrib, ·and the lateral nervilles 

immediately forking once or more at a rather wide angle to furnish short pcdiceb 

for the ;;porangia; sporangia in lax or diffuse arrangement, often loosely fasciculate 

at the apices of the very short dichotomous nenres, 1.8-2.4 nun. long, oblong· or 

slightly clavate, often slightly curycd, the maximum width (0.5-0.6 nun.) being at 

the middle or a little below the obtuse or rounded apex, tbe base being narrowed 

and the dorsal surface traversed by a low narrow keel in continuation of the ncrville. 

The diagnosi;; given above i;; based on the counterpart of the original type from 

Perry, now in the geologic collection of the American Museum of Natural History, 

a Coal Flora, vol. 1; p. 307. Nos. 16989, 16992, 16995, Lacoe Collection U.S. Nat. Mus. 

b OberdeYonische Flora der Biiren-Insel, 1902, p. 22. 

"Quart. Jour. Geol. tloc. London, vol. 19, 1863, p. 462. 
46 GEOI .. OGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

to whose courtesy, through Dr. E. 0. Hovey, I am indebted for the opportunity for 

its reexamination arid illustration. As shown in Pl. III, Fig. 6, the rachises of the 

lateral pinnre are hardly in the plane of the surface of the shale, a condition not 

rare in fertile segments of .Arclu£optm·is. 

A conspicuous and interesting feature of this type is the reduction of the rachial 

pinnules to narrow Iacinire, at the dichotomous apices of which sporangia are borne, 

as is shown in .Pig. 6 a. The lower pinnules of the scc(;mdary pinnre are also unique in 

that they are reduced to narrow, several times dichotomous lacinire, bearing sporangi:t 

at their apices. This feature is probably responsible for the original reference of 

the plant to the genus Sphenopteris. Hig·her in the secondary pinnre the pinnules 

appear to be further reduced, so that a short midrib dichotomously gives off a few 

short ncrvilles, which usually fork once, or perhaps twice, immediately, to form the 

very short pedicels of the sporangia. It is to this spreading and dichotomously 

branched habit of the nerves or lacinire that the plant owes its diffuse aspect. 

The sporangia, often seen in foreshortened aspect in the matrix of this specimen, 

are (PI. Ill, Fig. 6 b) oblong, sometimes slightly enlarged upward, and generally.very 

bri~fiy pedicellate at the usually narrowed base. The residual substance of the 

sporangia is thick and carbonaceous, each sporangium being traversed by a narrow, 

low dorsal keel, whieh may correspond to a rudimentary ring. 

· The sporangia of this species are typical of the genus Arch<£opteris, a sterile 

fragment of which occurs on the same piece of shale. The correlation of .ArcA<£opteris 

I£itclwod:~: with any of the species known by their barren pinnrn is not yet definitely 

possible, on account of the lack of connection between the barren and fertile at Perry 

and the failure to discern the fertile species elsewhere in association with corresponding barren pinnre. But it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that the specimen 

may represent a lower part of a fertile .A. Jacksoni, whose fruit would appear to' 

approach itby the position of the sporangia on the apices of forking veinlett>. 

The reference of Sphenopteris ri£tolwock£ to AJ·clt<£opter·is was first proposed 

essentially by Schimper,a who regarded it as the fertile pinnre of Prtl<£opteris IIalUana 

(Goepp.) Schimp., to which he also provisionally referred A. Jackson,i. Dawson& 

seriously eonsidered Schimper's views, thoughhe remained unconvinced. Lesquereux, 

who in 1880 c accepted Schimper's correlations, later restores a the species to 

Sphenopteris .. 

Schmalhausen e is disposed to interpret Sphenopteris I£itolwod·i !lS a fruiting 

form closely related to his Dimeripteris. The latter genus, which will be discussed 

later, will at once be recognized as generically distinct. A striking example·of the 

a Traite pal<\ont. veg., vol. 1, p. 478. 

I> Fossil Plants Devonian and Upper Silurian Formations of Canada, p. 52. 

"Coal Flam, vol. 1, p. 304. ' 

d Op. cit., vol. 3, 1884, p. 837. 

eMem. Com. Geol., vol. 8, No.3, St. Petersburg, 1894, pp. 29, 30. 
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOSSILS. 47 

evils resulting from a too free interpretation of foreign imperfect descriptions 

and figures is furnished by Piedboeuf's inclusion a of S. Hitchcocki with Haliserites 

Decheniamts, Fumts Nessigii, Psilophyton, and Sphenopteris condrusorum in his 

Sargassum Decheniamtm, supposed to belong to the Fncacem. By the form and 

clmracters of the sporangia and their position at the ends of forking veins Archmopten's Hitcl~cockz: appears to be related to the fossil plant from the Devonian of 

Belgium described . by Crepin b as Psilophyton condrusorum, the Sphe1Wpteris 

condntsm'urn of Gilkinet. 

OTIDOPHYTON D. W., gen. nov. 

0TJDOPHYTON HYMENOPHYLLOJDES n. sp. 

Pl. II, Fig. 3. 

' 1863. An" Filicites incertm sed is," Dawson, Qu:;trt. Jour. Geol. Soc., vol. xix, p. 464, pl. xvii, figs. 10, 16? 

Fragments filicoid in form, with broad, lineate, rachial axis, bordered by rather 

thiek and apparently somewhat fleshy, short, ovate lobes, which arc open nearly at a 

right angle, laterally asymmetrical, slightly upward-pointed, and connate for about 

one-third of their length, the narrow, rounded sinuses being· marked by small, 

roundish, dense, umbilicate organs about .0.5 rrim. in diameter, and joined to the rachis 

by an oblique, decurrent, and rather thick strand; lamina of the lobes depressed 

along the rachis and nearly fiat except near the slightly apiculate extremities of the 

lobes, where it appears to be marked, in most cases, at a distance of about 1.25 mm. 

from the border, by a small slightly depressed low mammilla. 

The fragment here described is, like most of the other material from the 

Perry beds, more or less ·abraded or macerated, a fact which, in conjunction 

with the generally gmnular matrix, renders the interpretation of the impression 

and earbonaccous residue a matter of much difficulty; yet the salient features are 

sufficiently clear to make it identifiable for general paleontologic and st,rati.graphic 

usc. It has therefore seemed desirable to give it a systematic nomenclatural 

designation, although the determination of the precise nature and ·functions of 

the parts are necessarily left to future discovel'y and research. 

The habit of the pinna, Pl. II, Fig. 3, is strongly suggestive of a fern, with 

short, thick, fleshy lobes united at the base and separated in their distal portions by 

deep and narrowly rounded sinuses, at the base of each of whic~ the thickened carbonaceous umbilicate impression, sometimes elong·ated radially and evidently joined 

by a thick outward curved strand to the rachis, is strongly suggestive of the synangium of .fiymenophyllt(m. As will be seen by reference to Fig. 3, there is very good 

reason for believing that this sinal organ is sporophyllous. In the fragment illustt·ated it is constant in its occurrence between the lobes. In view of this interpretation it becomes, howevel', somewhat embarrassing to explain the small mammillate 

a1{ittbeil. N11turf. Verein, Dusseldorf, 1887, pt. i, p. 47. b Bull. Acad. Roy. Belgique, vol. 38, 1874, pl. i, fig. 3. 
48 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN,, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

depressions which occur within the apices of the lobes, and are likewise marked by 

a thickened carbonaceous residue. Other things being equal, these w'luld naturally 

he taken for fructifications, but in this particnlar case such an interpretation is quite 

inadmissible, unless we conceive the plant to possess two distinct types of sporangia 

borne on the same pinna. It is possible that the one or the other is merely 

glandular, or that the sinal imp1·essions arc those of pedicellate organs or appendages. I am, however, slightly inclined to regard the peripheral traces as possibly 

glandular . 

. The specimen in hand does not satisfactorily reveal any definib~ system of 

nervation. Several of the lobes on the right hand of the axis appear to be somewhat distantly marked by depressed lines, lying generally parallel to the trend of the_ 

lobe and possibly bifurcating once or more, which bend downward near the rachis, 

hut it is not possible to follow them with sufficient accurac.v to establish their mode 

of origin or their precise habit of subdivision. They are probably to be regarded 

as the true nervation of the fleshy pinnules, although in other portions of the specimen no evidence of nervation is visible. 

As compared with other Paleozoic plant types, the fragments in hand appear 

to resemble none sufficiently elosely to indicate near relationship. As to the 

general aspect of the fragment, embracing a thick rachis bordered by dense fleshy 

lobes, the example shown in Fig. 3 is slightly suggestive of that from the lower 

Coal Measures of Missouri, described by the writer as BPittsia,a in which we have 

denticulately lobed pinnules or appendages arising from the sinuses between fleshy 

rachial lobes ·corresponding in general form and arrangement to that in Ot?:do]Jl~yton. 

The latter, like Brittsia, also distinctly resembles the 'frond,; described by Renault 

and Zeiller as ZyqopteJ•is. b This genus differs widely ;rom the type in hand in 

the position of the sporangia. , 

From an examination of the figures of the unnamed fern from the Perry beds, 

published by Dawson c in 18o3, it appears almost certain that the fragments 

described as having ''dark spots, which are probably remains of fructification" in 

the sinuses, are referable to the genus, and perhaps to the species, described abO\'e, 

although the lohes are figured as narrower and the nervation is said to anastomose 

near the rachis. 

The fragment. illustrated is in general form and aspect .somewhat similar to 

specimenil described by authors as young examples of AJ'chceoptel'is. Fig. 3 

deserves especial comparison with the bipinnate example of almost exactly similar 

form from the Devonian of Condroz, illustrated by Crepin d as Palceopteris 

ltibendca. 

"Mon. U. S. Geol. Survey, vol. 37, 1899, p. 98, pl. xlvii, figs. 1-5. 

bFI. fos~. bassin houill. de Commentry, pt. 1. 1886, p. 77, pl. xxxii, figs. 5-7. 

cQuart . .Tour. Geol. Soc. London, vol. 19, p. 46-1, pl. xvii, figs. 10, 16. 

d Bull. A cad. Roy. Belgique, vol. 38, 1874, p. 561, pl. iii, fig. 6. 
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOSSILS. 49 

BARRANDEINA Stur. 

Sitzb. K. Akad. Wiss., Wien., math-nat. Cl., 1881, vol. lxxxiv, pt. i, p. 362. 

BARRANDEINA PERRIANA (Dn.) D. vV. 

Pl. II, Fig. 11. 

1862. Anarthrocanna sp., Dawson, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc., vol. xviii, opp. p. 329. 

1863. Anarthrocanna Perriana Dawson, Proc. Portland Soc. Nat. I-list., vol. i, pt. 2, p. 100, pl. ii, fig 3. 

1863. Anarthrocanna Perriana Dawson, Second Rept. Nat. Hist. and Geol. Me., p. 403. 

1863. Anarthrocanna Perryana Dawson, Quart. Jour. Geot: Soc., vol. xix, p. 461, pl. xvii, fig. 21. 

1871. Anarthrocanna Perryana Dawson, Foss. Pl. Dev. Upp. Sil. Can., pp. 27, 85. 

Rigid :"~terns marked with. broad, slightly irregular, low, flat, nearly contiguous, 

obscurely lineate ribs formed by the decurrent or appressed narrow bases of petioles 

or leaves, whose arrangement is spiral, the fracture being more or less oblique. 

Under the name Anarthmcanna jJerriana, Dawson published a number of stem 

fragments of calamarian aspect, the lea,£ or petiole bases bein,g described and 

figured as verticillate. From a num?er of small fragments.in hand, one of which 

(Pl. II, Fig. 11) is illustrated herewith, it appears that the scars are arranged with 

more or less distinctness spirally instead of verticillately. The scars themselves 

are mere portions of very obliquely decurrent rachises or leaf bases whose 

succession in the longitudinal sense forms a slightly irregular low rib. Each leaf 

lower on the rib appears as if laid on the rib, with the width of which it coincides. 

On account of the appressed condition and the mode of origin of the leaf bases 

the fractures are relatively lower, as regards the spiral, in some cases than in others; 

so it happens that in some instances they may appear to be verticillate. However, 

this aspect is, I believe, merely accidental. I am unable to recognize either the 

presence of nodes or of any enlargements corresponding to nodes such.as are described 

by Daw::;on, whose figures, indeed, show no such enlargements. The reference of the 

Perry plant to Goppert's genus Anm·throcanna is untenable, since the latter genus 

includes exarticulate stems bearing verticillate branch scars. 

The foliar character~ and form of reproduction as well as the internal structure 

of the American plant are not known. The mode of decunence of the leaf bases is 

somewhat similar to that seen in the secondary rachises of stems of APchmopte1'is. 

It is possible, on the other band, that some of the supposed leaf fragments described 

as Cordaites angustifolius may have been borne on stems of this type, though it· 

seems more probable that they will eventually prove to be fern stems. In this connection it is important to consult the fragment from the Hamilton of New York, 

figured by Dawson a as "Cordaites'!", which would seem to be congeneric with the 

Perry plant. Both types, the New York type in particular, are so similar in their 

a Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. Loudon, vol. 18, 1862, p. 318, pl. xvi, fig. 59. 

10325-No. 35-05-4 · 
50 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEA8TERN MAINE. 

rachial characters to the axis described by Krejci" as Protolepidodendron .Dusliwmm and by Stur 6 made the type of Barrandeina as to require consideration as being 

generically identical. I have therefore tentatively placed the Maine plant in the 

genus Barrandeina. It should be compared with B. Duslianum, pl. v, figs. 3, 4, 5, 

of Stur's paper on the .F'lom of the H-hl stage in Bohemia. 

RH-ACHIOPTEHIS Daw:Son. 

Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc., vol. xviii, 1862, p. 323. 

RHACHIOPTERIS PINNATA Dn. 

1842. Plant--, Vanuxem, Geol. 3rd Dist. New York, p. 191, fig. 57. 

1889. Plant--, Lesley, Diet. Foss. Pa., vol. ii, p. 657, text. fig. 

1862. Rhachiopteri8 pinnata Dawson, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc., vol. xviii; p. 323, pl. xvi, fig. 60. 

1863. Rhachio>Jteris pinnata Dn., Hitll, 16th Rept. Regents N. Y. St. Cab., p. 111, fig. 1. 

1871. Rhachiopteris pinnata Dawson, Foss: Pl. Dev. and Upp. Sil. Can., p. 57. 

1880. Rhachiopteris pinnata Dn., Lesqucreux, Coal Flora, vol. i, p. 332. 

1885. Rhaclviopteris pinnata Dn., J. :NI. Clarke, Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 16, pp. 28, 33. 

RHACHIOPTERIS PINNATA Dn·., var. ANGUSTIPINNA D. 1''· 

Pl. IV, Figs. 1, 2, 3. 

Bipinnatc; axis rigid, irregularly and obscurely costate, irregularly lineate, 

slightly dilated laterally in passing upward to the bases of the secondary pinnre; 

secondary pinnre distichous, opposite about 4 to 5 em. distant, at an angle of about 

45° with the main rachis, rigid, narrow, of varying length, often seeming to terminate 

abruptly, strongly decurrent at the base, and conspicuously broadening the main 

rachis for some distance below the point of union; pinnules little known, very small, 

apparently somewhat distant~ membranaceous, narrow, possibly oblong, irregular in 

outline, or lobate, not spread in the plane of the rachis. 

Although little is known of the foliage. of this type, the characters of the 

rachial portio11s are so nearly identical with those of the specimen from the 

Marcellus shale, middle Devonian of New York, made the type of the genus 

Rhackiopteris by Dawson,C that it seems not more than varietally separable from 

Rkackiopteris pinnata Dn. The chief distinctions recognized in the variety 

angustipinna lie in the less tapering secondary pinnre, which are more slender at 

their bases, and in the absence of a distinct medial depression or pit on the 

·surface of the main rachis between and nearly opposite each pair of lateral pinnre, 

such as are shown in Dawson's illustration. Nevertheless, some slight depressions 

corresponding to those shown in R. pinnata are present, though not satisfactorily 

aSitzungsber. K. bohm. Gesell. Wiss., 1878 (1880), p. 333. 

bSitzungsber. K. Akad. Wiss., Wicn., math.-nat. Cl., vol. 84, pt. 1, 1881, p. 362. 

c Quart .. Tour. Gcol. Soc. London, vol. 18, 1862, p. 323, pl. xvi, fig. 60. The genus Rhachiopteris Dawson, 1862, must not 

be confounded with Rhacopteri" Schimper, 1869, or Rachlopteris Williamson, 1874, the last being a homonym of Daw:wn's 

genus. 
0 

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOSSILS. 51 

clear, in the Perry plant. It is possible that in this species the secondary pinnro 

are in four vertical rows, tetrastichous, or that shorter pinnal or pinnules at the ends 

of the abruptly terminated lateral rachises alternate with the pairs of secondary 

'pinnrn. 

The specimens present very little to indicate the characters of the pinnules 

borne by the rachises. On account of the coarse, irregularly fracturing nature 

of their matrix, their extremely delicate lamina, and the proje~ted positions of 

their leaflets, only small fragments may be shown in definite relation to the 

rachis. A portion of such a pinnule is seen (Pl. IV, Fig. 3) on the second lateral 

pinna, which is not uncovered beyond. Its membranaceous lamina is ventrally 

broadly concave to the thread-like vascular axis. The examination of other 

specimens, such as that in Fig. 1, appears to show the pret>ence of leaf bases or 

offshooting nerves at various points of the rachis, which becomes sparsely 

lineate toward the base. These lateral rachises are themselves marked by a 

somewhat loose or irregul,ar denser median portion or narrow axiH, which is 

sometimes in relief and sometimes depressed, and hardly exactly parallel with the 

ma1'gins. The latter suggest a thick wing. The . at>pect of these less dense 

lateral portions of the secondary rachises, in the presence of such apparently 

deficient transpiratory leaf surface, suggests that the bordering laminrn of the 

. stem may have been stomatifcrous. 

An example of a larger secondary pinna, probably belonging to the same 

plant, is shown in Pl. IV, Fig. 3. Here we have remains of several pinnules still 

in evidence. I am disposed to interpret these pinnules as generally alternate and 

not more than 1.5-2.5 em. distant on the same side. They are Ho delicate as to 

be abraded, shriveled, or curled at the borders in all or nearly all specimens I 

have found so far. In their general mode of division and form they strongly 

resemble the terminal, thin, recurving, laminar expansions which probably served 

as leaves in the smoother of the groups of plants referred by DawHon to 

PsilopAyton. They represent, I believe, an early or rudimentary form of fern 

pinnule. 

A very interesting phase of the lateral pinn::e is the apparently rapid if not 

almost abrupt termination of the rachis, either close to its base or at some 

distance from the main rachis. In some cases this is perhaps due to imperfect 

exposure of tlie specimens, though. in others it would seem to be due either to 

rapid· reduction of the !Lxis attendant on foliar development or to fragility JIIHt 

above the leaf bases. The relative delicacy of the vascular axis, as compared 

with the rachises or lamina, illustrated in Pl. IV, Fig. 1, should be borne in 

mind in thi.s connection. Similar specimens of secondary pinme with fragments 

of similar pinnules, found at a number of Devonian localities and almost certainly belonging to the same genus, have generally, though probably en;oneonsly ~ 
52 GEOLOGY 01<' PERRY H.ASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

been referred to the genus Psitoph.yton. In these fragments we similarly have 

a smooth, slender rachis with central thickened axis, often depressed or traversing a depression, and a more fleshy and evidently less fibrous wing on either 

side. So also these branches, and even the leaf bases themselves, often end 

abruptly in a blunt though not resistant recurvcd base, to which thread-like or 

delicate frag·ments of pinnules, or of the vascular axis of the distally macerated 

portion of the rachis, seems in some instances to adhere. 

The fragments figured by Dawson, or seen in Pl. IV, Fig·s. 1 and 2, may with 

interest be compared with the portion of a fern skeleton from the Lenne beds (middle 

Devonian) of Oben zum Holz, figured r< by Count Solms-Laubach, and .compared with 

Sphenopteris condl'usorum. In the Oben form we have opposite branches on the 

main rachis, which arc evidently traversed by a distinct medial axis, while the 

strongly reflexed lobes of the divaricatcly forking ultimate divisions of the rachis are 

suggestive of the portion of a pinnule shown in Pl. IV, Fig. 1. In the regularity of 

the lateral pinme our plant suggests the species last mentioned, which was described 

by Gilkinet.h Bi1t while tho rachial portions of the two ferns appear to have many 

points in common, the pinnules of the Belgian examples are distinctly sphenopteroid, 

mo1·c rigid, and regularly disposed, and are comparable to the SjJl~enopteris 

moravicunr _of Ettingshauscn. c 

RhacMopteris pvnnatct also closely resembles defoliated fragments of ArchceoptePi"s, 

with opposite lateral pinme. It may, however, be distinguished from the latter by 

the broadened axis just above the axils of. the pinn::e, which in Arcli;.eopteri8 are 

acute, the secondary rachises themselves being more rigid, fibrous, and without 

the bordering lamina. 

RHACHfOPTERIS PUNCTATA Dn. (?). 

1842. Plant--, Vaunxem, Geol. 3rd Dist. N.Y., p. 191, fig. 56. 

1889. Plant--, Lesley, Diet. Foss. Pa., vol. ii, p. 657, text-fig. 

1862. RhachiopteriB punctota Dawson, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soe. London, vol. xviii, p. 323, pl. xvi, fig. 61. 

1863. Rhachiopteris punctata Dawson, in Hall, 16th Rept. N. Y. State Mus. Nat .. Hist., p. 113, fig .. 4. 

1871. Rhachiopteris punctata Dawson, Foss. Pl. Dev. and Upp. Sil. Can., p. 57. 

1880. RhachiopteriH punctata Dn., Lesquereux, Coal Flora, vol. i, p. 332. 

1884. Rhachiopteris punctata Dn., Williams, Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 3, p. 14. 

1888. Rhachiopteris punctata Dawson, Geol. Hist. Pl., p. 93. 

1889. Rhachiopteris punctata Dn., Lesley, Diet. Foss. Pa., vol. ii, p. 657, fig. 56. 

:Fern sten;ts, rigid, with somewhat coarse, irregular, longitudinal ribs, between 

w.hieh the i~npression is marked by small transverse ridges about 0. 75 mm. distant, 

thus producing the appearance of vertical rows of very coarse punctuations between, 

nnd often lapping upon, the impressions of the large vascular bundles. · 

aJahrbuch K. preuss. gcol. Landesanstalt u. Bcrgakademie, 1894, pl. ii, Jig. I, p. 93. 

IJBull. Acad. Roy. Belgique (2), vol. 39,1875, p. 393, figs. 1, 2. 

c Fossile Flora Mahrisch.-Schles. Dachschiefcrs, p. 100, pl. iv, Jig. 4. 
DESCRIPTIONS 0]' THE l!'OSSILB. 53 

The 'stems described by Dawson under the above name are, as was admitted 

by him, probably to be associated with Archceopteri8. They perhaps represent 

specimens showing in a more marked phase the conditions of preservation often 

seen in rachises of the fronds of this genus. It is possible that the pecnliae 

transverse fretting may be due to the presence of horizontal sclerotic plates _in the 

cortex, comparable to those in IIeterang1:urn. 

This species is perhaps of no value beyond indicating for its terrane t.he 

presence of some kind of Archceopteri8 whose petiole bases may be preserved so as. 

to show a transversely rugose steni, a fact already recognized at Pcri·y through 

the occurrence of A. Roger8i. 

SPHENOPTERIDIUM Schimper. 

TraitC Pal. Veg., vol. iii, 1874, p. 487. 

SPHENOPTERIDIUM sp. 

Among the plants placed in my hands through the .courtesy of Dr. R. T. 

Jackson, of the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Harvard University, I find 

a fragment of pinnule (No. 3,337) which by its form and nervation is very 

similar to some of the lobes of Sphenopteridvwm fwrcillat~trn found by Ludwig" , 

and Potonie 0 in the collections from near Herhorn, Hesse-Nassau. The terranes 

containing the latter arc referred on nonpaleobotanieal evidence to the Silurian; 

but the evidence of the plants themselves is sufficient to show that the Sphenopteridiurn beds are not older than upper Devonian. 

DIMERIPTERIS Schmalhausen. 

Mcm. Co!Jl. Geol., vol. viii, No. 3, St. Petersb., 1894, p. 12. 

DIMERIPTEJUS INCERTA (Dn.) D. W. 

Pl. ll, Figs. 7,8, 8", 9. 

1862. Oyclopteris incerta Dawson, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, vol. xviii, p. 320, pl. xvi, fig. 44. 

1871. Cyclopteris incerta Dawson, Foss. Pl. Dev. and Upp. Sil. Can., p. 65. 

1884. Cyclopteris incerta lh>., -esquerenx, Coal Flora, vol. iii, p. 830. 

Very slender stems occasi~nally forking more or less di varicately, with central 

axial strand, the lateral portions less dense and often irregularly costate or lax; 

lateral branches relatively short when fertile, becoming abruptly diffuse by rapid 

dichotomies at nearly a right angle, the ultimate divisions being very narrow, curved, 

or reflexed, extremely short; sporangia borne in clusters of 4 to 10 or more at 

the apices of the ultimate branchlets, sessile, imbricate in sribglobi1lar heads, oblongor oblong-lanceolate, about 2.5 mm. in length and about 0.6 mm. in diameter, obtuse 

and sometimes slightly flaccid; sterile pinnules not definitely known or correlated. 

aPalaeontographica, vol. 17, No.3, 1869, pl. xxiv. 

bAbhandl. K. preuss. geol. Landesanstalt, n. s., vol. 36,1901, pp. 20, 21. 
54 GEOLOGY 01<' PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. I 

The in'teresting fos~ils here described and illustrated furnish another example 

of the incompleteness of our knowledge of many of the older types of land plants. 

The stems of the form shown by several fragments in PI. II, Fig·s. 7, 8, appear to be 

indistinguishable drorri otheri'i that have commonly been referred to Psilopl<yton 

princeps, which is recorded by Dawson as occurring at Perry. They are usually 

very slender, long, somewhat rigid, with central thickened vascular axes, which are 

often carinate in the impression. These stems or branch fragments often show 1 

short, abruptly terminated, branch, or leaf bases, to which adhere short, irregular 

filamentose remains, presumabl}r branchlets or leaf nerves or fragments of pinnules. 

By their superficial characters they appear to be inseparable, at least generically, 

from specimens from Scaumcnac labeled by Dawson as Psilophyton princeps. The 

agglomerations or heads of sporangia also appear to be directly comparable to those 

illustrated by Dawson a as P. rob,ust1:us. The resemblance of the last-mentioned 

species touches also the characters of the rapidly and dichotomously diffuse fertile 

branchlets and the arrangement of the sporangia. 

The specimens from Perry can not, however, be referred to the genus 

Psilophyton, as proposed by DMvson b in 1859, even if we allow for some 

uncertainty as to the true. nature and characters of Psilophyton p7'inceps, the 

type of its genus. In the latter we have distinctly spinous or scaly stems, 

irregularly dichotomous and revolute, as shown by the figures, not circinnate? at 

the apex. The supposed fruit of the type is comparable in some respects to 

that ~rom Perry. But from the descriptions and figures given by Dawson there 

would seem to be ample ground. for questioning the congenerity of the species 

subsequently described as P. J'ob·ustius, P. elegans, and P. glabrum with P. 

princeps. The more ample illustrations given by Dawson c in 1871 aid little in 

determining the problem, since we have both smooth and spinous stems under 

the type species of the genus, while the fruiting of the latter shown in his fig. 

118 differs not only from that given in 1859, but also, in less degree, from that 

indicated in fig. 103 of the same work. As Count S<,>lms-Laubach has pointed 

out, d the determination of the generic interrelations of the species described by 

Dawson as PsilopAyton requires a thorough revision of the material with a 

reexamination of the types. 

While doubt remains as to the generic identity of the Perry specimens with 

the type of the genus Psilophyton, whatever be their relations to P. J'obusti'us 

there is hardly room .for question as to the precise congcnerity of the plant in 

hand with the materml made by Schmalhausen the type of his genus .Dimeripteris. e 

a Fossil Plants Devonian and Upper Silurian Formations Canndu, 1871, pl. xii. 

I• Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, vol. 15, p. 478. Canadian Naturalist, vol. 5, No. 1, 1860, p. 2. 

·c Fossil Plants Devonian and Upper Silurian Formations Canada, pis. x, xi, xii. 

t!Jahrbuch K. preuss. Landesdnstalt u. Bergakademie, 1895, pp. 73, 76. 

e Dimeripteris fasciculata, Mem. Com. Geol., vol. 8, No.3, St. Petersburg, 1894, pp. 12, 30, pl. i, figs. 10, 11. 
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOSSILS. 55 

The fragments in hand approach .D. fasciculata so closely as at first to leave 

doubt as to the specific distinction between the Perry and the Donetz plants. 

The specimens shown in Pl. II, Fig. 7, should be compared with pl. i, fig. 11, of 

the Donetz-Becken flora. But the species is also still more closely bound to the 

specimen from the Hamilton of New York described and figured by Dawson a as 

Cyclopteris incerta. Although I should not have associated it with a rounded 

stem branching so freely as that illustrated by Dawson as belonging·. to the latter 

speCies, its sporangia are so similar both in arrangement and in form to those 

shown- in fig. 44c of Dawson's plate that I tentatively place it in the same 

species. The subdivisions shown in 44b represent, I believe, ultimate branch 

divisions from 'wh~ch the sporangia have fallen. As such they ~hould be compared with our Fig. 8. The curvature of the pediccls uniformly in the same 

direction in 44c is probably merely accidental. The apparent coalescence in the 

impression of the sporangia borne on two ramules in the upper part of this 

figure illustrates a feature common in our species, in which it is probable that 

in some cases the sporangia of more than one ramule are blended in the branch 

or head. Dawson's figure fails to show the features of the individual sporangium, 

and I am not certain whether they agree in all respects with those revealed in 

the coarse matrix at Perry. 

The type of fructification here described seems to have close analogies in 

other plants ·described from the Devonian of various regions. In the aspect of 

the heads, the development of the sporangia from rapidly dichotomizing ramules, 

and the characters of their sporangia themselves, .Dimeripteris incm'ta and .D. 

fasciculata are to be compared with the fructification from the Devonian of 

Bear Island rlescribed by Nathorstb as Ceplwlotheca mirabilis. \Vere it not that 

the sporangia! beads in the latter are almost sessile in the proximal angles at the 

bases of the ~econdary pinn:E the plants would of necessity be regarded as very 

closely related species of the same genus. The fructification of the plant in hand 

also resembles in some respects that described by Vaffi.e{·c as Alcico1'nopteris 

Zeillm'i, from the lower Culm of Maconnais, or the Calymrnotheca b~fida figured 

by Kidston a from the Calciferous sandstone series of Scotland. However, the 

plant in hand is very readily distinguished from both of the latter tyP,es by 

the great differences in it~S rachial development and mode of division. 

Several fragments of irregula!·ly lobed, delicate ramules (or pinnules ?) in the 

collection may represent the leaves of Dimeripteris incerta. They are, in general, 

membranaceous lamin!D traversed by sle,nder central nerve strands, and are coma Qwirt. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, vol. 18, p. 320, pl. xvi, fig. 44. 

I> Kong!. svens)c Vet.·Akad. Hand!., val. 36, No.3, 1902, p. 18, pl. i, figs.18-35. 

c Annales Univ. Lyon, n. s., vol. 1, fuse. 7, 1903, p. 124, pl. vii. 

dTrans. Royal Soc. Edinburgh, val. 33, pt. 1, 1887, pl. viii, figs. 1-6. 
56 GEOLOGY OF. PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

parable to those described as RhacMopteris pinnata var. angustipinna. Thev ' . also resemble some of the slender, nonpunctate stems erroneously placed in 

Psiloph.yton jJrinceps. The phases and characters of certain of .the ramose stems at 

Perry will be described more particularly in connection. with the ;;upposed Psilophyta 

from t.he same place. 

None of the sporangia provisionally referred to _f}imel'ipteris incerta show the 

mode of dehiscence. There is, therefore, doubt as to whether the bivalvate or bilobate organs later to be compared with .D .. gracilis represent the generic type of 

sporangia desc1·ibcd above. T~ coincidental association of the forms described by 

Schmalhausen as .Dimeripteris fasciculata and .D. qracilis in the Donetz beds; the 

.D. incerta and fossils of the type shown in fig. 103 of Dawson's plate in the American 

Devonian; and the similar .association of the fasciculate with the bivalvate bodies 

next to be described at Perry are interesting analogous eonditions, it they do not 

bespeak direct relationship. 

DmERIPT~~ms RECURVA (Dn.) D. W. 

Pl. II, Figs. 4-6. 

1862. Sphenoptt!?'is sp., Dawson, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, vol. xviii, opp. p. 329. 

1863. Sphenopteris sp., Dawson, Proc. Portland Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. i, pt. 2, p. 100, pl. ii, figs. 8, Sa. 

1863. Sphenopteris sp., Dawson, 2d .Rept. Nat. Hist. and Geol. Me:, p. 404. 

1863. Sphenopteris rer·urvc~ Dawson, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, vol. xix, p. 464, pl. xvii, figs. 7,8. 

1871. Sphenopteris 1·ecurva Dawson, Foss. Pl. Dev. and Upp. Sil. Can., p. 53. 

Pinnulcs at the summits of slender-curved or geniculate, closely dichotomous 

ramules, very small, cuneate or obovate-cuneate, slightly curved upward, very obtuse, 

dichotomously bilobate, with thin narrowly decurrent lamina; sporangia narrowly 

obovate, pair·ed or clustered, a little smaller than the lobes of the pinnules, apparently 

bivalvate. 

Among the material collected in 1903 are a number of very small specimens 

which appear to represent the Spl~enopteris recurva of Dawson. Pl. II, Fig. 5, 

shows the common form of the pinnular fragments, and illustrates well the dich~tomous division of the pinnules which have in some instances the aspect of empty 

sporangia. A fragment possibly representing sporangia, and without doubt referable 

to the same species, is drawn in Pl. II, Fig. 6. l have no elear proof that the 

sporangia are bivalvate. In Pl. II, Fig. 4, is shown a fragment of a pinna which I 

beliflve. belongs to .Dimeripteris 1'ecurva. 

The reference of these specimens to ]}imel'ipteris is based on the apparently 

close. relation of the material in hand to that described by Schmalhausen a as 

.Dimeripteris gracilis. There seems to be little doubt that they are congeneric, but 

the reason why ]}irn~ripteris graciUs, which I am inclined to think may be identical 

aM~m. Com. G~ol., vol. 8, No. 3, St. Petersburg, 18~4. p. 30, pl. ii, figs. 23-25. 
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOSSILS. 57 

with its associate, Sphenopteris Lebedewi Schn1., is included in the same genus as 

D. fasciculata does not appear to be entirely clear. 

Specimen& like that in Pl. II, Fig. o, may be compared with those given by 

Dawson on pl. ix, fig. 103, of his Devonian and Upper Silurian Flora" as sporangia of 

Psilophytun princeps. The latter are also de&cribeu as b1valva~e. I have not been 

able to associate the fossils here figured with any particular type of stem or rachis 

and therefore can not say if they are pecuhar to the &terns from Perry which have 

been doubtfully identified as Psilophyton princep&. The specifically d1stmct fragment shown under the latte1 name in pl. x, fig .. 118, of Dawson's memoir also 

deserves comparison with D/meripteris gmciUs. The interesting comcidenee in 

findmg at Perry two plants apparently corresponding to Dimeripteris fascic·ulata 

and D. gracil£s of the Douet:>: locality has already been noted in my remarks on D. 

inceJ·ta. In the development of the pinnules the plant in hand is comparable to 

Sphenopte?•is jlewiliN Heer,b from the lower Carboniferous of Spitzbergen, while 

the bivalvate aspect of the large lobe:-; buggests the fragment figured without name 

by Unger" from the Cypridina beds of Thuringia. 

SPHENOPTERIS Sternberg. 

Vers Fl Vorwelt, vol 1, Tent, 1825, p X\ 

SPHENOPTEJUS FILICULA (Dn.) D. W. 

1H62 Tnrhomamte.~ sp., Dawbon, Quart Jotn Geol Sot> London, vol xvm, opp. p R29. 

1863 T~tchomantles sp , Dawson, Proc Portlanrl Sof' Nat l-ltst, vol 1, pt 2, p 100, pl iv, fig 9 

186R 2hchomamte.~ bp, Daw,on, Second Hept Nat. H1st and Geol Me., p ±0± 

1871 Trwhomamtes sp , Dawson, Fo's PI Dev and U pp tl1l Can , p 86 

1863 Trwhonwmtes filteula Dawson, Quart Jour Geol Soc London, vol x1x, p 46±, pl xvn, fig~ 

12, 13 

1871 Trwhomamtes filwttla Dawson, Fos' Pl Dev and U pp S1l Can , p 56 

Cuneate to broadly ovate pmnnles dichotomously d1sseeted, generally at a narrow 

angle, in skeleton form, the lobes rigid, linear, obtuse, but littl~ wider than the 

nerves, whiCh are slightly depres<:ed ventrally and very narrowly alate. 

Little can be said of th1s species, whiCh has heen recognized in a few small 

fragments only. Our &pecimens show a more obhque subdivision of the pinnules, 

with greater regularity and rig1dity in the lobatwn, and with rather broader lobes, 

than is &hown in the two small figures published by Dawson. 

The planf here descnbed agrees so closely wtth that from the upper Devoman 

of Bear Island, illustrated as 8plwnopteridi1t1n by Nathorst in the first plate (figs. 

16, 17) of the Palaozoische Flora cler Arktischen Zone,a as to raise the question 

a Fos"l Plant~ Devoman and Ppper Stltman Formatwns Canada, 1871 

b Flora Fossil!' Arctlca, vol 4, No 1, Pl I, figs 11-27 

c Richter and Unger, Denk,chr K Ak~td W><>, Wien, miLth -nat Cl , vol 11, 1856, pt 2, p 99, pl vu, fig 25 

dKongl svemk Vet -Akad Handl, vol 36, No, 3, 1902, p 14 
58 GEOLOGY OF PERRY RABIN, SOTT'I'HEASTERN MAINE. 

whether it is not specifically identwal with the lattt>r. It is also comparable to 

the Sporoclmus Iirejei of Stur, a from the upper Devonian (H-hl) of Bohemia. 

From the characters of the portions of pinnuJes before me the species appears 

also to be related to the S_phenopte?·is jlacdrla described by Crepin,b from the 

Devonian of Condroz and the S 'oe.<~pe;·tinrr of the American Pocono. I find no 

evidence in support of a relatiom;hip of the plant to Apldebia, as was sugge:;ted 

by Dawson. 

PSILOPHYTON Dawson 

Quart Jour Geol Soe , 'ol X\', 1H59, p .J-78 

? PsrLOPHYTON m'. PRINCEPS Du. 

Pl V, _FigR 3-7, Pl. VI, F1~s 7, 8. 

185!) Ptnlophyton prmceps Dawson, Quart J om. Geol Soc London, vol XY, pp .J-78, .J-79, -!RO, figR 

la-lm 

1860 r.~11ophyton prmcep~ DawHon, Can Nat, yo! v, No 1, Feb., p 3-!, figs 1a-t 

1861 P~tlophyton prwcepo Daw~on, Can Nat, vol n, No '3, June, p 175 

1862 P8~lophyton prmceps Dn , H1tchcock, Rept Nat H1st and Geol Me , 1861, p 2-!8. 

1862 r~tlophyton pnnwp.~ Dawson 111 Hitchcock, Proe PO!tland l::loc Nat H]st' 'ol I, pt 1, p. 76 

1862 Ps1lophyton prmcep~ Dawson, Qumt Jour. Geol. Sol' London, vol xnu, p 298 

1863. P.~llophyton prwcPp.~ Dawson, Am Jom '::<ci (2), vol. xxxY, p 313 

18o3 P01/ophyton prmceps Dawson, 2d Rept Nat HI~t anrl Geol :Nie, p 40:? 

1863 Ps1lopltyton pi mcPp~ Dawson, Quart. Jour Geol Soc London, Yol XIX, p 462. 

1R68 Pstloplu;ton ptmceps Da\\ son, Acad!.ln Geol , p 543 

1870. Pszlophyton pnnceps Dawson, Nature. vol. Ii, p 86, figs 1, 1a-1!' 

1871 PB1lophyton prwceps Dawson, FoHR Pl. Dev aml Upp SII Can , p 37, pl IX, x, figs 111-119, 

pl xi, figs 127-129, 133, 1:1-! 

1880 Ps1lophyton pltncep~ Dawson, Ch~lll of Life, p 95, figs 87a-c 

1R88 Fs!lophljton pnnceps Dawson, Geol H1st Pl , p 64, figs 19a-l' 

1891 Pszlophyton prmreps Dawson, Geol. N S and N. B , p 5-!3, Supplement, p 71, fig 12 

Stems not very robust, irregularly and more or less unequally dtehotoruous, 

subgemculate to straight, usually gently curved between the hranches, dilated at 

the points of diVIsion, 2-6 costate when flattened, the costre rounded and separated 

by several slightly uneven furrows equaling the costre in dimensions; branches very 

open, mttrked in impressions by an oval depression a few millimcterr, above the 

point of origm, fewer ('Ostate than the axis, and dividing pinnately to dichotomously 

or yielding almost abruptly to dichotomous, lax, thin, narrow, recnrved foliar 

laminm not in the :-,ame plane. 

The provisional reference, with expressed doubt, of the above-de&cribed 

fragments to the genus Psilo_pl<yton is based (1) on their generic if not specific 

agreement with material from New York and Canada referred by Dawson and 

other paleontologists to Psi1o_phyto11 princeps, (2) on the record by Dawson of 

a Sttznngsber K Akad W1ss , Wten, math -nllt Cl , 'ol 84, pt 1, 1881, pi n, figs 1, 2. 

bBull Acad Roy Belg:Iqnl', vol 38, 18i4, p 360, pl 1, fig 3 
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOSSILS. 59 

the latter species at Perry, and (3) on the examination of specimens from Perry, 

labeled with the latter name by Sn· '''illiam Dawson himself, in two collections 

which have been placed in my hands. Yet I have been strongly of the opimon that 

none of thi'l material IS specifically identical with the plant originally described a 

from Ga::.pe as Psilophyton princej)s, and am even doubtful whether the two are 

congeneric. 

The relation of the >-tern fragments from Peny to the typical Ps£lophyton 

of Dawson can best be diseus;;,ed after the descnption of the former. 

The general feature'> so far as exhibited in the material in hand may be 

readily understood by an examination of the figures of a number of the fragments. In Pl. V, Fig. 3, is shown, a not entirely flattened rachis in which the 

branches, as usual either hroken or abruptly terminated, are given off alternately. 

ln its flexumnty and ramrfication this example is comparable to specimens from 

Campbellton labeled as PsilO]JAyton ]Jrinceps, though it is not so clearly costate 

as the latter. In general form this fragment is also remarkably hke some of the 

fragments in the New York State collection labeled by Dawson as Rhaohiopteris 

tenttistriata. A possible confw,ion of Psiloplzyton and Rlwcldnpteri8 in some 

species was long ago suggested b by the author of hoth genera. 

A fragment with more 1igid rachis, l:lhown in Pl. V, Fig. 4, well illustrates 

the abrupt form of termination of the lateral branchlets, which is so common 

and characteristic in fossil stem'l of this type. It also shows the depression or 

elongated pit in the basal 'portion of each branch1et. A peculiar character i;;, the 

rapid fading ont or practical vamshment of the branchlets. This is perhaps often 

due in some of the smaller branchlets to the diminution of rigidity and the almost 

abrupt transition to the thm, lax, bifurcatmg lamina, presumably of foliar function, 

which has been destroyed by erosion. In many cases, however, the seemingly 

abrupt ending i.; due in part to rapid ramificatwns as well as increasing tenmty, 

the ramification, like the foliation, being not in the plane of the impression, and 

being usually covered or abraded. This ~;,pecimen serves to illustrate the eostatwn 

of the rachis and the decmTence of the rameal strands. 

In Pl. V, Fig 5, is shown a rachial frag·ment of a more slender form wluch 

appears to agree with similar fragments recorded as belongmg to the above-named 

species. The I amule:- are evidently foliate, though largely removed by erosion. 

Fragments of the lax lummate expansions of the branches, which I interpret as 

foliar, are shown in Pl. VI, Fig. 8. The aspect of the divisions is comparable to 

that originally sliown hy Dawson c in Psilophyton gmndis. The abrasion to whiCh 

the Perry bediments have been subJected has generally destroyed the more delicate 

aQuart Jour Geoi Soc London, vol 15, 1859, pp 478-480, Canad1an Naturalhl, YO! 5, 1~toV, No 1, p 2 

b Fos~1I Plant" Devoman and Upper Silnrmn Format1011~ Canad11, 1871, p 57 

cQnart Jour Geol Soc London, \Ol 13, 18.'19, p 481, figs 2a, 2b 

..... 
60 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, ~OUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

portions of the plants, but tlie comparisOii of many of the jmperfect fragments with 

other material from the Devonian of New York shows them to be generically 

identical. 

In order better to illustrate both the branching and the foliar termination in thesmoother type of Psiluphyton I show (Pl. V, Fig. 7) a part of a specimen from Campbellton, New Brunswick, now in the United States National :Museum collection, 

choosing it because it was identified by Dawson as R~ilopl<yton princeps. In this 

example we sec no distinct traces of spines or scale-leaves, though traces of obscure 

and distant punctation (exaggerated in the ·figure) are rarely observed in- small portions of the fragments. The costre, which are well displayed, are slightly irregular 

and the furrows arc of varying depth. The fragments of divaricately recurved 

lamina, which terminate the rachises, and which I interpret as possessing leaf functions, are in general typical of a plant form common in the Devonian and are usually 

regarded as characteristic of Psilophyton, though they do not seem to be clear in the 

ongtnal Gaspe figures. -

A laminar development similar to that shown in our figure is also found in both, 

the rachial and terminal portions of the ::;pecimens illustrated by Stur" as Ilostinellct 

host1:nensis. The terminal fragments shown in Stur's pl. iv, fig. 5, of the flora of etage 

H-hl are so nearly of the type seen in Campbellton specimens as to leave scai'cely room 

for doubt as to the generic identity of the type::;. A closely similar mode of division 

and rachial termination is seen also in the branches shown in fig. 3, pl. vii, of 

Miller's Old Red Sandstone and referred by Dawson to Psilophyton, and in the 

frond from the Lenne beds cautiously described by Solms-Laubach bas a fern skeleton. 

Pl. V, Fig. 6, and PI. VI, .Fig. 7, illustrate two small raqhial fragments from 

Perry, which Rhow the peculiar branching in equal dichotomy sometimes seen in 

these plants. Occasionally the division appears to be unequally trifurcate and, like 

the example, PI. VI, Fig. 7, not in the plane of the rachis. 

Passing now to the question of the generic identity of the plants in hand, I have 

to state that none of the specimens in our collections from-Campbellton or from New 

York, to which I have referred, exhibit the distinct spines or spiny scales ("leaves") 

on stems· or branches, the closely revolute (" circinnate vernation ") development of 

the branches, the pitted rhizomes, or the rachial scale-scars described and illustra~ed 

in Dawson's original publication of the genus and species. The Campbellton 

examples are practically smooth. In fact, with the exceptions of examples from 

Gaspe, the material described by Penhallow c as Ps-ilophyton grandis, and some 

specimens from the Ha.milton at Mapleton, Aroostook County, Me., I have seen no 

aSilnr-Fiora dcr Etage H-hl: Sitzungsber. K. Akad. Wiss., Wien, mat h.-nat. Cl., Yo!. 84, pt. 1, 1881, pl. iv. 

bJtthrh. K. Preuss. Geol. Landesanstalt, 1894 (1895), pl. ii. 

a Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 16, 1893, p. 113, pl. xii, fig. 128; pis. xiii, xiv. 
DESCRIPTIONS O.F' THE FOSSILS. 61 

specimens in our collections which may without question be referred to Psilophyton 

as the genus seems to have been originally founded by Dawson in 1859. 

The confusion as to Psilophyton dates back to the '3upplementary descriptionl'l 

and figures given by Dawson a in 1871, where we find both spiny and smooth stems 

placed in Psilophyton ZJPinceps together with two other types of fructification, b 

neither of which appears to be reconcilable with that originally shown in 1859 

and 1860. 

In order to aid me in gaining· a clearer view of the, genus, Professor Penhallow, 

of McGill University, Montreal, has been so courteous as. to place i~1 my hands for 

comparison typical and excellent material from Gaspe and Campbellton, labeled 

P.~ilophyton pr£nceps by Dawiion .. 

From the examination of these specimens I am convinced that the variety 

ornatwn is not specifically identical with the Campbellton smooth type; but since the 

material submjtted does not, unfortunately, include the types of the species and genus, 

there is still some dou.bt as to the precise characters of the Gaspe originals. There 

is,. however, J believe, little doubt that the so-called variety ~natum represents the 

original type species of the genus, its varietal discrimination being of doubtful validity, 

The specimens from Gaspe beloJ?,ging to this, the spinous plant; are readily distin-' 

guishable from those of the few-costate, smooth, and more ramose plant, and clearly 

show the spines or spine scars, even in the inrolled, somewhat blunt, apical portions. 

The latter, as shown by No. 3239 of the McGill University collection, are truly 

inrolled and circinnate instead of .revolute, since one of the fragments displays 

lateral pinnrn also in circinnate vernation just below the apical coil. The aspect of 

the specimel). is filicoid. 

The characters of the larger stem fragments of the true Psilophyton from Gasp'e 

are well shown in pl. ix of the Flora of the DeYonian and Upper Silurian Formations 

(1871), the spines being not ex::j,ggerated either as to length or rig·idity in figs. 104 

or 110. Those on the smaller divisions of the rachis, such as are shown in Dawt->on's 

fig. 100, appear to correspond to the type figures published in 1859 and 1860. 

Occasionally in the stem impressions the spines are marked by distinct and sometimes distant pits. The fragments of fertile pinnre from Gaspe lent me by Professor 

Penhallow, though obscure, seem to correspond to Dawson's fig. 102, and are 

distinctly punctate and thus referable to the typical species. 

The relatively smooth or Campbellton type of plant, referred; erroneously,·! 

believe, by Dawson to Psilopl<yton p1'inceps, is represented in Pl: V,. Fig. 7. Its 

characteristic costation is nearly always in evidence, there being no indication of 

spines except that furnished by a minute and very distant and obscure punctation, 

which is difficult to observe in most cases. It is also more lax, branching very freely, 

a Fossil Phmts Devonian and Upper Silurian of Canada, p. 37, pk ix, x, figs. 111-119; pl. xi, figs. 127-129, 133, 134. 

bLoc. cit., pp. 37, 89, pl. ix, figs. 102, 103: pl. x, fig. 118. 

I 
62 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

especially ncar the apex, which is very delicate (Pl. V, F1g. 7a) as well as intricate 

on account of the frequent divaricate dichotomies. In the specimens of- the typical 

species from Gaspe I have Been none of these divancate terminal laminar development~ which form so constant a feature of the smooth Campbellton plant, and I 

am consequently inclined to regard this development as Homewhat characteri"ltlC of a 

particular group to which the Campbellton plant belongs. 

Whether the smooth costate (Campbellton) type is congeneric with the true type 

of Psilophyton pn"ncl!j)S ( =var. ornatwn) must be demonstrated hy further study and 

by examination of the types. The former probably represents the genus I£ostinellrt 

of Stur. It is possible that a generic connecting link between them may be found 

in Psilophyton robust1"us, the rachis of which is punctate though its axis is filicoid. 

There would appear, however, to be some reasons for regarding the latter as a 

generically distinct form. It is doubtful whether punetation of the rachis, which 

may repre;;ent an environmental effect, is to be regarded as of generic diagnostic 

value in such cases. A stronger argument appears to obtain in the similarity in the 

fructification as described and figured. 

To thP true p1"inceps group, a;; illustrated in Dawson's original figures and in the 

spiny l:ltems published in 1871, belongs, as congeneric, the Bsilophyton qrandis of 

Penhallow from the Genesee of New York, the habit of the stems as well as their 

modo of division being identical. To the same group should probably al.;;o be 

referred the specimens from the "Old Rod Sandstone" of northern Scotland, 

de~cribod by Carruthers a as Halisaites .Decltem"rtmts, though they differ by thmr 

closer Bpines from P8ilrph,yton p1·inceps. Specimens of P. princeps lent by Professor Penhallow are densely carbonaceous, and ;;eemingly vuseular, as, indeed, the 

t;9pe 1s de~cribed to bA by Dawson. Yet the companson is very greatly to be 

desired of the structure of suitably prel:lerved typical fragments with that of 

Prutotaif'ites, the carbonaceous residue of which might also be dense and of fibrous 

superfimal aspect. 

The specimens illustrated by Goppert b as Halism·£tes .Dechenian1ts can be referred 

to Psilophyton only on the assumptiOn that they arc very erroneously figured. As 

apparently true Psilophyta, mention f'hould also be made of the stems figured hy 

Salterc as Lycopodites J-Iille1·i, and by Cn3pin d as "Lepidodendron gaspiannm Dr...?'', 

from the Devonian of Ronveroy. The union of Lepidodendron yaspiamtm with 

Psilophyton, proposed by some botanists, is wholly unwarranted. 

The larger stems of the true P~iloph.yton (var. ornat1tm) from Gaspe are so 

rugged, bear such long, radiating- spines, and approach in a;.pect so closely to tho 

«Jour Bot , November, 1875, pi cxxxvn 

b Foss1le Flora des Uebergangsgebirge, 1~o2, p 88, pi n 

<Quart. Jour Geol Soc London, vol 14, 1858, pi v, p 7'; 

d Bull Soc Ro,- Bot Belgique vol 14, 1875 pls IV, v 
DESCRIPTIONS Olf THE FOSSILS. 63 

figures of Dawson's A1·tltrost£gnw gracile as to &uggcst that they are but the smaller 

branches of the latter." However, it must be remembered that, notwithstanding the 

apparentl}7 h·regnlar distribution of the spines in the figureR, they are described as 

vert1eillatc, a character which, if yalid, preclude<; any serwus comparison with 

Psiloph,yton or with Goppert's Drepanophycus spinmfol'/n£s,b which after all may 

prove to he generically identical with the type species of Psiloph:yton. , For the 

costate nonspinous type of stems the name riostinella proposed by Stur may be 

found apphcablc should their apparent generic. distinction be confirmed by the 

examination of Dawson's originab. The rachises in the Devonian matenal of what 

we may provisionally term the I-Iostinella type in Canada and in Mame arc less ngid 

than those of Aneimites and Adiantites from the -lower Carboniferous and lack the 

strict angularity of the branches of the latter genera at the pmnts of division. 

The curved branching 1-tems from :Maine should he compared with the 

fragments from the De\'Oman of Spitzbergen descnhed by Nathorst in the first 

part of the Palreozmschen Flora der Arktisehen Zone.' Also our Pl. V, Figs. 4 

and 6, show precisely the characters seen in the stem fragments Illustrated in 

the second part of the work,a which described the Devonian flora of Bear Island. 

The close similarity in features between the original of our Pl. V, Fig. fi, and 

the examples shown hy Nathorst in pl. i, figs. 24-3i3, of the latter memoir is 

especially significant in view of the almost equally close agreement between the 

sporangia! heads, Cephalotlw.,lt mirabiliiS Nath., attributed to theE.e stems in the 

Bear Island Devonian, and the fructification from Perry which I have described 

(Pl. II, Figs. 7-9) as Dvmm·ipt<Jris 1:ncerta. 

The examination of such so-called Psilophytrm material as I have seen shows 

the existence in America of two or more groups, represented by several fairly 

well-marked species whJCh possess Rtratlgraphic value, and which should be carefully diagnot->ed and illustrated. It is probable also that additional material 

throwing hght on the st1 ucture and relationships of thet->e very remarkable early 

types of land plants will be discovered at some locality The inspection of the 

material in hand emphasizes the need, as was pointed out by Sohns-Laubach,e for 

the reviswn of the material refef.rcd by Yariout-> authors to Psilophyton, together 

with a thorough reexamination and republication of the types. 

a Fossil Plrrnts Devomun and Upper i'>Ilunan of Cunada, 1871, p 41, pi xm 

1> Foss1le J<'lora de' Uebcrgomgsgebuge, 1852, p 92, pi xll, fig 1 

'Kong! S\ensk Vet -AktHl Hand!, vol 26, Xo 4, 1894, pi 1 

d Op Cit , 'ol ~6, No 3, 1902 

e Jahrb K pr geol LanlJe,.m,talt, 1894 (1895), p 76 
64 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

PArLoPHYToN? .ALcwonNE D. vv. 

PI V, F1gR 1, 2 

Axis (rhizome?) flexuose, irregularly lineate, branching from one Ride at right 

angles at intervals of a few centimeters, the branches greatly dilated at their ba~-,e& 

along the axis in a more or less trapezoidal expansion, with rounded t'inuses aboye 

and below, and immediately emittmg an a&cending ramule, while the recurving 

branch at onne forks again at a very wide angle to furnish a second ramule close to 

and nearly parallel to the firRt; branchlets relatively wide, rather dense, and traversed 

hy a central strand, which &ometinies appears m the Impression&. 

The aspect and general characters of this type of fos&il arc repiw.;ented in 

the figures of two specimens, Pl. V, Fig:-. 1, 2. It will he seen that in the latter 

,;pccimen the peculiar system of branching 1;, further carried out. At the apex 

of the fragment represented in Fig. 1 was a branch sirmla1 to those &hown lower in 

the speCimen, but this was accidentally def'troyed in remodng the matrix. 

The speCimens here described are suggestive of rluzome;;, from which fronds 

arise, though they also suggest some algal formt-~. I tentatively refer them to 

the genus Psilopl1yton, on account of the sinular1ty in their method of hranching 

to that sometime;, seen in stems of that germs. This similarity, as illustratPd iu 

a Natwnal Museum specimen from the Devonian at Campbellton (Pl. V, Fig. i), 

is marred hy the degree of complication only. the main branch being less strongly 

recnrved and not forked again immedratPiy. A mmor reason for not treating 

the plant as representative of a new generiC type is the occurrence, m the same 

bed, of fragments agreeing with the plant" generally identified a,s Psilopl~yton. 

Our example is, however, totally distinct from the rhizome described by Dawson 

as belonging to the latter gPnus. Nevertheless, in Hpite of the difference in 

general ramification, I am not at present dlspo&ed to regard the fost-~ils as representing a, new genus. 

The r,pecies is well marked and ea~Ily recognized by the characters of the 

uniqne mode of branching, whwh, so far a<. ob&erved, it~ confined to one side of 

the axis, thus imparting a rhizomal at-~pect. 

P ALiEOSTACHY A Weiss. 

Stemkohien-Calamaii<~\ pt 1, 1876, p 103. 

PAL.lEOS'l'ACHYA 'I &p. 

PI IV, F1g 4 _., 

The collection of 1903 contains a single small fragment (Pl. IV, Fig. 4) of an 

ax1s bearmg strong, ba..,ally open, or slightly rcflexed bracts of lepidophytic a&pect, 

each bearing, at a point just aboyc its ha'~e. a shghUy oblique sporangiophore sup-
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOSSILS. 65 

porting two (or foud) &hort oblong sporangm. The position of the sporangiophore 

and sporangia appears to ]UStlfy a tentative and provisional reference of the plant 

to Palceostacliya. But 1t must be noted that the bracts ttre very thick and decturently attaclwd at the ba&c, and, especially, that there arc no traces cithe1 of 

nodes m the FJtem, th~ full w1dth of which is not ~:-cen, or of a vertteillate arrangement of the &cales. Fragments of the kind here illustrated might, if the 

sporangia werP detached, readily be mistaken for LepldvclendtJ•on or LycoporUtes, 

and bear, in fact, a ,;trong resemblance in profile to LejJidvdendron ga11piamtm. 

BARINOPHYTON D. W., gen. nov. 

BARINOPIIYTON RICHARDSON! (Dn.) D. ,V. 

Pl TV , Fig~ 5, 5", 6, 7, 8 

1861 Lep1do.1trobus sp, DawRon, Can Nat, vol vi, no 3, June, p 174 

1H62 Leptdostl obllo sp , Dawson, !11 Hitchcock, Proc Portland Soc Nat H1st , vol I, pt 1, p 76 

1861. Leptdo8trobm Rwhmdsnn1 Da,,~on, Can. Nat, vol vi, no 3, June, p 174. 

1862 T,epnlustl'ubus RtclwrdNunt Dawson, in Tlitehcock, Geol Me , 1861, p 248, figR 10, lOa 

1862 Lepulost1ohu.~ Rwlwrdoum DawR<m, Proc Portland Soc Nat. Hist, vol I, pt 1, p 76 

1862 Lep1do.~trolm.~ RlChJ1 dsnn1 Da" ~on, Quart .Tour Geol Soc Lumlon, vol. xvm, p 298 

186H LPptdoollubus R1chardNom Da\\son, Arn Jour Sci, 2rl ser, vol xxxv, p RlR 

1863 LeplClostrolms R1ehardsom Da\\son, Proc Portlaml Soc Nat H1st, vol 1, pt 2, p. 100 

1863 Lep!dostJulwo Rtchmd8ont Da\\bon, Second Rept Nat H1st and Gcol. Me, p -103 

1862 Lycopochtes R1chard1u1H Dawson, Quart Jour. Geol Soc London, vol X\ m, leaf opposite p. 3~\) 

1863. Lycopod1te.~ Rwhwdsom Dawson, Second Rept Nat Hist anrl Geol :Me, p 403 

1863 Lycopodtles RtchruaBG7b< .Dawson, Quart Jom Geol Soc London, vol XIx, p 461 

1871 Lycopod!tes R1chardwm Dawson, Fo<,s Pl Dev and Upp SII Can , p 34, pl. vu, fig 81 

1880 Lycopod1tes Rwhardsom Dn , Lesquereux, Coal Flora, vol n, p 362 

Known by thick, smooth, or irregularly nbbed axes bearing alternate, stout 

compact, boat-shaped, fertlle branche'3, which are a httle distant, not in the same 

plane on both sides of the axis, of generally lanccolate outline, more or less oblique, 

strongly concave or hollow ventrally, round-carmate dorsally, slightly in curved at 

the apex, and whiCh consist of a very thick fie&by keel, hroadly carinate in the la1ger 

specimens, hearing on either &ide, on it~ ventral surface, a row of alternatmg 

small, thick, oblong, or oblong-laneeolatc, often slightly crescentic, scales or bracts, 

hmcts fleshy at base where coalescing with the thicker midrib, dorsally convex, and 

more or less distmctly carinate, the midrib sometimes in a depression, and ventrally 

conca.ve, arching outward, sometimes longitudinally lmeate dorsally, slightly 

broader jnst above the often twisted base, and provided, within the point of basal 

d1latwn, with a small \'entral p1t or pocket, prob;tbly the seat of a sporangium. 

The fossils from Perry bclongmg to the species descrihcd by Dawson as 

Le_pidvst1·obtt8 and LycopocUtes Riclw1'dson/, are found to represent a typ~ of 

supposed fructification winch is both mtercsting and new. though insufficient to 

1 10::\25-No 35-05--5 

\ 
66 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

show certain essential details indispem>able to their proper interpretation and 

classification. It is not yet definitely ascertained even to what order of plants the 

new genus here det>cribed IS referable. Nevertheless certain of Itt> features are ~o 

well marked !tnd so strikmg as to make the type readily recogmzable even m flmall 

fragments, thus rendering it, as a specialized type of reproductive organ, at once 

available for stratigraphic purposes. It is hoped that further discoveries in formations of its age may throw light on its vegetative features and its systematic 

relations. 

In the accompanying illustrations 1tncl remarks the features presented by the 

types in hand will be noted, together with such interpretations at> the_ specimens 

appear to warrant. 

The example represented by Pl. IV, Fig. 5, shows portions of a famtly lineate 

but otherwise smooth axis, on the right of which are three of the boat- or canoeshaped branchlets that have the general aspect of young fern pinnre. A better 

view of the uppermot>t of these, enlarged to twice the natural size, is shown in 

Fig. 5a. Thit> exhibits the charactenstic form of the pinna ( ?) and the shape of the 

Jorsa1ly convex lobes or bracts, like the nbs of a canoe, within which, in this 

mstance, the midribs are slightly depret:~sed. The basal union of the bracts with 

the keel of the pinna or strobilus is not well seen. Thit> t:~pecimen, which, together 

1

with the two next to be described, belongs to the Portland Society of Natural 

History, may be regarded, I believe, as a young stage of the fertile plant. 

A specimen which appears to represent a more advanced stage of the same 

spe:ies is shown m Fig. 6. Here we see fragments of an axis of slightly greater 

width than before supporting portions of mght hranchlets arranged spirally and not 

in the same plane, those on the left being revealed by a fortunate cross fracture of 

the sandstone. This specimen shows that the branchlets or pinnre, described by 

Dawson as cones, are not borne in one row on one side only of the axis, as stated 

in his later descriptions. The hranchlets on the right are fractured longitudinally in 

or near the keel, and the view is therefore lateral and ventral. The greater portions 

of the bracts are broken away, but the specimen is particularly interesting as 

showing, m the second branchlet on the right, the pits or pockets at the bases of 

the pinnules on the borders of the very broad and thick keel. These pits are, I 

believe, sporangia!. It is not certam, however, that they did not contain naked 

sporet>, as in certain of the lepidophytes. The details of the scales, which seem 

to be somewhat pointed at the ba:,;e, are not well shown in this specimen, though 

the vascular system i:,; distinctly mdiCated at numerous points. The branchlets, 

which should perhaps be called strobili, in this example correspond in size and 

arrangement to the speCimen figured in dorsal or external view by Dawson in 

pl. xvii, fig. 1, vol. 19, of the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of 

London, 1863. 

I 
. DESCRIPTIONS OJ!' THE FOSSILS. o7 

The fragment of a-large branchlet shown in Pl. IV, Fig. 7, represents the form 

first figured by Dawson" as LepirlmstJ·obus RiclwJ•dsoni. It illustratPs, in dorsal 

view, the very thick, broadly carinate; rnidnb or keel, along which the lobes or 

bractr-;, whwh are close though du;tinct throughout the greater part of their length, 

stand like the lobes of a PtempAylvwn. It is not possible to make out clearly any 

Rporangml pits in this spectmen, but I as.,;urnc that it also represent& the fertile 

plant, in whwh after the discharge of the spores the bracts, instead of 1etaining 

their position in the canoe-shaped strobilus, have spread out nearly in the plane of 

the keel. The gi·eat thickne&~-. of the keel argues against the consideratiOn of this 

specimen as sterile. An imperfect fragment, intermediate in proportions hctween 

the specimens la~t described, is No. 3385 of the fossil-plant collection of the Museum 

of Compamtive Zoology, Harvard University. 

As repre&entmg perhaps the youngest stage of the fertile branehlets of, this 

plant, I :,how in Fig. 9 a small specimen which is to be compared with pl. yii, 

fig. Sla, of Dawson's Fosr-;il Plants of the Devonian and upper Silurian Even in 

this little speCimen the features of the bracts or lobes, which are comparable to 

those in Fig. i'i, may be seen, while there are also indications of the sporangia! pits. 

From the foregoing descriptions it will be seen that we have in Barinophyton 

a type of va.,;cular cryptogam in which the fertile F<pecimens consist of stout, 

apparently smooth axes, earrymg alternately, though not in the same plane, Rhort, 

dense, canoe-shaped branch lets or strobili (pinnre ?), composed of a very thick 

rachir-; or keel supporting two opposite rows of alternate fleshy bra<\tr-; (or pinnules ?), 

each inarked at itr-; hase hy a depres&ion for ·the protectiOn of the sporangium or 

spores. 

As to whether these fossils represent ferns or lepidophytes I am unable at 

present to determine. From the mode of attachment of the bracts, their fieshy 

composition, and the po~-.itwn of the· &porangiferous depressions at the hase, T mn 

disposed to regard the genus as lepidophytic. In this connection It is of interest 

to consult Barinopl~yton perrianwn, next to Le descnbed. Mentwn may also be 

made of the faint aspect of hgular pits on the ventral faces of the scales in B. 

perrian1on. On account of the coarseness of the matnx the evidence is, however, 

too obscure for illustration or further description. On the othm hand, It ir-; perhaps 

le&<s difficult to see in the smooth axis and the lateral pinnm with short, very fleshy 

rachiser-;, the fertile fronds of a fern in which the thickened; conaceous, alternating, 

and somewhat reduced pinnnles or lobes partially envelop sporangia at their 

Lase,;. 

It should here be stated that in the material before me I have seen neither indication of dichotomy, a& described l~y Daw:-wn, nor sterile branches of the type shown 

aCanadmn Naturahst, vol G, 1861, p 174 
68 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEAS'l'ERN" MAINE. 

hy him in pl. xdi, fig. 2, of the Quarterly Journal. 'That Jiehotomy may, how 

ever, occur m this ilpecie:; is rendered probable by its occurrence in another E>pedes 

from the Devonian-o£ New South vVales. A careful comparison of the descnption 

and figures pu~lished hy Prof. \V. S. Dun a ~s "Pecopte1'is (?) obscnm" from Genoa 

River lPaves little room for doubt as to the identity of the latter with Bw·inophytrm. 

In Barinophyton obscu1'1trn we seem to have almost preci:-.ely similar oval, more or 

less diStmctly boat-shaped, ''pinnre," similarly lobed and similarly arranged on a 

smooth rachis, which, in the largest specimen figured hy Dun, appears to he dichotomous. lt is post:.ible that the bpeeimen described by Dawson b as PtilojJltyton 

Tlwmpsom: from the Devonian of Scotland also represents the genus Barinopl&yton. 

BARINOPHYTON PERRIANUJU D. VV. 

Pl IV, F1gH 10, 10• 

Fertile branchlets, small, oblong, 1 cm.-2 em. long, 5 mm.-8 mm. wide, slightly 

upturned at the ends, the scales or lobes short, thick, fleshy, ovate, obtuse, or aeutc, 

somewhat constrieted and twisted at the base, dorsally convex and carinate; sporangia 

probably relatively large. 

The E>pecimens in hand differ from Bm·inopltytou Richardsoni by the straighter 

brttnchlet:-; or strohih, the narrower keel, and the rehttively short, thick, ovate, 

fleshy seales or lohes. The genPral featurei'l of the specimens are bhown in Pl. IV. 

Fig. 10. On this fragment of shale three of the strohih arc compressed laterally so 

that the two rowE> of scales are in part superimposed. A portion of the fourth i:'l 

seen in groun<l plan, though several of the scales are shghtly disloeated in the' compressed shale. It will be noted that the keel or axiH of the strobilus IS alternately 

lobed, the sealet> being attached to the lobes. From the examination of the spPci-

-mens in hand it is not clear whether the scales protected sporangia or naked spores; 

hut it is possible that sporangia of the type ~hown in fig. 13, found frequently at 

Perry, may belong to this or the preceding specie'l. 

From an examll1ation of fig. 22 on pl. xxiv of the second part of Dawson's Fot-lsil Flora of the Erian and Upper Silurian of C~nada, 1H82, provisionally 

referred by him as the fruit of A1·tl&m~Stiy11Ut, I am ~trongly inchned to beheve 

that the specimen from Campbellton there shown IS Bm·inopltyton and is but slightly 

d1fferent from, or perhaps identical with, B. JH!1'riamun, whose scales appear somewhat rounded and imbncate in eertain conditions of fossilization. The elm.,c relation of the Camphellton plants to B. Ridul1'd8oni was al'lo noted by Dawson c 

li1 1883. 

a Reeor<l' Geoi Survey New South "ales, vol 5, pt 3, 1R98, p 118, pi x, figs 1, 2, pi XI, figs 6, 8 

b Camulmn N>tturalt>t, \Ol 8, 1878, No 7, pp 385-386 

( Cana<han Naturah~t, vol 10, No 1, p 11 
DESCRIPTIONS OF 'l'HE FOSSILS. 

LYCOPODITES Brongniart. 

Claooihc v eg Foss ' 1822, p 9 

LYCOl'ODITES cmwsus Dn. 

1862 Lycopodtles sp , Dawson, Quart Jour Geol Soc London, vol xvin, opp p 329 

1863 Lyropodlles comos!<S Dawbon, Proc Portland Roc· Nat Hist , vol 1, pt. 2, p 100, pi u, fig 2 

1863 Lycopotllleo comosu.~ Da" son, 2rl Rept State Ucol. Me , p 403. 

69 

1863 Lycopotlttes comoms Dawson, Quart Jour. Geol Soe London, vol x1x, p 462, pi ~sn, fig H 

1871 Lycopodttes comosus Dawson, Foss Pl Dev and Upp S1l Can , p 35 

Stem stout, not observed to branch, densely covered w1th long filiform leaves. 

This species is known to me only by Dawson'& description, quoted above, and 

the figure of a l'.ingle small fragment published by him in 1863. Its generic 

determinatiOn appears to be somewhat doubtful. 

LEPTOPHLCEUM Dawson. 

Rept St GPol Me., 1861 ( 1 Sll2), p 249 

LEPTOPHL<EUM RHOi\IBICUi\I Du. 

Pl VI, Figs 1-4 

1861 8te1 nbergw sp , DawRon, Can Nat, vol v1, No 3, p 175 

1862 8ternbergw sp, Daw~on, m Hitdl('ock, Rept Rt Geol Me., 1861, p 248 

1S62 Leptophlceum 1hombtcum Dawson, Rept Nat H1st. and Geol Me, 1861, p 249, figs. 3, 4 

1862 Leptophlwtwtrhombu;urn Dn , Hitcheoc·k, Rept Nat Hu,t and Geol Me, 1861, I> 248 

181l2 Leptophlceum rhombtcum Dawson, Proc Portland Soc. N. H , vol 1, pt 1, pp. 76, 77, pl 1, figs 1, 2 

1862 Leptophlreum rhombwum Dawson, Quart Jour. Geol Soc, vol xvm, pp 298, 316, pl. xu, fig 8, 

pl xvn, ng 53 

1Sil3 Ieptophlceum rhombwum Dawson, Am Jour Sci, 2d ser, \'Ol xxxv, I>· 462, pl xvm, fig. 19 

1863 Leptophlwum rhomlncmn Dawson, Proe Pmtland Soc N H , vol i, pt 2, p 100 

1863 l,eptophlceum rhombccwn Daw~on, Second Rept Nat 1-hst. and Geol Me , 1862, p 404 

1863 Leptophlmum rhombtcmn Dn , Logan, GPul Canada, p 885 

1870 Leptophlmum rlwmlncurn Dawson, Nature, vol n, p 86, fig 2 

1871 Leptophl!J'l<nt 1 hombtcmn Dawoon, Foss PI Dcv and Upp SII Can , pp 36, 85, pl vu1, figs 88, 89 

1Si2. Leptophla'wn 1 homb1cwn Da" son, Proc R Inst, vol v1, p 168, hg 2 

1873 Leptophlmum 1'hornbwtwt Da" son, Quart Jom GPol Soc , vol xxix, p 369 

18iS Lcptoplllmwt 1homb1cum Dn., Ether1dge, Cat Au~hahan Foss, p 31 

1880 Leptophla:nm rlwmbu:um Dn , Le~;qucreux, Coal Flora, vol 1, p 460 

1880 ],rptophlrl'llm 1/wmlncum Dawoon, Cham of Life, p 98, fig. 90 

1SS2 Leptophlwum rhombwttm Dawson, Fo~s Pl Enanand Upp S1l Can., pt 2, p 105 

1887 Leptophlmum rhombwum Dn , Solms-Laubaeh, Rml cl PalaO}Jhytol , p 205 

1888 Leptophlrrum rlwmbtcum Dn, Johnston, Gcol Tasmama, p 81 (svn m part) 

1888 Lrptophlceum 1 hombwum Dn , Rehenck, Foss Pflanzenreote, p 64 

1862 8ttgmrmn sp, Dawson, Quart Jour Geol Soc, vol xvm, opp p 329 

1863 St1gmm w pustlla Dawbon, Proc Portland Soc Nat H1st, vol I, pt 2, p 100, pl ii, fig 1. 

1863 Sltgmrma pustlla Dawson, Seeoml Rept Nat I-l1st and Ueol .Me , 1862, p 403 
70 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHRAS'l'ERN l\lAINK 

1863 8ttgmw·tu pttR'IIlii Dawson, Quart J om Gt>ol Sot· , vol x1x, p 460, pi xvn, fig 3 

1871 St!qmcmn pustllrt DawHon, l<'o~s PI Dev and Upp Stl Can , l•P 23, 88, pl 111, fig 31 

1888 St1gmnrtn pns11lu Dn , l~enault, NotH'H Hnr les Sigilla1res, pp 31, 43 

1863 Cyperltp; sp, DawHon, Quart Jom Geol Soc, vol xn, p 460 

1871 Ctrpentes sp Dawson, Foss PI D<>v and Upp S1l Can, pp 24, 88. 

1894 Ikrgnut HP , Nathorst, Zur Foss. l<'L u Polml.tntler, vol. 1, th 1, p 14, plu, fig. 8 

Trees of small size, dichotomously branching; trunk covered with more or less 

distinctly marked rhomboidal leaf cushions of relatively large bize; leltf cushions 

or holsters spirally arranged, nearly contiguous, nearly exaetly rhomboidal, the 

transveri'ie diameter being usually longer, the i-iUJ'face being neatly flat, often 

more prominent at the proximal angle, which is generally ohtuse, the lateral angles 

somewhat acute, the distal margin hcing generally concave on either side of the 

ustmlly slightly acute apex; leaf scar very ;,;mall, situated a little above the middle 

of the cushwn, oval or ovate, about one-mghth of the width and one-fifth of the 

altitude of the holster, narrowly annulate, with a marmmllary nerve trace a little 

above the middle;' holster provided within the dit-ltal angle hy a slightly depressed, 

often umhtlical, hgular pit, the border of which is radiately corrugated; lea\'es 

acicular, ;;lPndcr, attainmg a width of ahout 0. 75 mm. aJHl a length of 5 em. or more, 

dorsally pronunently carinate; fructificatiOn not correlated. 

Leptupltlmmn dunno£cum was ouc of the first specie;; to be described from 

Perry. The ;;alicnt feature::> of the plant are the relatively large i'iizc of the 

bolsters as compared with the diameter of the stPm; and the small oval or ovate 

leaf i'iCttr placed near the center of the nearly fiat, very hroadly rhou1 hoidal, field. 

The genel'al wspcct of the stems is that of Presl's Beryerict, with which Count 

Sohns-Laubach and others have compared this spemes. In reality the stPms seem 

to preBent bolsters of the lepidodendroid type, on which arc nearly centrally placed 

leaf scars, probably closely similar to those of Hf}throdendron. The bolsters, which 

are nearly contig uoui-i, arc generally somewhat tilted with reference to the plane 

of the Htem surface .. 

In some bpecimens of this species the cortex is wrmkled so as to produce a slight 

transverf>e corrugation. This IS mo;;t excellently illustrated in the origmal example 

4- 3

1°-.i. in Lhc geological collections of the American Museum of Natural History of 

New York As will be Heen in the new drawmg of this Hpccimen, Pl. VI, Fig. 1, the 

bolsters in the upper part of the middle third of the fragment are laterally traversed 

by shallow and narrow transverse creases. The latter pass through the lateral 

angles of the bolsters and cross the fields near the leaf scars, which in a few instances 

they nearly conceal. The creases or wrinkles of the outer cortex arc thus regular in 

occurrence, there being two spaces to the height of each bolster, while the line of 

fold is sinuatc in consequence of the originally curved surface of the bolsters. The 

result is the production of a nodal effect, though the regularity of the phyllota:xy is 

clear. It was precisely th1s nodal aspect, which appears more distinctly when viewed 
• DESCRIPTIONS OE' THE FOSSILS. 71 

longitudinally, that led Dawson to describe and illustrate this part of the specimen 

as a Sternbm'l}ia and to argue fo~· the existence of a SteJ•nberg·ia pith in certain of the 

Lcpidophytes. It is probably a longitudinal contraction of the outer cortex, due to 

shrinkage of the inner cortex or subcortical tissue. Its uniform periodicity with 

reference to the height of the leaf scar and the adaptation of the curve to the curvature of the bolsters show that this creasing or transverse corrugation can not be 

due to chambering of the pith. A close inspection of the type shows the regularity 

of the leaf scars in the usual quincunxial phyllotaxy throughout. I can find no 

evidence in the specimen in S!lpport of the theory of a chambered pith. I~ this 

respect the opinions of Carruthers, Solms-Laubach, and Schenck arc well founded. It 

will be seen that there is slight evidence of zones of foreshortened bolsters, such as 

are common in several of the Devonian and earliest Carboniferous lepidophytcs, as, 

for example, in Carruthers's Lepidodendron notlmm, froJl:!. the Devonian of Queensland, or the large fragment from the Tanner-Grauwacke figured by Potoniea as 

Cyclostigma ltercym:cum .. 

The general aspect of the bolsters is shown in three specimens illustrated in 

the numerous publications in which this species was treated by Dawson. These 

are in close accord with our specimens, as well as with another of the original 

specimens of Dawson, No. ±·11lH of the American Museum of Natural History, 

kindly loaned me for comparison. 

Of the detail of the leaf scars little is known, on account of their small size 

and the coarsely granular composition of the matrix. It is clear, however, that 

the scar is marked by a very narrow border. The upper margin of the scar is 

not absolutely distinct, and it is possible that it is slightly indented. No clear 

indications of parichnoi or appendages have yet been observed. ln general 

the leaf scars would appear to be most direptly comparable to those of 

Botlwodendron. 

The larr e ·Sil'lc sometimes attained • by the bolsters of this plant is shown m 

the fragur_ .t, Pl. VI, Fig. 2. In this the proportional altitude is greater than m 

most fragments seen. In Fig. 4 is shown a large fragment of stem in which the 

bolsters are compressed laterally and stretched in the longitudinal sense. This 

specimen is interesting as showing a rugose, faintly striate, subcortical or subepidermal structure in which the nerve traces also may be seen. It is probable 

that the narrow subcylindrical impression traversing the fragment represents the 

central woody axis, the nodal appearance being caused by impression on the 

underlying bolsters. This phase of the stem finds a corresponding state in certain 

examples of Lepidopldoios. 

None of the specimens which have come under my notice show indications of 

aAbhandl. K. preuss. geol. Landesanstalt, new series, vol. 36, 1901, p. 35, fig. 24. 
72 HEOLOGY OF l'ERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

branching or of 'leafy twigs or cone:-., such as are ~gured by Dawson. a Tho original of the figure of a branch published by him I have not seen, but if it JS 

correcdy illm;trated it precludes the reference of such forms as LepidrJ8t1·obus 

globo.~us to this species, as might otherwise be &uggetlted on the circumstantial 

endence of their assodatwn in the same bed. I ;;honld also add that the leaves 

or leaf fragments described by Daw::;on or contamed in our collectiOns, on aecount 

of their narrow forms, corre;;pondmg in w1dth to the leaf scars, and then a~sociation in the Hame hod, arc assumed to helong to the species dcscnbed above. 

None have, I believe, been found attached to the l~trge bolsters. 

In some of the cortical fragments the rehef of the bolsters is so slight that 

they arc visihle only under proper illumination. The cuticle illustrated by Dawson b 

as St?"qmaria pu8illa appears to represent such a portion of LeptupldrBum rlwmuimun, 

and it is accordingly here included under the same name. The morP rounded 

form of the scars is hardly different from that seen on some of the more distmctly 

marked fragments of L<'j)topltlmum stem;;. 

The species of Pah~ozoic plants to which Leptopldrmnn rlwmbicwn is most 

closely rebted is undoubtedly that described and illustrated by Carruthers,c Feistmantcl,<l and others as Lepidudend1·on 11otlmm Unger. The latter plant, while 

evidently different from Unger's uncertainly defined species,' has been regarded by 

a number of ·paleobotamsts, including CarrutherH and Solms-Laubaeh/ as identical 

with the Perry plant. The concordant characters 111 support of th1s union of the 

two ~<pede;, are certainly hoth striking and interesting. One has only to compare 

our Pl. Vr, Fig 1, of Dawson's original type,ll or Dawson's illustration of the ;;ame 

specimen, pl. xxvi, fig. 7, of the Eighteenth volume of the Journal of the Geological Society of London, to be at once impre;;sed With the similarity in the 

aspect of the stem, including both the normal rhombic bobters and the wrinkled 

or foreshortened leaf cut-.hiom:. This superficial agreement is further rePnforced 

by the cicatricule m· hgular scar m the ap"ex of the hoh;ter, as t!how'l in fig·;;. 11, 

13, and 14 of Carruthers's plate, or the central leaf :,;cars i;1dicated m L l() of the 

:,;amc plate. TherP i-; even a close identity m the outlines of the bdtlters a:,; 

shown in figs. 8 and 9 of the cited plate. 

Against the actual identity of these species, whiCh Watl vigorously opposed hy 

Dawson,'' we have to mention, first, the singular lepidophylloid leaves ~ohown hy Carruther;; a., attaehecl to the stem; and, second, the apparent absence of the interior leaf 

a Quart Jour Ueol i:loc London, vol 19,1863, pi '-.Vm, Jrg 19 

b Proc Portland Soc Nat III&t, vol 1, pt 2, 18o3, pl u, hg 1 

cQu.ut Tour Geol Soc LorHlon, vol. 28, 1872, p 353, pl xxv1 

dCoal and Plunt-Beurmg Ben~ of East An•truha ann Tasmama, 1890, p 137, pi 1, figs 1-4 

e Denk;ehr K Akad Wrss, Wren, math -nat Cl , vol 11, 1856, P 175, pi x, hg' 4-1:> 

JEmlertung n Pal,tOphytologre, 1887, p 205 

g No 4 3-l:l- of the collectiOn of the Amencan l\IU"'Plnn of Natural Il1~toQ 

hFo&srl Plants Erran and Upper Srlurran Canada, pt 2, 1882, p 105 
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOSSILS. 

scars from the cushions in which the cicatricules, which I interpret as ligular, are 

present in the apices. Carruthers and others appear to regard the apical and the more 

nearlv central scars as identical and as indicating mere variation in the position of the 

leaf scar. Such an interpretation can not be admitted for our American specimens; in 

fact, the specimens in hand with normal holsters fail to show the leaf i'>Cars at any 

considerable di"ltance above the center, such examples as Fig:.,. :3 and 3, or L'';/',t of the 

Amcriean MhReum of Natural H1story hemg comparable only to fig. 10 of Carruthers's 

plate, or possibly to the obscure markmgs shown in one or ,two of Fmstmantel's figures. In the Perry type, Pl. VI, Fig. 1, obscure traces of leaf bases are poss1hly 

present, but they arc not sufficiently clear for delmeation. Nothmg of the special 

form shown by Carruthers is present. The Amencan plant differs also in the 

absence of carination in the bolsters, such as us shown in fig. 9 of thr, plate. a The 

Perry plant appears to be also related to the Lepidodendron a?tstmle of McCoy,o with 

which the Queensland plant of Ethendge, referred to above, is regarded as Identical 

by Etheridge c and Kidston," though both of these authors recognize the separation 

of Leptop!l1mwh rhombiewn. Both of the Australian stem"l, which in some cases 

seem to have been associated, are, I believe, to be referred to the genus Leptopldmwm. To the same group, if not to L. rhomb,ieum itself, is to be referred the fossils from the region of the Ogur, in eastern Siberia, descnbed by Schmalhausen e 

as BeTrJe1'irt. 

In the first part of Nathorst's Palaozoischen Flora der Arktischen Zone there 

is figured as Berqeria a specimen from the Devonian of Spitzbergen which, so far as 

its details are given, appcan; to conform so completely with Leptoplilwwn rhombicum that it Is diflicult to regard it a~; not belonging to the same species. 

The type specimens of LeptojJ!dmwn rlwmbicwn are Nos. A._Vi and i.ll"2"0 A. of the 

American Museum of Natuml History. 

LEPIDOSTROBUS Brongniart. 

Prodrome, 1828, p 87 

LEl'IDOSTRORUS~ GLOBOSUS DN. 

l'l VI, F1gs 5, 5a 

1862. Carpol1thrs BJI, DawHon, Quart .Jour GPol Soc London, vol xvni, opp p 329 

18fi2 Lqndostrobus globostts Dawson, Quart Jour Geol Soc London, vul xv1ii, p 298. 

1863 Lrptdostrobus globosu.q Dawson, Am Jour Sc1, 2!l ser, vol xxxv, p R13 

18il Lep1do.~t1obus globosus Dawson, Foss Pl Dev aml Upp Fhl Can , p 35 

188-!. Leptdootrohus globosus Dn , Lesquereux, Coal Flora, vol ui, pp 850, 8!l3 

a Severul of the figures m Etherulge's ongmal paper are reproduced m Ethendge and Jack, Geology and Paleontology 

Queensland 1892, p 196, pi v 

b Prodrome Paleontology VlCtorw, dec 1, 1874, p 37, pi JX 

cRecord' Geol Survey New i:louth Wales, vol 2, 1891, pt 3, p 119 

d Tack and Etheridge, Geology and Paleontology Queen5land, 1892, p 1q6 

eBull A cad Roy St Petersburg, Mel phys et chem , vol 9, 1876, pp 630, 631, pi '<X, figq 5, G 
74 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

1863 Carpohthes :,pwatus DawHon, Quart Jou1 Geol t:lot· I.ondon, vol x1x, p 461, pl xvn, fig 15 

1871. Carpollthes sptcatuH Dawson, Foss Pl Dev aml Upp S1l Can , p 62 

18BO CarpolttheH tgncatu:, Dn , LcsquPreux, Coal Flora, vol n, p fi98. 

1888 Carpoltthes sptcatus Dn , Schenk, Foss Pfianzenreste, p 99 

Small, oblong bodies, consisting of a very b10ad fleshy axis about 5 mm. in width, 

traversed by a slender strand; bracts close, very small, about 2 em. in length, ovate, 

acute or acuminate, concavo-convex, arching upward above the middle, dorsally 

broadly carinate; sporangia unknown. 

The specimen illustrated m Pl. VI, Fig. 5, is one of only two specimens of this 

type in our collections. As shown in the enlarged detail, Fig. 5a, the scales are proportionally very broad toward the base and are pocketed in the flexure. A peculiar 

feature suggestive of Leptopldcm~m and some forms of Lepidopl~loios is the small 

axial strand seen in Fig. 5"'. It is not clear in the specimen before me whether the 

scales surrounded the axis or were confined to the lateral borders of a· flat medial 

body, but the former appears much more highly probable, and, in fact, such an 

arrangement must have been present in Dawson's type of the species. 

In the absence of knowledge of the definite arrangement of the scales and 

sporangia it is impm.sible to determine the exact nature of the fossil in hand. But 

from the form of the scales and the indications of attendant sporangia I am disposed 

to regard it as perhaps belonging to Lepidostrobu8. If such it proves to be, it may 

eventually be correlated with Leptopkl03um rlwmbicnm. The bracts have tmmewhat 

the aspect of the smallest scales of Harinophyton per1•ianum. It is possible, however, that they are hut dense chaffy scales on the rachis of a young fern. 

In portions of the specimem; the ;;cales arch upward so as to appear like small 

ovate or roundish bodies on the borders of the axis. To this appearttnce is doubtless due the description, as Oarpolitlws spicatu8, of a specimen a which can hardly be 

other than the same species a:,. the example here figured. I therefore do not hesitate in uniting the species referred to with that from the same type locality very 

bnefiy described, without illustration, as Lepidost1·ohus glooos?t8. The aspect of the 

profile of these specimens suggests that thr record of the occurrence of Lepidodendron gaspianwm at Perry may possibly have been based on a similar fmgment. 

LEPIDOUYSTIS Lesqnereux. 

Coal Flora, Atlas, 1879, p 13 

LEPIDOCYSTIS SILIQUA (Dn.) D. vV. 

186~ Carpolzthesf S!l!qua Dawson, Quart Jom Geol Soc London, vol xrx, p 465, pl xvh, fig. 4 

1880 CarpohtheB? B!l!qua Dn , Lesquereux, Coal Flora, vul n, p 598 

1871 Carpohthes s!bqnrt Da"~on, Foss Pl Dev. and Upp Srl Can, p 62, 86 

a Regarded by D11w•on ag probably th<' frUit of Arlhrostrgma grncrle Fo,rl Plant' Deyomrw and Upper Srlur1an 

Canada, p 62. 
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOSSII>S. 75 

Oblong to hnear-oblong, 1.5-4 em. long, 3.5-8 mm. wide or 15 mm. in w1dth 

when spread out, rounded or truncate-rounded at one end, usually slightly arcuate, 

obtuse or obtusely rounded at the other end, thmly carbonaeeous, minutely granulose. 

This specie&, described by Dawson as Om'j)olithes siliq1ta, appears to be represented by numerous specimens, the largest of which has nearly the propot tion and 

form illustrated m the figure gtven by Dawson. The greater number, however, are 

but about one-half the length of the latter, the width being nearly the same as in 

Dawson'" original. In one of the specimens collected last year and another in the 

cabinet of the Portland Society of Natural History the sporangium is spread out so 

as strongly to resemble the specimens desenbed by Lesquereux as Lepidocystt's 

fhtwinifimnis (Goepp.), to which the Perry plant was compared by him. The 

sporangmm wall is 1elatively thick and destttute of, structural features, though, 

in a few mstances, a very fine and faint striation, perhaps due to the cell arrangement in rows, is, under a strong lens, discernible. On account of the coarsenE>ss 

• of the matrix it is imposl'.ible to differentiate the sporangial contents. A few small 

megaRpores, 0.4 mm. in diameter when flattened, and minutely granulose or 

obscurely meshell, arc found in association. The latter are perhaps indistinguishable from SporangitPs Jack.wmi. 

Like the lepidocysts of the lower Mississtppian, these specimens vary greatly 

m dmtensiom;, and, wh1le they Heem to be true spore cases, they do not agree in 

uniformity of size or of form with the species of Lepidostrobus in the Coal Measures, and it is not cm·tain that they are referable to any recognized lepidophytic 

type. On the contrary, it is not impossible that they belong to quite another, and 

perhaps lower, group of plants. 

LEPIDOCYSTIS INQUIRITUS D. ,V, 

PI IV, F1gs 12, 13, 14 

Sporangia small, asymmetrically ovate to oblong, slightly arcuate, 4-8 mm long, 

2-3 mm. wide, somewhat wider and more broadly rounded at one end, narrowing a 

little toward the other end, mmutely granular-carbonaceous. 

The general aspect and the variation in form of these spore cases are shown in 

Pl. lV, Figs. 12, 13, and 14. The coarsely granular matnx render& it impossible to 

discern the characters of the spores. The fossils are rather densely carbonaceous, 

and this fact, taken with the variation m form, led me at fin;t to think they might 

be mere waterworn pieces of wood. But they lack traces of the fibrous texture 

of wood and are not sufficiently thin to represent fragments of cuticle. Moreover, 

nearly all show the inequality of the ends and the arching. Consequently they 

are, I believe, to be regat~ded as sporangia. In general they appear to be of the same 

nature as the Lepid~cystis siliqua described above, the chief differences being the 
76 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHJ<JASTERN MAINE. 

much smaller size, proportiOnally broader form, and more dehcate texture. It 

appear:;; probable therefore that these two species are congeneric. It is posFnLle, 

however, that L. inquisittts may have been derived from :;;orne such type a'S BarinoZJityton Richal'dsuni. 

SPORANGITES Dawson. 

Can Nat , vul vm, 1Ho3, p 4.'i4 

SPonANGITEs .JAuKsoNr D. -vv. 

Pl VI, Figs. 6, 6• 

Spore masses oblong or elongated, attaining a length of 4 em. or more, and a 

width of 1 em.; megaspores of irregular form, due to compressiOn. averaging about 

4 mm. in diameter as flattened, not very rigid, minutely shagrccned, and marked hy 

a snmll mamillate pomt. , 

Among the fossils placed lll my hands through the courtesy of the Boston' 

Society of Natural History, I have found a portion of an agglomeration of megaspores partially exposed at the edge of one of the rock fragments, No. fi687 of the 

society's paleontological collectiom;. The removal of a portion of the covering 

matnx revealed what appears to be two partially overlapping spore masses, as shown 

in Pl. VI, Fig. ti. They consist of a slightly Lrowni;.;h rock medium, not very den:-;cly 

crowded with the large and somewhat irregularly &haped &pores, as illustrated in the 

enlarged Fig. 6 a. The spores are very finely shagreened and seem to be marked hy 

a small mamillate point. The thicknesl'l of the compressed spore mass in the center 

was nearly 2. 5 mm. From the disposition of the spores and the form of the mas<>es 

I am disposed to regard the former as practically in place, and the mass a" the undisturbed contents of large spore sac:;, the full size of whwh i:;; not shown in thes~ 

specimens. It i:; possible that they may have been derived from a lep1doeyst of the 

type of Lepidocystis siliq1ta, though specimens of that species seem m general not l'IO 

large Such a correlati,on is <>lightly favored by the presence of a ;.;mgle <>imilar spore 

on a shale fragment nearly in contact with an example of the same form. However, 

It i;;; possible, on the othm; hand, that the ..,pore agglomeratiOn i:-; of quite different 

origin. It i:; not post<ihle from the specimens in hand. to ascertain whether spores of 

more than one kind were contained m the same ma:-;s. 

The specimens of Sporang1:tes Jacksoni are larger and less rigid than those of 

Spomngite8 Ifurunensis Dn. of the Genesee ~hale, or the other megaspores from 

the Devonian described by Dawson. 

The species is named in honor of Dr. U. T .• Jackson, the tirst geologi&t of Mawe . 

• 
( 

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOSSILS. 77 

CORDAITES Unger. 

Gen et tlp PI Foos , 1850, p 277 

UoRDAITJ<;R FLEXUosus Dn. 

1862 Cordaites sp , Dawson, Quart .Tour Geol Soc London, vol xvm, opp. p. 329 

1863 Omla!les (Pychnophyllum) (le:ruosu.~ Dawson, Proc Portland Soc Nat Iltot, vol 1, pt 2, p 100, 

pl h, fig 4 

1863 Cordatlesjle:wosus DawHon, 2d Rept Nat Htst and Geol Me, p 403 

1863 G'urdmtes .(Pitchnoph!fllum) jlnuoouo Dawson, Quart Jour Geol Roc Lomlon, vol xtx, p 402, 

pl XVll, fig. 9 

1871 Curda!lesjiexuo.m.~ Dawson, FoRs PI Dev and Upp Stl. Can, pp 44, 85 

1880 CorrlmtPRjluuosus Dn, LeHqucreux, Coal Flora, vol n, p 544 

Leaves lanceolate, acuminate, hroad at the base; nervet> numerous, parallel, 

somewhat ~;inuon:,; and uneven. 

ln the collections before me I have :,;een but a single fragment which would 

appear to be referahle to this little-known species, firi-lt described from Perry. 

The :,;pecimcn in hand, while appearing to represent the form described by Dawson, 

offers nothing in support of the reference of the fos&il to the genus Cnrdaites. 

Not having seen the original type, I quote the diagnoRis given hy Dawson. 

No other example has, so far as I am aware, been figure<l or described. The 

inclusion of thi& ~>pecie;; in Corrlaite/5 by Dawson was reg,uded by h1m a.., provisional, 

its true affimties being "quite uncertain." 

UoJWAITES ~ ANGUSTIFOLIUS Dn. 

1801 Curdmtes ang1wttjulws Dawson (non Lx ), Can Nat, vol v1, pp 170, lin, fig llc 

1862 C01 dmtPs angust1tohus Dawson, Quart Jour. Geol Ro<" London, vol A' m, p 318 

1863 Crmlmtes angu•hfnhu.• Dn , Logan, Geo} Cana<la, pp 394, 399, fig 428 

1Sil8 Co1 dalles angtwl1jolws Dawoon, A cad Geol , pp 534, 541l 

1871 Cordmtes a'flqust1jol1U,, Dawson, Foss PI Dev am! Upp Stl Can , p 44, pl x1v , fig 163 

1880 Cordmtes nngu8tifolws Dn , Lesquereux, Coal Flora, vol il, p 544 

1882 Co1dmte.~ angustifolms Dawson, Foss PI Ertan an<l Upp Stl. Can, pt 2, p 106 

1889 Corda!les rmguRtifolwo Dawson, Trans R '3m· Can , \'Ol v1 , sec 6, pp 29, 34 

POl t10m; of very blender, rather thick, &traight or gently cm·ve<lleaves, 3-5 mm. 

in w1dth, exceeding 8 em. m length, regularly lineate with fine, parallel, d1stin~t, 

longitudmal nerves; apwal and ba~;al portions of the leaves unknown. 

The fragments which arc here provisionally placed under th1s name appear to 

conform with the characters of the spec11nens <lescribed and figured hy Dawson 

from Gn.spc. 

Little can he said of the real nature of the plants included 111 this species. 
78 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN ~IAINE. 

Some of them may be fern stem,;. The species is stated by Daw~on <t in one of his 

later papers to be of a doubtful nature. 

The plants from St. John included by Dawson in the same species represent an 

entirely distinct type. 

CARPOLITHES Schlotheim. 

Petrefaktenknmle, 1820, p. 4113. 

CARPOLI'l'HES CONJ<'INIS D. w. 

Pl. IV, Fi~. 11. 

1871. Carpolithes? Dawson, Foss. Pl. Dev. and Upp. Sil. Can., pp. 64, 90, pl. x, fig. 125. 

Ovate, about 6 mm. in length and 4.5 mm. in width a little below the middle, 

asymmetrical, curved slightly to one side, very obtuse, obscurely apiculate, attached 

by more than one-half its width, nearly flat in the impression, lineate parallel to the 

border, more strongly marked toward the base. 

The fossils above des'cribed are tentatively placed in the genus CarpolitAes, 

although from the evidently br~ad attachment irregularly fractured at the base, as 

shown in Pl. IV, Fig. 11, and from the rather thick substance there would appear to 

be some rea~:>on for regarding them as merely scales, possibly comparable to those 

of Barinophyton perrianum. The broad basal attachment, the asymmetrical form, 

and the absence of all traces of a border argue against the reference of the type to 

the genus Card·iocarpon. . 

From :t comparison of the details of the figure of a sp~cimen from Gaspe 

published by Daw,;on,b with doubt as to whether the object was a carpolite or a 

concretion, I am disposed to regard it as identical with the species in hand. 

CAIU'OLITHES LUNATUS Dn. 

1863. Carpolitheslunattts Dawson, Quart . .Tour. Gcol. Soc. London, vol. xix, p. 464, pi_. xvii, fig. 11. 

1871. Carpolithes lunatus Dawson, Foss. Pl. Dev. and Upp. Sil. Can., pp. 63, 86. 

1880. Carpolithes lunatus Dn., Lesquereux, Coal Flora, vol. ii, p. 598. 

Base rounded regularl_y, apex broadly truncate and mucronate; nucleus 

surrounded with a narrow margin. • 

I have seen no specimen:-; representing this form, described by Dawson, as 

above, from a single specimen found at Perry. From the figure given by the 

' author the systematic position and even the nature of the fossil would appear to be 

absolutely uncertain. In form and size it closely simulates a bolster of one of tlie 

Devonian Berge ria-Lepidodendra. 

a Am . .Tour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 38, .Tnly, 1889, p. 3. 

b Fossil Plants Devonian and Upper Silurian Canada, pl. x, fig. 125, p. f4. 
, DESCRIPTIONS OF 'l'HE FOSSILS. 79 

STEMS-DADOXYLON? 

I find in the various collections a number of specimens labeled, apparently by 

Dawson, as Dado.n;lon and " :-;terns of Cordaites." One of these, m the collection 

of the Portland Society of Natural History, is the counterpart of the specimen 

well figured in Dawson's paper on Further Observations on the Devonian Plants 

of Maine, Gaspe, and New Y ork.C' I't is simply an impression, and promises nothing further regarding the structure of the stem itself. Other exa1pples appear to 

represent long, straight fragments of strmte or lineate stems, one of which has a 

width of over 3 em. 

These fragments are of little value and I suspect arc paleontologically indistinguishable from the material from the Chemung of New York earlier described as I 

Rhachiopte'ris cyclopteroides Dn.b The latter species was never figured and is not 

at present identifiable hy the literature. No further descnption of gymnospermous 

wood& from the Perry beds :-;eems to have anywhere been published,c and none of the 

specimens that have passed through my hands appear to offer sufficient characters 

for a generie identification. 

ADDITIONAL PLANTS. 

The following additional plants were reported by 8ir William Dawson from 

Perry, but were not :-;een by the writer and are not included in the precedmg review: 

.A.poroxylon, reeorded,d but not figured nor identifiably described. 

Oalumites sp., entered in the Maine column of the table, Fossil Plants Devonian 

and Upper Silurian Canada, 1871, page 85; probably by error, since it is not elsewhere 

mentioned in the literature relahng to Mame. 

Oa,alopte:ris Lockwoodi Dn., of the Devonian at Gilboa, N. Y., is similarly 

entered in the Maine column only, hut is nowhere else mentioned in connection with 

material from :Maine. The entry IS evidently an error 

Filicites incertm ~edis, published in 1863," belongs to the genus OtiJop!tyton, and 

possibly to ~· hymenopl~ylloides, though regarded by Dawson as possibly belongmg 

to Platyphvlllllm Browni(Jf)1fllm. 

Hymenophyllites sp., not recognizably described and not illustrated, appears to 

have been abandoned after its first publication in 1863.! It may be a young fertile 

pmna of Archmopteris. 

Lepidodendron qaspianum, reported by Dawson g as represented from Perry m 

a Quart Tour Geol Soc London, val 19, 1863, p 460, pi xvm, fig 20 

bQuart Jour Geol Soc London, vol 18, 1862, p 323 

cLoc c1t, opp p 329 Proc Portland Soc Nat H1st, vol 1, pt 2, 1863, p 100 Second Rept Nat H1ot and Geol 

Me, 1862 (1863), p 460 

dQuart Jour Geol Soc London, val 1~, 1862, pp 299, 307 

e Quart Jour Geol Soc London, val 19, p 464, pi xvn, figs 10, lOb 

!Proc Portland Soc Nat H1~t, vol, 1, pt 2, p 100' 

uCanad1an Natural!st, val 1, No 3, 1861, p 174 
80 GEOLOGY OJ!' PERRY RABIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

the collectwn,; of the Portland Society of Natural History. I have seen no i<lentifiahle specimens. Two small fragments of stem in the latter collection appear to 

have the remains of leaf cushions, hut they do not seem to be spirally arranged, nor 

do they show scar characters. The vestiges which possihly represent leaves are 

suggestive of the spines of A~rtMostigma. One of the fragments resembles, 

however, that figured by Crepin from the Devonian of Belgium as Lep£dqdendron 

qaspimwm Dn. 

'' _1lfequjJllyton? "a is not illustrated or sufficiently described for recognition. 

The genus i'S ignored in all references to or hsts of Perry plants published after 1862. 

P~ilophyton elef!ans and Ps. qlalmnn, recorded in 1863 ° as doubtfully identified 

at Perry, are not afterwards mentioned a'S occurring in Maine. lVithout examinatiOn of the types or type material it is not possible to determine whether any 

of the material which is provisionally described in this paper nuder the head of 

r~ princeps Dawson, but which IS shown not to be the true PIS. princeps, It; really 

referable to P.~ilophyton qlabrwn. 

AGE OF THE PERRY FORl\iATION. 

Having concluded the critical examination and degcription of the fo;;sils of the 

Perry formation, I have now to review the evidence of the genera and specie:-; as 

to thP age of the formation itself, and thus to determine whether the beds are really 

Devonian, as was believed by Daw:.;on and others, or whether, after all, as has been 

recently supposed by some geologists, they are not a part of the Uarbomferous 

series. 

DISTRIBUTION OF THE SPECIES. 

Tmniocradrf palmata is unknown elsewhere and represents a type of alga, which 

may have close allies m ntrious periods. 

Platypli:!Jllmn Brmm~iamun, recorded from the upper Devonian o£ New York 

and Baie des Uhaleurs, and erroneously from Scaumenac, abo appears to be present 

in Llw Devoman of Klaas-Billen Bay, Spitzbergen. The remammg Rpecics of the 

genus are upper Devonian, Platyphyllurn trnncatwn and P. Ruqadi being from 

the Catskill of Pennsylvania. 

APclta:opteri/5 is primarily a genus of the middle and upper Devonian, though 

represented in the Carbomferous also, the later species being m nearly all cases 

characterized hy very narrow or lobate pinnules; fructification of the common 

form, hke that of .A. /~,ioN'nicn, A. 1m:nor, A. Rof!ePsi, has not been found m the 

Carbomferous. The Perry species of the genus belong to the extremely closely 

related group represented by A. hibernica and A. minor, characteristic of the 

upper Devonian, particularly the Catskill and Chemung, o£ ca-;tern America. 

; 

a Canadian Naturah>:~t, vol 6, No 3, p 175 

b Qnart Jour Geol Soc London, vol lq, p 46~ 
AGE OJ<' PERNY FORMATION. 81 

A1·clu:eoptm'i~ Jack·soni, also found in the Devoman at Scaumenac and Restigouche 

Bay, is closely related to A. minm· of the Cat::;kill and Chemung m Pennsylvania, 

and in sterile forms is not readily distinguished from A. gaspiensis. A. Roge1'Bi, 

present in the Chemung of New York and at Montrose and Meshoppen in Pennsylvania, is very closely related to A. Roemm"ianct of the upper Devonian of 

Europe and the Arctic regions. The development and position of the sporangia 

in A. Hitchcocki relate the species intimately to the fructification described as 

Sphmwpte1·is cond1'Usorwn from the upper Devonian of Belgium, and, less closely, 

to the fructification of A. minor of the Catskill of Pennsylvania. A plant from 

the upper Devonian of Belgium having the aspect of that here described as 

Otidophyton has been referred by Crepin to A. hibernica. 

The peculiar type of plant described as Barrandeina perriana is perhaps identical with that from the Hamilton of New York figured by Dawson as "Cm·daites?", 

while it is otherwise most nearly comparable to the B. D1tslianwm from Barrande's 

H-hl stage. Both the genus Barmndeina, to which I have referred the species, 

and Anarthrocanna, under which Dawson placed it, are upper Devonian genera. 

Rhachiopteris pinnata is also from the middle Devonian of New York, while 

R. punctata, which is doubtfully recorded in the Perry flora, occurs in the Ithaca 

shales of central New York and the Chemung at Gilboa, N. Y. 

The plant fragment tentatively referred to Sphenoptm·idiurn seems to have 

its relatives in the Devonian of the Rhine region and in the ba'lal lower Carboniferous of Europe. I interpret it as representing a group generally characteristic 

of the lower Carboniferou&. 

Dimf'ripteris i& known only from the Devonian. D. incerta, found typically 

in the Hamilton of New York, is possibly im;eparable from D . .fasciculata of the 

Donctz Devonian, while we find a very closely related form under the name 

0Pplzalotheca mimbilis in the upper Dcvoman of Bear Island. D. recurva likewise seems to have it:s only near relatives in the Donetz, though it is possihly 

closely allied to a form illustrated by Unger from the Cypridina beds of Thuringia. 

It is, however, comparable in some respects to Sphenoptm·i8 jlexilis Heer, from 

the basal Carboniferou::; of Spitzbergen. 

SphenozJteris .filicula, if correctly diagnosed, belongs to a group of species, 

includmg 8. ajjinis and S. momvica, wh1ch is, in general, characteristic of the 

basal Carboniferous. However, a type extremely similar to t~at in hand, and perhaps specifically identical, has been figured by N athorst from the Devonian of 

Spitzbergen. Both closely resemble material from the American Pocono that has 

been identified With the 8. jlaccida of the DeYoman of Condroz. They should be 

compared also with Stur'" SjJo1'0clm1l8 I{:rejci from the H-hl 'ltage (upper Devonian) 

m Bohemia. 

10325-No 35-05-6 
82 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

All the species de:;cribed as Psilophyton, with the exception of elegans, whose 

generic reference is doubtful, appear to be Devonian, though Psllophyton princeps 

was also reported by Dawson from beds at Gaspe which are regarded by many 

geologists as lying below the base of the Devonian. It is characteristically a 

Devonian genuo; The specimens which I provisionally place with the 1'-moothcostate group included by Dawson in Ps. prineeps are by the form of their terminallamime most dof-lely bound to the Pt·nlophyta from Campbellton and from the 

Catskill of New York. The same characters appear in the congeneric lfostinella lwstinens~·8 from the upper Devonian (H-hl stage) of Bohemm, and the species of R~ilophyton of the "Old Red Sandstone" of Scotland. Stem fragments of the smooth 

Psilophyton type are also found in the Devonian of Bear I <>land and Spitzbergen. 

Psilopl~yton alcicorne appear::; to be neare::;t to the Campbellton material referred 

by Dawson to Ps. princeps, though its real affinities are not known. 

The fragment doubtfully referred to P£tleostac1Lyu fails to reveal nodes and the 

verticillate structure essential to the genus, whwh is Carboniferou::;, and has very 

little stratigraphic value at prebent. 

Barinophyton is a special and very peculiar type, not elsewhere known outside of 

the Devonian. It is represented by B. obsctwmn in the Devonian of New South Wale::;, 

and probably by the plant erroneously deM:ribcd as Ptilophyton Thmlt'p8oni from the 

Devonian of Scotland. Barinopltyton Richrtrdsoni i'3 perhaps pre::;ent in the Gaspe 

section. a B. perriana appears to be present in the Devonian at Campbellton. 

The generic characters of the plant named Lycopodites comosus by Dawbon are 

not clear, but the general aspect of the fragment as figured is such as is common m 

the slender branching lepidophytes of the Carboniferous, though species of generally 

sinular aspect arc not unknown in the uppermost Devonian. Too little is known of 

the details of the plant to entitle it to any importance in ::;tratigraphic correlation. 

In Leptuphlrewn we have another peculiar lepidophytic type, which appears to 

combine a bothrodendroid leaf scar with a distinctly lepidodendroid bolster. It Is 

quite distinct from the Bergeria or subeprdermal state of Lepidodendron. So far as 

known, Leptophlmum is di::;tinctly Devonian. L. rhombicnm is reported from the 

middle Devonian of Gaspe and Campbellton, from York River, and the upper 

Devonian of Queensland. It is present in the Devonian of Spitzbergen and at the 

so-called Ursa stage of the Ogur region, in eastern Siberia. The remaining species, 

L. australe and L. noth~tm (non Ung.), also occur in the Australian Devonian. 

Lepidostrobus qlobosus is another singular and but little known type which, 

under the name Cmpolithus spicat1ts, is reported from the Chemung of Shamokin, 

Pa. It is possibly the fertile strohilus of Leptophle1t1n rlwmbiewn. 

The supposed lepidophytic spore cases described as Lepidoeystis siliq~ta seem to 

a See Fos91l Plnnt• Devoman and Upper 81lunan C!lnnda, pi xu, fig LH 
I 

CORRELATION OF PERRY BEDS. 83 

be most mtimately related to a species, in the Pocono (ba'3al Carhoniferous) of 

Pennsylvania. L. inquisitus, of "hghtly doubtful generic reference, is unique m 

form,, and may possibly prove not to be lepidophytic 

The large oblong sporangia! mas;;:es described under the name Sporangites 

Jaeksont seem in size and form nearest connected with Lepidoeyst't8 s1:liqna. It i<:: 

not entil ely clear, however, that they were similarly produced. The megaspores 

appear to belong to the Spomngites type described by Dawson in several species 

from the Devonian of North and South America. It is doubtful whether the genu&, 

as composed, is distinguishable from some of the megaspores of the Carboniferous. 

The geneiic reference of both of the ~pecies referred to Cordaites is somewhat 

uncertam, although the pre&ence, as low as the Hamilton, of fo~>sil woods of the 

group commonly known as Dadoxylon justifies the assumption that very near 

relatives a of the genus Cordaites, if not the genus itself, were present in the middle 

Devonian. The occurrence of typical foliage of the genu~> is, in general, 

charactoristic of the upper Carboniferous and lower Permian. Oorda£tes rmgustifoli1t8 is reported from the lower Devonian of Gaspe and Campbellton and from the 

Marcellus of New York. 

OmpolitliPR eonfinis seems to be present in the Gaspe section. 0. lwwttts, the 

characters and identity of which, as described in 1863, from Perry, are very obscure, 

ha'l not been recogmzed elsewhere. 

CORRELATION. 

Of the entire flora described b from Perry, S_p!tenopteTis filieula and Lepidoeystis sil-iq'ttet arc types which appear to belong to groups more or less distinctly 

characteristic of the lower portion of the lower Carboniferous. The fragment 

1

described as Palceostudya? sp., and the form~;] earlier published as Lyeopodites 

evJTW8tts and OwpoUtl~eN lwud'u8 are too little known or too ambiguous to be at 

present of stratigraphic value. The correlative significance of Sporanqites Jaeksoni, 

whiCh has not been found elsewhere, is also as yet undetermined. The remainmg 

species whieh comprise the main body of the Perry flora are Devonian. 

As will have been seen in the forcgmng review, the evidence of the geologic 

distribution, so far as known, of the identical species, of the genera them&elves, and 

of the most nearly related plant forms indicates distinctly and overwhelmingly a 

Devonian age for the Perry formation. The stratigraphic range of most of the 

species and their allies strongly points to a place in the upper Devonian, the 

preponderance of the evidence being in favor of the Catskill-Chemung stage. 

Allowing for the full weight of the two or three o::pccies of clO&e lower Carbomferous affinities, the flora can not at latest be assigned to a stage above the upper 

a As Dtctyoundaztes Lacoa Dn , frorn the Chemuttg of Penns)- lvmua 

b Lepzdoden(l1 on Gusp1annm, a chuructcn<stiC Devonian plant, unknown 111 the Carboniferou<.,, and reported from Perry 

by Dawson, 1' omilted from the II~t a~ mwffiCientll repre,ented for IdentificatiOn m the Pcrn· materml which I ha' e ,ecn 
84 GEOLOGY OF PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN ~fAlNE. 

Catskill as developed in northeastern Pennsylvania and southeastern Now York. Cornpared with the flora of other continents the closest paleontologic affinities of the Perry 

flora arc found in the plant associations of the Donetz and of the Arctic Devonian. 

The occurrence of closely related species of Barinophyton and Leptophlcmm~ 

together with Ar-clueoptm'£s in the Devonian of Australia affords an interesting example 

of the remarkable intercontinental distribution of the later Devonian plant types. 

The conclusions as to the age of the Perry beds recorded long ago by Sir 

William Dawson are fully corroborated by the study of more extensive material 

and the discovery of additional plants. The deposition of the strata antedates all 

known formations of coal in commercial amounts. Small lenticular beds, streaks, 

or pockets of coal or coaly matter, of local occurrence only, are, in rare instances, 

found in beds of so great an age as the Perry, but they are always too thin, if 

not too dirty, to be of u::;e. There is not even the slightest indication of the presence of such beds in the rocks of the Perry basin. The underlying rocks about 

Perry are still older. 

The supposition entertained by somP- geologists that the Perry formation is 

identical with the beds regarded as lower Carboniferous at Lepreau, in New 

Brunswick, in accordance with the arguments and maps pu,blished by a number of 

Canadian geolog·ists, and that, consequently, beds of anthracite eoal like that at 

Lepreau may be found in another series of beds, which is interpreted by them a::; 

underlying and older than the lower Carboniferous, is absolutely untenable for two 

reasons: (1) The beds supposed to be lower Carboniferous at Lepreau, if their age 

is correctly determined by the New Brunswick geologists, were deposited later . 

than the formation of the Perry beds, and can not represent the same geological 

period; (2) the series of beds (Lancaster formation) containing the Lepreau coal 

and supposed to be older than both the lower· Carboniferous and the Perry beds 

are conclusively proved by their fossil contents to be not only of Carboniferous 

age, but to belong some distance, at least, above the older portion of the lower 

Carboniferous. The Lepreau coal, being of later date than the age of the supposed lower Carboniferous, can not stratigraphically underlie the latter except as 

the result of overturn or overthrust. Otherwise the series of beds supposed to 

be lower Carboniferous must be of far later date. 

In view of the facts (1) that no trace of the much younger geological series 

which earries coal at Lepreau is found in the Perry basin, a and (2) that the coal 

bed at Lepreau is so thin, altered, and dirty b that all atten1pts to mine or use it 

were long ago abandoned, any further .consideration of the possible occurrence of 

such a bed in the Perry basin is superfluous. ---------------------- a A condition that is most nutural, since that series is of vastly later date of formation. If present, it shonld 

overUe the Perry. 

bAbout 36.88 per cent of ash, fide Rept. Geol. Survey Canada, 1878-1879, p. 13D. For further rlescriptions of the 

J,epreau oed, sec ulso Rcpt. Geol. Survey Canada, 1876-1877, p. 345. The bed consists of strenks of carbonaceous shale 

with interbedded crushed graphitic coul. All efforts to utilize the material as fuel were long ago abandoned. 
CHAPTER IV. 

EOONOMTC G EO LOGY. 

By GEoRGE OTis 81\IITH. 

HISTORY OF S~.}ARCH FOR COAL. 

At the time of t.he publicatiOn of Jaekson's first geologic report, in the year 

1837, interest In the search for coal in this region seems to have already been arom;ed. 

It appears that, as geologist to the State, Doctor Jackson, in accordance with the 

desire of Governor Dunlap, first devoted his attention to the question of the occurrence of Coal Measure rocks, and visited the Perry district at an early date. No 

special encouragement was offered in his report to those interested in this &nbJect, 

but the statement i:;, made: "If coal really occurs in this sandstone, it should be 

found between the village of Pemhroke and the t:lt. Croix River." 

Prospecting for eoal In the town of Perry is s::ud to have hPgun in 1837 

with work by the St. C:roix Freestone Company. Ten or twenty years later one 

Hill, said to have had experience as a miner, who was attracted by what he considered indications of coal, t>ecured mineral rights from the owners of land m the 

towns of Perry, Pembroke, and Robbinston. The expectation at first seeming to, 

he that coal would be discovered near the surface, a shaft was dug down to the 

ledge, but it was found necessary to contmue the exploration by drilling. The 

place selected for the location of the prospect was on the north side of Little 

River, between the shore and the road leading· to Gleason Cove. vYith the :;,omewhat crude type of drill ur,ed progresE- must have been slow and expensive, but 

it is reported that a depth of about 400 feet was reached. The los:;, of the drill 

and later the death of Mr. Hill caused the abandonment of all w01k. 

The mterest of geologists in the Peny fossil locality may have helped to 

keep ahve the local belief in the occurrence of coal beds in the rPd sandstone 

formation. Another prospect shaft was sunk on . the Brown farm, :;,outh of 

Boydens Lake. This is now covered over and the dump overgrown with trees, 

so that nothing can be learned of the results of the work, eJ~.cept that typical 

Perry sandstone and conglomerate make up the dump. Operations began agam 

85 
86 GEOLOGY OF PJ<JRRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

Ill 18D3, when W. F. Trask put down a diamond-drill hole to a depth of 60± 

feet. This was done for a reorganized company, hut agam the money procured 

was exhauJo>ted before the w01k was completed. This drill hole was located close 

to the old Hill shaft. Little can he learned conecrning the strata cut hy this 

hole. The reported :statements of the same witne:ss at different tunes arc qmte 

at variance as regard;.; the occurrence or nonoccurrence of coal. It is undoubtedly 

safe, however, to accept his statement that no coal was found. 

Mr. Jesse C. Gleason, of Perry, kindly furnished a piece of the dnll core, which 

came from near thP bottom of the hole and was said at the time to be ''top clay." 

Below this it was locally reported that coal was found. This piece of core was of 

special value to the present investigation from its petrographic character. It Is a 

rhyolitic lava, and is plainly the same rock as the Silurian lava expm;cd in the shore 

seetwn. This shows that the Trask drill hole penetrated to the base of the Perry 

formation and even into the Silunan rocks beneath. 

At another locality near Perry, it IS reported, coal was actually found in the 

mclosmg rock. The place is on Little River, at the upper <lam. When the rock 

was blasted out in the course of constructing this dam by the Rastport 'Vater 

Wol'ks Company in 18D2, a ''coal pocket" is said to have heen exposed. Our own 

careful examination of the rock at this place failed to show any traces of coal, and 

the geologic evidence is strongly against the supposition that any was found there. 

The rock docs not belong to the Perry formation, hut, as can be Reen from the 

geologic map in this report, is a part of the Silurian series underlying that formation. 

The Silurian purple shale Is here cut by a dike of dark porpl-lyry of the type described 

on page 28. "\Vhat was thought to be coal may have hcen some dark-colored 

mineral deposited upon the contact of this dike with the shale, '3incc it IS most 

improbable t11at coal could occur in suoh asso<'iation and in rocks of Silurian age. 

It is also reported that coal was found in the glaoial <lnft below this dam, where 

the trench was dug for the water pipe, but this report could not be verified. 

This brief historical s!retch of the search for coal is :-.utficient to indicate how 

little bas1s there has been for the hclie£ that cmtl can be found in the Perry 

basin. It is unnecessary to cons1der to what extent this sangume expectation may 

have heen fostered hy some for the sake of po~sihle personal gain, hut It is 

evident that the interest shown hy ;.;tudcnts of geology in the Perry heels ha:-; had 

perhaps a greater influence upon the public mind, cansmg the Iesi<lents of Peny 

and adJoining towns to beco.me unu:-;ually well versed In geology. It is unfortunate, however, that the ;.;ugg'estions and inference;.; favoring the occurrence of 

coal in this area have been so much more quickly grasped than the counter 

evidence. In the remaining portwn of this chapter the geologic evidence on this 

economic subject will be presented. 
ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 87 

GEOLOGIC DATA. 

Brief mention ha'3 already been made of two cases m which the reported 

occurrence of coal is opposed hy geologic observatiom. To serve the purposes of 

this ,report, however, it is advisable to cite more fully these geologic data and 

to explain their application to this subject. It IS beheved that when the evidence 

is fully stated the reader will be able to form a definite opinion regarding 

the possibilities of finding coal in the Perry formation. The fact that during 

all these decades in which the interest has been maintained in this question so 

little regard has been paid to certain fairly obvious features of the local geology 

renders it all important that at this time the geologic data should be explicitly 

presented. 

The character of the Perry formation has been described in a preceding section. The rocks of th1s formatiOn compribe volcanic products, such as lavas and 

breccias, and sediments of the coarser type, such as 9onglomerates and <;andstones. 

Professor Bailey of the Canadian Survey and Professor Shaler of Harvard 

University have compared the Perry formation to the Catskill of the New York 

section. This comparison probably expressed not only their belief regarchng the 

age of the formation, but also a recognition of the general resemblance of the 

Perry rocks to the red sandstones of the Catskill formation. It may be noted 

that these two formations are not only similar in color, but both are remarkably 

free from black carbonaceous beds of any kind. In view of the excellent exposures 

of the Perry beds along the shore it is extremely improbable that any part of 

the &ection is concealed. The deep indentations in the coast line cause the same 

beds to be repeatedly exposed, and therefore a thin stratum that might be concealed in one place would quite likely be shown at another. The fact that no 

black s!mles were observed in any portion of the section may, therefore, be taken 

as strong evidence of the a:bsence of coaly beds In the Perry formation. 

As is well known in coal regions, coal seams usually occur m association with 

under-clays, but no '3nch heds are observed in this area. This absence of fire clays 

in the sectiOn may be regarded as evidence that the phy&ical conditions existing 

during the time the Perry ;;;ediments were being dep?sited were not favorable to the 

accumulation of vegetal matter in the form of coal seams. The conglomerates and 

eoarse sandstones, which frequently are cross-stratified, represent sediments laid 

down in an estuarine basin, where coarse material was contributed hy large streams· 

and deposited close to shore. Only rarely did the plant fragments washed down 

from the land find lodgment in sediments sufficiently fine gramed to preserTe them 

as fossils. 

Another geologic conchtion that d1d not favor coal accumulation was the 
88 GEOLOGY _OF. PERRY BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

volcanism that characterized the Perry epoch. Volcanic activity had been a feature 

in this area during the Silurian period, and was renewed during the time of the deposition of the Perry rocks. .From some volcanic center in this vicinity lava flows were 

erupted, so that sheets of basalt and assoeiated beds of volcanic ejectamenta now 

occur interstratified with the sandstones and conglomerates. 

But pm·haps the most conelusive data on this subject of the possibility of the 

occurrence of coal in the Perry formation are connected with the question of 

geologic age. The assignment of a Triassic age to these rocks by the first geologists 

who visited the region, and in later years the correlation of the Perry beds with 

Carboniferous rocks of New Brunswick, have both served to foster the belief in the 

possibilit~ of finding coal. The determination of the exact age of this formation, 

therefore, has become a matter of prime importance. The results of the paleobotanical investigation, as stated in this report, point to the Devonian age of the Perry 

formation. Rocks of this age are known in certain districts to contain local accumulations of carbonaceous matter, it is true, but such coaly streaks or lenses are 

thin-rarely a foot in thickness-and of very limited area. Therefore it can be 

stated that nowhere are rocks of the smrie age as the Perry beds repositor;ies of 

commercially workable coal. 

There are several instances reported in the Perry region of old coal miners, or 

self-termed mining "experts," basing very strong opinions upon the fossil plants 

found at Perry. The similarity of these plants to those associated with the coal at 

Springhill, Nova Scotia, or with the Pennsylvania coal, has been remarked upon and 

definite conclusions have been inferred. The identification of Paleozoic plants 

involves much more critical study than is commonly understood, and little credence 

should be given to the observations and deductions of those who do not appreciate 

the complexity-of the subject. 

Another line of evidence is afforded by the stratigraphy of this area. It will be 

noticed that all of the prospects and reported occurrences of coal are near the 

southern border of the area of the Perry formation. The waterworks dam is in fact 

near the contact with the older rocks, and the rocks in which coal is reported to 

havebeen found do not belong to the Perry formation, but are of Silurian age. 

Both the Hill-Trask and the Brown prospects were located within a half mile of the 

contact with the Silurian rocks. Such a location, taken in connection with the low 

dip of the Perry rocks at those points, means that the base of the Perry formation 

is not many hundred feet beneath the surface. In fact, we have conclusive evidence 

that in the Trask bole, as stated on a previous page, the drill actually reached this· 

basal contact and penetrated for some distance the underlying Silurian strata. The 

piece of core termed "top clay" by the driller is in reality a rhyolitic lava. The 

similarity of this to the lava which occurs interstratified with the Silurian fossil-
CONCLUSIONS. 89. 

iferous rocks south of Gleason Cove was noticed m the field, and subsequent 

microscopie study has venfied this 1dentiticatwn. It is a fortunate a'3 well as 

interesting faet that the Silurian and Devonian lava:-. are of such diverse types. On 

this account there can be no doubt that the Trask drill hole cut all the strata in 

which there was believed to be any possibility of enconntenng seams of coal. In 

fact, it cut even some of the lower beds, including this lava sheet, which is known 

from it::. petrographic eharaeter to he of Silurian rather than of Devonian age. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

From all- the foregoing facts, therefore, it must be concluded th~t the belief 

in the existence of coal in the Perry formation, although maintained for nearly 

seYenty years, is not supported by geologic evidence. The composition of the rocks 

comprised in this formatwn, as studied in satisfactory SPetionb, nPither shows the 

presence of any carbonaeeous beds nor favors the possibility of their occurrence in 

concealed portions of the section. This conclusion that eoal is not pret:.ent in the 

formatiOn is fm thermore strongly supported by deductions hased upon the Devonian 

age of the Perry formatwn, as determined by paleobotanical studies. 

Exploration work in these rocks has failed to show the presence of coal seams, 

and the force of tlm statement is strengthened by the knowledge that the Trask 

drill hole reached the base of the Perry formation. ContinuatiOn of the work 

there, or drillmg at a locality near the reservoir dam, would simply result in 

expensive exploration of S1lurian rocks in which no one converbant with coal mining 

would expect to find coal. In fact, a drill hole at the latter locahty, though it is 

reported to have been propo::;ed on the r~ommendation of an expert, woul<l have 

resulted only in an utter wa'3te of money. 

The as-.ignment of a Devonian age to these rocks may suggest the pobslbility of 

finding ml or gas in the Perry area. On this point 1t need only he t:.tatcd that the 

outlook is no more encouraging than that for coal. The occurrence of jmnt'3 and 

faults, such as have been described in th1s report, as well as the presence of interbedded lava flows, are most unfavorahle indications, sinee they preclude the conservation and stora,ge of any liqmd or volatile hydroearbons, even had they originally 

been present. 

The practical deductiOn to be drawn from the results of the geologic study 

prc:-:ented m this report is that further exploratiOn of the Perry basin for coal 1s 

unwarranted. 
APPENDIX. 

OOAL IN OTHJ£R LOOAI~ TTIES TN MAINE. 

By GJWHGE OTIS Sl\HTH. 

GREENFIELD. 

AnothPr locality where coal mdications have been reported is the town of 

Greenfield. the second town cast of Oldtown, Me. The rocks exposed m this vicinity 

differ slightly from the slates seen along the Penobscot River. Red and black 

slates are the predominant rocks exposed in Greenfield, where the search for coal 

-has been prosecuted. It it~ in the black slate that what has been termed coal has been 

found. The black slate is, in places, sufficiently carbonaceous to soil the fingers, 

a character that Immediately suggests soft coal, and the bnght glistening surfaces 

of the rock, as Acen in excavations, make it alAo resemble anthracite coal Near 

Myra post-office a large shaft has been sunk to a depth of about 20 feet, but in 

September, 1903, the time of the examination, this opening contained 10 feet of 

water. The observations possible in lJ:te upper portion of the shaft, as well at~ 

the examination of the rock which had been thrown upon the dump, were sufficient to give a good idea of the character of the material that is traversed by this 

shaft. The brilliant luster of much of this rock is plainly the result of cnmhing 

anrl &lipping within the rock mass. Similar bright surfaces, techmcally termed 

"slickensides," occur in rock of any kind that ha& been subjected to extreme 

dynamic actwn, and in a black rock, like the slate in Greenfield, the resemblance 

to anthracite cm1l becomes very strong. It is when these slickensided pieces of 

slate are broken across, however, that the true character of the rock i::; seen. The 

slate is of a dull gray color, and is qmte unlike either bituminous or anthracite coal. 

The rock is fnll of quartz seams and gashes, which afford further evidence of the 

crushing to which the slate has been ::;ubjected 

The resemblance of this material to coal was the baAis for the beginning of 

prospecting in thi& locality, and this indication was later supported by reports that 

the coal had been successfully burned in a blacksmith's forge and used in grates. 

It is unnecessary to consider the source or truth of sueh reports after examining 

the black slate to which they refer. The mck i" plainly carbonaceou::;, but, as i:-; 

90 
COAL IN OTHJ<JR LOCALITIES. 91 

shown above, it is not sufficiently so to make the resemblance to coal at all close. 

For the purpose of thoroughly testing the material, however, a determination of 

the percentage of carbon in this rock was made in the laboratory of the United 

States Geological Survey. The loss on ignition in a selected sample of the best 

material from Greenfield was found to be 9.2 per cent. The remaining 90 per 

cent of the rock would correspond to what is termed ash in a true coal. This is 

sufficient to show that the black rock whiCh has been prospected in Greenfield is 

in no sense a (•oal, even of the most impure variety, and the geologic examination 

of the locality affords no warrant for further exploration for coal in the formation exposed there. 

FISH RIVER. 

It was 1 eported to the Maine Survey Commission that coal had been found on 

the line of the Fbh River extension of the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad. The 

lo<'ality where the coal was said to occur was within the region where Silurian and 

Devonian strata were recognized at the time of the early surveys of the State, so 

that there appeared to be a possibility that the Carboniferous might also be represented. Therefore, in accordance with the instructions, a trip was taken over this 

line and the locality was visited. The exa:mination of the rocks along the railroad 

was greatly :facilitated by the courtesies extended by the offiCials of the Bangor and 

Aroostook Railroad. 

The strata are well exposed m the fresh cuts of the recently constructed railroad, 

many of the beds thus exposed prohably not being visible in natural outcrops. The 

formation exposed near the Fish River bridge south of Eagle Lake comprises sandy 

and shaly heds. These are soft and appear younger than t.he' limestones and other 

rocb that are exposed hoth north and so 11th of this locality. The reported " coal" 

wag found to be a 3-inr.h 'Seam of black material, interbedded with the sandstone 

and shale. ln composition this is simply a shale in which there is sufficient carbonaceous matenal to give it a black color. It is not coal, and the reports that it had 

been successfully used m a blacksmith's forge were easily nullified by testing the 

shale in a hot fire. Pieces of the rock thus treated can be slightly bleached by the 

action of the fire, but can not be ignited. 

This black shale and the associated strata contain, fragments of plant remains, a 

small collection of the best of which was sent to Mr. White for study. His report 

IS as -follows: 

"The :fossil plant material from F1sh River consists of small fragments, which, 

unfortunately, were so triturated and abraded before dcpm,itiou as generally to 

obliterate their external characters. Among the specimens are some which appear 

to represent Psilophyton eleqans Dawson. Others are doubtfully re:ferahle to 

Psilophyton princeps Dawson. The presence of thec;e plants is strongly indicative, 
GEOLOGY OF PERRY RABIN, SOUTHEASTERN MAINE. 

though not condusively demonstrative, of a Devonian age for the beds. No recognizable traces of the genera .AJ•dicer;ptn·is or Lep£dodt>ndron are notieeable. The 

absence of these, if the colleetion is thoroughly made and representative, constitutes 

negative evidence for a reference to an earher Devonian stage; hut the weight of 

such evidence is little unless the observations are somewhat ample. The characters 

preserved in the t~pemmens are, on the whole, :>ncb as to leave little room for doubt 

as to the reference of the F1sh RiYer beds to the Devonian.'' 

O'l'IIER T,O<JALITIER. 

At three othPr localities in the State an attempt was made to yerify the 1eports 

of the occurrence of coal. The first of these was in the extreme southern part of the 

town of Penobscot, where some prospecting has been done in a black slate. The 

roek here is similar to that at Greenfield, hut probably contains even less carhonaceous material. The slate is contorted and seamed with quart7., and possesses 'lO little 

of the appearance of eoal that it is strange that it should he cow;idered of any value. 

Another region where the occurrence of coal was reported to the commmswn is 

Cape Eli7.aheth. Pieces of coal are said to have been pwked up in a plowed field at 

one place from time to time for a number of years. Unfortunately all of the'le fiagments had been given away or burned, and no others were found in our examinatiOn 

of the field. The country rock, however, at this locality is the same schist that is 

exposed elsewhere throughout this region. In another part of this town coal is &aid 

to have been found when excavations were made for laying water pipes. A piece of 

this material was seen, and was readily determined a-; compaet black slate rather 

than coal. 

The third locality is Madrid, where anthracite coal was reported to outcrop close 

to a house. Prof. Leslie A. r~ec, State geologist, visited thib locality, only to find 

that the coal was not in place but wag fuel that had been left on the property 

previous to its occupatiOn by the present owner. 

Newspaper accounts mentiOn other towns in Maine as promi;.nng lo<'alities for 

the occurrence of coal, hut in each case the probabilities arc that black shale or 

graphitic Rlate has been mistaken for coal. 
j 

f 

' 

--=-----= 

PLATE II. 

93 
( 

( 

PLATE II. 

PLATYPHYLLUM BROWNIANUM Dn. 

(Page 37) 

FIG 1 Ongmal specimen Illustrated by Sir ·wllham Dawson awl now m the eollectwn ot the 

Boston Soe1ety of Natural Hrstory, through ~hose courtesy It is here refigured 

Fm 2 Another example, more deeply du;~ecterl Colledwn of the Portland Society of 

Natural History 

0TIDOPHYTON HYMENOPHYLLOIDES D. VV. 

(Page 47) 

Fra 3. Example showmg the umbilwal Impressrons at the bases of the smuses, and indrcatwns 

of obseure depie8sJOns, with thickened carbon near the apices of the lobes 

DIMERIPTERIS REUURVA (Dn.) D, W. 

(Page 56.) 

Fra. 4 Brfurcatmg branchlet 

FIG 5 Fragment Illustratmg the brfurcatwn of the small lobes 

FIG 6 Specimen With more deeply {hsseeted IobeR, whose aspect IS suggestrve of a brvalvate 

capsule 

DIMERIPTERIS INCERTA (Dn.) D. W. 

(Page 53) 

FIG 7 Example showing the rapid subdrviswn of the lamma in drfferent planeR, the ranmles 

pro\ Hied wrth clustered sporangia. 

FIG 8 Fragment showmg fragment of maJOr diVIsion wrth drlated thm lamma of the branch, 

wInch is fertrle 

FIG s• Enlarged four times the natural srze, showmg one of the sporangist Illustrated. m 

Frg 8. 

Fm- 9 Specrmen rllustratmg the raprd AubdrvislOn of the ramules m proximity to a branch 

of considerable srze 

T.ENIOCHADA PALMATA D. w. 

(Page 37) 

FIG 10. Portwn of frond showmg dissectwn of the lamina, the lobes of whrch are traver~ed 

by very thm axes of greater density. 

BARRANDEINA PEHRIANA (Dn.) D. W. 

(Page 49) 

FIG 11 Fragment of stem showmg the extremely de!'urrent petwlar bases descendmg along 

the axis in spiral arrangement, though frequently broken back to drfferent levels. 

ARCH.EOPTERIS RoGERST Dn. 

(Page 43) 

FIG 12 Rachral fragment showmg corrugatwn of the de8cendmg petwlar basee. 

94 
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 35 PL. II 

3 

8• 

c8 v 2 

6 

12 9 10 11 

FOSSILS OF THE PERRY FORMATION 
PLATE III. 

95 

• 
PLATE III. 

ARCH1EOPTERIS JAcKSON! Dn. 

(Page 39) 

FIG 1 Fragment ot frond showmg characteriStiC arrangement and aspect of the pmn::e, the 

rugoQp raC'hls w1th vestiges of rach1al pmnulcs, and the Imbncation of the ordmary pmnules, winch 

m th1s example are slightly broader than is usual Figured by comte~y of the l:>ortland Soc1ety 

of Natural H1story, m whose collectwn the spElclmcn now rests 

Fm 2 Fragment of the common type of plnna found Ill the formation, 1llnstratmg the 

typical rather narrow 1mhncated pmnules 

FIG 2• TWI!'e the natural s1ze. Pmnule of the example shown m Fig 2 enlarged to show 

the outlme and nervatwn, "hwh IS really denved tram a clense pnmary fa~mcle descPndmg along 

the rach1s. 

FIG 3. Fragments ot extraordmanly broad and ap1cally rouncled pmnules ot the same spee1es 

Fm 4 Portwn of a tertlle pmna of the form desC'ribed a~ belongmg to the spec1es, but 

possibly representing au early stage of the fertile pmna ot A Rogers1 

ARCH.IEOPTERIS RooERRI Dn. 

(Page 43) 

FIG 5 Portion of a fert1le pinna showing the fasJculately attached Hporaugm and the prolonged 

m1drib of the pmnule 

Fw 5• Tw1ce the natural s1ze Deta1l from F1g. 5 ~howmg the fasciculate arrangement and the 

th1ckeued neural line of the sporangmm 

ARCH1EOPTEIUS HrTCHOCKI (Dn.) D. W. 

(Page 45.) 

Fro 6. Ongmal type of the specws, No ¥ m the foss1l plant collectwn ot the AmeriCan 

Mu~eum of Natural H1story, through whose comtesy 1t 1s here refigureu The Hpecmwn sho" Hdearly 

the sporangia! nature of the ult1mate dlvlBJons, the entire segment bemg fert1le and reduced m lamma 

FIG 6" Three tunes natural H1ze Showmg sporangra attached to nerves of redul'erl rach1al pmnulcs m the upper part of the specunen bhown m F1g u 

Fro 6h Three times natural s1ze. Showmg the arrangement of the sporangia m the penpheral 

portwn of the spec1men 

96 

• 
r 

1 

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4 

5a 

6b 

FOSSILS OF THE PERRY FORMATION 

2 

6a 

'I 

~ 

I

I 

,I 
PLATE IV. 

10325-No 35-0n-7 97 
I 

PLATE IV. 

RHACIIIOPTEIUS PINNATA Dn. vat. ANGUSTIPINNA D. "\\r. 

(Page 50 ) 

Fw. I. Fragment of the rachis, showmg mode of opposite diVIsion, the decurrent bases ot the 

subdiVIbiOns, and the slender vascular axes of the latter. VeRtigos of extremely tenuous laminar 

appendages, probably representing the leaves of the species, are seen on the larger branches 

Fw 2 Fragment of a smaller example, showing the dilatiOn at node on the mam raehis opposite 

and between tbe lateral diVISIOns This feature abo appears, though leRs dtstmctly, m Fig 1. 

FIG. 3 Slender hranchlet with vestiges of leaves 

PAL..EOSTACIIYA ~ Sp. 

(Page 6-!) 

Frb. 4 Fragment of axis showmg habal portiOn of scales, In the ax1ls of which appear to he 

grouped sporangia whose mode of occurrence and probable arrangement are suggestive of Pala;ostachya 

One of the bracts, broken in the process of preparatiOn of the specimen, v.as over a centimeter m 

length 

BAHINOPHYTON RICHAUDSONI (Dn.) D. ,V, 

(Page 6-!) 

Fw 5 Fragment ot raelus, shov. ing several of the boat-shaperl branehes or pinnte still attached, 

the arrangement bemg probably spiral Collection of the Portland Society of Natural HistOiy 

FIG. 5" Detatl, enlarged twif'e the natural size, showmg the lobes or pmnules of the upper 

pmna on the nght-hand stde ot Fig 5 The mulribs are somewhat depres~eu 'fhe depresRIOns 

at the base of lobes are not well shown 

Frc 6 Another example showmg the pmna m a more advanced stage of development. The 

apices of the lobes are generally ob~cure and theu full length IS not usually clear In the second 

hranchlet from the base on the right the rachial depressions are shown, the lobes being m part 

broken away on the sHle toward the observer 

FIG. 7. Fragment of a full ue\elopeu or old pmna representing the condition origmally figured 

hy Dawson as Lep1dostrobu9 R1charrl.9om In this examplP the th1ck, fleshy rachis Ib well exhibIted, the lobes bemg appatently attached JUst wrthm the margm on the ventral surface of the 

broad wmg of the rachis Collection of the Portland Fiodety of Natural HiHtory 

Fw 8. Elongate and straightened pmme probably belongmg to the same species and representmg a stage comparable to that seen in Fig 5 

Frc. 9. Fragment of very young branchlet spread out 

BAmNOPHYTON PERUIANUl\I D. '"· 

(Page 68 ) 

.FIG 10. Fiagments of several pmme, the two on the !Pft bemg m their origmal positiOn 

FIG 10' Enlargerl twice the natural size Detail of the lower pmna 111 Frg 10, showmg 

the form of the lobes and the depressions or pits, presumably sporangml, at the bases of the 

latter. 

UAUPOLITHES CONFINIS D. "\V. 

(Page 78) 

Frc 11 Isolated seed, showmg btnate surface and broad basal attachment. 

LEl'IDOCYSTIS INQUISITUS D. "\V. 

(Page 75.) 

Fw. 12 Broad foun of the sporangiUm 

Fw 13. Short-ovate form 

Fw 14 Elongate form, which, hke the others, is slightly crescentiC. 

98 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 35 PL. IV 

5 

8 

12 

14 

~ ...... 

a / 

10 10• 11 -------- 6 

FOSSILS OF THE PERRY FORMATION 
========- -------

\19 
PLATE V. 

PSILOPHYTON (?) ALCIUOHNE D. W. 

(Page 64) 

FrG 1 Example showing the anomalous type of ramrfieatwn appearmg on one side only ot the 

axr~ A third branch on the nght, srmrlar to the upper one m the figure, "as ongmally seen on the 

specrmen, but was destroyed m the process of clearmg the matnx from the fossil 

FIG. 2 Another example, slightly larger and more complicated, though the pnmary system is 

srmrlar to that shown m Fig. 1 

? PsrLOPHYTON CF. PHINCEPA Dn. 

(Page 58) 

FIG 3. Fragment showmg the onlmary flexuous rachis, Irregularly sulcate wrth one or two somewhat Irregular, broadly 10unded ndges The abrupt termmation ot the branches at a little distance 

trom the rachis, as shown In this figure and Frgs 4 and 6, IS eharaetenstic of thrs type of fossiL 

Fw 4 A srmrlar fragment m whrch the somewhat elongated depressrons appearmg on the base 

and JUSt wrthin the terminatwns of the rameal vestrgeA are more clearly shown The abrupt 

termmations are probably due to the almost abrupt change from the ngrd axml otruetnrP to the 

thmner and more delicate ramose laminar structure of the foliage 

FIG 5. A more slender axrs, wrth fragments of the foliate ramules Rtrll attached 

FIG 6 Example showmg the brfurcatwn ot a rachrs at the top, wrth mdiCatwnA of the rmmerliate 

drchotomy of each of the subflivisions At the same trme the axis curves backward, and the 

subdivisions are not m the same plane wrth the parent raelus The abrupt terminatwn m the fossil 

of the two mam subdrvrswns at the top ot the rachrs IS exactly comparable to that of the lateral 

branches shown m Frgs 3 and 4 

FIG 7 Specrmen from Campbellton, New Brunswick, m thP eollectwn of the Umted States 

Natwnal Musemn, labeled by Srr Wrlham Dawson as PB'Llophyton prmceps The eostatwn rs drstmct m the fragments of rachrs, some of whrch show an rrregular form of ramification, somewhat 

similar to that Illustrated above under Pstlophyton? alcworne 

sp!'l'tmen shown m Frg 7 are obscurely and drstantly punctate. 

A few of the fragments m the 

The ultimate drviswns of the plant 

are extremely dPlH·ate, and, owmg to the Irregular mode of divrsron by whrch they arP mtt>rmingled 

and to the fact that they do not be m the same plane, they are generally very 1m perfectly exposed. 

Fm. 7• T"rce the natural Rize Central portron of the ongmal of Frg 7, Rhowmg more clearly 

the costatwn of the rachrs and the mode of oubdiviswn of the tenuous ±ohar lammaJ 

100 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL. SURVEY 

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7 

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5 

3 

.EOSSILS OF THE PERRY FORMATION 
================================~ 

101 
PLATE VI. 

LEPTOPHL<EUl\I RHOMBICUl\l Dn. 

{Page 69.) 

FIG 1. Original type ot the species, No. -' 3-f'l- in the fossil plant collection ot the Amencan .Muoeum 

of Natural History, through whose courtesy it is here refigured. The example shows the normal 

bolsters in the lower portiOn, those in the middle bemg more or less disfigured by a tran~verse 

wunklmg of the epidermis, the wrmkles bemg curved between the pomts of resistance offered by 

the lateral angles a!1d the leaf scars of the bolsters, ~o that m the upper m1ddle the boundaries 

of the latter are partially obliterated. Thrs transverse wrmklmg, which, It will be seen, IS apparently ot superficral origm, was responsible for the description of this specimen as contammg a 

<'hambered prth Identical wrth Art1sw. It wrll be observed that above the shriveled and wrmkled 

central portwn the bolsters are resunung their normal Size and form 

Fro. 2 Example rllustratmg the large size of some of the bolsters, m the apices of which occur 

the pore-like ligular prts 

FIG 3 Fragment of an Impression, the relief of the bolsters bemg exaggerated. In this example 

the leaf scars are ~lightly above the mrddle of the bolsters. 

Fw 4 Crushed and slightly macerated specimen m whrch the surface features of the bol~ters 

are shown near the margms, while thwughout the central portwn the Impressions of the mtracortical and subcortical structure~ only are seen, the superficial tissues havmg been removed 

Tht> central strand curvmg irregulally withm the cylmder of the much macerated mner cortex of 

the hagment probably represent~ the woody stele of the stem Its nodatron Is the result of 

Impression on the more rigid rhomboHlal cortical tissueA. 

LEPIDOS'l'ROBUS GLOBusus Dn. 

(Page 73) 

FIG. 5 The specimen agrees in general teatureA With that onginally figured by Dawson. 

FIG. 5". Enlarged four time~ the natural size Showmg the curvature of the scales, each ot 

wluch IS traversed by a nerve strand and is convex m the outer portiOn 

SPORANGITES JACKSON! D. w. 

(Page 76) 

FIG 6 Portion of the !'ontents ot a large, elongated sporangmm or possrbly of two superimposed 

sporangia, consu.,tmg ot a slightly brownish mass more or less crowned with the dark carbomzed 

megaspores The ongmalis in the collectiOn of the Boston Society of Natural History, through whose 

courtesy rt IS here descnbed 

Fw fl• Enlarged eight times natural Size Details showing some of the megaspores from the 

ongmal of Fig 6 

? PSILOPHYTON CF. PRINCEPS Dn. 

(Page 58 ) 

Fw 7 SpeCimen showmg a triturcatwn of the axis, the two subdivisions m the foreground being 

comparable to that shown in Frg 6 of PI V, the mrJdle subdiVISIOn sprmging from the hack side and 

lying m a different plane 

FIG 8 Fragment probably belongmg to the same specres, showing the rapid ramtficatwn near 

the perrphery of the plant, the branchlets appearmg a~ abruptly ternunated, possrbly as the result of 

abrasion of the more <lehcate laminm 

102 
U. $. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 35 PL. VI 

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2 

8 

1 

3 

6 .. 

4 6 

FOSSILS OF THE PERRY FORMATION 
INDEX. 

[Black-f.>ce figures mdtcate pages on whtch detatled descttptwm, occut, ttahc figm e• mdtcate tllu•tratwn•, name• 

m ttaltc are <ynonyms ] 

A P<>ge 

Adtantttes. ------ ______ -------------------------------- b3 

Agasstz, Louts, on red sandstones ...... -------------- 1.~ 

Albert shales, Perry beds correlated wtth ---------- 13 

AlctcornoptertsZetllert. ------ ____________ ------------ 55 

Ambonychta cf aphrea.------------------------------ 23 

Amertcan Mu•eum of Natural Htstory, acknowledgments to ________ --------------------- 36 

A><arthrocannn pen tanct. ______ ------ __________ ------ 49 

Sp. ----- _ ----- _. ____ ... __ ..... _____ ----- ............ 49,81 

Anetmttes ........ ------------------ ----------------- 63 

Aphlebta _____________ -------------------------------- 5R 

Aporoxylon ________ ----- ________ .. --------- ____ .... -- 19 

Archreopterts Dawson_ .... __ .... _ . . . 39-47,52--53, 80, 84,92 

(cycloptertS) Brownu ------------------------- 38 

gaspten.-ts. _____________ .. _________ -------- ________ 42,44 

Hallwnn ______ . ________ .. _____ ----... -------- .. __ 40,42 

htbernica. ______ ----- ..... ------ _ _____ __ ___ ------ 80,81 

Httchcockt ... ____ .. __ ........ - -..... .. . _ 45-47, 81, 96 

Jacksom ______ ------ __________ .- ________ 39-42,44,81,96 

laxa _________________ .. __ .. ______ .. __ ...... ___ ----- 42 

mmot ______ . _____________ ----------------------- 80,81 

obtusa ____________ ----------------------------. ... 38 

Roemertana .... _________________ .... ---- _____ . . _ 81 

Rogerqt. ___________ ...... ____ 41, 42, 43-45,53,80,81, 94,% 

Aroostook limestone, reference of. .. .. - _. _. ____ .. 24 

At throsttgma .... ___ .. ____ ---.------ .. -------.... - ____ 68,80 

gractle ----------------- ______ _ --------------- GB 

.\qhland shale and hme•tone, referem e to Ntagaraof .. __________________ -------------- 24 

Atryparetteulart~-------- .. ----------- 23 

A vtcula cf commumq ___ .. _ ...... -.. -.. - 2'~, 23 

B 

Rttley, L W , on New BrunswiCk geology_ .. 

on Pert y fm matton ...... ----------------- __ _ 

Batley and M.>tthew, on age of gramt<>-- ....... 

on felsite~ __ ...... _____ -------.. ---. --

11 

-- 1.>, 87 

20 

28 

rocks named by .. _ .............. -. -- 2-5 

Balb Mtlls, fo••tb collected neat ...... - 21 

Bar H<>rbor, rock~ at and near .. ----..... 29,32 

Baunophyton, gen nov _____________ ------- . M-6R,~,84 

obscut urn___ _ ____ ------ - ---------- 68,8l 

perrtanum _ ___________ _ b7,6S, 74,78,98 

Rtchardsom.. ___ .. _____ 05-68,76,98 

Ball'andema Stm_ .. ____ .... ... .. 4!1-50,81 

Dn•lmnum .. __ . ___ .......... __ _ ' 50 

perriana ___ _____ _ 

Pag<• 

Becraft fosstl•, occurt•ence of _________ .... _ _ _ __ __ .!2 

Bergerta .. ______ ----- _ .. __ _____ .. ____ .. _______ .. __ _ 73 

SP--------------- ------- --------------- 70 

BeyrtchtaHp -------------- ------------- _ 22,24,?.6 

Btr< h Pom t, rocks at .. _ __ __ __ __ ___ .. . __ ;?:; 

Bolita near B.Ularket.____ __ ____ ______ ___ ___ __ 26 

Bo<ton Koctety of Natural Ht~tory, acknowledgmentsto______ --------- .. Bothrodendron .... __ . __ __ __ __ __ ______________ __ 

Boydens Lake, bortng for coal nPar _ 

BrachiOpod~, occurence of ____ __ Brtttsta _________ .. ______________ __ 

Brooks Cove, rock~ at __________ _ 

Brown, Jackson, acknowledgments to_. 

Brown, Jethro, fo,~tl• f'ollected by ___ _ 

species named for~~~----- ________ _ 

Bythocyprts. _ _____ . ________ .. ________ _ 

c 

:JG 

70 71 

8"> 

?.5, 26 

48 

29 

8b 

s;; 

Hll 

!II 

Calamtte•, evtdence of __ _ __ __ __ __ __ _ _ __ H 

~P---------------- - -- -------- ------ -- --- 7tt 

Calymene sp ........ _ __ _____ . __ .. __ . __ __ __ _ Z:l 

Calymmotheca btftda____ __ __________ .. ___ __ ;r. 

Camarotcechta sp ________ .. __ __ __ ____ .... __ _ __ __ >.2, 24 

Cambrian fossils. occurrence ()t _ ---~-- ~-~~ __________ 2'?-24 

Campobello gtoup, charactct and col'lelatton of___ '!b 

Canada, Geologtcal Survey of, Perry beds correlated 

by-------------------------------

Cape Ehzabcth, coalteported at .. 

Carboniferou~ fo...,"nb, occurrence dL 

Cardtocarpon .. _ __ __ __ _ __ _ ____ __ 

Carlow Island, fo"~t1~ trom .. _____ __ l'ockson ______________________ _ 

Uarpohthes Sch1othenn . confiniS _____________ _ 

lunatus. -----------

78,83, ·~ 98 

78,!>~ 

(") \lhqtut -----------•-~ _____ _____ 74,75 

'lpU.rtht\ -------- _____ -------- ___ 74,H~ 

SP---------·----------- ---------- i'l 

Carruther':l, Wilham, onHaho...erite~------- _ b~ 

on Lepld(Jdendron ______ ----~----- ______ _ 71 

on Lcptophlreum ______________ 71-i~ 

C.-tsktll group, Perty formatwn em related wtth ... 16,17 

Caulopterts Lockwoodt. ______________ .... ____ _ __ __ ;q 

Cephalotheca mtrabt!ts .. ________________________ ):\, ~~~ Sl 

Chaleurs, Bay de~, oedtment,, Perry beds cot·related wtth _____________ ----------------- 17 

Chapman ')RTifl~tonP~, a~f.;jO()atlon of__ !4 

10.3 
104 INDEX. 

Page. 

Cheirurus sp ------------ ...... : ................... ____ 2~ 

Chemung group, Perry beds correlated with....... 15 

Chonetes cf. hudsonicus ...... ____ ....... ..... .... .... 22 

Clay, fire, absence of ................. : ___ ..... .. .. .. 87 

Clinton fossils, occurrence of______ _ ___ . _____ 16,21,22 

Coal, absence of _________________ -·-·------------_----- 86,89 

occurrence of, facts bearing on __ . __ . 10, 11, 87--88, 90-92 

relntion of Perry beds and_____ _________ ________ 84 

reported presence of _________ . ______ . _. ____ .. 86, 90-9.~ 

resemblance of black slate and shale to_-------- 90-91 

search for _________________________ -------- ______ 9,85-86 

Cobscook series, character nnd correlation of .....• 16,25 

Conciusions concerning Perry district-------------- 10 

Conocardium? sp_______ _ ___________ -----------·-- 23 

Cordaites Unger_______ _ ____ ---------------- 74-18,81,83 

angnstifolius.... ---------------------- 49,71-18,83 

flexuosus ---------- ______________ ----------- ____ ?1 

(Pychnoph-yll-urn) jlexuosus _____ . _____ -------. ____ 77 

"P--------------------------------------------- Cornulites cf. serpnla1•ius ___________________________ _ 

Correlation of Perry beds ____________ ~--- ___________ _ 

Crepin, Francois, on Lepidodendron----------------

on Palmopteris .... -- -------------------- 011 Psilophyton .... _______ . ______ .... _________ ····--

on Sphenopteris____ _ ________________________ _ 

Cyclonema sp ---------- ___________ ------------

Cyclopteris (Archreopteris) Jacksoni ______________ _ 

(A1·chwopteris) Rogersi __ _ ____ ___ _ _____________ . 

Brou;nlana _______ _ 

Bromnii ___________ "_ -----------

Hn.llinna Giipp _______ ------------ _ 

hibcrnica, discovery of._ .. _______ _ 

Ilitchcockiana ..... ---------- _____ _ 

incerta ------------ ___ -------- ________ ----

Jacksoni. ________ ___ -------- ________ --------

(Phatyphyllum) Brownii .... _ ------------- _______ _ 

Rogasi _____________ -- .. _____ . _____ ... -.------ ---·-

SP----------------------- ----------------··--

Cyclostigma hcrcynicum. ____ ------------------------ Cyperites sp ________ ..... ____________________________ _ 

Cypricarditcs n. sp _____ ------ ____________ - _____ . ____ _ 

Cyrtina? sp __________________ ----··· ------------------ Cyrtocems myrice. _________________________________ _ 

Cyrtolites sp ,-------- ____ ---------------- _____________ _ 

D. 

77 

22 

11-17 

62,80 

48 

47· 

58 

23 

39 

43 

37 

37 

43 

13 

45 

f">B 

39 

38 

43 

38 

71 

70 

23 

24 

23 

23 

Dadoxylon?--------------------·------------ ____ ---··· 1!1,83 

Dalmanella cf. perelegans ________________ . _____ ______ 22 

cf. planiconvexa ____ -------- __ -------- ------ _ _____ 22 

cf. subcarinata ______ --------------.----- _ _ ____ ____ 22 

Dalmanites cf. micrurus --------- ---·-- ______ c_______ 23 

Dawson, J. W. See Dawson, Sir William. 

Dawson, Sir William, fossils collected by._-----____ 36 

on Anarthrocanna ________ ------------------------ 49,81 

on Archmopteris. -·---- ------: ..... ------ _ ----· 40,42-44 

on Arthrostigma ... ----- -------------- c _____ ----·· 63 

on Carpolithes -------------------------- _. -·-- ---- 75,78 

on Cordaites .... ·--·----·---------------------- 77-78,79 

on Cyclopteris ______ ------------------.----- ______ 45,55 

on Dimeripteris ..... -------------------- -----· ____ 56 

on Filicit.es ____ . ----------------------------------- 79 

on fossil fern __________ .------------~-----·-------- 48 

on Lepidostrobus _____ ---------------------------- 65-67 

onLeptophlamm ----------------------------'---· 72 

on Lycopodites ----------·----------------·· 65,66,69,82 

on Perry geology and fossils------------ 13-15,17,35,84 

on Platyphyllum ------- ------------···--------,-- 38,94 

on Psilophyton ..... ---- ---·---- --·--- •... 51,54,57,58-62 

Page. 

Dawson, Sir William, on Ptilophyton _______ -----·-- 68,82 

onRhachiopteris ------------------------- 52,59 

on Sphenopteris--------··-- ___________ 56,5S 

on Sporangites ___________ • -------------------- 76,83 

on Sternbergia.. ____________ ________ 71 

on Stigmaria____________________________ 79. 

Devils Head, granite at.___________________________ 19 

Devonian, upper, Perry beds assigned to .. _______ 14-l~ 

Devonian ago, fossils of, occurrence of________ 22-2S 

rocks of, character and occurrence of.__________ 10 

Dimeripteris Sehmalhausen ______________ . .46-47, 53-56,81 

faseiculata____ ---------·------------ 55,57,81 

gracilis----_ . _____________ ---------- 56-57 

incerta ~.----- ______ ______ ~----- 03-5H,63,81,91~ 

recurva______ -------------------- 56-51,81,94 

Drepanophycus spinmformis ______ ____ ______ ____ ____ 63 

Drill core, evidence from---·------------------------ 86,88 

Dunlap, Governor, desir0 of. __ ____________ 85 

Dnn, W. S., on Pecopteris______ _ __ .. ______ ___ ____ 68 

E. 

Eastport, fossils neal'_____________ __ .. ____ ____ ____ 27 

Eastport Water Works Company, coal pocket reported by--------------------------------- 86 

Economic geology. See Geology, economic. 

Ells, R..W., on New Brunswick geology____________ 15 

Equisetum columnarc ____________ -----· _ _ ____ _______ _ 13 

Etheridge, Robert, on Leptophlreum __ . _____ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 73 

Ettingshausen, C. von, on Sphenopteris condrusorttm -------------------------------------- 52 

Evans, George F., acknowledgments to________ 3S 

Exploration, further, uselessness of.____________ 89 

F. 

Faults and joints, occurrence of ________ ---------- 10,33-34 

Feistmantel, Ottakar, on Leptophlceum__________ 72 

Felsite, occurrence of------ _____________ ---·-_______ 2H 

Fiiicitcsincertm sedis ------ ________________ _-_________ 79 

Fire clay, absence of ___________ ··---__________________ 87 

Fish River, beds on, age of. ___________________ ·_______ 92 

coal reported on __________________________________ 91-92 

Fossils, collections of. ___________________ _. _________ 21-27, 3S 

evidence from., .... ------------------------------ 88 

occurrence of .. ----- ___ -···- __________ 13-14,21-25,35-36 

·plates showing ..... ----_ ..... _--------- 94, 96, 98,100,102 

Fossil species, descriptions of ________________________ 36-84 

Frost Cove, rocks near------------------------------- 31 

Fucacem ___________ ----------------- ______ ______ ______ 47 

Fncus Nessigii ___ : _ ... · .. ____ ...... ______________ --·--- 47 

Fundy, Bay of, rocks of, Perry beds correlated with. 17 

G. 

Genoa River, fossils from--···----------------------- 68 

Geology, charactet· of . --------- _. ________ 18-35,1l:hl4,87--S9 

Geology, economic, of Perry basin __________________ 85-89 

Geologic map of Perry basin. ____________ ---· ________ ' 18 

Geologic structure of Perry formation _____________ 32-434 

Gesner,Abraham,mention of ________ ------------ ___ : 12 

Gilkinet, Alfred, on Palmopteris. _ .. ____ . ___________ . 43 

on. Sphenopteris-------·----------------·---------- 47,m 

Gin Cove, rocks at ...... ---- ______ --------------______ 30 

G Ieason, Jesse q., drill core furnished by. ___ ._._ .. _ 86 

Glenson Cove, faults near. _______ -------------------- 34 

fossils from near __________________ -----------~---- 3S 

rocks near----------------- ____________________ 27,30,3-2 

Goppert, H. R., on Anarthrocanna .... -------------- 49 

on Drepanophycus________________________________ 63 

on Haliserites. ---- .... -------------- _ ..... -------- 62 
INDEX. 105 

Page. 

Gramte, occurrence, age, and Ghat acter of . ___ -- _-- 19-20 

Graptolite shale, 1 eference to Ntagara of__________ 24 

Greenfield, coal reported at _______ --------------- __ \J0--91 

Gregory,H E,onMamegeology___________________ 2! 

Gulf fosstl&, occurrenGe of------------_-----________ Z2 

H 

RahseutesDoc,hemanus ------------ ------ --------- 47,62 

H.tmtlton fossJI,, occurrence of. __ --------------- __ 24 

H.u t.t, C F , on Perry and New BrunswiCk geology_ 15 

Haye,, C W .letteroftransmtttal by_______________ I 

Helderberg tosS!!~, occurrence of___ _ ___________ 16, 2Z, 23 

Hoterangmm _____ ------------ __ _ ------ __________ 44,53 

Hilclnno Pomt, rock<, near ___ ------------ _______ 29 

H1ll, --,search for Goal by _________ ------------ 8.J 

Hitchcock, 0 H, fo&stls collected by--------________ Wi 

on Perty geology--------- ______ ------------ ______ 13-H 

Hostmclb_________ _ __ ------------ --------------- 6a 

hostmen&ts ________ ------ ____ ------------------- 60,82 

Hovey, E 0, acknowledgments to _____ ------ ___ 00,45-46 

Rymenophyllltes sp _____________ ------------ __ 79 

llyohthes'l' -------- --- ------------ ----------- 23 

I 

Int10duct10n ... ___________________ -----------------

Inb n~tve rocks, Intrusion of~_ 

J 

9-10 

10 

.Jackson, U T ~ fo';'3Il n.tmed for _____ ------------ 7'b 

on geology of W a~hmgton County--________ 11-13 

onPnlpitRock. _________________ ----- ____ 2~ 

report of--------------------------------------- s; 

,Jac,kson, R T acknowlt>dgments to_____________ :ltl,53 

Johnson, C W ,acknowledgments to_____________ B6 

Jomts aml faults, occunence of _________________ 10,.33-:{-1 

K 

Kidston, Robert, on Calymmothec,a ----------- __ _ 

on Leptophlreum ---------------- _______________ _ 

K1lt01can be<h, Peny bed' correlated with--------

Kmdle,E l\I acknowledgmentsto ___ --------- __ _ 

KreJCI, J, on Protolepidodendron _________________ _ 

L 

55 

73 

13 

21-23 

50 

Laurentian gramte, occurrenc,e of._-----_______ 20 

LaY.t..,, character ..tnd occurrence of ____________ W 27-28 

Pen y and S1lurmn, compar!'>on oL __________ .{0-31, dZ 

Legi&lature, nonactwn of ____________ ------ _____ 9 

Leighton~ Cove, fossils collected at______ ___ __ 21,22 

Lenne bed&, specimen from. ______ --------- __ 52 

Leperd1t1a<f alta ___ --------- ________ -------- 26 

Lepidocyst"Lesquereux ------- ________________ H-7a 

fraxtmformts __________________ --- _ 75 

mqUisttu'-- ---------- ______ ______ __ 7ii-7tl,83,98 

&thqua___ _____ _ ___ _ ____ ______ H-7o,76,82--83 

Lepidodendron----------- ----------------------- 6:\,92 

australc ______ ______ __ ---- ----- 7'3 

gasptanunL ____ ------ ________ -------- 62,6.\741 79-80 

nothum _ _____ _ ___ ------------ ______ 71 

Leptdophlow' -------- ____ _ _ __ TI,74 

Lepidophytcs _____ ------ ____ _ 71 

!Jeptdostrobus Brongmart __ _ ___________ 7-J-7-l,lj 

globosns ... ------------ ____________ 72, 73-7-!,82,102 

Rzchardsont_____________ __ __ ------- 65,61,9R 

SP------------ ---------- -----

Lei>reau coal bed~, age and character 

relatwns of Pert y fol ma twn ami 

Lephena rhombOidah& ________ _ 

- -------- - 65 of._______ 84 

--------- - 84 

Page 

Leptophlooum Dawson--------------------- b9-7a,7-i,82,8± 

au,trale._________ -------------------- 82 

nothum ---------- _ ---- -------- ---------- rhombtcum ______ _ 

LesquerPux, on Archoooptells _______ _ ________ __ 42,45 

onLeptdoc,ystts ______________________ ------- 75 

on Sphenopteris___ ____ ___________ 46 

Lmgulacf hgea_______ _ _____ ------------------ 2i 

sp______________________ _ __________________ 20,22,e6 

Ltteratmc, review of____ __ ------------------ _ 11-17 

Little Rtver, boung for coal neat--------- _________ 85,86 

fossils from ______ ___ __ __ ___ ______ ____ __ 2b,a:J,36,42 

Loc,kport llmc•tune, fosstls referred to______ 26 

Lowei Helderberg See Helderbetg 

Loxonema cf FttGhl'--------- ____ _______ ______ _ ___ 23 

Ludwtg, Rudolph von, fossil found by___________ 53 

LycopodttesBrogmatt. _________________________ --- m 69 

comosus ---------------------- -------------- H~ 8!.,8B 

1\Illlen .. _____ ------- -------------------------- 62 

Rzdtt.udSOJU _______ _____________ -------------- 65 

sp_____________ ----- ----- --- -------- -- 69 

]If 

l\IcOoy, Fredcllc,k, on Leptdodenuron australe _____ 73 

MachiaS sandstone, locatiOn of.______________ 32 

Madud, coal repm ted at_ _________ ______ ___ ~2 

Mame, appropr1.1t10n by------------ __ _____ q 

"e:11ch for coalln _________________________ 9, 11-1~. 90-92 

:1\-In.Hie Survey CoinmlS510ll. a1d 01 ------- ______ _ !l.lO 

l\Ianhusfauna,posttiOnof --------- ----------- 26 

J\Iap, geologi<>, of Perry ba'>m___ _ ___ 18 

Marcellus shale, fosstl from________________ 50 

Ma<.,carene serie&, Identity of Moo&eisland ser1e~:1nd 2:J 

locks as•IgnPd to _____________ -------- ____ 25,28 

l\Iatthcw, G F , on Port y and New Br un,wwk geology----------------- -------- ------- --- 15 

26 

80 

23 

l\Iedma fauna, posttwn ot ____________ _ 

Megaphyton•------------------ _____ _ 

Mofuolopsi•• cf undu!ostr1ata ________ _ 

SP------------------------------ ------

Modiomorpha cf subalata v•tr. ___________ _ 

Monomerella Gf ovata va1, l:1ta. _________ _ 

------ 20,22 

2! 

---- 22,23 

Moose Island, fo&&Ilsfrom __________ ----------- n,24 2U 1ocksnear ___________ ------ ____ ____ ____ ______ _ _ ____ 27 

Mouse Island Black shales, charader and corwl.ttiOnof._________________________ _______ 11l 

Moo&e Island seriC!:i, fossils ftom_____ _ ___ __ _____ 2«,27 

Identity of Masc,atene series and ------ _____ 2fi 

MurLht:::.onla sp --------------------------------- ______ !4 

Museum of Compai.ttiVe Zoology,Harvatd University, acknowledgments to------------- a6 

11-Iyra, •haft at _______ --------------- ______ ------__ ~U 

N 

Nathorst on Atchmopteus ______ _ 

on Bergerta __________________ _ 

on Cephalotheca _____________ _ 

onDcvomanfossib __________ _ 

41,4~ 

73 

5,j 

on Sphenoptertdmm .. ______ ___ ----------------

J9,63,81 

57 

~0 

13 

Nerapisgramte, correlatiOn of___ ---------- ___ _ 

Newbeny, J S, on Peuy fossils __ _ 

New red sandstone, correlatiOn of __ 

Ntagarafmmatwn, fossils of--------

---- ----- -- 11 Hl 

--- 16,21-23,26 

Nucula• sp ------------ __ - ___ -- ____ ------ __ ----- 22,2:{ 

Nyassa subalata ______ __ _ __ ------ __ _ 24 

0 

Otl absence of ________ -----------

OncoLP.tascf ovotde'3 -------- __________________ _ 

89 

1& 
106 INDEX 

Page. Page. 

Orange Bay, fossils collected at ..... _____ ------. _____ 21,22 Potonh\, H.; fossil found by __ .. ___ .. ___ .... _____ . 5B 

Orbiculoidea sp. ________ . ________ -------- ________ . ... 2"2 on Cyclostigma--------------------------- 71 

Ordovician fossils, o"currence of . _. __ .. ___ ... __ ... __ 2"2--2B Pres! on Bergeria ........ __ .......... __ .. _ ..... _ 70 

Orthis sp ____ ------ ____ . _______ . _____ ------ ______ ------ ~4 Princess Cove, fossils collected at ............. _. 21 

Orthonota? sp. ____ ...... ______________________ . ___ ____ 22 Prretussp __________________________ ----··---·-------- 23 

Otidophyton, gen. nov __________________ ---------- H-48,81 Protolepidodendron Duslianum _. _____ ...... ___ .... _ 50 

hymenophy!loides, n. sp ___________________ H-48, 79,94 Psiloconchoid ..... ____ ...... _______ .... _____ __________ 26 

P. Psilophyton Dawson ........ ___ . ___ ... 36,47,51-M, oS-64,82 

alcicorne................ ------------------- 64,82,100 

Pnlrnopteris (f) Rrownii .. _______ .. ______ ..... .. 38 cf. princeps________ -iiS-63,100,10B 

Halliana ______ . _____ ............ ____ ------ .. 45,46 condrusorum _ .. _ .. ___ ........ _ -17 

hibernica .... _____ .. _________ .. ____ ____ ____ 48 elegans ___ ·_ .. ,... _ ..... ii4,80 

Roe1nerlann. ______________________________________ 43-44 glabrum_______________________ _ _________ ii4,80 

Rogersi _________ ..... ____ _ _____ . _____ _ _____ _ _____ 43 grandis. "'----- ______ ---- _ _ _ ___ ------ ________ 5H,60,62 · 

Palooostachya Weiss _____________ ...... ------ ________ G4-6o princeps------------------------ 54, no, fl8, 80,82, 91-92,100 

? sp ____ ............ ----------------- ______ (14-Gii, 82,83,98 var. ornatum ------------------------------ 61,6~ 

Paleontology of Perry basin ............... _____ ..... 35-84 robustius .. ____ ...... __ . ___ .......... _ _____ 54,62 

Pa!eozuk age, fossils of, occurrence of .............. 2"2--24 Pterichthys beds, Perry beds correlated with...... 15 

rocksof,ageandoccurrenceof ...... ___________ 10-11 Ptm·ophyllmn........... ------------------- Hi 

Passamaquoddy Bay, rocks at-----------------...... 30 Ptilophyton Thompsoni __ .... _ ... _ .. __ . _ ... _ .. _____ . _ 68, 82 

Pecopteris (?)obscura -------------------------------- 68 Pulpit Rock, location of........ ___________ ----···- 29 

Pembroke, rocks at _____________________ ··--------____ 25 R. 

Penhallow, D.P., acknowledgments to. __________ 36,61,62 

on Psilophyton ...... ______ ---------- ______ __ __ ____ 60 

Pennamaquan River, rocks along .... ________ -------- 25 

Penobscot, coal reportedat__________________________ 92 

Perry, fossils from near ______________________ ......... 26,85 

prospecting for coal at. ________________ ..... _____ 85 

rocks at and near ___________________ ........... ~7,28,29 

Perry basin, boringin................................ 13 

fossils found in .... ______ ............ ______________ 13-14 

Recent fossils, occurrence of __ ... __ _ ... ___ .. _____ . _. 2'2-24 

Receptaculites infundibuliformis Eaton ......... ____ 2".3 

Reconnaissance, extent and character of_:._ .. __ 18-19 

Red Beach, rocks at ____________ ...... ________________ 19,21 

Renault and Zeiller, on Zygopteris ...... ____ . 48 

Reynolds Cove, fossils collected at ........ _ .. _ 21 

Rhachiopteris Dawson ... _ _ ____ .. ____ .. _____ .... o0-ii3 

cyclopteroides _ .... ____ . _ ... _ ..... ____ . _______ .... 79 

geologic map of. __________ ------------------______ 18 geology of. _______ : ________________________________ 87-89 

_ investigation of, preliminaries to ...... ____ ...... 9-10 

Perry formation, age of ............ ______ 10,13,80,83-84,88 

areas of, determination of. ..... _ ......... ____ .... 18 

changes since deposition of ......... _ .. __ .... lO,:U--32 

character of ......................... ____ .... 10,17,29--34 

color of. ............... ---------------------------- 29--30 

pinnata _________________ ··-----------··--····· o0-;;2,81 

var. angustipin-p.a __________________________ li0,56,98 

punctat.-. ------·······-- ----------------------- 52-53,81 

tenuistriata ------------ ___________ ___________ _ 59 

Rlzacophyll1.tm Brownii ______ ____________ _______ _ 3S 

truncatum .................... --------------- 88 

Rhynchonelloid ................ ____ . ______ _______ 26 

Rhynchotrema formosum _ ....... ___ . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 

conglomerate member of, characte1· and occurrence of.------ ....... _____ .......... 28-30,32 

contacts of----·-·-······-------------------------- :?i'J-26 

Hhyolite, occurrence of ...... _____ ..... _____ . ________ 27,28 

Richardson, -, fossils collected by _ .... __ . ___ ... _... 35 

Robbinston, rocks at and near----------_ ......... 19,28,29 

correlation of._ ........... _ .. ___ .... _______ . 10,13--17,88 

exposuresof. ____________ .. ____ ...... ______ 18 

Rochester shale, fossils referred to .... ____ ...... _ 26 

Rogers, \V. B., on Pennsylvania geology ...... _.__ 3\J 

geologic interest in ........... ______________ ...... 11 

geologic relations of .... _____ ..... ____ .. ____ . _____ 10-11 

geologic structure of ...... _ ..................... _ 3'2-34 

on Perry fossils .... ____ --------. _____ ... ____ ... 13 

Rogers brothers, fossils collected by.............. 35 

Rogers Island, fossils c,ollected at . . 21 

lava member (lower) of, occurrence and char- s. acter of ..................... ___ ... ______ 28,30-32 St. Andrews, rocks at-------------- _____________ 29 

lava member (upper) of, occurrence and ehar St. Andrews Peninsula, rocks at____ ....... _______ 30,32 

acter of. ................ . St. Croix River, fossils from _____ . 26 

occurrence of_--~- ____________ _ rocks at.----------------- ...... ________ .... 19, 29-:lO 

relation of coal beds and ............. _____ _ 84 St. Helens beds, association of ... _. _____ ........ _ . _. __ _ N 

resemblances of__________________________________ 17 St. John series, Perry beds correlated with.. 14 

sandstone member of, occurrence anrl character Salter,J. W.,onLycopodites........................ 62 

of----------------------------- 28,32 Sandstones, age and correlation of _ ............. _. 11-13 

snbdivisionsof............ ------------ 28 SargassumDechenianum ------------------ .......... 47 

Piedbamf, F., on Sphenopteris........... ±7 Schenck,-, on Leptophlceum ..... __________ .... .... 71 

PlatyphyllumDawson ------------------ ----------- :Ji-39 Schmalhausen, J., on Dimeripteris ______ ...... ...... 56 

Brownianum. _____ ...... __ ... ____ 37-31l,79,80,9/, on Sphenopteris .......... ------------...... 46 

BJ"O'W'nii _______ ---------------- -------------·-- 38 Schuchcrt, Charles, on Maine foRSils ......... _. ___ . _ 24-26 

Rogersi. ...... -------------- .................. 39,80 Sewards Neck, fossils collected at ___________________ 21,28 

truncatum ----------------------------------- 80 Shackford Head, fossils collected at ....... _ ..... __ .. 21,24 

Pleasant Point, fossils from.................. 27 Shale, black, fossils in ...... _ ..... _ ..... __ .... _ ....... 91-9"2 

Pocono series, Perry beds correlated with ..... _____ 1:1 resemblance of coal and ...................... ____ 91-9"2 

Portland Society of Natural History, acknowledg- Shaler, N. 8., on age of granite ...... ______ ...... ____ 20 

ments to.__________________________________ :16 on geology of Cobscook Bay district ....... ______ 15--16 
INDEX. 107 

Page 

Sha!et•, N S, on Moose Island serie• ---------------- 26 on Petry basm ____________________________ 17,25-26,87 

on Silurian rock~----------_________ __ _ _____ _ _ ____ 21 

Sheridan sandstone, refei ence of___________ 24 

&t!urtan age fossils of_ ______________________________ 21~27 

Iocks of, occurrence of _____________________ 10,21,25-27 

SippBay rocksatheadof__________________ ___ 2.'i 

Slate&, occmrence of_ _______ ------------______ 21 

Slate,, black, resemblance of coal and ______________ 90-92 

Smith, G 0, appendix on "coal mother locahtw• 

m Mame" by--------------------------- _ 00-92 

<h.tpter on de,crtpttve geology by____________ 18-35 

Lhapter,on economic geology by _________________ 85-RO 

det.ul of, and p.trt of report prepared by_______ 9--10 

Smith anrl White, fo"1b found by ______ ------ _ _____ 26 

Solm'<-L~tnbach, Count H zu, on fern skeleton______ 60 

onLeptophlooum ____________________ . --------- 71-72 

on P,tlophyton_____________ ---------------- 54,63 

on Sphenopteris __ __ __ __ _ __ __ __ __ __ -- __ __ __ __ _ ;)2 

&pecw;, fo,.,l, descnptwns of.. --------------------- 00-84 

Sphenopterulmm Sch1mpe1 _ __ __ --------- _ 58,57 

sp __________ ______________ ___ --------------- 58,81 

Sphenopteri'i Stern berg__ __ _____________ 46, o 7-oS 

affims __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ ____ __ __ __ __ __ 81 

condrusotum _______ _ __ ---------------- 47,52,1:H 

fthcula_______________ __ _____________ o7-ii8,81,83 

ftacmda____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ______ ___ __ __________ 58,81 

ftexths .. __ _ __ __ __ __ __ _ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ __ _____ 57, HI 

Hztchcock1. ........................ ______ 42,45,46,47 

HzfcltLoCklana. _ ---------- -------- ___ _______ 45 

Lebedewi _______ --------------- ----------------- 57 

ffiOidVlLdt--- __ ------------------------------------ 81 

Jf'Gnr1'a ___ ---------- ------ ---------------------- ~ 

ve>pertm.> __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ 58 

sp___ __ ---------------------------------------- 56 

Spirifer c•f octocu,tatus .. ____ __ __ __ __ ____ __ ____ __ ____ 23 

cf perlamPllo'u~ ---~---------------------- _ ____ 23 

'sp ________ ___ ------------------------- 24 

&ptrorbtssp _____________ ---------------------------- 2'2 

Sporang1tes D~tw,on __ __ ____ __ ____ ____ __ __ ____ __ ____ 76 

huronen"~ ______________ ------.-----.----- ____ ____ 76 

Jacksom______ ------------------------ 75,76,83,102 

&porochnus KteJLI ___________ ----------- ------ ______ ;)8,81 

S<juaw Lake hme•tone, assoc1at10ns of______________ 24 

Sternberg .asp ____________________ -------. ------ ______ 69,71 

Sttgmanaptt81lln ------------------------------ ___ b9-70, 72 

sp __________ -------------------------- ------------ 6~ 

stropheodonta cf BecklL ... -- --------------

cf varistrmta _______ --------------- ______ _ planulata __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ __ _ __ 

'sp ---------- -------------------------- ----- ~tl uctme, geologic, of PetTY formatiOn _____ __ 

Stut, Dtonys, on Battandetna __________ _ 

onHostlnella ______ ______ -~ ______ _ 

on Rp01 ochnus __ __ __ __ _ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ 

Syenite,occurtenceof_ __ _______ _ 

T 

2'2 

22 

22 

qz-M 

;;o 

b0,63 

58 

20 

TmmocradaD White________ ______________________ 37 

palmata ___________________________________ 37,&0,94 

Tellmomya n sp __ _ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ __ __ __ __ _ 23 

Tentacuhtes ---------- _ ------------------------- ___ 26 elongatus ________________________________________ 2'2, 23 

Trap tack, uccunence of ____ --------- -------------- 20 

Tra•k, W F, boung by _______________ : ______ 86,88-~~ 

Tremato•ptra cf ~Implex _______________________ 22 2a 

Ttenton fo~~Ils, occutrenceof_ _____ _____ ------ __ _ _ 22 

Tua"IL age, 1 ocks 1 eferred to .. __ __ __ __ __ ____ __ __ Ja 

Trnlwnuuutessp __________ ------------ -------------- 57 ftl tcltla __ _____ ---- __ __ _ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 57 

u 

Uncmulu& mutabths ______________________________ __ 

Undetclay, absence of__------------- ___________ __ 

Unger, Franz, on fosst] __________ _': _________ _ 

v 

Vaffier, A, on Alcteornopteti'i. _ 

Volcamsm, presence of. ____ _ 

w 

l2 

87 

.;7,81 

55 

R7-88 

Wat'3RW fo'3sils, oc><...ntren<...e of____ _ ___ ____ ____ ____ 22 

Washmgton County, petitiOn by re~IdentB of 9 

WestPembroke,fos~Il~ found at_____________ 26 

White, David, chapter on paleontology by_ :15-84 

detail of, and part of report prepared by Q-10 

on Br1ttsm __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ __ _ __ 48 

review of hte1 atm e by______________ __ _________ Jl-17 

WhiteandSmtth, fosSil<; found by------------------ 26 

Wh1teaves1a sp , new __ ______ ________ __ ____ _____ __ ____ 26 

Whttmgs Bay. fossils collected at __________________ 21,22 

Wllllams, H S , determmattons of fossils bv 21-24 26-27 

on Moose Island series .. ________________ :_:: _ __ _ ' 2& 

z Zaphtenttssp _____________ -------------------------- 22 

Jlygopteris ______ ------ __ ____ __ ____ _ ____ ____ __ _____ __ __ 4b 

0 

PUBLICATIONS OF UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

[ProfessiOnal Paper No 35] 

The serml pubhcatwns of the Umterl States Geological Survey t·ons1st of (1) Annual Reports, (2) 

Monographs, (3) Professional Papers, (4) Bulletms, (5) Mineral Resources, (6) Water-Supply and 

Irngatwn Papers, (7) Topographic Atlas ot the Umted StateH-foltos and separate sheets thereot, (!l) 

Oeolog1c Atlas of the Umted States-fohos thereof 'J'he classes numbered 2, 7, and 8 are sold at coAt 

of publicatwn, the others are d1str1buted free. A circular giving l'Omplete hsts may be had un 

apphcatlon. "" 

The Pwfesswnal Papers, Bulletms, and '.Vater-Supply Papers treat of a vanety of subJects, and the 

total number 1osued IS large They have therefore been clafoslfied mto the followmg Aenes A, Economic geology, B, DescnptlVe geology, C, Rystemahc geology and paleontology, D, Petrography and 

mmeralogy, E, Chemistry and phystes; F, Geography, G, l\'itscellaneOUI:l, H, Forestry, I, Irrigation, 

J, \Vater storage, K, Pumpmg water, L, Quahty of water, M, General hydrographtc mveHtlgationh, N, \Vater power; 0, Undergtound waterH, P, Hydrographic progrehA reports Thts papet IS 

the torty-mnth m Senes B and the seventieth m Henes C, the complete ltsts of wh1ch follow 

(PP=Profes~wnal Paper, B=Bulletm, WS=\Vatet-Supply Paper) 

8ERIES B, DEi:lCRIPTIVE GEOLOGY 

B 2> Obse" atwn' on the Junctwn between the Eastern gand•tone and the Keweenaw seneg on Keweenaw Pomt, Lake 

Supenor, by R D Irvmg and T C Ch.>mberlm 18Rfi 12.t pp, 17 pl' (Out of stock) 

B 33 Notes on geology of northern Callfornm, by J i:l Diller 1886 23 pp (Out of stock ) 

B 39 The upper bearheg and <lelt.>s of GlaCJal Lake Agas"z, b~ Warren Uph11m 1887 84 pp , 1 pl (Out of stock ) 

B 40 Changeg m river courseg In Washmgton 'l'Prntory due to glaciatwn, b~ Bailey Will" 1R87 10 pp, 4 pis (Out of 

'tock) 

B 4) The present conchtwn of knowledge of the geology of Texa,, by R T Hill 1887 Q4 pp (Out of 'tock) 

B 53 The geology of Nantucket, by N ~ Shaler 1R89 55 pp, 10 pis (Out of 'lock ) 

B 57 A geologiCal reconnaissance m bouthwestern Kansas, by Robert Hav 18nO 49 pp , 2 pig 

B 58 The glllCIIll boun<l11ry m western Pennsylvanm, Ohw, Kentucky, Indiana, and IllmOis, by G F Wnght, With mtro-

<luctiOn by T f1, Chamber 1m 1S90 112 pp, S pis (Ont of stock ) 

B 67 The relatiOn' of the traps of the Newark system m the New Jersey regwn, by N II Darton 1b90 82 PI> (Out of 

stock) 

B 104 Glacmtwn of the Yellowstone Valle~ north of the Park, by W H Weed 1893 41 pp, 4 pis 

B lOS A geologmtl reconna"'miCe m central Washmgton, by I C Ru'Bell 1893 lOS pp , 12 pis (Out of stock ) 

B 119 A geologiclil reconnmwtnce m northwestern W)ornmg, by G H Eldr1dge 1S94 72 pp, 4 pi' 

B 137 The geology of the ForL Riley :t.hhtary Reservation and vicimt~, Kansas, by Robert Hay 1R96 3~ pp , 8 pis 

B 144 The mommes of the MI"oun Cote•w and their attendant depo"t', by .T E Todd 1896 7l pp, 21 pis 

B ln8 The monunes of southeflstern 8outh Dakota and then attendant depu>Its, by J E Toll<l 1899 171 pp , 27 pis 

B 159 The geology ot eastern Berkshire County, Ma.sachu,Ptts, by B K Emerson 189\1 139 pp , g pi' 

B 165 ContnbutiOns to the geology of Mame, by H S Wilh11mS and H E Gregory 1900 212 pp , 14 pi• 

WS 70 Geology and water rc,ources of the Patrick aml Goshen Hole quadrangles m eastern Wyommg ltn<l wefotern 

.1\ebrask>L, by G I Arl11m• 1902 50 pp , 11 pls 

B 199 Geology and water regoune• of the Snake RIVer Plan" of Idaho, by I C Russell 1902 192 pp, 2S pis 

PP 1 Prehmmary report on the Ketchikan mmmg distnct, Aht'ka, With an mtroductory "ketch of the geology of •outheastern Aht,ka, by A H Brooks 1902 120 pp , 2 pi' 

PP 2 RPconnlll'SHnce of the north\\ estern portwn of Seward Pcnm,ula, Alaska, by A J Col her 1902 70 pp, 11 pi' 

PP 3 Geology an<! petrogmphy of Crater Lake Natwnal Park, by J S Diller and H n Patton 1902 167 pp, 19 pis 

PP 10 Re~onnais.ance from Fort Hamlm to Kot7ebue Sounrl, Ala,ka, by \lay of Dall, Kanuti, Allen, and Kowak nvc" 

by W C ~fendenhall 1902 68 pp , 10 pl• 

PP 11 Clays ot the Umted States ca.t of the llh"I"Ippi River, by Hemnch Ries 1903 298 pp , 9 pi• 

PP 12 Geology of the Globe copper <llstnct, Anzona, by 1<' L Ramome 1903 lb8 pp , 27 pis 

PP 13 Dmmage mo<!Ihcatwns m '<lllthellBtern OhiO and adJacent pMt' ot West VIrgmia and Kentucky, by w G Tight 

1903 111 pp, 17 pis 

B 208. De,cnptlve geology of Neva<lu ,outh of the fortieth paral.lel und RdJacent portwns of Cahfornm, by J E Spurr 

1903 229 pp '8 pi• 
li PUBLIC.ATIONS OF UNITED STATES GEOLOGfC.AL SURVF.Y. 

B ~09. Geology of Ascutney Mountain, Vermont, by IL A. Duly. 1903. 122 pp., ·2 pls. . 

WS 78 Preliminary report on artesian basins in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon, by I. C. Russell. 1903. 51 

pp., 2 pls. 

PP 15 . .1\Iineml resources of the Mount Wmngell district, Alaska, by W. C. Mendenhall and F. C. Schrader. 1903. 71 pp., 

10 pls. 

PP 17. Preliminary report on the geology and w:1tcr resources of Nebraska west of the one hundred and third meridian, 

by N. H. Darton. 1903. 69 pp., 43 pis . 

.B 217. Notes on the geology of southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon, by I. C. Russell. 190~. 83 pp., 18 pls. 

B 219. The ore deposit• of Tonopah, Nevada (preliminary report), by J. E. Spurr. 1903. 31 pp., 1 pl. 

I'P 20. A reconnaissance in northern Alaska inl901, by F. C. Schrader. 1904. 139 pp., 16 pis. 

I'P 21. The geology and ore deposits of the Bisbee quadrangle, Arizona, by F. L. Ransome. 1904. 168 pp., 29 pis. 

·ws 90. Geology nnd water resources of part of the lower James River Valley, South Dakota, by J. E. Todd and C . .1\I. Hall. 

1904. 47 pp., 23 pis. 

PP 25. The copper deposits of the .Encampment district, Wyoming, by A. C. Spencer. 1901. 107 pp., 2 pis. 

PP 26. Economic resources of northern Black Hills, by J.D. In·ing, with chapters by s·. F. Emmons and T. A. Jaggltf, jr. 

1904. 222 pp., 20 pis. 

PP 27. Geological reconnaissance across the Bitterroot Range and the Clearwater Mountains in 1\Iontana and Idaho, by 

·wa!demar Lindgren. 1904. 123 pp., 15 pis. · · 

PP 31. Prclimin'lry report on the geology of the Arbuckle and WichitA. mountains in Indian Territory and Okl!liwma, by 

J. A. Tali; with an appendix on reported C're deposits in the Wichita Mountains, by H. 1<'. Bain. 1904. 97 pp., 8 plo. 

B 235. A geo!ogic11l reconnaissance across the Cascade Range near the forty·ninth parallel, by G. 0. Smith and F. C. Calkins. 

190<1. 103 pp., 4 pis. 

R 236. The Porcupine placer district, Alaska, by C. W. Wright. 1904. 35 pp., 10 pls. 

B 237. Petrogruphy and geology of the igneous rocks of the Highwood Mountains, Montana, by L. V. Pirssou. 1904. 208 

pp., 7 pis. 

B 238. Economic geology of the lola quadrangle, Kansas, by G. I. Adams, Erasmus Haworth, and W. R. Crane. 1904. 88 

pp., 11 pl,, 

PP 32. Preliminary report on the geology nnd undergmunr! water resources of the central Great Plains, by N. H. Darton. 

1904. - pp,, 72 pis. 

WS 110. Contributions to the hydrology of eastern United States, 1904; .1\L L. Fuller, geologist in charge. 1905. - pp., 5 pls. 

B 242. Geology of the Hudson Valley between the Hoosib and the Kinderhook, by T. Nelson Dale. 1904. 63 pp., 3 pis. 

PP 34. The Delavan lobe of the Lake Michigan Glacier of the Wisconsin stage of glaciation and associated phenomena, by 

W. C. Alden. 1904. 106 pp., 15 pls. 

PP 35. The geology of the Perry basin in southeastern Maine, b)' G. 0. Smith and David White. 1905. 107 pp., 6 pis. 

SERIES C, SYSTEMATIC GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY. 

B 3 .. Fossil faunas of Upper Devonian, along the meridian 76° 30', from Tompkins County, New York, to Bradford County, 

Pennsylvania, by II. S. Williams. 1884. 36 pp. (Out of stock.) 

.B 4. Mesozoic fossils, by C. A. White. 1884. 36 pp., 9 pls. (Out of stock.) 

.B 10. Cum brian faunas of North America; preliminary studies, by C. D. Walcott. 1884. 74 pp., 10 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 1 i. Quaternary and recent Mollusca of the Great Basin, with descriptions of new forms, by R. Ellsworth Call. Intro· 

duced by a sketch of the Quaternary lakes of the Great BRsin, by G. K. Gilbert. 1881. 66 pp., 6·pls. 

R 15. Mesozoic and Cenozoic paleontology of California, by C. A. White. 1885. 33 pp. (Out of stock.) 

B 16. Higher Devnniun faunas of Ontario County, New York, by J. ]If. Clarke. 1885. 86 pp., 3 pls. 

B 18 . .1\Iarine Eocmic, fresh-water Miocene, and other fossil .1\Iollnsca of western North Americlt, by C. A. White. 1885. 26 

pp., 3 pls. 

B 19. Notes on the stratigraphy of California, by G F . .Becker. 1885. 28 pp. (Out of stock.) 

B 22. New Crelltccous fossils from California, by C. A. White. 1885. 25 pp., 5 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 24. List of rnnrine .l\Iollnsca, comprising· the Quaternary fossils and Recent forms from American localities between 

Cape H~tteras and C11pe Roque, including the Bermudas, by W. H. Dall. 1885. 336 pp . 

.B 29. Fresh·water invertebrates of the North American Jurassic, by C. A. White. 41 pp., 4 pis. 

B 30. Second contribution· to the studies on the Cambrian faunas of North America, by C. D. Walcott. 1886. 369 pp., 3.1 

pls. (Out of stock.) 

B 31. Systematic review of our present knowledge of fossil insects, including myriapods and amchnids, by S. H. Scudder. 

1886. 128 pp. 

B 34. Relation of the Laramie molluscan fauna to that of the succeeding fresh-water .Eocene and other groups, by C. A. 

White. 1886. 54 pp., 5 pls. 

B 37." Types of the L11ramie flom, by L. F. Ward. 1887. 354 pp., 57 pis. 

B 41. Fossil faunas of the Upper Dcvonian-the Genesee section, New York, by H. S. Williams. 1887. 121 pp., 4 pis. (Out 

of stock.) 

B 43. Tertiary and Cretaceous strata of the Tusdaloosa, Tombigbee, and Alabama rivers, by E. A. Smith and L. C . .Johnson. 

1887. 189 pp., 21 pls. 

H 51. Invertebrate fossils from the Pacific coast, by C. A. White. 1889. 102 pp., 14 pls. (Out of stock.) 

.B 56. Fossil wood and lignite of the Potomac forrnntion, by I<'. H. Knowlton. 1889. 72 pp., 7 pls. 

B 63. Bibliography of Paleozoic Crustacea from 1698 to 1889, inclurling a list of North Americai1 species, and a systematic 

arrangement of genera, by A. W. Vogdes. 1890. 177 pp. 

B 69. Classed and annotated bibliography of fossil insects, by S. H. Scudder. 1890. 101 pp. 

n 71. Index to known fossil insects of,the world, including myriapods and amchnids. by S. H. Scudder. 1891. 744 pp. 
PUBLICATIONS OF UNITED RTATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 

B 7i The Texan Permum and 1t• Me,ozmc t' pes of fo"!ls, by C A White 1891 51 pp , 4 pi' 

B bO CorrelatiOn paper--Devoman and Carbomferous, by H f3 Williams 1R91 279 pp (Out of stock) 

B 81 CorrelatiOn paper-.-Cambrmn, hv C D Walcott 1891 447 pp , 3 pis (Out of stock ) 

B 82, CorrelatiOn paper>-Cretaceou•, In C A Whtte 1891 273 pp , 3 pis (Out of stock ) 

B 83 CorrelatiOn paper<-Eocene, b' W B Clark 1891 173 pp , 2 pis 

B 84 CorrelatiOn papef'-Keocene, b) \Y H Dall and G D Harr~> 1892 349 pp, 3 pis (Out of stock) 

B 85 CorrelatiOn papers-The Newark '"tern, by I C Russell 1892 344 pp, 13 pis (Out of •tock) 

B 86 CorrelatiOn paper<-Archean an< I Algonkian, In C R Yan H"e 1892 549 pp, 12 ph (Out of stock ) 

Ill 

R 87 Synol"'s ot Ameneun fossil Bruoluopoda, mclndmg btbhogmpln ancl "nonvmy, In Charles Schue bert 1897 

4f\.l pp 

R 88 Cretaceous Foramtmfera ot New Jer-e', bv R M Ragg, Jr 1898 sq pp, b pi• 

R 93 Some tmeets of speeml mtere•t from Flon•sa"t, Colo, ancl other pomts m the Tertmnes of Colorado and Utah, b' 

S H Scudder 1892 35 pp , 3 pi' (Out of stock ) 

B 97 1\Ic"vcno Echmodermata of the Umted States, bv W B Clark 1893 207 pp , liO pis 

B 98 Flom of the outlvmg Carl>omterou' """'" ot south" estern lii">olln, bv Da' ul Wlute 1893 139 pp, 5 ph 

B 101 !meet !<tuna of the Rhode Island coal field, by S H bcuddcr 18q~ 27 pp, 2 pi• 

B 102 Catalogue and btbhograpllY of North Amencan Mt>'>OZOlC Im crtehrata, bv C R Bovlc 1893 ~15 pp 

B 10'i The Ltu.lmte ancl. the over!' mg Ltvmg,ton tormatton m Montana, bv \Y H Weed," 1th report on flora, hv F H 

Knowlton 189& 68 pp, b pis 

B 10o Colorado formatiOn amltt' mvertebmte f<tuna, by T W ~tan ton t8n 28~ pp, 4ii pi• (Out of 'tork) 

B 110 Paleozow' sect10n m the Y!Clmtv ot 'rhree Fork,, Mont , bv A C Pe;tle 1H93 fi6 pp, b pi• 

B 120 Devonum ,y,tem of cu,tern Penn" lvanu and New York, bv C ~ Pro'>ser 1895 81 pp , ~pi> (Out of stock ) 

B 121 Bibliography of North AmeriCan paleontology, h' C R Keve' 1894 2~1 pp 

B 124 RevlSlon of North Amerto;tn f0'5ll cockroaches, h\ S H bcudder 1895 17b pp, 12 pis 

B 128 Rear RIVer formatiOn ttnd 1t" charaeten,tlc tauna, '" C A Whtte 1895 10~ pp, 11 pis 

B 133 ContnbutiOI" to the CrPtareous paleontology of the Pamfic eott'>t The fauna of the Knoxv1lle beds, by 1' \\ 

Stanton 189o 132 pp , 20 pi' 

B 134 Cttmbnan rocks of l'enm' 1 v.m1a, by C D Walcott 1S96 43 pp , 1 'i ph 

B 141 Eocene depo'lt' of the mH!clle Atlanhe 'lope lll Delawttre, Man law!, and Vtrgnna, bv W B Clark 1896 167 pp, 

40 pis 

B 112 Bnef contnbutwn to the geologv and pttlcoutology of Borth" estern Lou!Slana, h) T \\ Vaughan 1~96 IJ5 pp, 

4ph ' B 145 Potnmao formatwn m V1rgmm, hv \\ M Fon!tune 1896 149 pp, 2 pl' 

R 1:>1 Lower Cretaceou• gn phreas of the Texa5 regwn, h' R T H1ll and T W \';tughan 1sqs 1&9 pp , 3'i pi' 

B 1:,2 Catalogue of Crettteeous and Tertl<tr) plant• of North AmerH',,, tn F H Kno" !ton 1898 247 pp 

B 1.-,3 B1bhographtc mclcx of North Amenoan Carbomferous mveltPhrate,, b' Stuart Weller 18qt; 653 pp 

R 163 Flom of the 1\Iontana formatiOn, Jl\- F H Knowlton 1900 118 pp , 19 pi' 

B 173 s, nop•~< of Amencan foss1l Bn o"'·'· mcludmg l>ibliograph) and SHHHnm', b' J M NICkles and R f, Ba•sler 

1900 663 pp 

B 179 Bibliography and ctthtlogue of fOS'll Vertebrata of North Ameneu, In 0 P Hav 1902 ~b8 pp 

B 191 North American geologlf !ormatiOn names Btbhograph), s' non) m', and dt•tnhntwn, bv F B Weeks 1902 448pp 

B 19ii Structural details m the Green 1\Iountam regwn and m eastern New York (•econd paper), bY T Nel<on Dale 190~ 

22 pp' 4 pi• 

B 204 Fossil flora of the John Du' Ba'ln, Oregon, by F H Kno"lton 1902 153 pp, 17 pJ, 

B 205 The Moll mea of the Bucltt hme•tone, lw G B i>hattuek, "1th an appendix on the coral' of the Buda hmestone, ln 

T W Vaughan 1903 91 pp , 2i pl' 

B 206 A '>tudy of the fauna of the Hamtlton formatiOn ot the Con ug<t Lake •eetwn m central Ne" York, h' II F Clelancl 

1'l01 112 pp, 5 pl9 

B 210 The correlatiOn of geologtcal faunas, a contnl>utwn to Devmwm paleontolog', by H S W1lhams 1903 147 pp , 1 pl 

B ~11 Strttttgraphy ancl paleontolog\ of the Upper Cnrbomterou' rocks ot the Kan,as sectwn, hy G I Adam,, G H Gub, 

tmd David Wh1te 190& 123 pp, I pl5 

PP 16 Carbmuterous formatiOns ancl faunas of Coloraclu, by G H G1rt,· 1903 546 pp , 10 pis 

PP19 Contnbnt10ns to the geolog, of Wa'>hmgton, b~· G 0 Smtth ancl B.uley Wtll" 1Q03 101 pp, 20 pl5 

PP 21 The geology and ore deposit< of the Bisbee quadrangle, Artzotm, by 1<' L Rati"nne 1904 168 pp , 29 pi> 

PP24 Zmc ancl lead depo'ib ol northern Arkausa5, hY G I Arlams, """terl bv A H Purdue and E F Bnrchurd, "1th 

a sectwn on the detcrnunat1011 unci correlation ot !ormatiOn•, In E 0 UlriCh 1901 118 pp , 27 pl5 

PP31 Prelimmary teport on thP geology of the Arbuckle and Wtchtt,l moun tam• m Indun Tern ton and Oklahmna, b' 

.J A T;tff, w1th an appendiX on the reported ore clepOS!t< m the Wtoluta Mmmtam>, by H F Bam 1901 97 pp, 

8pls 

PP 32 Prehmn1ary report of the ~eology aiHl undergrou111l '' nter resource"! of the central Great Phun..,, by N H l>arton 

1905 - pp , 72 pis 

B 2H ContribUtiOn' to De, oman paleontologY, )qQ,l, b' H S \\'tlham9 ancl E III Kmc!le 1905 -]>p, 4 pis 

pp 35 The geologY of the PerrY "'"'n Ill •onthea,tern Mallll', h) G 0 Smtih and na' Hl \\lute 1905 107 PP' b ph. 

Correspondence should be addrP~oed to 

THF DIRECTOR, 

Ul\IT~m STATE~ GFoLoGICAL St,RI.EY, 

"' A'!'ITll\CoTOl\ D C, 

JAXUARY, Ul05. 

., 

;:: "' 

rLJ "' 

LIBRARY CATALOGUE SLIPS. 

[Mount each slip upon a beparate carrl, placmg the subJect at the top of the 

secon<l shp The name ot the senes should not be repeated on the senes 

card, but additwnal numbers should be added. as received, to the first 

entry] 

Smith, George Otis, 1871-

. . . The geology of the Perry basin in southeastern 

Maine, by George Otis Smith and David White. 

Washington, Gov't print. off., 1905. 

107, v p. 6 pl. (mel map) 29~ x 23•m (U R Geologwal survey Profes~wnal paper no 3fi ) 

SubJect senes· B, Descnpt1ve geology, -!9, C, Systematw geology and 

paleontology, 70 

"Th1s report embodies the results of an mvest1gatwn ot alleged coal 

deposits, made m cooperatiOn with the Mame State Rnrvey conmuss1on " 

"Re,Iew of literature" p 11-17. 

"Paleontology " p 35-84. 

1 Geology-Mame 2 Coal-Maine 3. Paleontology-"i\'Iame I. White, 

Dav1d, 1862-

Smith, George Otis, 1871-

. . . The geology of the Perry basin in southeastern 

Maine, by George Otis Smith and David White. 

Washington, Gov't print. off., 1905. 

107, v p 6 pl. (mel map) 29~ x 23'"'. (U S GeologiCal Rnrvey Professwnal paper no 3.5 ) 

SubJect senes B, Descriptive geology, 49, C, Systematic geology all(l 

paleontology, 70. 

"Th1s report embodies the results of an mvestJgatwn of allegeu coal 

depobits, ma<le m cooperation With the Maine State survey comnusswn " 

"Review of literature " p 11-17 

"Paleontology " 1J .311-84. 

1 Geology-Mame 2 Coal-Mame 3 Paleontology-Maine I Wh1te, 

David, 1!'162-. 

U. S. Geological survey. 

Professional papers . 

no. 35· Smith, G. 0. The geology of the Perry basin 

m southeastern Maine, by G. 0. Smith and 

D. 'White. 1905. 

U.S. Dept. of the Interior. 

see also 

U. S. Geological survey. 

10325-No 35-05--S