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■ McOTl.L UNlVERSnV, MO^.TJIKAL.
• WOTJ'JS OW SPECIMENS-SEPTEMJdEH, 1888.

SPECIMENS OF.

EOZOON CANADENSE

AND THKFR

Geological and other Relations.

BY

SIR J. WILLIAM DAW.SON, LL.U., F.R.S.
F. G. S., &c.

p0utreAt :

U>^WSON BKOTHKRS.

1.888.

"T— "^-Tr.

'•" — ■'^T'l

51

I>iiii«;...,S-iL''i^;.

FRONTISPIECE.

Specimens of Eozoon Canadbnsb (Dawson), showing Ghnbral Fohm and
OscLi.iFORM Tubes. Rbpbodu(;bd from Photographs.

Peter Hedpatii Museum, McGfll University, Montreal.

Notes on Specimens, 1888.

ON specimi<:n8 of kozoon canadensis and

Timm CiKOLOCUCAL AND OTIlEli RELATIONS.
By Sik J, William Dawson, LL.D., F.R.S.

N'D

I. INTRODUCTORY.

Whatever may bo the ultimate decision of Palaeontolo-
gists as to the nature of ISo/,oon, it is inipoi-tant that the ori-
ginal specimens on which its description was based and
those later acquisitions which have thrown farther light on
Its structure and have been published in that connection
should be preserved and catalogued. '

The collections made by Sir W. E. Logan are now for
the most part in the Museum of the Geological Survey at
Ottawa. Those accumulated by the author of these notes
as well as duplicates presented by Sir W. E. Logan, are
in the Peter Redpath Museum.* It is to these latter col-
lections that the present paper relates, and the object is
to render them as useful as possible for scientific purposes
m the future.

In order, however, to secure this result, it will be necessary
that these notes shall not consist of a more list of specimens;
and for this reason they will include such notices of the

tinn*/"''' ''"T "" V'""*''" collections, more especially of microscopic pronara-
t.ons. were also in the possession of the late lamented Dr. Carpenter of london
who waa engaged in their study up to the time of his death ^'"'''' *** ^""'^"°'

2 On, Specfmp,ns of Bozoan Cnnadenae and

geological liiHtoiy of Kozooti, its modes of occurrence iind
states of preservation, as may enable any reader to compre-
hend the nature of the questions raised by the specimens.
Jioference will be made not to the whole literature of Eozoon
which is somewhat voluminous, but to the more important
publications relating to it. lOxtracts will also be given
from some of the principal descriptive papers rehitiug to
Eozoon and to fossils illustrating its mode of occui'rence and
probable affinities, and copies will be inserted of some of the
illustrations which have been ])ublished of the specimens in
the collections.

II. GEOLOGICAL EKLATIONS OF EOZOON.

Those have been very fully discussed by Sir W. E. Logan,
by Dr. T. Hterry Hunt and by the writer, * and their
conclusions have been confirmed by more recent observa.
tions.

The oldest known stratified rock in Canada is the massive
orthoclase gneiss, designated by Sir William Logan the
gneiss of Trembling Mountain, and of unknown thickness.
It has since been called by Hunt the Ottawa gneiss, and is
probably equivalent to the Lewisian, Fundamental or Bo-
gian gneiss of Kuropean (reologists. In so far as
known, it is destitute of limestones and of organic re-
mains. The great spread of this rock would seem to
indicate that it is of vast thickness. The thickness ob-
served by Logiui at Trembling Mountain was estimated at
5000 feet. This lowest portion of the Laurentian may be
named the Ottawa or Lewisian gneiss. As compared with
the succeeding formations, it is remarkable as containing no
quartzites, slates, limestones or dolomites, such as would
indicate ordinary submarine waste of rock, or evidencing
any distinction of laud and water. It is therefore strictly a
fundamental rock, and may be a portion of the original crust

♦Logan, Journal of Geological Society, Feb., ISOS. Hunt, (ieo. Canada, 186(i,
p. I'.-^l ; Amer. Journal Soi. [2] XXXVII., 4?1 ; XL., 361) ; Qiiar. Jour. Oeol. Soc.
XXL, 67. Also 2nd Geol. Survey of Penn. Rep. B., p. 168. Dawson, Life's Dawn
on Earth (London, 1875.)

Tlieir Geological mid ofher Relations.

3

of tho oarth formed before the ordinary cuuses of sedimen-
tation pi'ovalent in later times were inaugurated.

On this restu a second division whicl. ITunt has termed
tho Gronville series. This has a thickness of about 20,000
feet, and includes, besides groat masses of L^neiss. beds of
Limestone, of Dioi-ite. of Pyroxene Rook, of Quartzite and
of Magnetite. The Limestones, which are continuous beds
traceable for long liistances, occur in three principal bands,
all of them of great thickness and consisting of crystalline
limestone with dolomite and with disseminated Serpentine,
(Jraphite, A]Kilitc and Mica. They also include subordi-
nate layers of gneiss and quart/.ite, and irregular beds and
concretions of Pyroxene liock. It is in the uppermost of
the three limestone bands, known as tho (Ircnville band, that
the most perfect specimens of Kozoon have boon found.

Above the Cxrenville series is found the so-called Norian
or Labradorian series, the Upper Laurentian of Logan,
which both in th'" Province of Quebec and in New York is
locally unconformable to the lower series, and is remark-
able for its thick beds of Gneissoid Anorthosite and Labrad-
orito Eock, though it also contains orthoclase gneiss and
beds of limestone and iron ore (Ilmenite). This series has
afforded no fossils, and there is reason to believe that a large
portion of its material is of igneous origin, indiciiting great
earth- movements in tho later part of the Laurentian age,
with access to sources of basic material below tho crust of
the earth.* It indicates, however, a considerable lapse of
time, and is perhaps represented locally by schistose rocks,
such as some of those which in the West have been i-eckonod
as Lower Iluronian, or as the upper part of the Laurentian
in Southei-n New Brunswick, and the Micaceous series of
the Archaean in New Hampshire and Vii-ginia.

It may be useful to reproduce here the Section given by
Sir "William Logan of these Laurentian Eocks on the north
side of the Ottawa river, where they have been traced over
a great area, and as the writer can testify from personal ob-

* Sciwyn, Reports Oeol. Sur- ey of Cauada, l«V9-80, pages 4 and 188, Also, Pre-
liminary Report of Mr. F. D. Adams, BA.Sc.

4 On Spar mens of Eozoon Cannrfense and

servation, havo been very accurately mapped by Logan and
the officei'H of the (Jeoloyical Hurvey.

Logans Section of Laurentian Bocks.

(Ord?ir ascondin;^.)

'^irst Orthoolase Gaeiss of Tremblinj? Mountain
(Lower or Ottawa Gneiss)

First Limestone or Limestone of Trembling
Lake

Second Orthoclase Gneiss, between Tremblin;^
Lane and Great Beaver Lake

Second Limestone, or Limestone of Great Beav-
er Lake and Green Lake, with two inter-
stratified bands of garnetiferous rock
and hornblendic orthoclase gneiss, mak-
ing up ahout half its volume

Third Orthoclase Gneiss, with bands of garneti-
ferous gneiss and Quartzite, between
Beaver Lake and the Kouge River

Third Limestone or Limestone of Grenville, in
some places including a band of Gneiss :
{Eozoon Canitdcnse). Its thickness varies
from 1,500 to 00 feet, average thickness
estimated at

Fourth Orthoolase Gneiss including a thin bed of
Limestone (Proctor's Lake) and 600 feet
of Quartzite

Norian or Labradorian or Upper Laurentian se-
ries— estimated at

Feet

5,000
or more.

1.500
4,000

2,500
3,500

750

5,000
10,000

Total 32,250

It is to be observed here that, while the Lower Gneiss for-
mation is, 80 far as kiiown, wholly of that rock, in the
second or Grenville member we find also Schists, Limestones,
Dolomites, Quartzites, Iron ores and Graphitic Gneisses, in-
dicating ordinary aqueous detritus, and some distinction of
land and water, and such agency of life as we find in later
geologic^, brmations. To whatever kind of origin there-
fore we attribute the orthoclase gneisses, we trace indica-
tions of a primitive period in which rock of this kind alone

Their Geolofrical and other Relafio)/s.

1

■'

1-

0

was tbi'med. wliether as a portion of the original crust of the
eurtli unmodified by any ^;ub-aerial or marine or aqueous
agency, or as a pi-oduct of a special aqueo-igneous action,
and this succeded by a period in which ordinary aqueous
agencies and atmospheric agencies phiyed a hirge part and
which has continued n\) to the present day. 1 would not
propose on this account to disintegrate tlio Laurcntian sys-
ten', because the presence of its pecul gneiss characterizes
the whole of it, and would rather cor<oidor the Ottawa and
Grenville series as two great divisions of the Laurentian.

In the Ottawa district the tortuous outcrop of the (Jren-
ville limestone was traced by Logan and his assistants for
about 200 mi'os, and this has since been greatly extended
by his successors. In the Burgess district on the opposite
side of the Ottawa, and distant about SO miles from the limit
of Logan's work, Vennor has found and mapped a similar
series, with three bands of lime.-tone separated hv gneisses
apparently of still greater thickness than those of thoGion-
ville district, and as in the latter, the thii-d limestone holds
i'jozoon. There is therefore no room left for doubt as to the
regularly bedded chai-acter of the Laurentian rocks and the
continuity of their outcrops over great distances.

The Limestones of the Jjaurentian are thus of great
volume and of vast geogva])hical extent, and they range
in thickness from GO to 1,500 feci, while their actual hor'i-
zontal area must be enormously greater than the distance
they have been traced would indicate. These lime-
stones are also associated witli gneissose and schistose beds,
exactly in the same way in which pahoozoic limestones are
associated with sandstones and shales; and some of them
are ordinary limestones, while others are more or less
dolomitic, in which also they resemble the pakcozoic lime-
stones. Kvery geologist knows that the beds which in the
succeeding geological periods are the reprcseritatives of
these Laurentian limestones, are not only fossiliferous, but
largely composed of the debris of oceanic organisms, and
that it is to the pui-er and more crystalline beds that
this statement most fully applies. May we not reasonably

6

On Specimens of Eozoon Canadenselfind

infer that the great Laurcntian limestoneH ui-e of simUar
origin ?

This may be farther illustrated by the structure obbcrved
in localities explored by the writoi-.

Fig. 1. Section at Cote St. Pierre.

ill) Band of (Jneiss. (/<) Limestone and Doleiuito, with Serpentine and Eozoon.
(p) Diorite and (inei.ss. ((/) Limestone.

At Cote St. Pierre, north of Pupineauville on the Ottawa
Eivor, one of the best localities of l<]ozoon, the limestone of
the Grenville band with a high dip to the south-eastward,
rests on thick-bedded dioi'ite and gneiss of Logan's Second
band, which form high ground to the north- westward. The
lower part of the limestone is coarsely crj'-'+'iIIine, with con-
cretionary masses of white Pyroxene. Above this it bo
comes serpentinous and contains layers of dolomite, and in
this part of the band Kozoon occurs. Above this is a thin
stratum of gray gneiss, included in the limestone, which be-
yond this point is for the most part concealed by alluvial
soil, and by a small lake, but where it appears is seer to con-
tain Kozoon ill some of its layers. Along the same line of
outcro]) to the south-west, the limestone holds in its lower
part and associated with Kozoon, small crystalline aggrega-
tions of bluish apatite. In the best section at this place,
about 150 feet of the thickness of the limestone is exposed,
but this is evidently only a small portion of its entire amount.
The hint specimens of Kozoon occur in layers only a few
feet in thickness, and perhaps in two portions of the bed ;
but fragraental Kozoon is found in other layers.

11'

■i

i

Tlieir Geological and other Relations. *J

The following notes from a paper piiblinhe(] in the Quar-
terly Journal of the Geological .Society of London (187G)
give some detaila as to the Cole St. Pierre locality:

Cote St. Pierre, in tlie Seigniory of Petite Nation, on the river Ot-
tawa, is tlie locality whence some of the most instructive specimens
oiEozoon were obtained by tlie late Mr. Lowe, whose collections are
referred to in the original papers by Sir W. E. Logan, Ur. Hunt
and tbe writer. Believing that a re-examination of this place would
afford a gootl oi)portunity for collecting additional S{)ecimens, and
for the study of the fossil in ffitu, as well us for testing the validity
of obje(!tions recently raised to the animal nature of Eozoon, I made
arrangements for visiting it in September, 1875 ; and, through the
kindness of Mr. Selwyn, Mr. T. C. Weston, of tho Geological Survey,
a skilful collector, and who has had much experience in j)reparing
and examining .si)ecimens of Eozoon, was permitted to accompany
me, and subsequently prepared slices and photographs of some of
the s{)ecimens obtained.

The Lower Laiirontian rocks of this region have been carefully
mapped and descril)ed in the Reports of the Geological Survey, to
which I may ;efer for their general description. The limestone,
which has afforded Eozoon at Cote St. Pierre, is a tl ick bed belong-
ing to the Grenville band of Sir \V. E. Logan, and included between
the two great belts of orthoclase gneiss (the third and fourth gneiss)
which in this region con.stitute theupperbeds of the Lower Lauren-
tian. Its average thickness, according to the measurements of Sir
William Logan, is 750 feet; but it varies from 1,500 feet to 60 feet.
Its outrop has been tracod in the country north of the Ottawa for
at least 200 miles, along several anticlinal and syncliiuil folds*.

At Cote St. Pierre this limestone o(;curs < a the flank of a hill of
gneiss and stratilied diorite, with a dip to me south-east at angles
of 70° to 8()\ The dip, however, is very inconstant, owing to the
contortions of the beds.

The limestone is white and crystalline, and may be described as
thin-bedded, since it presents a great nund)er of layers of no great
hidividual thickness, and ditiering in the coarseness of the crystal-
ization and in the presence of dolomite, serpentine, and layers of
gneissose matter in some of them. The specimens of Eozoon were
found to be abundant in only one bed, not more than four foet in
thickness, though occasional sijociniens and layers of fragments
occur in other parts of the band. The ex posures are in part natural
weathered surfaces seen on a wooded birnk, in part an opening

* fci'ju ami) in (JeoloRy of Cuiiadii, 1863.

8

On Specimens of Eozoon Canadense and

made by Mr. Lowe to extract specimens of Eozoon, and a larger
opening made, as we wore informed, by parties in search of fibrous
serpentine, or " rock cotton," for economic purposes.

The sections seen in the artificial exposures may be tabulated as
follows, though from the highly inclined position of the beds and
the irregularity of the excavations, perfect accuracy was not at-
tainable : —

Mr. Lowers excavation {order descending).

1. Limestone with serpentine and entire specimens of Eozoon 3 feet.

2. Coarse crystalline limestone, with layers containing fragments of

Eozoon — 4 feet.

3. Limestone with concretions and layers of serpentine, and a few

specimens of Eozoon — several feet, to the bottom of the exca-
vation.

Fis],^r\<t excavation (order descending).

1. Laminated limestone with bands of serpentine — G feet.

2. AVhite l?minated limestone traversed by small veins of chryso-

tile— 8 feet.

3. Limestone with concretions and interrupted bands of serj)entine

and pyroxene, and fragments of Eozoon — 10 feet. (Crystals
and layers of dolomite occur in this and the preceding beds.)

4. Limestone witli large concretions of seri^entine, and in one layer

fine-grained variety of Eozoon (var. minor) — 20 feet.

5. liimestone with serpentine and i)erfect specimens of Eozoon

(This probably corresjionds to Lowe's excavation) — 12 feet.

6. Coarse-grained limestone and dolomite — several feet.

(After a break of several yards)

7. Limestone with masses of pyroxene and veins of chrysotile and

some imperfect Eozoon.

(After a break of several yards)

8. Coarse-grained diorite, resting on a thick band of gneiss.

In front of Lowe's excavation, and apparently overlying the lime-
stone exposed in it, is a narrow ledge of fine-grained gneiss; and
beyond this, other and probably overlying limestone appears, hold-
ing pyroxene and mica. The whole vertical thickness of the lime-
stone exposed can scarcely exceed 150 feet ; but this is probably
only a small part of the development of the band at this place.

In the strike of the limestone to the N.E. it appears to bend
abruptly, or to be thrown by a fault, to the south-east, the gneiss and
diorite coming forward into line with it, and the limestone appear-
ing at a loss angle in a little bare knoll In front of thesa On the

Their Geological (irnl other Relations.

9

surface of this limestone were found some fine six^cimens of
weathered Eozoon. A short distance farther to the nortlieastward
there is another section opened by (|uarrylng operations, in which
similar beds holding Eozoon are exposed, and in one of the larger
limestones bluish apatite occurs in disseminated grains.

I examined carefully the relation of the bedded serpentine and
the veins of chrysotilo or f',i)rous seri)entine to the limestone. The
compact serpentine is evidently an original part of the deposit
occurring in layers and lenticular concretions. In some beds it shows
no indication of tlie structure of Eozoun ; but in others it fills the
cavities of tlio fossils, and there are many regular layers of frag-
mental Eozoon of considerable thickness in which it fills tlie cells,
while in other layers interstratified with these, tlie fossil is associated
with dolomite. I satisfied myself on this point not only on the
ground, but also by taking away large specimens representing
several thin layers, and treating them with dilute acid, so as to bring
out the structure. The following is a section of such a S()ecimen,*
5.] inches in vertical tliickness, treated with acid and examined
with a lens : —

1. Limestone with crystals of dolomite and a few fragments of

Eozoon.

2. Fine-grained limestone witli granules of serjientine— the latter

filling the chamljerlets of fragments of Eozoon and small
globigerino Foraminifera or fragments of acervuline Eozoon.
8. Limestone with dolomite and including a thin layer of serpen-
tine as above.

4. Limestone and dolomite with grains of serpentine and fragments

of supplemental skeleton of Eozoon.

5. Crystallized dolomite, holding a few fragments of Eozoon in the

state of calcite.

6. Limestone with disseminated seri)entine as above, chamberlets

of Eozoon and fragments of its supplemental skeleton, also
small groups of acorvuline chamberlets.

Tn otlier specimens a like thickness of rock presented a mass of
fragments of suj)plemcntal skeleton with the canals injected with
serpentine, and granules of the same filling the chambers.

The chrysotile veins, which are sometimes an inch or more in
thickness, but branch olf into the most minute films, are evidently
altogether subsetjuent in origin to the bedded limestone and serpen-
tine. They are undoubtedly of aiiuoous origin, and in their mode
of occurrence strongly resemble the veins of filirous gypsum pene-
trating the Lower Carboniferous marls of Nova Scotia. Tiiey cross

♦ This specimen is now in the ...' iseuni.

10

On Specimens of Eozoon Qinademe and

tlie bedding in all directions, and pass through the structure of
Eozoon, thou<;;li somotimes running parallel to its laminii^ for short
distances. Tliey must liave been introduced after ihe Eozoon was
mineralized, and have evidently no connection with its structure.

I have no hesitation in fjtating tliat tiie assertion that
these chrysotile veins are identical with or einiiiar to tiie proper
wall of Eozoon either in atrm:ture or distribution, is w'.v^Hy with-
out fouTaation, otlior than that which may arise from confounding
dissimilar structures accidentally associated witli each other.

Some slickensided joints lined with a lamellar and fibrous ser-
pentine traverse the beds, and, as tlie chrysotile veins sometimes
terminate in them, may be older tiian the latter. These also were
observed to cro.«s the masses of Eozoon-

Few disseminated minerals, other tlian those already mentioned,
were observed in the Eozoon limestone. A few detached crystals
of mica, pyroxene, and pyrite were found in the fragmentpl layers,
and also a few rounded particles of quartz, probably grains of sand.

The perfect examples of Eozoon, at least those rendered evident
by mineralization witli serfwntine, are conlinod to certain bands of
limestone, and notaI:)ly to one band — tjiat originally ojxjned by Mr.
Lowe. In tliis bod tl'.o fossil occurs in pat(;hes of various sizes,
some of them two feet or more in diameter, and bont or folded by
the contortions of the strata ; others are much smaller, down to a
few inches. On the weathered surfaces the specimens mineralized
with serpentine project, and exhibit their lamination in great per-
perfection, resembling very closely the silicified Slrotnatoponv o^WxQ
Niagara and Corniferous Limestones.

None of the siJecimens of Eozoon are of any great vertical thick-
ness. The lower laminte are generally the best develoi)ed and with
tlie thickest supplemental or intermediate skeleton. Tiie upper
laminte be(;ome tliin-walled, though often very regular ; and after
a great number of these laminse the sufjerficial portion becomes
acervuline or vesicular and tlien terminates. In some exceptional
specimens only a few laminte liavo been formed. In others they
become very numerous. A very line and regular specimen (in the
Museum collection) has about one hundred laminte in a thictkness
of 3.] inches, giving a little more than a thirtieth of an inch for each
lamina of sivrcoda and test.

Many of the best npocimens in the Museum are from

this luL'iiIity. Somo of them wore presented by the late Sir

W K. Logiin, otlions were collected hy myself in sovcrtil

visits, und others uro from collections mude for the Museum

y Mr. !i II. Hiimiltoii, Ji.A.Sc.

Their Geological and other Relations.

11

I

i

At another locality on the (-aliimet liiver in the Town-
ship of Grfciiville, the limestone of the (Jronville ]5and is
traceable in a very i-egular manner for seveial miles on the
two Hides of a minor anticlinal included in a larger synclinal
form. It is here probably at least 000 feet in thickness,
and forms a deprcosion running between the second and
third gneiss bands, which rise in ridges on either side. Ir
this section, which I have studied in the 4th concession of
Grenville, its lower part is seen to consist of a highly crys-
talline limestone, destitute so far as known ofEozoon. Above
this is a very regular band of gneiss dividing the limestone
into two portions, and in the limestone a short distance above
this, Eozoon occurs in considerable quantity, but not so well
preserved as at (Jote St. Piei-re.

Whatever views may be entertained as to the genesis of the
beds of gneiss and other siliceous rocks alternating with the
limestones, there can be no doubt that the latter are I'egu-
lar aqueous beds, as regular in their original deposition as
any limestones of later date, though they have been locally
much contorted and faulted by movements subsequent to
their deposition. F'arlher, the serpentine occurring in these
limestones as well as the dissemiiuited graphite and apatite
must have been deposited contemporaneously with the lime-
stone. It is also to be observed that the serpentine of these
Laurentian limestones is a |)eculiar variety of the mineral
of a lighter colour and of lower specific gravity than oidinary
serpentines, and containing " less oxyde of iron and more
water." -1= It is also to be noted that the occurrence of
dolomite in the limestones shows the presence of magnesia
in the waters in which they wore deposited. The limestones
ai-e often traversed by true veins of chrysotile or tibrous ser-
pentine and by other veins cai-rying apatite, graphite with
pyroxene, mica and other minerals. These vein-foi-med de-
posits are of luter date than tlie limestones which they tra-
verse.

The writer has formed very definite opinions as to the
manner and causes of the deposition ol' the Laurentian

* Hunt, Geology of Canada, p. 471.

12

Oh Specimens of Eozoon Camuhnse and

gneisses and their contained boclK, and as to the reasons of thei i*
difference in composition and texture frt)nri more modern
depo.'its ; but may content himself with stating- hero that
the whole of the evidence points to the conclusion that thoy
are marine beds, formed however in connection with con-
ditions of the earth's crust and of the ocean, somewhat dif-
ferent from those prevailing in the subsequent geological
periods, after those great movements of the crust which
ridged and folded and aitored the Laurentian sediments be-
fore the beginning of the Pahoozoic Period.

I have referred in the above pages to the thickness of the
Laurentian as very great. This is, however, to be taken rela-
tively to the succeeding formations and not to the earth itself.
In reality the whole ascertained thickness of the Laurentian
cannot be estimated at more than tive or six miles. It comes
therefore within those narrow limits assigned by Davison,
Darwin and Mellard Reade lo thesui)crtical crustof comi)res-
sion and folding in a contracting globe. That the Lauren-
tian beds have been thus compressed and folded even before
the deposition of the next succeeding formations, no one who
has studied them can doubt. On the other hand there are
physical facts which show that they are very thin in com-
parison with *'io under-crust on which thoy have, as it
were, slid in tli> process of compression. One of these is
the existence of long fissures filled with igneous rock running
across the crumpled Laurentian lor great distances in per-
fectly direct lines. For example, on Sir W. Logan's map
of the Ottawa district, there is indicated one of these dykes,
extending westward from St. Jerome, crossing indifferently
all members of the jjaurentian in every attitude, and which
the writer has seen preserving its position and direction as
far west asTempleton, more than an hundred miles from its
first appeai-ance at St. Jerome. Such a dyke shows that
the folded Laurentian i-ocks are of inconsiderable thickness,
compared with the uniform and continuous under-crust on
which they rest, and which cracks altogether without refer-
ence to them. Just as a very thin veneer of corrugated wood
laid on a thick plank would be obliged to crack in conform-

4

Their G€oloii:ic<il and other lie/afiom.

13

^ ity with the Hssuith in tlio lattor. The Luurontian beds,

with all their crumpling8 and monntaip.ons elevations, may
thus be compared to a more wrinkled scum on the surface
of a pot of melted metal, or to a thin veneer on the surface
of the under-crust whifJi has no such structure. The im-
portance of this consideration, with reference both to tiio
original stratification of the Laurcntian and to theories of
mountain-nuvklng, is obvious.

I IT. STATH OF PRK.SEEVATION.

Wo may first ask, under this head, what aro the structures
supposed to be prosorvod. On the supposition that iijozoon
was a marine organism, its tost or hard part, which grew on
the sea bcjttom, consisted of a series of calcareous laminic,
not perfectly parallel, but bending towards each other at
intervals, and uniting so as to form flattened chambers,
deeper toward the base and becoming shallower in the
upper part, while at the top they someiimes become broken
up into rounded cells or chamberlets, constituting an
" acervuline " mass. The chambers, which, on the sup-
position above stated, wore originally filled with the sarcodic
matter of the animal, were after death and the burial of
the skeleton in some calcareous sediment, occupied with
mineral substances introducal by infiltration, and more
especially with serpentine and pyroxene, which were at the
same time being deposited in layers and concretions in the
surrounding material. When well preserved, the calcareous
laminic are seen to be traversed with innumerable canals,
terminating in very fino tubuli. These canals arc occupied
by serpentine, pyroxene or dolomite, or by limestone,
according to the state of preservation. (See Figs. 2, 3, 4).

The masses of Eozoon sometimes consist of as many as
one hundred and fifty lamina? superimposed. Originally flat
or rounded, they assumed in growth club-shaped or turbinate
forms, and sometimes by coalescence formed wide sheets or
irregular masses, in which case they aro often observed to
bo traversed in their thickness by conical or cylindrical

14

On Specimens of Eozoon Canw/ense hikI

Fig. 2. Ntiturc-printod spotjimon of Eozoon.

r

TJieir Geolcsicul <ind oflier Relations.

15

#c5

t^

;?••*<

JV'.'

tnbes oroHCula. (Sec frontiBpieco.) The ouler surface and
the walls of these tubes wore sirengthoiied hy l)eii(ling and
coalescence oi" the lainina\ The mode of giowth would be
similar to that of more modern organisms of the genci'a
Jjoftusia, Carpenteria and Pohjtrema, and to that of some
kinils of Stro7nafopor<(: Finally, these calcacoous tests were
liable to be broken up and scattered in fragments over the
sea bottom, constituting the matei'ial of beds of organic
limestone, like the coral sand that surroumls modern reefs
and islands.

3 4

j^'».

Fi(i. 3. C«nil Eystoiii of Eozoor injected with serpentine (niiignified).
Fig. 4. Very line cimtils and tuhuli tilled with Dolomite (miigiiilied).
(From Micro-photograph.s.)

Assuming Eozoon to be a fossil animal of the char-
acters above described, its mode of preservation in the
ordinary serpentinous specimens is more simple than
that of many fossils of later date. The calcareous walls
have remained substantially unchanged, except that they
have become somewhat crystalline in structure, arid in
many cases have assumed the crystalline cleavage of cal-
cite; bit this change is quite common in PaUeoKoic
shells and crinoids. The chambers have been tilled and the

16

On Specimens of Eozoon Cnnarlense and

CiinaU Jin<l tubiili truvcrrtin^ tho calcurooiis test Ijavo been
injected with Ji hydroua silicate. Tliis is a tilling up Uy no
means infrequent in later fossils, and as Dr. Carpenter has
shown, it is goitig on in the modern seas in tho case of
forarainifera and other porous tests and shells injected with
glauconite. Numerous instances of this kind exist in
Palajozoic limestones. Several of these are described in my
paper on fossils minerali/.ed by silicates (Jour. Geol. Society,
Feb. 1879, et infra), and I have recently mot with another
interesting example in a limestone fi-om the Luwer Carboni-
ferous of Maxvillo, Ohio,, collected by Prof. K. B. Ar.drews.
and presented to me by Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, in which many
crinoids and corals are beuutifully injected with a greenish
hydrous silicate resembling glauconite.

Mineralization of this kind is in reality greatly loss
complex than that in which, as in many fossil corals and
fossil woods, the calcarerous or woody matter has been
entirely removed and replaced by silica, oxyde of iron or
pyrite. In many cases also in Pahcozoic fossils tho cavities
have been tilled with successive coats of dillerent minerals
giving vory complex appearances. I have in my collection
a specimen of Stignuiria in which every vessel has been
coated in the in erior with successive linings of rod and
white calcite, and subsc(j^uently tilled with calcite and pyrite,
and in a Sternbergia from tho coal tbrmation tho phrag-
mata are silicificd and encrusted with crystalline silica and
pyrite, while the interstices are tilled in with sulphate of
barium. Such complex and eccentric examples of fossili-
zation are much more intricate than anything that occurs
in the ordinary examples of Eozoon.

Ueologiflts should also be reminded that porous fossils,
once intiltrated with siliceous minerals, are practically in-
destructible. Nothing short of absolute fusion can wholly
deface their structures, and these remain in many cases in
the utmost perfection when the external forms have been
wholly lost or insejiai-ably united with the matrix.

There is therefore nothing anomalous in the preservation
of Eozoon, except its occurrence in rocks highly crystalline

Tlieir Geo/ofjrfrnl and other delations.

17

and of unusually threat age; and but for these circui istanccs
it is probable that no doubt would have been entertained on
the subject. The question of the crystalline structure of
rocks containing fossils deserves, however, some further
consideration.

That in limestones a crystalline condition is compatible
with the pi-escrvation of fossils, and more especially with
the preservation of their microscopic characters, is veiy
well known. Many Palioozoic limestones are of a highly
crysialliiie character, and yet retain abundant evidence of
their organic origin. For oxam))le, the Chazy and Trenton
limestones of the vicinity of Montreal have a perfectly
crystalline fracture, and present to the naked eye no trace
of any form but cleavage pianos of calcite, yet, when sliced
and studied with the microscope, they are seen to consist of
organic fragments having their most minute structures pre-
served, but so completely enveloped and identiOed with the
crystalline calcite which fills their pores and interstices that
they cleave with it. It is to be observed also that in these
limestones, instances occur in which organic fragments are
inscribed in hexagonal crystals and might be mistaken for
mere crystals containing impurities, did not these latter
show on examination the original structures. Mesozoic
and even Tertiary limestones have sometimes assumed the
same conditions. That the Laurentian limestones holding
Eozoon have undergone no change incompatible with the
preservation of fossils, is proved by the fact that they still
retain their original lamination, and present layers, often
quite thin, of dolomite and calcite, and of the latter with
various mixtures of serpentine, graphite, &c. Now there is
no reason why the structures of any fossil should not
survive when the lamination of the limestone remains.

Another example quite in point is that of some large
calcified trees of the coal period. When broken, these trunks
show large coarse cleavable crystals like those of stalagmite,
but when sliced it is often found that the structure has been
perfectly preserved in the midst of the crystallization.

That the lamime of Eozoon themselves are in some
2

18

On S/tnimens of Eozook Cunadense and

cases replaced by dolomite, oi- partially hy flocculotit
serpentine, is no argument ai^ainst tlieir organic natuio.
Stromatopoi i', kHoHs and corals are often found to have
their calcai'eous material wliol'y or in part replaced l»y
other minerals, as dolomite, carbonate of iron, pyrito and
silica. The replacement by the latter mineral more es-
pecially gives us many of our most beautifully preserved
Pahcozoic fc^sils. At Pauquette's liapid on the Ottawa,
among the numerous fossils found in a silicitied state im-
bedded in the limestone, are many Stromatoj)orjc, and in
these the layers are not merely filled but actually replaced
with silica, which, while it retains the form of the lamiiue
is itself arranged in curious conci'ctionary grains which
might at first sight bo mistaken for a part of the structure.

In the Silurian doli)mite of Guelph in Ontario, specimens
of Ccrnostroma, replaced by perfectly Ciystallino dolomite,
not only show their lamination, but in some cases even their
fine cmals. In the gray dolomite of Niagara, similar
appearances are observed. In some places it is filled with
masses of Stromatopora dispersed through the dolomite just
as Kozoon is in the Laui'entian limestone. These fossils are
silicified and vary in diameter from a foot to an inch. The
gi'eater part are spheroidal in form, but some a.e cylindrical
or club-shaped, while others spread into fiat dheets or are of
various ir.egular shapes. In many specimens, the structure
is beautifi'lly preserved; but in others it has partially dis-
appeared, and the substance of the fossil is replaced by
coarsely crystalline calcite or dolomite, or presents cavities
lined with crystals of these minerals. There is reason to
believe that many cavities in the limestone, now empty and
coated with these crystals, were once occupied by Stro-
matopora?, or by the species of sponge found in this lime-
stone. In every respect, except in the absence of hydrous
silicates, the mode of occurrence of these fossils resembles
that of Bozoon at Cote St. Pierre.

In some such cases of replacement it is probable that the
original matei'ial of the fossil was arragonite, and for this
reason more easily removed or replaced. Every Paheonto-

■ I

Their Gvolngicnl iwd other Relafions.

10

I

lo^'lst is tumiliar willi tho f vi tlmt arragonite or priwrnatic
hIioII lias been removod in cases where lamellar shoil has
j-einaiiR'd, and (lie latter liaH sometimes disappeared when
compact calcite shells, like those of Balanus, for example,
have escaped. In ae case of Eozoon, however, as in that
of foraminifera in general, the calcite seems to have been
of the less perishable kind, and this may be connccle<l with
the integrity of the calcareoiia wall in tho better preserved
specimens.*

By what appears to a ])alieontologIst a strange perversion
of reasoning, some of the opj)onents of the organic nature
of Eo-Aoon take the badly preserved specimens as typical,
and suppose that these represent an original mineral condi-
tion, which in tho better preserved specimens has only
assumed its greatest perfection.

As I have often urged, this kind of argument would
invalidate all reasoning from the structures of fossils. In
all large masses of fossil coral or wood, we find portions in
all stages of disintegration. Sometimes the centre is a mere
structureless mass, when the sui-fuce is perfectly pi-eserved ;
Sometimes it is the surface thai is disorganised. In
other cases portions are well preserved, and ochers disin-
tegrated in tho most capricious manner, I have specimens
of fossil coniferous wood in which portions aro disintegrated
along the medullary ray-s, giving the appearance of widely
separated wedges, and others in which concentric bands are
alternately preserved and destroyed, others in which
irregular spaces have been eaten out and filled with struc-
tureless matter, and others in which crystalline or con-
cretionary structures have been developed in spots, giving
the most grotesque and inexplicable appearances. Yet in
all these eases we have the general form of a trunk and
portions of it in which the structures are preserved.
In one example of silicifiod wood I have found regularly
formed prisms of quartz deposited in rows along the woody
fibres as if these had formed original parts of the structure.

* I have elsewhere remarked that tho calcareous wall of Eozoon retains a Jinel]/
granular tcxtui'e, similar to that seen in shells, etc., in altered Palaeozoic limestones.

-u On Specimens of Eozoon Canadense and

In fossil woods it is also very common to find the tissues
compressed, folded and contorted in spots, so as to give the
most unnatural possible appearances. Now in all such
cases it is surely reasonable to take the well-preserved
portion as the means of interpreting the rest, though I have
known cases where, for want of attention to this, portions
of woody tissue have been described as cellular, in con-
sequence of their being disintegrated by the crystallization
of quartz.

It is also to be observed that there is a gradation in the
probability of the preservation of structures. A very finely
tubulated structure, like that which is supposed to have
constituted the proper wall of Eozoon, is rarely perfectly
preserved. Jn modern foraminifera infiltrated with
glauconite, we usually see their finer structures pre-
served only in spots, or a part of the length of the tubes
only filled. The lai-gcr cells are often infiltrated when
the tubuli arc empty. A coarse canal system is more
likely to be perfectly infiltrated. Further, in Tertiary Num-
mulites the fine tubes are often filled with calcite, while the
glauconite has penetrated the coarser portions only. This
is very well seen in the beautiful specimens from Kempfen
in Bavaria. All this applies to Eozoon. The most difficult
part to find is its proper wall. The coarser canah: are
often present without the finer. The coarser parts of the
canals are sometimes filled with serpentine, when the finer
L ranches are rilled with calcite or dolomite. The cells and
laminae are sometimes quite manifest when the finer struc-
tures are absent. All this is in perfect harmony with the
analogy of other fossils.

a b ' a

'■5>y^^.

Fig. 5.

Slice of single lamina of Eozoon, magnified. («) Tubulated wall:
(6) Canal system ; both injected with Sen)ontine.

ii

I

Their Geological and other Relations.

21

Eozoon also agrees with other fossils in the independence
of its form with reference to the mineral matter with which
the cavities may be filled. This peculiarity commended it-
self to the sagacity of Sir William Logan, and induced him
to argue for the organic nature of Eozoon before its minute
structures were known, and since these were investigated
the argument has been much strengthened . The minerals
serpentine, pyroxene and loganite are found tilling the
chambers, and the two formur with dolomite and calcite oc-
cupy the canals, which often present calcareous tillings in
the finer ramificaticms, when the main stems are occupied
with serpentine. These facts are readily explained if we
assume cavities and tubes of definite form to be filled with
minerals according to circumstances; but they are not ex-
plicable on the supposition of a merely inorganic origin.
They correspond perfectly with facts observed in the infiltra-
tion and replace.nent of all classes of fossils, which often
occur in such a way that similar spaces are occupied in one
part of the fossil with one mineral, in others with another.

In connection with this, the imperfections in the preser-
vation of Eozoon are also parallel with those observed

Fig. 6. Cross section of canals, injected with serpentine, hinhly magnified.

in different organic substances. As an example, I have
already mentioned that in some of the specimens a white
flocculent serpentine encroaches upon the calcareous walls
or in part replaces them. This would indicate the partial
removal of the calcite prior to or at the same time with the
filling. In some cases also the calcite wall is wholly or in

wall ;

J

r, 1 "r

22

Oh Specimens of Eozoon Canadense and

part replaced witli dolomite. Such changes are not infre-
quent in Faliiozoic fossils in which the substance of a cal-
careous pari has often been wholly removed and replaced
by another mineral or has been partially eroded and so in
part replaced.

Fig. 7 Longitudinal section of canals, highly magnified.

There are other peculiarities deserving -peciai notice : —

1. In some specimens the serpentine filling the chambers
presents a laminated appearance, as if deposited in successive
layers. There even occur serpentine-lined cavities and ca-
nals with calcai'eous filling. This may depend on the depo-
sition of serpentine in coatings on the sides of those cavities,
leaving perhaps a central portion to be filled with calcite,
or may in some cases be the result of the filling of the cavi-
ties with successive lamina' of serpentine from below upward.
In either case we have frequent examples of these varieties
of filling in ordinaiy fossils.

2. There are examples of Kozoon in which no serpentir.e
or other mineral filling appears, and in which the whole
mass is calcareous, though presenting canals filled with ser-
pentine or dolomite. In these cases the explanation is that
the mass of Kozoon has not had its cavities tilled, but has
been compressed by pressure into a solid mass. Such a state
of preservation is often observed in other fossils, more es-
pecially in fossil wood, in which the ceL-walls often become
under pressure wholly coalescent.

3. The condition of the propei* wall also illustrates the
manner of preservation. The tubes which compose itareso

I

i

Their Geological and other Relation)^.

23

extremely fine that they are rarely injected with silicates.
Sometimes tliey are merely occupied with calcite, and in
this case the wall constitutes an apparently structureless
barid, or merely presents a band of slightly different appear-
ance from the remainder. Sometimes the tubuli appear as
fine continuations of the canals ; or as a more or less perfect
fringe of fine lines, and in decalcified specimens, this part is
often i-epresented merely by a tabular space between the ends
of the canals and the serpentine filling. In the best specimens
and in very thin slices undei* a high power, these tubuli ap-
pear as hollow threads with expanded terminations, but this
is rarely to be seen. All these conditions may be equally
well observed in Nunimulites injected with glauconite.

4. The lai-ger masses of Hozoon have olten suffered con-
siderable contortion and even faulting, and this seems to
have occurred in some instances previous to complete fossil-
ization. This is a condition often observed in fossils of ail
ages, and every paUeontologist is familiar with the fact that
in all the older formations oven the hardest calcareous fos-
sils have been atfected with accidents ot' this nature.

There are even a few examples in the collections which
would seem to indicate that portions had been broken otl,
])erhaps by the action of the waves, previous to fossilization.
It is not uidikely that some of the specimens have been loose
and subject to the action of the waves and currents before
being imbedded.

5. An intorestir^ feature in connection with the specimens
of Eozoon from St. Pierre, noticed in previous papers,
is the occurrence of layers filled with little globose casts
of chamberlets, single or attached in groups, and often ex-
actly resembling the casts of (rlobigerinie ingroensand. On
wcatheivd surfaces thej'' were often especially striking when
examined with the lens. In some cases, the cluunberlets
seem to have been merely lined with serpentine, so that
they weather into hollow shells. The walls of these cham-
berlets have had the same tubulated structure as Kozoon ;
80 that Ihey are in their essential characters minute acervu-
line specimens of that species, and similar to those I describ-
ed in my paper of 1807 as occurring in the limestones of

F/'T

24

On Specimens of Eozoon Canadense and

+ so

Yig. 8. Sections and casts of detached choinb<irlets, magnified.

Long Lake and Wentwoi'th, and also in the Loganite filling
the chambers of specimens of h^ozoon from Burgess. Some
of them are connected with each other by necks or processes,
in the manner of the groups of chamberlets described by
Gumbel as occurring in a limestone from Finland, examined
by him. That they are organic I cannot doubt, and also
that they have been distributed by cui-i-ents over the surface
of the layers along with fragments of Eozoon. Whether

+ ]20

Pig. 9. Qrouiis of cLamberlets, Canada and Finland, magnified.

ifc>,

Tlieir Geological and other Relations.

25

lling
lonio

dby
ined
also
face
thei*

they are connected with that fossil or are specifically distinct,
may admit of more doubt. They may be merely minute
portions detached from the acei'vuliue surface of Eozoon,
and possibly of the nature of reproductive buds. On the
other hand they may be distinct organisms growing in the
manner of Globigcrina. As this is at present uncertain, and
as it is convenient to have some name for them, I have pro-
posed to term them Archtuosphierinre, understanding by that
name minute Foruminiferal organisms, having the form and
mode of aggregation of Globigerina, but with the proper
wall of Eozoon.

A specimen in the collections from Cote St. Pierre
deserves notice (Fig. 11 infra) as illustrating the nature
of Archteosjihairinu'. It is a small or young specimen,
of a flattened oval form, 2^ inches in its greatest
diameter and of no great thickness. It is a perfect
cast in serpentine, and completely weathered out of the
matrix, except a small portion of the upper surface, which
was covered with limestone which I have carefully remov-
ed with a dilute acid. The serpentinous casto of the cham-
bers are in the lower part legularly laminated ; but they
are remai-kable for their finely manimilated appearance,
arising from their division into innumei-able connected
chamberlets resembling those of Archjeosphterinte. In the
upper part the structure becomes acervuline, and the cham-
iterlets rise into irregular jiiominences, which in the recent
state must have been extremely friable, an(', if broken up
and scattered over the surfaces of the beds, would not be
distinguishable from the oi'dinary Archa'osphiurime. This
specimen thus gives further probability to the view that the
Ai'chasosphjeriiue may be for the most part detached cham-
borlets of Eozoon, perhaps dis])ersed in a living state and
capable of acting as germs. Other specimens weathered
out and showing granular forms have been collected by Mr.
K. K. Hamilton and are now in the Museum.

t>. Specimens of Eozoon have been traversed by veins of
chrysotile and calcite which cross all their structures indif-
ferently, and often seriously affect their preservation. But

26

On Specimens of Eozoon Cmiadense

similar aecidentn have titt'ected fonHils of every age, and ea-
])ecially those of tlio older and more altered rocks. The
numner in which these veins cross the forms of I'lozoon in
truth pi'csent an additional pi'oof that these are original en-
closures in the limestone, and not products of any subse-
quent change.

Fig, 10. Chrysotile vein crossing Ko/.uon, inngnified. («) Vein of fibrous Serpen -
lino orChrysotile ; (//) Tubulatiun of Kozoun.

Y. Tn connection with this I would refer to a fact which I
have often previously mentioned, namely, that the Lauion-
tian limestones, when destitute of the laminated forms char-
acteristic of Eozoon, are nevertheless often filled with small
patches showing the minute structures. These I regard as
fragments of Eozoon broken up and scattered by the cur-
rents. In this case, the remainder of these bands of lime-
stone must be composed of fragments of other organisms
which not being porous have not been so preserved 1)}' in-
filtration as to be distinguishable In the original investi-
gation of Hozoon, however, a great numbei- of slices of these
fragmental limestones were prepared by Mr. Weston the
lapidary of the CJeological Survey, and carefully examined,
and though they showed no distinct structui-e except that of
Eozoon, L folt convinced, and expressed this conviction in
my original description, that these fragments presented such
traces of structure as one is familiar with in metamorphosed
organic limestones of more modern date.* At Cote St. Pierre
there are several layers of limestone and dolomite studded

* Especially the finely granular structure a'jovu referred to.

\

•^

Their Geological and other Relations.

2Y

■A

with this frajjjmeittal Kozoon, and in spceimons from Brazil,
from Wairen County, Now York, and from ChelmHfbrd in
MaHsachusotts, and St. John, Now IJrunswick, tlie traces of
Eozoon which I have ohservod consist of thcHo fragments.

8, In slicing one of my specimens from Cote St. Pierre, I
have recently observed a very interesting peculiarity of
structure, which deserves mention. It is an abnormal thick-
ening of the calcareous wall in patches extending across the
thickness of four oi- five lamelhc, (he lattei- becoming slight-
ly bent in approaching the thickened portion. This thick-
ened portion is traversed by regularly placed parallel canals
of large size, tilled with dolomite, while the intervening
calcite presents a very tine dendritic tulmlation. The longi-
tudinal axes of the canals lie nearly in the plane of the ad-
jacent laminio. This structure reminds an observer of the
Civnostroma typo of Stroviatopora, and may be either an ab.
normal growth of l''.ozoon, conseciuent on some injury, or a
parasitic mass of some stromatoporoid oi-ganism tinally over-
grown by the Kozoon. The structure of the dolomite shows
that it tirst incrusted the interior of the canals, and subse-
([uently tilled them — an apj)earance which I have also ob-
served in some of the larger canals tilled with serpentine,
and which is very instinctive as to their true nature.

The above statements have reference to state of preserva-
tion, and are intended to I'emove misconceptions on that
subject, but the more fact of so many coincidences both in
state of ]>reservation and defects and imperfections between
Ko/.oon and ordinary fossils, furnishes in itself, independent-
ly of other evidence, no small proof of its organic origin.

IV. NKW FACTS AND SPEtJIAL POINTS.

Under this heading, I shall summarise some of the pre.
vious statements, and add some special tacts bearing on the
character of the specimens and their interpretation.*

* Nos. 1 to 11 were read at the Meeting of the British Association, Sept. 5, 1387,
and printed in part in QeuUmical Magazine, February, 1888,

28 On Svenmens of Eozoon Canadense and

(1.) Form of Eozoon Canadense.

Hithetto this has been regarded as alto<,'cther indefinite,
and it is true that the specimens are often in great conflu-
ent masses or sheets, the latter sometimes distorted by the
Lateral pressure which the limestone has experienced. The
specimen from Tudor, however, figured by Sir W. E. Logan
in the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, 1867, p.
253, and that described by me in the " Proceedings of the

Pig. 10. Eomim Cnnadenne. (1) Small specimen diser.gageJ by weathering.
(2) Acervuline cells rf upper part— mngnifiud. (3) Tubereulated surface of
lamina— mag. (4) Laminaa of Serpentine in section, representing oasts of the
sarcode — mag.

American Association " in 1876, and figured in my work,
"Life's Dawn on Earth," gave the idea of a turbinate form
more or less broad. More recently additional specimens
weathered out of the limestone of Cote St. Pierre have been

Tlieir Gcolo'^iml <inil other Relatwna.

29

cfinite,
uonrtu-
by the
i. The
Logan
.867, p.
of the

weiilhering.
■jurface of
lists of the

ly work,
ate form
jecimens
ave been

■■

obtained by Mr, K. II. iramiltoii, who collected for me at
that place; and these, on comparison with several less per-
fect specimens in our collections, have established the iact
that the normal shape of young and isolated specimens of
Eozoi'm Canadensc is a broadly-turbinatj, funnel-shaped, or
top-shaped form, sometimes with a depression on the upper
surface giving it the appearance of the ordinary cup-
shaped Mediterranean sponges. (Fig. 11.) These speci-
mens also show that there is no tlieca or outer coat either
above or below, and that the lamina* pass outwards with-
out change to the mai'gin of the form, whore, however, they
tend to coalesce by subdividing and bending together. The
himinoj are thickest at the base of the inverted cone, and
become thinner and closer on ascending, and at the top they
become confounded in a general vesicular or acervuline
layer. I feel now convinced that broken fragments of this
upper surface scattered over the sea-bottom formed those
layers of Archoeospha'rina; which at one time I regarded as
distinct organisms.

It is to be observed, however, that other forms of Eozoon
occur. More especially thei-e are rounded or dome-shaped
masses, that seem to have grown on ridges or protuber-
ances, now usually represented by nuclei of pyroxene.

(2.) Qsculiform tubes.

In the large number of specimens of Eozoon which have
been cut or sliced in various directions, and ai-e now in our
museum at Montreal, it has become apparent that there are
more or less cylindrical depressions or tubes, sometimes
filled with serpentine and sometimes with inorganic calcite,
crossing the lamina) at right angles. These seem to occur
chiefly in the large and confluent masses, and are without
an}- regular or definite arrangement. In some of the nar
lower openings of this kind the laminsu can be observed to
subdivide and become confluent on the sides of these tubes,
in the same manner as at the external surface. This cir-
(nimstance induces me to believe that these are not acci-
dental, but original parts of the structure, and intended to

30

On Specinifins of Kozonn Cannflense and

udinitwator into the lower piii'ts of the inassos. (See Fion-
tispioco.) A central canal of a similar Ivin<l Ih well hHouii
in the accompanying illustration.

T'"ig. 12. Section of tiio l)iii-o of ii spociincn cf Kozt.im. Tlii^ speoiinoii shows
iin o?culifi)rni, cyiinilriciil iicrfonition, cut in siicli ii miunicr ii.s to fliow it.s
ritifiilaird irti'l iind tiie descent of tlie Inminju toward it. Two-tiiirda of
niitural size. From a photoKriiph. Coll. Curponter, also in Rcdpiith Museum.

[This illustration (from Prof. Prcstwioh's " Geology," vol. ii., p. 21) ha.s been
courteously lent by the Clarendon Press, Oxford.]

(3.) Beds of Fra(jmontal Eozoon.

If Eozoon was an orgtinism growing on the sea-bottom,
it would be inevitable that it would be likely to be broken
up, and in this condition to constitute a calcareous sand or
gravel. I have alretidy in previous pages noticed Lau-
rentian limestones containing such fragments, from the
Cri-enville band at Cote St. Pierre, from the Adirondack
Mountains in New York State, from Chelmsford, Massachu-
setts, and from St. John, New Jirunswicic, as well as from
Brazil and the Swiss Alps. Indeed, the Laurentian lime-
stones of most ])art8 of the world hold fragmental Eozoon.
In the Peter Red path Museum are some large slabs of Lau-
rentian limestone sawn under the direction of Sir W. E.
Logan, and showing irregular layer-3 and detached masses

Their Geologivnl ami other Relations.

31

of Hozoiin with layers or Imncis of limcstono and of ophio-
lite, ThcHO are evidently luyoi-H succesHlvoly deposited,
though somowliat distorted by subsequent niovomonts. On
selecting specimens from the white and more purely calca-
reous layers, I was pleased to tind thut they abound in
(Varments of lamina' of Kozoiin, having the canals tilled
either with dolomite or with colourless serpentine. Other
poi'tioi . of the limestone show the peculiar granulited
structure characteristic of the calcareous lainina-of Kozoiin,
but without any appeai-anco of canals, which may in this
case bo occupied with calcite, not distinguishable from the
substance of the lamina'. There are also indications in
those bods of limestones of the presence of Eozoiin not intil-
tratod with serpentine, but having." its lamina> either com-
pressed together, or M'ith the spaces between them tilled
with calcite. There are other fragments which, from their
minute structure, I believe to be organic, but which are
appaiently ditferent from Eozoun.

(4.) Veins of Chrysotile.

I have iji previous pages noticed the fact that the
veins of fibrous chrysotile which abound in serpentinous
limestones of the Laurentian are of secondary aqueous
oiigin, as they till cracks or fissures not merely crossing
the beds of the limestone, but passing through the masses
of Kozoon and the serpentinous concretions which occur in
the beds. They must, therefore, have been formed by
aqueous action long after the deposition, and in some cases
after the folding and crumpling of the beds. In this
respect they ditt'er entirely from the lamina) of JOozoiin,
which have been subject to the same compression and fold-
ing with the beds themselves.

The chrysotile veins have, of course, no connection vith
the structures of Eozoiin, though they have often been mis-
taken for its more finely tubulated portion. With respect
to this latter, I believe that some wrong impressions have
been created by defining it too rigorously as a " proper

32

On Specirnens of Eozoim Cmiademe and

wall." In so far as I can ascertain, it consiHted of fine'-
dividcd tiibos bimiiar to Ihoso of the canal syntem, and
composed of its tinor subdivisions placed close togethei-, so
as to become approximately parallel. (See Fiy;. 4 above.)

(5.) Nodules of Serpentine.

Keierence bas been made in previous papers to tbe
nodules and grains of serpentine found in the Ho^oim lime-
stone, but destitute of any structure. Tbeso nodules, as
exhibited in the largo slabs already referred to, have how-
ever often patches of Eozoon attached to or imbedded in
them, atid they appear to indicate a superabundance of this
siliceous material accumulating by concretionary action
around or attached to any foreign body, just as occurs with
the flints in chalk. The layers and grains of serpentine
parallel to the bedding appear to be of similar origin.

(G.) State of Preservation.

-Recent observations more and more indicate i.ho impor-
tance and frequency of dolomite as a filling of the canals,
and also the fiict that the serpentine deposited in and around
the specimens of Eozoon is of various qualities. Dr. Sterry
Hunt has shown that the purely aqueous serpentine found
in the Laurentian limestones is of different composition from
that occurring with igneous rocks, or as a product of the
hydration of olivine. There are, however, different varieties
even of this aqueous serpentine, ranging in colour from
deep green to white ; and one of the lighter varieties has
the property of weathering to a rusty colour, owing to the
oxidation of its iron. These different varieties of serpentine
will, it is hoped, soon be analysed, so as to ascertain their
precise composition. The mineral pyroxene, of the wuite
or colourless variety, is a frequent associate of Eozoon,
occurring often in the lower layers and filling some of the
canals. Sometimes the calcareous laminae themselves are
parti>\lly replaced by a flocculent serpentine, or by pyroxenic
grains Imbedded in calcite.

i

1

Their Genhsical (ind oflier Relatione

33

fine''
., and

,er, 80
30ve.)

.0 the
1 lime-
los, as
} how-
ded in
of this
action
1-8 with
pontine

I impor-
I canals,
around
Stcrry
found
on from
of the
varieties
ar from
ties has
to the
pentine
in their
e wnite
Eozoon,
of the
jlves are
roxenic

(7.) Ot^er Laurcntian Organisms.

In a collection recently acquired by the Peter Red path
Museum, from the L.iurentian of the Ottawa district, are
some remarkable cylindrical or elongated conical bodies?
from one to two inches in diameter, wliicli seem to have
occui'red in connection with beds or nodules of apatite.
They ai'o composed of an outer thick cylindci- of granular
dai'k-coloured pyroxene, with a core or nucleus of white
felspar ; and they show no Htructure, except that the ouler
cylinder is sometimes marked with radiating rusty bands,
indicating the decay of radiating plates of pyrite. They
may possibly have been organisms of the nature of ArclioiO-
cyathus; but such reference must be merely lonjectural.

(8.) Cryptozoum.

The discovery by Prof. Hall, in the Potsdam formation
of New York, and by Prof. Winchell in that of Minnesota,
of the large laminated forms which have been described
under the above name, has some interest in connection with
i'^ozoon. I have found fragments of these bodies in con-
glomerates of the (Quebec group, associated with Middle
Cumbrian fossils ; and, whatever their zoological relations,
it is evident that they occur in the Cambrian rocks under
the same conditions as Eozoon in the Lnurentian. I find
also in the Laurentian limestones certain laminated forms
usually referred to Eozoon, but which have thin continuous
laminae, with spongy porous matter intervening, in the
manner of Cyptozoum or of Loftusia. Whether these are
merely Eozoon in a peculiar state of preservation or a
distinct structure, I cannot at present determine.

(9.) Continuity and Character of containing Deposits.

At a time when so many extravagant statements ai-e
made, more especially by some German petrologists, re-
specting the older crystalline rocks, it may be proper to

state that all my recent investigations of the part of system
3

r/7

34

On Spacimem of Eozoon Canadense and

which I have called Middle Laurentian, especially in the
district east of the Ottawa, vindicate the results of the late
Sir William Logan as to the continuity of the great lime-
stones, their regular interstratification with the gneisses,
quartzose gneisses, quartzites, and micaceous schists, and
their association with bedded deposits of magnetite and
graphite, and also the regularity and distinctly stratified
character of all these rocks. Farther, 1 j-egard the Upper
Laurentian, independently of the great masses of Lahradorite
rock, which may be intrusive, as an important aqueous
formation, characterised by peculiar I'ocks, more especially
the anorthite gneisses. 1 am also of opinion that some of
the crystalline rocks of the country west of Lake Superior
are stratigraphically, and to a great extent lithologically,
equivalent to the Upper Laurentian of St. Jerome and other
places in the Province of Quel ec, differing chiefly in the
greater or less abundance of intrusive igneous rocks.

(10.) Imitative Forms.

The extraordinary mistakes made by some lithologists in
studying imperfect examples of Eozoon and rocks su])j)08ed
to resemble it, and which have gained a large amount of
currency, have rendered necessary the collection and study
of a variety of laminated rocks, and considerable collections
of these have been made for tho Peter Iledpath Museum.
They include bantled varieties of dolerite and diorite, of
gneiss, of apatite and of tourmaline with (>uartz. laminated
limestone with serpentine, graphic granites, and a variety
of other laminated and banded materials, which only
require compai-ison with the genuine specimens to show
their distinctness, but many of which have nevertheless
been collected as specimens of Eozoon. I do not propose to
enter into any detailed description of these here, but may
hope, with the aid of Dr. Jlarrington, to notice them in
forthcoming Memoirs of Peter Jledpath Museum.

It is QSiBy for inexperienced observers to mistake lamin-
ated concj-etions and laminated rocks either for Stromatopora

Their Geological and other Relations.

35

liirain-

atopora

or for Eozoon, and sucli misapprehensions are not of infre-
quent occurrent'o. As to concretions, it is only necessary
to say that tliese, when they show concentric hiyors, are
deficient altogether in the primary requirements of laminre
and interspaces ; and under the microscope their structures
are either merely fragmental, as in ordinary argillaceous
and calcareous concretions, or they have radiating crystal-
line fibres like oolitic gi-ains. Laminated rocks, on the
other hand, present alternate layers of different mineral
substances, but are destitute of minute structures, and are
either parallel to the bedding or to the planes of dykes and
igneous masses. In the Montreal mountain there are
beautiful examples of a banded dolerite in alternate layers
of black pyroxene and white felspar. These occur at the
junction of the dolerite with the Hilui-ian limestone through
which it has been erupted. Laminated gneissoso beds also
abound in the Laurontian, Still more remarkable examples
are afforded by altered rocks having thin calcite bands,
whether arising from deposition or from vein-segregation.
One of those now before i .e is a specimen from the collection
of Dr. Newberry, and obtained at Gouverneur, St. Lawrence
County, New York. It presents thick bands of a peculiai-
granitoid rock containing highly crystalline felspar ;iiid
mica with grains of serpentine ; these bands are almost a
quarter of an inch in thickness, and are separated by inter-
rupted parallel bands of calcite much thinner than the
others. The whole resembles a magnified specimen of
Eozoon, except in the absence of the connecting chambor-
walls and of the characteristic structures. A similar rock
has been obtained by Mr. Vennor on the Gatineau ; but it
is less coarse in texture though eiiuaily crystalline, and
appears to contain hornblende and pyroxene. These are
both Laurentian, and 1 consider it not impossible that they
may have been organic ; but they lack the evidence of
minute structure, and differ in important details from
Eozoon. Another specimen from the Horseshoe Mountain
in the Western States (X regret that I have mislaid the
name of the gentleman to whom I am indebted for this

86

On Spei'imens of Eoznon Cariadense and

specimen) is a limestone with perfectly regular and uniform
layers of minute i-hombohedral crystals of dolomite. The
layers vaiy in distance regularly in the thickness of the
specimen from two millimetres to one, and must have resulted
from the alternate deposition in a very regular manner of
dolomite and limestone. These are but a few of the examples
of imitative structures which might readily be confounded
with Eozoon, oi- which, if resulting from organic growth,
have lost all decisive evidence of the fact.

Perhaps still more puzzling imitative forms are those
referred to by Hahn, which occur in somo felspars, and
which I have found in great beauty in certain crystals of
orthoclase from Vermont. They are ramifying tubes
resembling the canal-system of Eozoon, and are evidently a
peculiar form of gas-cavities or inclusions. Similar appear-
ances arc, how _., often presented by the more minute
and microscopic varieties of graphic granite, in which the
little plates might readily be mistaken, in certain sections,
for organic tubulation.

In the present state of knowledge, it is perhaps more
excusalile to mistake such things for organic structures than
to deny the existence of true organic structures because
they resemble such forms. Those who have examined
moss-gates are familiar with the fact that while some show
merely crystals of peroxide of iron or oxide of manganese,
others present the forms of Vaucheri<v or Conferva'. So if
one were to place side by side some tibres of asbestos,
spicules of Tetliea, and coniferous wood, preserved, like
some from Colorado, as separate white siliceous fibres, they
might appear alike ; but, even if thoroughly mixed together^
the microscope should be able easily to distinguish them.
I have specimens of fossil wood, collected by Hartt in Brazil,
which have been mineralized by limonito in such a manner
that no one, without microscopic examination, could believe
them to be other than fibrous brown hannatite. Such
difficulties the micro-geologist must expect to find, and by
patient observation to overcome.

Tlieir Geological and other Relations.

37

(11.) Alternation of Mineral Layers.

It luiH been suggested by Mr. Julien* and others that
Eozoonul structure may be due to the alternation of mineral
layers formed in the passage-beds between concretions and
other mineral masses, and their enclosing matrix. The
objections to this view are :

1. Laminated passage-rocks and laminated concretionary
forms have only simple lamiiue, whereas Eozoon has con-
nected or reticulating laminie.

2. Laminated jiassage-rocks have no sti-ucture other than
crystalline. EozoonhiX'A beautiful tubulation in its calcareous
walls, besides large tubes or oscula.

3. Sometimes (not usually) p^-roxene is the siliceous
part oi Eozoon ; or. as wo hold, the mineralizing agent.
More usually it is serpentine, sometimes loganite,or dolomite,
or mere earthy limestone. It is not possible that all these
minei'uls should assume the same forms.

4 Pyroxene and serpentine both occur in nodules and
bands in the Laurentian limestones, and in most cases
without any tiaces of Eozoon, wliilo Eozoon occurs in the
limestone remote from such nodules and bands, where no
passage of any kind can occur, and presents distinct forms.

5. There are only two localities known to me, one in a
quarry near (.*6te St. Vierre, and one at Bui-gess, where a
bed with badly preserved Eozoon occurs in a manner which
would even suggest such an idea. Pyroxene is present
in the one case, and loganite in the other.

6. I liave otton thought olthis suggested explanation, and
have compared Eozoon with all sorts of banded and passage-
rocks taken i'rom the Laurentian and other foi inations, but
have seen no reason to adopt such a view for Eozoon, 1
have accumulatetl in the Peter iJedpath Museum at Montreal
as above stated, a very lai-ge number of laminated and
passago-rocks and conci-etions for purposes of comparison.

7. How on such an hyphthesis can we explain the beds

* Proceed. Amer. Assoc, vol. xxxiii. 1884, pi). 415, 410.

38

On Specimens of Eozoon Canadense and

of liraostono composed of or filled with fragment.s of
Eozoon ?

8. I append to this section a few extracts from previous ar-
ticles on the subject, which bring uyi important ))(fints into
the details of which it has been impossible to enter in the
above remarks.

1. Tlie complicated theory of pseudomorphism and replacement,
advocated by Messrs. Rowney and Kinj?, may be dismissed at once.
Independently of the insuperable oliomical difficulties which have
\y a pointed out by Dr. Hunt*, and which he has discusssod
very fully in liis " Papers on Chemical Geology," we have the
further facts that no replacement of sorjxjntine by calcite is
indicated by th relations of these minerals to each other, while
such replacement as does occur is in the other direction, or the
change of calcite into serpentine, as evidenced by the state of pre-
servation of some spociniens oi Eozoon, above referred to. Further,
this theory fails to give any explanation of the si)ecimens mineral-
ized by pyroxene, dolomite, and calcite, or to account for the
nummuline wall, except by attributing it to the alteration of
chrysotile, which is inadmissible, as the veins of this mineral are
newer than tbo walls supposed to bave been derived from them.

2. Inasmuch as many apparently concretionary grains and lenti-
cular masses of serpentine exist in the Ijaureutum limestones, it
may be supposed |x)ssible ihat Eozoon is merely a modification oi"
these concretionary forms. In this case, the filling of each lamina
and chandjerlet of Eozoon must be regarded as a separate con-
cretion ; and oven if wo could suppose some special cause to give
regularity and uniformity to such concretions in some places and
not in otbers. wo still have unaccounted for the canals and tubuli,
or the delicate threads of serpentine representing them. Further,
we have to suppose that a tendency to this regular and complicated
arrangement has ali'ected in the same way minerals so diverse as
serpentine, loganite, pyroxene, and dolomite.

3. The only remaining theory is that of inliltration by serpentine
of cavities previously existing in the calcite. There is no chemical
objection to this, inasnuich as we know of the inliltration of fossils,
in other tbrmations by minerals akin to serpentine ; and in these
limestones the veins of fibrous serpentine have evidently been
introduced by aqueous action subsequently to the i)rotluction or
fossilization of the Eozoon. Further, the white pyroxene of the
Laurentian limestones, and the loganite and dolomite, are all known

• Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. vol. xxiii. p. 260.

TJieir Geolon-iml and other Relations.

39

to liave been produced liy aqueous deposition. The only question
remaining is, \Vh<inciH,'ainetlioori,t,'inalcalcite skeleton vvithlauiinse,
chambers, canals, and tubuli to be so infiltrated? The answer is
^iven in tiie comparison with the tests of Foraminifera, orijiiinally
proiMDSed by the writer, and illustrated in so conclusive a manner
by the researches of Dr. Carj)entor.

I may add, in conclusion, that had geologists generally the
opportunity of studying Eozoou in ntu, in good exjxtsures, like that
at St. Pierre, they would much more fully understand and appreci-
ate the arguments for its organic nature, tiuvn when they have had
opportunities of examining only polished specimens and slicesf.
Itfi stromatoporoid masses, projecting from the weathered beds of
limestone, would at once attract the attention of any collector; and
the whole conditions of its jccurrence, whether entire or in
fragments, are precisely tliose of fossil corals in the Silurian lime-
stones. Further, the symmetry and uniformity of its habit of
growth are much more apparent wlim they can be studied in large
specimens prepared by natural weathering or by treatment with
an acid.

V. NOTES ON CERTAIN PECULIAR SPECIMENS.

1. SPECIMENS FROM COTB ST. I'IBRRE.

In order to test the state of preservation of the canal system and
nummuline layer, I treated a great number of8{)ecimensfrom diffe-
rent i)arts of tlie bed with a dilute acid. The result was, that in all,
the canal system could be detected in greater or less i)erfection in
the thicker laminte near the base of the forms, and in some througli
a great number of the lamina'. The structure of the nummuline
layer waa not so constantly preserved, its tubuli not being infiltrated
in some parts, so that it appears as a structureless band, or fails
altogether to bo visible. In no instance cimid it be seen to pass
into chrysotile, ab recently atiirmed by Messrs. Kowney and King*,
although chrysotile veins often run very near to or across the walls.
The nummuline layer i.s ahnost always distinctly limited by parallel
surfaces, with its tubes at right angles, or nearly so. to these.

* Trans- Royal Irish Acadoiny, ISTl.

t I have bean ^•o^^y tii tiiul, from spociiucns in the cabinets of iny friend.s, that
some ilealor are in tlie habit of circulating spociuiciis labelled " Kuzooii
C(in<(d<iim" v/\uah have no trace of the .structures of the fossil, but are either
badly preserved acervuline portions or merely onlinary serpentine marble. Such
specimens can, of course, only mislead, and may produce much unnecessary
scepticism.

• Ann. & Matf. ot Nat. Hist. May 1874.

40

On Specimet/s of Eozoon Canadense ami

By careful scrutiny of the beds we were enabled to detect two
new forms of Eozoon, which may eventually prove to be distinct
species, but which for the present may be regarded as varietal
forms.

One of these, found in situ by i\Ir. "Weston, is Hat in form and
very finely laminated, with thin walls, except near the lower part,
where there is some supi)lemental skeleton with finer and more
curved canals tlian usual. The thin walls or lamina; of tho ordinary
skeleton are connected by very frequent vertical pillars or partitions,
and are as numerous as thirty in half an inch, while the whole
thickness of the specimen does not exceed an inch. It thus very
closely resembles somo of the Devonian and Silurian Stromatoponv,
especially when seen on the weathered surface. It may be named
in the meantime variety minor.

The second occurs in more or less oval patches a few inches in
diameter, limited by a sort of a frame or border of compact serpen-
tine, and presenting under the microscope an aggregation of small
acervuline chamberlets, having the proi)er wall tilled with unusually
long parallel tubes, and with little development of supplemental or
intermediate skeleton. The appearance of parallel tubulation
running through and past several successive chamberlets was more
conspicuous in these specimens than in the ordinary acervuline
Eozoon, and the chamberlets themselves more cylintlrical and tortu-
ous. These specimens may either be portions of the acervuline
superficial part of Eozoon broken off and separately preserved, or
they may constitute a distinct varietal form. As the latter seems on
the whole most probable, I would name this form variety acen^iUiim
(Fig. 13 )

ig. l.X hJmoon, peculiar variety— half natural size ; and tubulation magnified
Oto St. Pierre.

Their Geological and other Relations.

41

These varieties are of much more rare occurrence than the ordi-
nary tyjx) of Eozoun.

The ordinary specirr ens of Eozoon found at St. Pierre are mineral-
ized with serpentine , but fragments imbedded in the dolomitic
hniestones have [tlieir canals tilled with a transparent mineral
which, from iis optical character, is evidently dolomite, though the
quantity obtained was not siUIicient foi any definite chemical test
Parts of the canals in these specimens wore filled with calcite, as
shown by its dissolving entirely away in a dilute acid. In one of
the serpentinous specimens also I have observed that, while
portions of tlie groups of canals, especially the basal portions, are
filled with serpentine, tlie extremities of the canals and their finer
branches present, under polarized light, the a8{)ect of calcite ; and
that they are filled with this mineral is proved by these portions of
tlie canal-filling been entirely removed when treated with dilute
acid. It would thus appear that in these specimens, while the
terminal parts of the canals have been filled with calcite, the basal
portions have been occupied by serpentine. This is not, however,
a new fai;t, as similar appearances have been already described
both by Dr. Carpenter and the writer.

In one specimen I observed a portion of the fossil entirely re-
placed by serpentine, the walls of the skeleton being represented
by a lighter-col(jured serijentine than that filling the chambers, and
still (retaining traces of the canals- The walls thus replaced by
serpentine could be clearly traced into connexion with the portions
of those slill existing as calcite. This shows that the serpentine,
lilie the quartz in silicified shells and corals, has had the power of
replacing the calcite of the fossils; and 1 believe that its partial
action in this way accounts for some irregularities observed in the
less perfectly preserved specimens. Nor is it improbable, as Dr.
Hunt has already suggested, that some of the masses of seri)entin9
and pyroxene on whicl ;pecimen8 of Eozoon are based, may repre-
sent older and more peru ctly mineralized masses of the fossil.

In some of the si)ecimens of Eozoon, the superficial laminte are
api)arently broken and displaced in such a uiunner as to suggest
the idea tliat partial disintegration by the waves had taken place
before they were finally buried. It is also observable that in some
of the masses the compression to which they have been subjected
has produced a microscopic faulting, which slightly displaces the
laminte.

42 Oh Specimens of Eozooti Cauadense and

2. SPECIMEN OF BOZOON FHOM Tl'DOR, ONTARIO.*

This very interesting specimen, discovered by Mr. Vennor of the
Canadian Oeological Society, in the sliglitly altered carbonaceous
limestone of tl>e Hastings group, Avas submitted to me by Sir W. E.
Logan. It is, in my opinion, of great importance, as furnishing a
conclusive answer to all those objections to the organic nature of
Eozoon which have been founded on comparisons of its structures
with the forms of (ibrous, dendritic, on concretionary minerals, —
objections which, however plausil)le in the case of highly crystalline
rocks, in which organic remains may be simulated by merely min-
eral appearances readily confounded with them, are wholly inappli-
cable to the present specimen.

1. Ghnekal Api'eakancb. — The fossil is of a clavate form, six and
a half inches in length, and about four inches broad. It is contain-
ed in a slab of dark-coloured, coarse, laminated limestone, holding
sand, scales of mica, and minute grains and ribre-< of carbonaceous
matter. The surface of the slab slunvs a weathered section of the
fossil, and the thickness remaining in the matrix is scarcely two
lines, at least in the part exposed. The septa, or plates of the fos-
sil, are in the state of white carbonate of lime, which shows their
form and arrangement very distinctly, in contrast to the dark stone
tilling the chambers. The specimen lies flat in the plane of strati-
lication, and has probably sulfered some compression. Its septa
are convex towards the broad end, and somewhat undulating. In
some places they are continuous half-way across the specimen ; in
other places they divide and re-unite at short distances. A few
transverse plates, or connecting columns, are visible ; and there are
also a number of small veins or cracks passing nearly at right an-
gles to the septa, and fUled with carbonate of lime, similar in gen-
eral appearance to the septa themselves.

On one side, the outline of the fossil is well preserved. The nar-
row end, which I regard as the basal portion, is rounded. Tiie out-
line of the side first bends inward, and then outward, forming a
graceful double curve, which extends along the greater part of the
length. Above this is an a.bruptprojection, and then a sudden nar-
rowing: and in the middle of the narrow portion, a part has the
chambers obliterated by a white patch of carbonate of lime, below
wliich some of the septa are bent downward in the middle. This
is probably an effect of mechanical injury, or of the interference of
a calc-spar vein.

• This specimen is in the Museum of the Geological Survey at Ottawa. It is
represented by a photograph in the Rudpatii Museum. Its description was ori-
ginally published in the Journal of the Guulogical i:!ociety of London, August,
1867.

Their Geological and other ReUdions.

43

With the exception of Uie npiter part above referred to, the septa
are seen to curve downward rapidly toward tlio margin, an '
coalesce into a lateral wall, which forms tho defined odge or limit
of the fossil, and in which there are some indications of lateral ori.
iicos openini^ into the chamhers. It is worthy of remark that, in this
respect, the present Kixicinien corres])onds exactly with that which
was originally figured by Sir W. E. Logan in the 'Geology of Can-
ada,' p. 49, and w'hicli up to that lime was the only other specimen
that exhibited tho lateral limit of tlie form.

On the side next the matrix, the septa tonuinate in blunt edgesi
and do not coalesce; as if tho organism had been attached by that
surface, or had been broken before being imliodded.

MicROscoi'ic Chauactiiks. — Under the microscope, with a low
power, the margins of the septa appear uneven, as if eroded or tend-
ing to an acervuline mode of growth ; but occiasionally they show a
distinct and regular margin. For the most part merely traces of
structure are preserved, consisting of ■small parts of canals, filled
with the dark colouring-matter of the limestone. In a few places,
however, these appear as distinct bundles, similar to tliose in the
Greuville specimens, but of finer texture.

In a few rare instances only can I detect, with a higher power, in
the margin of some of the septa, traces of the flue tubulation char-
acteristic of the proper chamber-wall of Eozoon. For the most part
this seems to have been obliterated by the infiltration of the tubuli
with colourless carbonate of lime, similar to that of the skeleton.

In comparing the structure of this specimen with that of those
found elsewhere, it would appear that the chambers are more con-
tinuous, and wider in proportion to the thiiiknessof the septa, anJ
that the canal-system is more delicate and indistinct than usual
la the two former respects tho specimens from the Calu*net and
from Burgess approach that now under consideration more nearly
than do those from Grenvillo and Petite Nation ; but it would be
easy, eveii in the latter, to find occasional instances of a propor-
tion of parts similar to that in the present example. Genera! form
is of little value as a character in such organisms ; and so far as
can bo ascertained, this may have been the same in the present
specimen and in that originally o])tained from the Calumet, while
ill tho specimens from Grenville a massive and aggregative mode
of growth seems to have obliterated all distinctness of individual
shape. Without additional specimens, and in the case of creatures
so variable as the Foraminifera, it would bo rash to decide whether
the differences above noticed are of specific value, or depend on age,
variability, or state of preservation. For this reason I refer the
specimen for the present to Eozoon Canadengc, merely distiuguish-
ing it as the Tmlor variety.

44 On Specimens of Eozoon Canadense and

From the state of preservation of tlie fossil, there are no crystal-
Hne structures present which can mislead any ordinary skilful mi-
croscopist, except the minute veins of calcareous spar traversing?
the septa, and the cloavaj^e-planes which have heen developed in
the latter.*

SrtxiMEN FROM Mai)0C.— In a letter to Dr. Carpenter, tjuoted by
him in the 'Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society' for Au-
gust, 1S66, p. 228, I referred to the occurrence of Eozoon preserved
simply in carbonate of lime. The 8i>ecimonH which enabled me to
make that statement were obtained at Madoc, near Tudor, this re-
gion being one in which the Laurentiaii rocks of Canada appear to
be less highly metamorphosed than is usual.t The 8i)ecimen8 from
Madoc, however, wore mere fragments, imbedded in the lime-
tone, and incapable of showing the general form. I may explain,
in reference to this, that long practice in the examination of these
limestones has enabled me to detect the smallest fragments of £oroon
when present, and that in this way I had ascertained the existance
of this fossil in one of the limestones of Madoc before the discovery
of the fine sjHitumen from Tudor.

This fragment projected from tlie surface of the limestone, being
composed of a yellowish dolomite, and looking like a fragment of a
thick shell. When sliced, it presents interiorly a crystalline
dolomite, limited and separated from the enclosing rock by a thin
wall liuv:i)g a granular or porous structure and excavated into
rounde'i recesses in the manner oi Eozoon. It lies obliquely to the
bedi'ing, and evidently represents a hollow flattened calcareous
wall tilled by infiltration. The limestone wiiich afforded this form
was near the bods holding the worm-burrows ilescribed in the
Journal of the Geological Society for November. 186(J.

The following are remarks by Dr. Carpenter on the Madoc
specimen; — "A thin section of this body, carefully examined micro-
scopically, presents numerous and very characteristic examples of
the canal system of Eozoon, exhibiting both the laige widely
branching systems of canals and the smaller and more {)enicillate
tufts shown in the most perfect of the serjientinous .«ijeci mens— but
with the diflerence, that the canals, being filled with a material
either identical with or very similar to that of the substance in
which they are excavated, are so transparent as only to be brought
into view by careful management of the light."

•I cannot, after exiimination of the .specimen, and of others subsequently
obtained by Sir AV. E. Logan, attach any value to the suiiposition of Messrs.
Rowney & King that the Tudor specimen has been produced by infiltration of
carbonate of lime into veins. The mechanical arrangement of the laminu) and
their microscopic structure forbid such a supposition, as well as the comparison
of them with actual calcareous veins occurring in the same rock.

t They may be later than Laurentiau, possibly Huronian.

Their Geolosciral and other Rclatiom.

45

3. SrECIMBNS PROM LON(i LAKE AM) WKNTWOR'af-

Specimon6 from Lon^' Lake, in the colloction of tlio Goolojrical
Survey of Canaila, oxliihit wliito crystulline liuuwtoiie with li^rht-
green compact or septariiform* serpentine, and much resemble
sor.ie of the serpentine-Uniostones of Granville. Under the micro-
scftpe the calcareous matter presents a delicate aroolated appear-
ance, without lamination; hut it is not an example of acorvnline
Kozoon, but rather of fragments of such a structure, confusedly
aggregated together, and having the intei.,..ces and cell-cavities
tilled with 8er[)entine. I have not found in any of these fragments
a canal-systom similar to that of Eozoon Canarf<'n.'i(', though there
are casts of large stolons, and, under a high power, the calcareous
matter shows in many places the peculiar granidar or cellular ap-
IHiarance which is one of the characters of the supplemental skele-
ton of that species. In a few places a tubulated cell-wall is
preserved, with structure similar to that of Eozoon Canudense.

mm

Fig. 14. Chnraberlots from Long Lake. («) Entire form showing tubulation ;
(he) same more magnified ; (d) cast of interior with oasts of tubuli.

Specimens of Laurontian limestone from Wentworth, in the
collection of the Geological Survey, exhibit many rounded siliceous
bodies, some of which are apparently grains of sand, or small
I)ebbles ; but others, especially when freed from calcareous matter
by a dilute acid, appear as rounded bodies, with rough surfaces,
eitlier separate or aggregated in lines or groups, and having minute

• I use the term ' septariiform ' to denote the curdled appearance so often pre-
sented by the Laurentian serpentine.

46

On i^i>erimeHS of Eozonn CanwknuH and

vormicniar prooessos projoctinn from tluMr surfaces. (Fi)-'. 14.)
At lirsl sight tlieso suggest tlifj idea of spiciilos ; but I think it on
the whole moro Hkoly that they are casts of cavities and tubes
belonging to Bonio calcareous Foraniiniforal organism whic^h has
disapi^eared. Similar bodies, found in the linicstoiie of Havana,
have been described by (liiinbcl, who interprets tiiem in thosame
way.* They may be also compared with the silicious bodies
mentioned in a former paj)er as occurring in the Loganito fdling
the chambers of epecimens of Kozoon from Burgess.

Fig. 14. Ctist of Chamborlcts ; cavities of Eozoon, Burge8!<.

4. CANALS NOT TO BE CONFOUNDED WITH DENDRITIC MINBRAI^, AC.

The discovery of the specimen from Tudor, above described, may
apjiear to render unnecessary any reference to the olaborato attempt
made by Profs. King and Rowney to explain the structures of
Eozoon by a comparison witli the forms of fibrous and dendritic
mineralSjt moro especially as Dr. CarjKinter has already shown
their inaccuracy in many important iK)ints. 1 think, however,
that it may serve a useful purpose shortly to point out the more
essential resijects in which this comparison fails with regard to the
Canadian specimens — with the view of relieving the discussion
from matters irrelevant to it, and of fixing more exactly the limits
f crystalline and organic forms in the serpentine-limestones and
Jmilar rocks.

The fundamental error of the writers above named arises from
defective observation — in failing to distinguish, in tiie Canadian
limestones themselves, between organic and crystalline forms.
This is naturally followed by the identification of all these forms,
whether mineral or organic, with a variety of purely crystalline
arrangements occurring in other rocks, leading to their attaching
the term " Eozoonal " to any rock which shows any of the characters,
whether mineral or organic, thus arbitrarily attached to the
Canadian Eozoon. This is obviously a process by which the
structure of any fossil might be proved to be a mere luifiis natunc.

i.i

* Proceedings of Royal Academy of Munich, 186(5;
ISdetneq. ; also, Clin. Naturalist, vol. iii. p. 81.
t Quart. Journ. Gcol. Soc. vol. xxii. pt. ii. p. 23,

Q.J.(i.S vol xxii. pt. i. p.

Tlieir Geological and other Relations.

47

(!•!>.'. 14.)
think it on
I and tnbos
I which has
of Bavaria,
n tliosaiue
ions bodies
mitt) filling

BR AW, AC,

•ribed, may
ate attempt
tructures of
J dendritic
Lidy shown
k, however,
jt the more
gard to the
discussion
the limits
jstones and

arises from
i Canadian
line forms,
hese forms,

crystalline
r attaching

characters,
ed to the
which the
IS naturiv.

sxii. pt. i. ]).

A notable illustration of this is afforded by their regarding the
veins of fibrous sorpentine, or chrysotile, which occur in the Cana-
dian siwcimens, as identical with the tubulated cell-wall of Eozoon
— although they atbnit that these veins traverse all the structures
inditlerently and do not conform to the walls of the chambers,
lint any microscopist who passesses specimens of Eozoon containing
these chrysotile veins may readily satisfy himself that, under a
liigh power, they resolve themselves into primvUic, crystals in
iiiimcdidti covl-irt tritJi each olhrr ; whereas, under a similar power,
the true cell-wall is seen to conaiat of slender, undulatiru/, rowidid
Ihreads of serpentine, penetrating a matrix of curhonate of lime. Under
polarized light, more of.i'> ially, the difference is conspicuously
apparent.

It would also appear that the radiating and siieaf-like bundles of
crystals of tremolite, or similar prismatic minerals, which occur in
the Canadian serpentines, and also abound in those of Connemara,
have been confounded with the tabulation of -fi'orooji ; but these
crystals have no definite relation to the forms of that fossil, and
and often occur where those are entirely absent ; and in any case
they are distinguished by their straight prismatic shape and their
angular divergence from each other. iNIucli use has also been
made of the amorphous masses of opaque serpentinous matter
which apjwar in some parts of the structure of ii'otoon. These I
regard as, in most cases, simply results of alteration or defective
preservation, tliough they might also arise from the presence of
foreign matters in the chambers, or from an incrustation of mineral
matter before iina' tilling uj) of the cells. Generally their forms
are purely inorganic ; but in some cases they retain indications of
the structures of Eozoon.

\Vitli reference to the canal-syf^tem of Eozoon, no value can be
attached to loose comparisons of a structure so definite with the
forms of dendritic silver and the filaments of moss-agate s ; still let^s
can any resemblance bo established between the canal rystem and
vermicular crystals of mica. These occur abundantly in some
serpentines from the Calumet, and miglit readily be mistaken for
organic forms ; but their rhombic or hexagonal outline when seen
in cross section, their transverse cleavage planes, and their want of
any definite arrangement or relation to any general organic form,
are sufficient to undeceive any practised observer. I have not
seen specimens of tbe metaxite from Reichenstein referred to by
]\Iessrs. King and Rowney ; but it is evident, from the description
and figure given of it, that, whether organic or otherwise, it is not
similar to the canals oi Eozoon Canadense. But all these and similar
comparisons are evidently worthless when it is considered that

48

On Specimens of Eozoon Canndense and

they have to account for definito, ramifying, cylindrical forms,
penetrating a skeleton or matrix of limestone, AvLicli has itnelf a
definite arrangement and structure, and, further, vvlien we find that
the'^e forms are represented hy substances so diverse as 8eri)entine,
pyroxene, limestone, and carbonaceous matter. This is intelh,ij;ible
on the supposition of tubes filled with foroign matters, but ncit on
that of dendritic crystallization.

If all specimens oi Eozoon were of the acervuline character, the
comparisons of the chamber-casts with concretionary granules
might have .some plausibiUty. But it is to be observed that the
laminated arrangement is the typical one', and the study of the
larger ecimons, cut under the direction of Sir W. E. liOgan, shows
that tnese laminated forms must have grown on certain strata-
planes before deposition of the overlying beds, and that the beds
are, in part, composed of the broken fragments of similar laminated
structures. Further, much of the apj)arontly acervuline Eozoon
rock is composed of such broken fragments, the interstices between
which should not be confounded with the chambers ; while the
fact that the serpentine fills such interstices as well as the chambers
shows that its arrangement is not concretionary.*

It is also to be observed that examination of a number of
limestones, other than Canadian, by IMossrs. King and Rowney,
has obliged them to admit that tlie laminated forms in combination
with the canal system are " essentially Canadian," and that the
only instance^; of structures clearly resembling the Canadian
specimens are afforded by limestones Laurentian in age, and in
some of \> Inch (as, for instance, in those of Bavaria and Scandinavin)
Carpenter and Giimbel have actually found the structure of Eozoon.
The other serpentine limestones examined (for example, that of
Skye) are admitted to fail in essential points of structure; and the
only serpentine believed to be of eruptive origin, exam ined by them
is confessedly destitute of all semblance of Eozoon. Similar results
have been obtained by the more careful researches of Prof. Giimbel,
whose pajxjr is well deserving of stuily by all who have any doubts
on this subject.

In the above remarks I have not referred to the disputed case of
the Connemara limestones ; but I may state that I have not been
able to satisfy myself of the occurrence of the structures of Eozoon
in such specimens as I have had the opportunity to examine.* It
is perhaps necessary to add that there exists in Canada abundance
of Laurentian limestone which shows no indication of the

* I do not include hero tlie "soptiiriiform" structure referred to above, which
is common in the Canadian serpentine and has no connexion with the forms of
the chambers.

Tlieir Geological and other Relations.

49

structures of Eozoon. In some cases it is evident tiiat such
structures liave not been present. In other cases tliey may have
\win\ obliterated by processes of crystallization. As in the case of
other fossils, it is diily in certain beds, and in certain parts of those
beds, tliat well-characterized specimens can be found. I may also
repeat here that in the <irij:;;inal examination of Eozoon, in the
si)rin<r of 1S()4, I was furnished by Sir \V. E. Lo<;an with specimens
of all these limestones, and also with serpentine limestones of
Silurian age; but that, while all possible care wjis taken to
compare these witli the specimens of I'hmon, it was not tliotight
necessary to publish notices (if the crystalline and concretionary
forms observed, many of which were very curious, and might
ailbrd materials for other papers of the nature of that ci'iticised in
the above remarks.

ase of

been

)zoon

It

ance

the

T). 1)K. CAltPENTEB ON CANALS KILLKD WITH CAKHOXATE OF LIMB.

" The examination of a large number of sections of a specimen of
Eozoon, recently placed in my hands by Sir William Logan, in
which the canal system i.i extraordinarily well preserved, enables
me to supply a most unexpected contirmation of Dawson's
statements in regard to the occurrence ofdendritic and otiier forms
of this system, vvhich cannot bo accounted for by the intrusion of
any foreign mineral; for many parts of tlie calcareous lamelkr in
these sections, which, when viewed by ordinary transnnttod light,
appear quite lioniogeneous and structureless, are found, when the
light is reduced by Collin's "graduating diaphragm," to exhibit p.
most beautiful development of various forms of canal system (often
resembling those of Dawson's Madoc specim<Mi !?oticed above),
which cross the cleavage planes of the shell-subptance in every
direction. Now these parts, when subjected to decalcification,
show no trace of canal system ; so that it is obvious, both fnmi their
optical and from their chemical reactions, that the substance tilling
the canals must have been carbonate of lime, which has thus
completely solidified the shell layer, having been deposited in the
canals previously excavated n its interior, just as crystalline
carbonate of lime fills up the reticular spaces of the skeleton of
Echinodermata fossilized in a calcareous matrix. This fact affords
conclusive evidence oi organic Hriuiurc, since no conceivable process
of crystallization could give orir;in to dendriti(; extensions of
arbonate of lime disposed on exactly the same crystalline system
Avith the calcite which includes them, the two substance being

' iSucIi Irish specinions of sorpontiiie liiuestoiie as I huvo seen, appear much
more lughly oryatalliue than the beds in Canada which contain Eozoon.

50

On Specimens of Eozoon Canadense and

minoralogically lic)mn<;j(Mie(iu6, and only structurally distinguish-
able by tilt! eliect of tiieir junction surfaces on the courso of faint
rays of light transmitted through them."

VI. EEPLIHS TO PHOFHSSOIJ KAEL MOBIUS*
AND OTJIKRS.

Th'^ most serious attempt to invalidato the animal natui'o
of I'iOzoon has been tliat of tlio above-named zoologist;*
whiih was therefore deemed worthy of special notice and
reply in the American Journal of Science, in which a sum-
mary of Prof. M(')bius' memoir had been given. f

Eozoon Cunadi-nsc has, since the first announcement of its discov-
ery by Logan in ir^")!t, uttract(3(l much attc^ntion, and has been very
tliorougbly investiirated and discussed, and it has secured some
recognition as organic. Still its claims are ever and anon dis-
puted, and as fast as one opponent is disposed of, another ap{)ears.
This is in great part due to the fa(;t that so few scientilic men are
fully in a position to appreciate the evi<lence respecting it. Geolo-
gists and mineralogists look upon it with suspicion, partly on
account of the great age and crystalline structure of the rocks in
wliich it occurs, partly because it is associated with the protean
and disputed mineral Serfientine, which some regard as eruptive,
some as metamorj)hic, some as i)seudomorphic, whde few have had
enough experience to enable them to understand the dill'erence
between those serpentines which occur in limestones, and in such
relations as to prove their contemporaneous deposition, and those
whicli may have resulted from tlio hydration of olivine or similar
changes. Only a few also have learned that Eozoon is only some-
times associated with serpentine, but that it occurs also mineral-
ized with loganite, pyroxene, dolomite, or even earthy limestone,
though the serpentinous specimens have attracted the most atten-
tion, owing to their beauty and abundance in certain localities.
The biologists on the other hand, oven those who are somewhat
familiar with foraminiferal organisms, are little ac(|uainted with
the appearance of these when inineralized with silicates, traversed
with minute mineral veins, faulted, crushed and tlistorted, as
is the case with most specimens of Eozoon. Nor are they willing to
admit the possibility that these ancient organisms may have pre-

* Dcr Hiiu (los Ko/ooii Ciinarienso, von Karl Miibius, Professor dor Zoologie in
Kiel. PahvontoKraphicii, Itandxxv-
t March, 1870.

Their Geological and other Relations.

51

sentecl a much more generalized and loss definite structure than
thoir modern successors. Worse, perhaps, than all these, is tlio
circumstance that dealers and injudicious amateurs have inter-
vened, and have cir(;ulated specimens of Eozoon, in which tho
structure is too imperfectly preserved to admit of its recognition,
or even mere fragments of serpentinous limestone, without any
structure whatever. I have seen in the collections of dealers, and
even in puhlic museums, specimens labelled "Eozoon Canadeiue"
which have as little claim to that designation as a chip of limestone
has to be called a (;oral or a crinoid.

The memoir of Prof. Mr)biu8 affords illustrations of some of these
difficuties in the study of Eozoon. Prof. ]\Iobius is a zoologist, a
good microscopist, fairly acquainted with modern foraminifera,
and a conscientious observer; but he has had no means of know-
ing tiie geological relations and mode of occurrence of Eozoon, and
he has had access merely to a limited rumber of specimetis mine-
ralized with serpentine. The.se he has elaborately studied, and has
made careful drawings of portions of their structures, and has des-
cribed these with some degree of accuracy ; and his memoir has
been profusely illustrated with figures on a largo scale. This, and
the fact of the memoir appearing where it does, convey tho impres-
sion of an exhaustive study of the subject, and since the conclusion
is adverse to the organic character of Eozoon, this paper may be
expected, in the opinion of many not fully acquainted with the
evidence, to be regarded as a final decision against its animal
nature. Yet, however commendable the researches of Mobius
may be, when viewed as tho studies of a naturalist desirous of sat-
isfying himself on the evidence of the material he may have at
command, they furnish only another illustration of partial and
imperfect investigation, quite unreliable as a verdict on the ques-
tions in hand. The following considerations will serve to indicate
the weak points of the memoir: —

1. A number of errors and omissions arise from want of study of
the fossil in Mtu, and from want of acquaintance with its various
states of preservation. Trivial errors of this kind are his referring
to my photograph in Plate III, of the " Dawn of Life," as if it were
natural size, and his stating that the larger specimens have fifty
laminre, whereas they have often more than an hundred. More
important is his failing to ai)preciate aright the occurrence of
Eozoon in certain layers of regularly bedded limestones, tho
rounded or club-shaped forms of the more perfect specimens, the
manner in which the layers become confluent at the edges of the
forms, as described by Sir W. E. Logan and myself, or the amount
of crushing and fracture which most of the specimens exhibit.

52 On Specimens of Eozoon Canadense and

Thus he fails to convey any adequate idea of the Stromatoporoid
forms and mode of ocourronco of the op^anistn, or indeed of its
jieneral i;iiara(;ter and probable mode of j^rowth. I'artlior ho treats
it from the lirst as a mere himinated ag<,'re^'ate of ealrite and ser-
pentine, without reference to its occurrence in any otlier state, and
also without reference to tiie fras^inental limestones in part made
up of its remains. He objects strongly to the want of delinitencss
of f(jrm and distribution in the chambers and connecting passages,
without making allowance for defects of preservation, or mention-
ing tiio similar want of delined form in some Stromatoponr. He
admits, however, that the modern Carpmterki and its allies are in
some respects equally indefinite. He farther objects to the impos-
sil)ility of detecting regular primary chambers like those in modern
foraminifera, but seems not to be aware that, as I have recently
shown, .some Stromatoponr originate in a vesicular, irregular mass
of cells, and that in Loftima, both the Eocene L. Pemca, and the
Carboniferous L. Colwnhiiina, the primary chamber is represented
by a merely cancellated nucleus.*

2. With reference to the finely tubulated proper wall of Eozoon,
he has fallen into an error scarcely excusable in an observer of his
experience, ex('e()t on the plea of insufficient access to specimens.
He confounds the proper wall with the chrysotile veins traversing
many of the specimens, and obviously more recent than the bodies
whose fissures they fill. That he does so is apparent from his
stating that the jiropor wall structure sometimes crosses the bands
of serpentine and calcite, and also that it presents a series of par-
allel, four-sided prisms, whereas, when at all perfectly preserved, it
shows a series of cylindrical threads penetrating a calcite wall.
That some of his specimens have contained the proper wall fairly
preserved is obvious from his own figures, in which it is possible
to recognize both this structure and chrysotile veins, though
confounded by him under the same designation. Ho objects
somewhat naively, that many of the cluimbers fail to exhibit
this nummuline wall, and that it sometimes presents a ragged
ajii)earance or is altogether opaque. In point of fact it can appear
distinctly, eitlier in decalcified specimens or in slices, only when
the minute tubes are filled with some substance optically dis-
tinguishable from calcite, or not acted on by dilute acid. When
tlie proper wall is merely calcareous (and I have specimens showing
that it is often in this state, and without any serpentine in its
pores), its structure is ordinarily invisible, and it is the same when
the calcareous skeleton has from any cause lost its transparency or

* See Journal of London Geol. Soo., January, 1878.

Their Geological and other lielatimis.
1.

53

2.

n

'.%

'^^..'^''— --

Hi

Fig. 15. Coiiipurison of fmcrtuhuli of Niimmulina iind Eo-.otni (after Miibius. (1)
Tubiili and Canals of JSummulinii : (L') Tulitili iind CaniiLsof Eozonn,

lias l)0('.n replaced by sonio other mineral substance. Even in
thickisli slices, the tubes, thoiifrh filled with serpentine, may be so
piled on one another as to be indistinct. AH this may be seen in
Tertiary Nuinmnlltei^. When wholly calcareous their tabulation is
often quite invisihie, and when imperfectly injected with tJilauconite
or other silicates, they often present a very irregular appearani;o.
If Prolessor Alobius will study the Nummulites injected with

^.

54

On Specimens of Eozoon Canadense and

glauconite from Kempfon,* Bavuria, in addition to the casts of
PohjHomella from the yE<j;ean to which he refers, he will be better
able to appreciate these points. It may be worth repeating liero
that, in examining the original si)ocimons of Eozoon, I did not
rocogni/.o the proper wall. I did not doubt that it must have
existed in some form, since I could easily detect the canals in the
supplemental skeleton ; but I did not wonder at its non-api)earance,
knowing the chances against its preservation in a recognizable
form. Its discovery was due to the subsequent investigations of
Dr. Carpenter, t

Fig. 16. Comparison of canals of Cakarlna and Eozoon (after Mcibius). (1)
Canals of Calcarina ; (2) Canals of Eozoon.

* I am indebted to Dr. Otto Ilahn for specimens of these most interesting
fossils.

t It may deserve mention Ihere that the Carboniferous Fwulina very rarely
shows its tubuhitcd wall, and that Dr. Carpenter had maintained its jSummuline
affinities before he obtained specimens showing this particular structure. Struc-
tures so delicate aa these are indeed only preserved exceptionally in fossil speci-
mens.

Tlieir Geological and other Relations.

55

3. To tlie caiiiil system, Professor Mobius does more justice, and
admits its <^reat resemblance to tlie forms of tii's structure in
modern Fordiniuifrni, Tliis inileed appears from iiis own tigiirct?,
as will l)e seen from the fac-similo tracintrs reproduced bore, tips.
IS and 16, wbicli well sliow bow wonderfully tbis structure lias
been preserved, and bow nearly it resfnd)le8 tbe siuiilar parts of
modern Fonimviifvru. He tbinks, bowever, tbat tbese round an<l
regularly brancbinj^ forms are ratber exceptional, wbiitb is a
mistake; tbougli it is true tbat tbe sections of tbe larger canals are
often somewluit tlattened, and tbat tbey become Hat wbere tbey
brancb. Tbey are also sometimes altered by tbe vicinity of veinlets
or fracitures, or by minute mineral segregations in tbe surrounding
calcite, accidents to wbicli all similar structures in fossils are liable.
Anotber objection, not original witb liim, is derived from tiieir
unequal dimensions. It is true tiiat ibey are very une(iual in size,
but tbero a some definiteness about tbis. Tbey are larger in tlio
tbicker and earlier formed layers, smaller or even wanting in tbe
tbinner and more superficial. In some slices tbe tbicker tvnnks
only are preserved, tbe slender brandies baving been tilled witb
dolomite or calcite. It is didicult, also, to obtain, in any slice or
any surface, tbe wbole of a grou}) of canals.* Fartber, as I liavo
.shown, tbe tbick canals sometimes give otf groups of very minute
tubes from tbeir sides, so tbat tbe coarser and finer canals appear
intermixed. Tbese appearances are by no means at varianc^e witb
wbat we know in otber organic structare.3. Anotiior objection is
taken to tbe direction of tbe canals, as not being transverse to tbe
laminte but oblique. Tbis, iiowever, may be dismissed, since
Mobius lias of course to admit tbat it is not unusual in modern
FomminiJ'cra. It may be added tbat some of tbe appearaiu'es
wliicb puzzled Mobius, and wbicli are represented in bis figures,
evidently arise from fractures disi)lacing parts of groups of canals,
and from tbe apparently sudden truncation of tbese at points
wbere tbe serjMUtine filling gives place to calcite. It would also
have been well if be bad studied tbe canal system of tbose Stroma-
toporiv wbicb bave a secondary or supplemental skeleton, as
Ca-iioslroma and Caiuiopura.

4. A fatal defect in tbe mode of treatment pursued by jNlobius is
tbat bo regards eacb of tbe structures separately, and does not
suHiciently consider tbeir cumulative force wlien taken togetber.
In tbis ii^pect, tbe case oi Eozoon may be presented tlius : (1.) It
occurs in certain layers of widely distributed limestones, evidently
of aqueous origin, and on other grounds presumably organic. (2.)

f«

• I have succeeded best in this by etching the surface of broken specimens.

56

On Specimens of Eozoon Canaden^e and

Its jroneral form, lamination and cliimibors, resemble tlioseoftlie
Silurian Stronvttojxird and its allies, and of .sucli modern sessile
foraminifera as Carpoitirin and I'oljjtremd. (iJ.) It shows under tiie
microscope a tubulated i)r()per wall similar to that (^f the Num-
mulitos, though of even liner texture. (4.) It shows also in the
thicker layers a secondary or supplemental skeleton with canals.
(■».) These forms appear more or less perfectly in si)ecimens miner-
alized with very ditferent substances. ((>.) The structures of
Eozoon arc of such generalized character as might he expected in a
very early Protozoan. (7.) It has been found in various parts of
the world under very similar foimw, and in beds approximately of
the same geological horizon. (8.) Tt may be added, though
perhaps not as an argument, that the discovery of Eozoon aflbrds a
rational mode of explaining the immense development of lime-
stones in the Laurentian age ; and on the other hand, that the
various attempts whicli have been made to account for the structures
iA Eozoon on oth.er hypotheses than that of organic origin have not
heen satisfactory to cliemists or mineraloL'ists, as Dr. Hunt has
very well shown.

Professor ^Mohius, in summing up the evidence, hints that Dr.
Carpenter and myself have leaned to a subjective treatment of
/-.'osoon, representing its structure in a somewhat idealized manner.
In answer to this it is necessary only to say that we have given
l)hotogra()hs, nature-prints and camoia tracings of sitecimens
actually in our possession. We have not thought it desirable to
tigure the most imperfect or badly preserved specimens, though we
have taken pains to explain the nature and causes of such liefects.
Of course, when attempts at restoration have been made, these
must bo taken as to some e.vtent conjectural ; but so far as these
have been attempted they have consisted merely in the eflbrt to
eliminate tlie accidental conditions of fossilized Imdies, and to
present the organism in its original perfection. Sncli restorations
are not to be taken as evidence, but only as illustrations to enable
the facts to be more easily understood. It is to be observed, how-
ever, that in the study of such fossils as Eozoon, the observer must
expect that only a small proportion of his specimens will show the
structures with any approach to perfection, and that comparison of
numy six^cimens prepared in dilferent ways may be necessary in
order to understand any particular feature. A single figure or a
short description may thus represent the results of days spent in
the field in collecting, of careful examination and selectiop of the
specimens, of the cutting of numy slices in different directions, and
of much study of these with different poweis and modes of
illumination. My own collection contains hundreds of preparations

Their Geological and other Rehi/ions.

5t

of Eozoon, oach of wliicli roprosonts porluips hours of labor and
study, aud tiacli of wlilcli tlirows souio li<.rlit nioro or Iuxh iuiporUuit
on 8omo feature of structure. The results of labor of this kind are
unforti.nately very liabU* to ho reixarded as subjoftivf rather than
objective by those who arrive at conclusiona in easier ways.

Taken with tlie above cautions and explanations, the memoir of
Professor ]\I(Jbius may be regarded as an interesting and useful
illustration of the structures of Eozoon, thouu'h from a point of view
somewhat too liuiited to be wholly satisfactory.

The editor of tlie American Journal of Science gave Prof.
Mtibius an o|»poi'tunity to reply, but stateil that lie had
pledged liimselt' that no rejoinder would bo permitted — a
Bomewhat nntair <lecision where the ease was one of unpro-
voked attack, and this based oa material ])ublislied by Dr.
Carpenter and myself. I protested aj^ainst this, but in
vain, and accordiiii'ly published my rejoinder in Canada,
addiny; to it some remarks on other pa[)crs of similar
nature. The following are extracts: —

jVIobius has thought projier to take advantage of the security
guaranteed to him by the editor of the Amnican Journal, t(j reply
to my courteous and somewhat forbearing criticism, in a manner
which relieves me from any obligation to be reticent as to his errors
and omissions. 1 shall, however, conline myself to those points in
his rejoinder which .-eem most important in the interest of scientitic
truth.

1. With reference to the geological and mineral relations of
Eozoou, I cannot acquit Mobius of a certain amount of inexcusable
ignorance. More espe(;ially, he treats the structures as if they con-
sisted merely of seri)entiM0 and calcite, and neglects to consider
those specimens which, if more rare, are not less important, in
which the fossil has been mineralised by Loganite, Pyroxene and
Dolomite. If he had not specimens of these, he should have pro-
cured them before publishing on the subject. He neglects also to
consider tl.e broken fragments of Eozouv scattered through the
limestones, and the nniltitndes of Ardinvf-pJuTiruc lying in the lay-
ers of deposit. Nor can I find tiiat he has any clear idea how the
structures of Eozoon could have been i)roduc(Ml otherwise than by
living organisms. Still farther, he makes re(iuirements as to the
state of preservation of the proper wall and canal system which
would bo unfair even in the case of Tertiary or Cretaceous For -
mini/era injected with Glauconite, how much more in the case of a

1^

58

On Specimens of Eozoon Canadenae and

very ancient fossil oontainod in rocks which have been 8u])je('t(Hl
to ^reat meclianical and chemical alteration.

2. Ill his rei)ly he reiterates tlu^ statenient tiiat T'h:oini is so dif-
ferent from existing Foraminifirn, that, if this is a fossil, wo must
divide all ori;anic bodies into " 1. Organic bodies with j)rotopla8mic
nature (all plants and animals); and 2. Orjranic hodicw of Eozoonic
nature (Kozoun, Dawson)." Without roft^rring to the somewhat
oU'ensive way in which this is stated, I uoed only say that Dr.
Carpenter has well replied that the structures of Eozoon are in no
re8{)Oct more different from those of modern Foramiiiifrra than
those of numy other old fossils are from tluur modern representa-
tives. All paheontolojiists know, for example, that while we can-
not doubt that RccrptaeuUtvs, Archifocijathus, and Stromatopora are
organic, anil probably Protozoan, it has j)roved most ditlicult to
correlate their structures with those of modern animals.

3. I took occasion to mention certain errors of Prof. ]\I()biu8, due
to his limited information on the subject of which he treats. He
admits two of thesct, which were particularly pointed out, but
taunts me with not produ('in>: others. This, however, would not
have been difficult had I been disposed to enter in detail into a task
so ungracious. Another example may be taken from his Plate
XXXV, in which he represents together, and obviously for com-
parison, portions of the pores or tubuli of the modern Polytreina,
and an im|ierfect fragment of the proi)er wall of Eozoon, and this
more especially, as ap|)ears in the text, to show the comparative
fineness of the latter. But the si)ecimen of Eozoon is magnified
only 75 diameters, while that of Poli/ircma is magnified 200 diame-
ters, or in the proportion of 5()2r> to 40,000. Again, he has afKrmed
and repeats in his reply that the casts of the canal systems of
Eozoon do not present (cylindrical forms, but are "Jiat and irregular
branched stalk-like bodies." If they appeared so to him, he must
have possessed most exceptional specimens. Some canals, espe-
cially the larger, no doubt have flattened forms, particularly at
their points of bifurcation ; but this is comparatively rare, more
especially in the vastly numerous minute canals, which are more
fre(]uently tilled with dolomite than with serpentine. I have
indeed been able to detect only a few out oi" very numerous s|)eci-
mens in which the majority of the casts of canals are not approxi-
mately round in cross section, even in the case of the larger canals.
It is a (lueslion also if some flattening may not be due to pressure ;
and there are tlat stolon-like tubes which can scarcely be called
canals.*

* The form? of the ciinals are |)crhaiis best seen in ilecalcilied specimens ; but
Mr. Weston, wiio has done so niucii toward this investigation, inis nuinagcd to cut
slices S'; accurately at right angles to the general course of groups of canals, as to
show their round cross sections with great distinctucsp. (See Fig. 6 aiipm.)

Tlieir Geological and other Relations.

59

It ocrars to me liere tf) remark tliat Mijbius soems to have over-
looked the extremely fine canals injected with dolomite that fill
the upper and thinner calcite walls of the bettor jireserved speci-
men-j, and which in the thinner walls are nearly as fine as the
tnbidi of the proper wall, into which in many cases they almost
insensibly pass where these last are themselves filled with dolo-
mite. Possibly these structures have not been present in his spe-
cimens, or may have been destroyed or rendered invisible by liis
methods of preparation, and if so this would account for some of
his conclusions. These fine canals are best seen in well-preserved
serpentiiious specimens free from chrysotile veins, and etched with
very dilute nitric acid. They have scarcely been done justice to in
any of the published figures either of Dr. Car|X3ntei or myself, and
do not appear in those of Prof. Mobiue.

4. In reply to my objection that he has confounded the proper
wall of Eozoon with veins of chrysotile, and that both are repre-
sented in his figures, he challenges me to point out which of the
latter are chrysotile and which proper wall. Of course doing so
will be of little importance to the argument, but I may indicate his
figures 18, 43, 44 and 48 as in my opinion taken from portions of
projier wall, and figure 45 seems to show the prof)er wall along with
chrysotile. I may farther now point out to him that even Profs.
King and Eowney in their recent paper admit that the proper wall
is not continuous chrysotile, but consists of "aciculte sei)arated by
calcareous interpolations," though they try to account for this
structure by complicated changes suppnsed to have occurred in
veins of chrysotile subsequently to their de})osition.

In truth, the chrysotile veins cross all the structures of Eozoon,
and those .«pecimens are best preserved which have suffered least
from this subsequent infiltration of chrysotile into cracks formed
apparently by mechanical means. This has been amply shewn in
figures wliich I have already published, but I have now still more
characteristic specimens which may be seen in the Peter Redpath
Museum.

5. Prof. Mobius sneers at my statement that when the i)roper
wall of Eozoon is merely calcareous and not infiltrated, its struc-
tures are invisible, and that in many ca^es it has become opaque,
while in thick slices its structure is always indistinct; but he
should know that this is the case with all fine organic tubuli or
pores in fossils j)enetrated with mineral matter, and eminently so
with fossil Nummulites, as the researches of Cari)enter have long
ago demonstrated, and as any one possessing slices of these fossils
can see for himself. I may add that in some decalcified specimens
in my possession, where the proper wall has been wholly of calcite,

T

60

On Specimens of Eozoon Cnnndettse and

it is indicated niorely by an impti/ hnnd intervoninj; between tbe
serpentine cast and the supiiloniental skeleton UIIihI with casts of
canals.

(J. Lastly, he seems to think that no otlhnce should be taken at
his insinuation that tho liirurcs printed hy Dr. C'arpenter and my-
self are idealized or untruthful representations, and he repeats the
ao<'iisation in tho followin;^' terms: "The individual peculiarities
of diaj,'rams should not exceed the limits of th(^ known variability
of the real specimens, but in tho Koznon diagrams of ("arixMiter and
Dawson these limits are exceeded." There (ould not, I think, be a
more plain charjie of wilful falsification, and this is made by a
naturali^t who discusses Eoznov without bavin); taken the pains to
study it in silu, or to avail liimself of the larjro collections of speci-
mens which exist in En<;land and in Canada. I can only reply
that \,hile I have been unable to li).'ure all tho peculiarities of the
cana' systems of this complicated and often badly preserved fossil,
I have endeavoured to select the most characteristic sixicimens, —
and that my representaticms are principully nature-prints, photo-
^,'raphs and camera traciiv^s, some of tho latter by artists in no way
interested in Eozoon. Dr. Carpenter's representations apjiear to me
to be ecjually truthful. Neither of us have taken the trouble to
represent badly prescu'ved or imperfect specimens, any more than
we should do so in the case of any other fossil, when better
exami)les were procurable.

In coniK^ction with this, Mobius seems to think tiiat in my criti-
cism T should have ^o'l^ into all tho details into which he enters.
This was unnece-saarv, except to expo.se his principal errors or mi.^-
statements. It could not have been done without publishin<i a
treatise as lonjr and as expensively illustrated as his own, — and
this I should prefer to do in some otiier form than as a mere reply
to him, and with reference to much larger and more varied collec-
tions than those at his command.

He is good enough to add that if I wili send him more and better
specimens, he will willingly "forgive" mo for "disappointing"
him and other naturalists. I must say that I cannot purchaK)
forgiveness on such terms, but if he will take the trouble to visit
Canada and inspect my collections, he sliall have every opportunity
to do so.

I think it is only due to the interests of paheontological science
to add here, that I attach more blame to the editors of the German
publication " I'alieontographica," ir vhich his memoir appears, than
to Prof. Mobius himself. We have been in the habit of regarding
this publication as one in which the matured results of origii.'al
observers and discoverers are given, and when it devotes forty

Thtir Geolosirnl und other Relatione

61

costly plates to the liibour.s of a naturalist who is not of this char-
acter, in so far as E<i:oo)i is concerneil, and who lias not even studied
the principal collections on which other iiaturalisis ecpially C(Mui)e-
tent have based thc'r conclusions, they incur a responsibility much
more j.'rave than if they wen* merely the conductors of a popular
scientific journal, open to < ursory discussions of controverted
|)oints. They cannot relieve themselves from this responsibility
till they shall have published a really exhaustive d(^scription of
Kozoon by some of tlie oriirinal workers on the subjtH-t. This is
the more necessary, since if Kozoon is really a. fossil, its discovery
is one of the most important in modern j)a!icontolo^'y, and since its
claims cannot bo settled except by the most full investigation and
discussion.*

Still later than the reply of j\Idl)ius, are two additional i)apers of
still more renuirkuble character. For, while Mol)ius is content to
take up a purely nejrative position, these undertake to account for
the structures of Eoz'ion by other causes than that of animal
growth, and by causes altogether inconsistent with inw another.
The first of these is an abstract of a memoir " On the origin of the
mineral, structural and chemical characters of Ophites and related
rocks," presented to the Royal Society of London by I'rofessors King
and Rowney. The second is a quarto pamphlet of ()(} pages with 30
plates, by Dr. Otto Hahn, entitled " Die Urzelle," the " Primordial
cell."

The first of these papers contains little that is new, being a
re-habilitation of thai hypothesis of '' Methylosis," or chemical
transimitation, which the authors have already fully explained in
the Transactions of the Irish Academy and elsewhere. Its liearing
on EozooH is simply this : — that if any one acquainted with geological
and chemical possibilities can be induced to believe that the
Laurentian limestones of Canada are " Methylosed produ(ns,"
which originally "existed as gneis-ses, hornblende scliists, and
other mineralised silacid metamorph.ics," he may ho induced also
to believe that F.ozoon is a product of merely nnneral mctamorphism.

When we consider that these great limestones have been so fully
traced and mai)ped by Sir William Logan and his successors on the
Geological Survey ; that some of them are several hundreds of feet
in thickness and traceable for great distances, that they are quite
comformable with the containing beds, and themselves exlubit
alternating layers of limestone and dolomite, with, layers
characterizoi.. by the {iresence of graphite, serpentine, and other

• Tiiia complaint was published sevcriil years ago, and sent to the editors of the
publication in question, witliout eliciting any reply or redress. They thus lay
themselves opeu to the charge of wilful falsilication.

it

i r
3:

62

On Specimens of Eozoo/i Canadenae and

minerals, and subordinate thin bands of gneiss and pyroxene rook,
the idea that tliey can be products of a sort of pseudomorpliism of
gneisses and similar rocks, becomes stupendously absurd, and can
only be accounted for by want of acquaintance with the facts on
the part of the authors.

To explain the structures of Eozoon, however, even this is not
altogether suflicient, but we must suppose a peculiar and complex
arrangement of laminic, canals, and microscopic tubuli or fibres
simulating them, to be produced in some parts of the limestones
and not in others ; and this by the agency of several dilfereiit kinds
of minerals.

In other words we have to suppose a conversion on a gigantic
scale of gneiss into dolomite, limestone, graphite, serpentine, and
other minerals, consisting for the most part even of different
elements, and this at the same time or by still more mysterious
subsequent changes, producing imitations of the most delicate
organic forms. The mere statement of this hypothesis is, I think,
suflicient to show that it cannot be accepted either by chemists or
paleontologists, and it only serves to illustrate the dilliculties
which Eozoon presents to those who will not accei)t the theory of its
organic origin.

Dr. Otto Hahn regards the matter from an entirely <lifferent
point of view. He has himself visited Canada, has collected
specimens of Eozoon, and now proposes to effect An entire revolution
in our ideas of the palaeontology of the Eozoic rocks.

In a former paper he had maintained that Eozoon is altogether of
mineral origin, that its serpentine is hydrated olivine, ami the
canal system merely cracks in calcite injected by the exj)ansion
of this mineral. This hypothesis he now finds untenable, and he
regards Eozoon as a vegetable production, or rather as a series of
such productions. He regards the laminte as petrified fronds of a
sea-weed, and the canal systems as finer alga; o^" several genera
and species. Not content witli this, he describes as plants other
forms found in granite, gneiss, basalt, and even meteoric iron, and
others found included in the substance of crystals of Aragonite,
Corundum and Beryl. All these are supposed to be algse of new
species, and science is enriched by great numbers of generic and
speciiic names to designate them, while they are illustrated by
thirty plates representing the quaint and grotesque forms of these
objects, many of which are ob\ ioualy such as we have been in the
habit of regarding as mere dendritic crystallisation, cavities, or
impurities included in crystals.

It seems scarcely necessary to criticise such views, as it is
probable that very few naturalists will be disposed to accept the

Their Geological and other Relations.

63

supposed plants described by Or. Halin as veritable species. It
may bo observed, however, that in regarding the thick plates of
serpentine, interrupted, attached to eacli other at intervals,
penetrated by jiillars of calcite, and becoming acervuline upward,
as fossil algae, he disregards all vegetable analogies; while in
supposing that the calcite is a lilling, and that the delicate idlings
of canals contained in it are fine thread-like algoj, he equally
asserts what is improbable. Farther, no vegetable structure or
remains of carbonaceous matter have been discovered in the
serpentine. Had ho discovered these supposed vegetable forms in
the graphite of the Laureatian, this would have been far more
credible.

Hahn's paper, however, suggests one or two points of interest
respecting /Cozoon, which have perhaps not been sufficiently insisted
on. One of these is the occurrence of rounded " chamberlets " in
the calcareous walls. Tliese are his " germ-cells," and they some-
times present the curious character that they are hollow vesicles of
serpentine filled with calcite, and when these have been cut across
in making a section, and the calcite has been dissolved out with an
acid, they present very singular appearances- They may in some
cai=es have been germs of Eozoon, or smaller foraminifera of the
type of Arclnrosphcrvnv, overgrown by the calcareous walls. It is
farther to be observed, as I have also elsewhere remarked, that the
serpentine, filling the larger spaces between the calcareous lamina)
sometimes sliows indications of deposit as a lining of the cells, and
in some specimens this lining has not filled the original space, but
has left a drusy cavity afterwards filled with calcite.

Again, in parts of the canal system, especially when tilled with
dolomite, there occur little disc-like bodies or trumpet-shaped
terminations of caiuils. These, I fancy, are the calyx-like objects
figured by Hahn. Their precise significance is not known, further
than that they may represent the expanded ends of canals. Another
appearance deserving of notice is the occurrence of portions of
specimens of Eozjoh in which little or no serpentine occupies the
chambers. In th's case the laminae have either been pressed close
together, or the chambers have been filled with calcite not dis-
tinguishable from the walls, in wiiich, however, the casts of groups,
of canals often occur, and might then be more readily mistaken for
algae tb^-n when they occur between 1 minae of serpentine.*

It may be said, in connection with the attacks in (question, that
if Eozoon is an object of which so many and strange explanations

• I have not tliuught it neccssiiry to refer to still more recent papers of other
German writers, whioh add "n^hing material to the discussion of the question.

i*

64

On Sperimem of Eozoim Qtnndeme and

can be yriven, it is probable tliat no certainty wbatever can be
attained as to its real nature. On tbe otlier liand it is fair lo ar<rue
tbat, if tbe opponents of iti^ animal nature are driven to misrej)ro-
centalion and to wild and incolierent tlieories, there is tbe more
reason to repose confidence in the sober view of its ori!.'in, ccmsistent
with it" ,<:eological relations and nii"roS('opi(! cbaraoters, which has
oonunended itself to Carpenter, Gi'imbel, Rupert Jones, Sterry Hunt,
and a host of other competent naturalists and freolofjists. For my
own part, the arjjfuments ailduced Ity opponents, and the re-examin-
ation of siiecimens wiiich they have suj^Ljosted, have served to
make my original opinion as to its nature seem better supported
and more probable; thouLrb of course I would lie far from being
dogmatic on sucli a suliject, or claiming any stronger C(jiiclusion
tiiau that of a reasonable probability, which may be increased as
new facts develop themselves, but cannot amount to absolute
certainty until tlie discovery of Laurentian rocks in an unaltered
state shall enable us to compare their fossils more easily with tiiose
of later formations.

In point of fact, tbe evidence for the organic nature of a fossil
sucli as that in question, is necessarily cumulative, and depends on
its mode of occiu'rence and state of mineralisation, as well as on its
general form and microscopic structure; and it is perhaps hopeless
to expect tbf.t any considerable number of naturalists will be
induced to undertake the investigations necessary to form an
independent opinion on the subject. It may be hoped, however,
that they will fairly weigh the evidence presented, and will also
take into consideration the dilficulty of accounting for such forms
and structures except on the hypothesis of an organic origin.

Vn. PAL.KOZOTC P^OSSILS ASSOCTATKT) WITH SKR-
PKNTrXE AND OTIIKR HYDROUS SILICATES
AS ILLUSTRATIVE OF EOZOOX.*

Fossils having thoir cnvities and pores infiltrated with
liydrous silicates are much move abunchmt in Paheozoic
limestones than is usually imagined. In some instances,
serpentine itself is (bund to liavo been eonecrnod in such
infiltration ; while in other cases, the infiltrating hydrous

* This is in stib.stiincc from a piipor pulilished in tlic Jdurnal of tlio Qcologiciil
Society, I87it. T!;<< microscopic cabinet of the Peter lledpath Museum possesses a
largo collection of these infiltrated specimens.

"«ip

Their Geological and other Relations.

65

silicates are found to approach to jollytc, fahbinito, and
other minerals which liavo usually been re^^arded as products
of decomposition or motamoiphism, but which, as Dr. Sterry
Hunt has Justly remarked, cannot reasonably be referi-ed to
such an origin when they are found tilling the pores of
Crinoids and other fossils in strictly aqueous deposits. Jn
this case they must surely be the results of original deposition
in the manner of glauconite ; and, as we shall tind, they
sometimes ai)pear to be strictly the representatives of that
mineral, which occui's under similar conditions in other
parts of the same formation.

(1.) Serpentine of Lake Ghehogamong.

Mr. Eichardson, of the Geological Survey, has observed,
north of the Laurentian axis, on theSaguenay lliver, certain
rocks which appear to be similar in mineral character to the
(Quebec group of Sir William Logan, and occupy a geological
position inteimediate between the Laurentian and the
Trenton formation. Among these, he describes a band of
serpentine associated with limestone at Lake Chebogamong,
which lies about 200 miles to tin' N". K. of Lake St. John, in
a little-explored region. Among the few specimens which
Mr. Eichardson was able to bring back with him was one of
extreme interest — a specimen apparently from the junction
of the limestone and serpentine, and containing a portion of
a tabulate coral, of which some of the cells are tilled with a
mixture of serpentine and calcite, and some with calcite.
The serpentine seems to have been weathered ; it has a
granular, uneven appearance, and under the mici-oscope
shows patches with fibrous structure like chrysotile. There
are also whitish serpentine veins, fringed with chrysotile or
a mineral resembling it under the microscope. The cell-
walls of the coral are perfectly black and opaque, and
probably carbonaceous. The coral found thus mineralized
was examined by Mr. Billings, who had no doubt of its
nature, though r .certain as to its generic affinities. After
careful study of it, I am disposed to refer it to the genus

66

On Specimens of Eozoon Canadense and

Astraceriiw) of Hal I, and it is not diHtingiiiwhablo in Htructuro
i'roni A. pyrifonne oi' ihid authoi-, a species vei'y common in
the Uppei- Silurian limestones of the region in which the
specinien occurs. The genus Astrocerium is specially
characteristi( of the Niagara formation ; and though
Kdwards doubts its distinctness from Facosites, I think there
are constant points of difference, especially in the micro-
scopic characters of the cell-walls, which entitle it to be
separated from that genus. In such specimens of Astrocerium
as are well preserved, the walls of the hexagonal cells seera
to have been of corneous texture, with minute corneous
spicules instead of radiating septa. They have pores of
communication, and there are also occasional larger pores
or tubes in the angles of the cells. The tabuho are very
thin and apparently purely calcareous. This accounts for
the singular fact, mentioned by Hall, that the cell-walls are
sometimes entirely removed, leaving the tabultu in con-
centric floors like those of Stromatopora. I think it likely
that the typical s])ecies of Astrocerium may have been
inhabited by llydroids, and may have been quite remote
from Favosites in their affinities.

The formation in which the serpentine and limestone of
Lake Chebogamong occur, is described as consisting of
chloritic slates in some ])laceH with hornblende crystals,
doKjmites, and hard jaspery, argillaceous rocks. Upon these
rest conglomerates and breccias with Laurentian fragments,
and also fragments of the rocks before mentioned, and on
these lie the limestone and serpentine. The serpentine has
been analysed by Dr. Hunt, who finds it to contain
chromium and nickel, and in this respect to be similar to
that of the (^uel)ec group, and not to that of the Laurentian.*
The fossil would give evidence of a much later date than
that usually attributed to rocks of the character above
stated ; but it is quite possible that there may be two series
of different ages in the region, the lower being Lower
Silurian or perhaps older, and the upper of Upper Silurian
age. If the serpentine belongs to the newer Ibrmation, its
association with a coral of the genus Astrocerium would of

llieir Geolou;ical and other Relations.

&1

course be ([uite natural. If it belongs to the older formation,
and the overlying limestone to the newer, the serpentine in
the latter may be a remanU silicate derived from the older
rocks and mixed with the limestone at their junct'on.

(2.) Serpentine of Melbourne.

e of

if of
ills,

hese
nts,
id on
: has
tain
r to
an.*
lan
)Ove
ries
wer
Irian
its
Id of

The serpentines of this place belong to a great series of
more or loss altered rocks extending through the province
of Quebec, and i-cferrcd by Sir William Logan, on strati-
graphical grounds, to his (Quebec group, equivalent to the
Arenig oi- Skiddaw series of England.f In ascending order,
these rocks at Melbourne present tirst a thick series of
highly plumbaginous schists or shales, with thin bands of
limestone holding fragments of Lower Silurian corals and
crinoids. These pass upwards into a thick series of slaty
rocks characterized by the prevalence of a shining crystal-
line hydro-mica, and known as nacreous or hydro-mica
slates. They are associated with quartzose bands, and also
with lenticular layers )fcrinoidal limestone. Parallel with
these beds and, according to Logan's observations, over-
lying them, though later ol)sorvers regard the junction
as faulted, is the series containing the serpentine, which
is associated with layers of limestone and nacreous slate,
and also with brecciated and arenaceous beds, probably
originally tufaceous, with beds of anorthite, steatite, and
dolomite, and also with red slates, the whole forming a
miscellaneous and irregular group, evidently resulting from
the contemporaneous action of igneous and acjueous agencies,
and atibrding few traces of fossils. The serpentines, which
occur in thick and irregular beds, are ditt'erent in colour
and microscopic texture from those of the Ijaurentiau
system, and also present some chemical diflierences, more
especially in the presence of oxides of nickel, chromium and

* Report of Geological Survey of Canada, 1870-71.

\ Selwyn and Iluut, however, hold that these rock8 are in part Uuronian.

68

On Specimens of Eozoon Canadense and

cohalt, and of a lai-go ])erceiitage of iron and a smaller
proportion of water.'-i^

These serpentines are undoubtedly bedded rocks and not
eruptive ; but they may have originated from the alteration
of volcanic materials.! They appear, shortly after their
original deposition, to have been broken up, so as in njany
places to present a brecciated appearance, the interstic(\s of
the fragments being filled with limestone and dolomite,
w'lich themselves are largely mixed with the flocculent
serpen tinous matter, and ti-aversed by serpentinous veins
. ometimes com])act an<l sometimes tibrous. Besides the
very impure limestone thus occuri-ing in the serpentinous
breccia, there are also true layers or beds of limestone and
dolomite included in or near to the gi-eat serpentine band.
No well-preserved fossils have been found either in these
beds or in the brecciated serpentine; but on treating the
surfaces of slabs with an acid or making thin slices, frag-
ments of organic bodies are developed which well illustrate
the manner in which serpentine, whatever its origin, may
be connected with the minei'alization of such fragments.

It is to be observed here that the irregular itedding of the
serpentine, and the apparent passage on the line of strike
into dolomite and rod slate, might accord either with a
purelj' aqueous and oceanic mode of de])Osition like that of
glauconite, or with deposition as beds of volcanic sediments,
aftei'wards altered and partly re-deposited by water. The
association with ash rocks and agglomei-atcs would how-
ever, tend rather to the latter view, as would also the
chemical characters of the serpentine already referred to;

* Uniier tlie microscope, the Lnurcntiaii serpentines are usually homogeneous
and uncrystalline, witli the structure of netting veinlots wliicli I have elsewhere
culled septaril'orm. The Melbourni! serpentines usually present a conl'ased mass
of aciuular crystals or a tibrous structure, and, where structureless, polarize more
vividly than those of the Laurentian.

t Sandborger (Essay on Metallic Veins) quotes many (ierman chemists to the
cfTect that "olivine rock and the serpontino formed from it alw.iys contain copjer,
nickel and cobalt." This origin miglit thus apply to the serpetitines in the
Quebec group in Canada, but not to those of the Laurontian, as I have already
urged on other grounds in my reply to Halui, in the " Annals and Magazine of
Natural History," 1878, vol. xviii. pp. 32, 33.

:^l

Their Geulo<rical and other Relations.

69

BKl'llCOUS

Isewhcro
Bed mass
p.c inoro

Its to the

I copier,

ill the

I already

lazino of

but tlio association with fossils mentioned below tends to
sliow tliat ut least a part of the minei-al is an ordinary
aqueous deposit. It is also to be observed, with reference
to the superposition of sor])entine on fossiliferous Lower
Silurian rocks, that a similar relation is affirmed by Murray
to occur in Newfound Itind, where massive serpentines overlie
unaltered fossiliferous rocks of the Quebec group.

No fossils have been found in the compact serpentine,
but only in the limestone paste of the b?-ecciated masses
and in the limestone bands interstratitied. TIio limestone
of the breccia contains not only angular fragments of
serpentine but disseminated serpentine and small veins of
the same mineral. Its fossils are limited to small tubular
bodies, crinoidal joints, and fragments, Jipparently of
atenopora, vevy imperfectly preserved. The tubular bodies
may be portions oi' HyoUthes ov Theca. Their interior is
usually tilled with dolomite ; their wtiUs are in the sttite of
calcite; and they are iucrusted with an outer ring of
serpentine. In some instances the ctilcareous organic frag-
ments are seen to be tilled in the interior with serpentine.
The crinoidal fragments are in a similar condition, the
serpentine having tipparentl}' surrounded them in a con-
cretionaiy manner alter the cavaties hiid been tilled with
dolomite. Fragments of calcite, dolomite, or older serpen-
tine included in the limestone, and of no determinate form,
art; enclosed in the new or remanie serpentine in like
manner, and in some cases this newer or coating serpentine
was observed to have :i tibrous structure. The serpentine
thus coating and tilling fossils and fragments is ofu lighter
colour than the serpentine of the fragments themselves,
and in this respect resembles that of the small veins
traversing the limestone. Such traces of fossils as exist in
the layers of limestoi 3 are similar to those in the breccia,
but no I, so fju- as observed, coated with serpentine.

It would thus appear that, contemporaneously with the
original deposition of the serpentine, tliin bands of limestone
were laid down, with a few fragments of ci'inoids, corals,
and shells; that subsequently, but perhaps within the same

y.

li

70

On Specimens of Eozoon Canadense and

•ii

geological period, and while the deposition of serpentine
was still proceeding, portions of the sui-face of the serpen-
tine were broken up and imbedded in limestone ; that the
fissures of this limestone were penetrated with serpentine
veins, and its few fossils coated with that mineral, which
also foi-ms flocculent laminso in the limestone.

The mode of deposition of this Pahi'ozoic serpentine is
thus considerably different from that of the Laurentian,
which forms layers intimately interstratitied with great
limestones, and also nodules, concretionary gi-ains, and
fillings of fossils in these limestones. This difference in
mode of occurrence is, no doubt, connected with the difference
in composition of the two varieties of the mineral already
noticed. In both cases, however, the serpentine has been
so deposited that it could take part in the mineralization of
marine organic remains.

The condition of the fragments of Silurian fossils in the
limestones associated with the nacreous or hydro-mica
slates is of interest in connexion with this subject. The
shining laminated mineral associated with these fossils
has been regarded from its chemical composition as a hydro-
mica. Under tho microscope, however, it shows a want of
homogeneity which suggests the presence of two or more
silicates, or the association of crystals of hydrous mica with
minute grains of silicious matter of some other kind. Though
now highly crystalline, it must originally have been a fine
sediment, since it fills the finest cells of Steiiopora and
Ptilodictya. Nor can its present state have been produced
by any extreme metamorphism, as the undistorted state of
these fossils amply testities. Further it is interesting to
observe that though the hydrous silicate is little magnesiau,
the fossils themselves are not infrei^uertly converted into
dolomite. In these fossiliferous beds there are also tabular
crystals, apparently of anhydrous mica, little groups of
crystals of tremolite, cavities filled with quartz, and crystal-
line grains of a mineral having the microscopical characters
of olivine ; and these have been developed or included in
the mass without injury to the structures of the most
delicate corals.

Their Geolofj^iml and other Relations.

•71

a tine
mi and
[oduced
Itate of
[ting to
[nesiau,
ted into
I tabular

)UpB of

nystal-
iracters
luded in
le most

Similar appearances arc presented l»y limestones fi-om
other partH of the (Jiieboc group, of which a great series of
slices has been prcpai-ed by Mr. Weston under the iliroction
of the late Sii- W. K. Logan, who, in his later researches in
this group of rocks, gave much attention to the micro-
scopic fossils in the more altered beds, as a means of
determining their ages. Besides large series from Mel-
boui-ne and its neighbourhood, T have examined slices from
Stanford, Farnham, Cleveland, Bedford, Ortbrd, Arthabaska,
Point Levi, liiviere du Loup, and other places, in most of
which Lower Silurian fossils occur associated with hydi'ous
silicates.

The fossils above referred to occur in rocks undoubtedly
of Lower Silurian age, and regarded as altered or metamor-
phosed members of the Quebec group. In the unaltered
representatives of these rocks at Point Levi and the Island
of Orleans there occur considerable quantities of a true
glauconite, which has been analyzed by Dr. Hunt, and which
is without doubt an original deposit in the sandy and
argillaceous beds in which it occuivs, which in many cases
are precisely similar to Cretaceous greensands. Dr. Hunt's
analysis shows that this glauconite contains alumina, iron,
potash, and magnesia, and thus approaclies to the Lauren tian
loganite. in the forms of its little concretions it resembles
the serpentine grains in the Laurentian limestones; and
like modei-n glauconite it has moulded itself in organic
forms. Some of these are spiral or multilobate, as if casts
of minute univalve shells oi- of spiral and textularine Fora-
niinifera.-i^ Others are annulai- or are arcs of circles, and
some present a delicate tibrous or tubulated appearance, as if
they had moulded themselves on porous shells or very
minutely-celled corals, spicules of sponges, &c. Shreds of
corneous Polyparies, i)erliaps of Graptolites, abound in the
matrix, but are not connected with the glauconite grains.
Unfortunately there are no Stroinatopora; in these beds,

* Ehrenberg lias found casts of rotalino atid textularine Foramiiiifera in
Lower Silurian beds in llussia ; and such forms occur in Upper Silurian limestones
in Nova Scotia.

i

72

On Specimens of Eozoon Camidense and

othoiwiso wo might have an almost precise recurronce of
of the relations of serpentine with Eozoon in the Laui-entiun.-'-
Another appearance which may be mentioned in this
connexion occurs in certain beds of Utica Shite in the
vicinity of the trappean mass of Montarville, and converted
into a hai'd sonorous lock. In one of these are stems of
crinoids which have retained their external form, while the
calcareous material has been entirely removed and replaced
by a soft green crystalline mineral whose physical and mi-
croscopical chai'actcrs are those of chlorite, and which in
any case may be regarded as one of those hydrous silicates
sometimes termeil " viridite."

(3.) Limestone of Pole Hill, JSf.B., and of Llamjwyllog in

Anglesey.

In a paper in the Ti-ansactions of the Royal Irish Academy,
and subsequently in " Life's Dawn on the Earth," I noticed
a remarkable limestone discovered by Mr. C. Robb, of the
Geological Survey, at Pole Hill in I^ew Brunswick, and
believed to be of Upper Silurian a>"'c. It is composed of
fragments of crinoids and shells, the cavities of which ai'e
finely injected with a hydrous silicate of alumina, iron, and
magnesia, the composition of which, according to Dr. Hunt,
approaches to that of the jollyte of Von Kobell, and also to
that of a hydrous silicate described by Hotfmann as tilling
the cavities of specimens of Eozoon found in Bohemia. It
has also some resemblance to the loganite which mineralizes
the Eozoon of Burgess, in Canada. At the same time I
mentioned a specimen of limestone of similar character
which I had found in the McGill College collection, and
which I supposed to be from Wales. It is labelled " Llan-
goUoc," and belonged to the collection of the late Dr. Holmes,
of Montreal. Sir A. Ramsay, to whom 1 have applied
for information as to the locality, kindly informs me that
the name is probably " Llangwyllog," that the place so
named is in Anglesey, and that limestone of Lower Silurian
or Cambrian age occurs in its vicinity.

• Report of Geological Survey of Canada, 1866.

Their Geological and other Relations.

73

A portion ol" thin silictito was submit toil to Dr. Sterry
Hunt, from whose analysis it appcai-H to bo of similar
character with that of Pole Hill, and like it injects in the
most beautiful manner the pores and cavities of crinoids,
shells, and corals/'^ The limestone containing this silicate
is of Hubcrystallino texture, with occasional bright cleavage-
faces which belong to crinoidal fragments. Its coloui-,
owing to the included silicate, is dull olive, and it shows
occasional small deep green and reddish s])ecks. Its aspect
is so waxy, that at a little distance it might be mistaken for
an impure serpentine. f

When examined with the microscope, the flocculent olive-
green silicate is seen to pcnoti-ate the mass exactly in the

• As the (inalysos of these specimens by Dr. Hunt are of much interest, they
are given in the following table :—

It

'.es

Pole Hill, I Llangwyllog,
New Bruuswick Wales.

Silica

Alumina

Protoxide of iron

Magnesia

Potash

Soda

Water

38-93

35-32

28-88

22-66

18-86

21-42

4-25

6-98

1-09

1-49

0-48

0-67

G-91

11-46

1000-00

100-00

ter

in a

I at

|so

m

In the LliinRwyllog specimen the silicate amounted to three per cent, of the
whole, the remainder beiuK carbonate of lime with ii very little siliceous sand
and fine clay. In the Pole-Hill specimen the silicate amuunted to about tive per
cent., the remainder being: limestone with a few (luartz grains.

It will be seen that these two silicates, evidently deposited from solution in
such a manner as to fill the linest organic pores, arc remarkably similar in com-
position ; and the fact that they closely resemble Hoffmann'-; mineral found in
Bohemian Eozoon, and also the loganite filling the Burgess Euzuun (Uuart- Journ.
Geol. Soc. vol. xxi. 1865), gives them additional interest.

t In the Map illustrating Blake's paper on the " Monian " of Anglesey,
Llanwyllog, is placed on Ordovician rocks near their junction with older Chloritic
Schists. Jour. Geol. Socy., Aug. , 1888.

[t

14

On Specimens of Eozoon Canadense and

manner of the scrpenlino in (»j)hiolite. an I it has a
poiariHCopo appearance appi'oaching to that of soi'pentino ;
wliilo greenish by reflected light, it appears reddish when
seen in thin slices with transmitted light. It penetrates the
finest po'es of crinoids, and at the same time fills the
cavities of shells and the cells of corals. The larger Hllings
of this kind give the deep green spots above mentioned,
while the red spots are apparently caused by the partial
oxidation of the iron of the minoi'al. In one shell, ap-
parently a small Orfhoceras or Theea, the dark green filling
has cracked in the manner of Septaria, and the fissures have
been filled with ciirbonate of lime. In some places the
mineral has penetrated the ])Oi'es of shells of Braciiiopods
or crusts of Trilobites, pi-oducing a tubulated a})pearance
not unlike the proper wall of Eozoon.

From the characters of the fragments, I should imagine
that this limestone is Lower Silurian rather than Cambrian.
It allbids an excellent instance of the occurrence of hydrous
silicates infiltrating organic fragments, and it deserves the
attention of .. .eclors having access to the locality. A
curious point of coincidence of the limestone with some of
those in the Lower Silurian of Canada is the occurrence of
a few bright green specks, probably of apatite or vivianito,
giving on a small scale that association of phosphates with
hydrous silicates which we find on the gieat scale in the
Laurentian.

I have in a previous part of this paper rcfei-red to the
I'emarkable 8i)ecimens from Maxville which show in the Car-
boniferous age infiltrations with a hydrous silicate com-
parable to these in the older and later fbi-mations. We thus
find that such infiltration is a common factall the way from
the Laurentian to the modern series, and the circumstance
that the silicates employed may in different cases be those
of magnesia, iron, alumina, or potash, or mixtures of these,
does not seriously att'ect the significance of this fact.

TJieir Geological and other Relations.

15

Vlir. THE PllOSPIIATKS AND (JRAI'IEITK OF TlIK
LAUKKNTIAN AND (JAMRKIAN
HOCKS OF CANADA.

^^jpatite of the Jjaurentian, etc.

The extent and distribution of the dopositw of apatite con-
tained in the Laurontian ot Canaihi and in the su{'cecdin<^
Pahi'o/.oic formationtf, iiavo not escaped the notice of our
Geologic d Survey, and have been referred to in some detail
in reports of Mr. Vennor, Mr. Richardson, and othei's, as
well as in the General Report pre])ared by Sir W. E. Logan
in 1863. Some attention has also been given, more
especially by Dr. Storry Hunt, to" the question of the
prob'iole origin of these deposits.^ My own attention has
been directed to the subject by its close connexion with the
discussions concerning Eozoon ; and I have therefore em-
braced such opportunities as offered to visit the localities in
which phosphates occur, to examine their relations and
structure and to collect illustrative specimens. f 1 would
now jiresent some facts and conclusions respecting these
minerals, more especially in their relation to the life of the
Laurentiim period.

In the Cambrian and Lower Silurian rocks of Canada
phospliatic deposits occui- in many localities, though ap-
parently not of sufficient extent to compete successfully for
commercial purposes with the rich Laurentian beds and
veins of crystalline apatite.

The Acadian or Mcnevian group, as de" , loped near St.
John, New Brunswick, contains layers of calcareous sand-
stone blackened with pnosphatic matter, which can be seen
under the lens to consist entirely of shells of IJnijulai, often
entire, and lying close together in the plane of the deposit,
of which in some thin layers they appear to constitute the
principal part.| Mr. Matthew informsme that these layers

•The Museum also contains large suites of specimens collected by Dr. Har-
ringtons and others purchased with the colleci.ions of the lute Mr. J. G. Miller.
t (ieology of Canada, 1863; Chemical and Geological Essays, 1875.
\ Bailey and Matthew, " Geology of Now Brunswick," Geol. Survey Reports.

\

\

•76

On Sj»ecimens of Eozoon Canudense and

belong to tho upper purt of the formation, and that the
layers crowded with LitKjuUjc arc thin, none of them ex-
ceeding two incheH in thicicnes.s ; but he thinks that the
daric colour of some of the associated santlstones and shales
is due to comminuted Lingulce.

In the Chazy formation, at Alumette Island, and also at
Grenville, Ilawkesbury, and Lochiel, dark-coloured phos-
phatic nodules abound. They hold fragments of Lm/ula^,
which also occui- in the containing beds. They also contain
grains of ^and, and, when her.ted, emit an amraoniacal odour.
They are regarded by Sir W. Logan and Dr. Hunt as
coprolitic, anil are said to consist of "a paste of comminuted
fragments of Lmjuke, evidently tho food of the animals from
which the coprolites were derived." * It has also been
suggestetl that these animals may have been some of the
larger species of Trilobiles. In the same formation, at some
of the above places, phosphatic matter is seen to till the
moulds of shells of Pleiirotomaria and Holopca.

In the Graptolite shales of the (Quebec group, at Point
Levis, similar nodules occur; and they arc found at Riviere
Quelle, Kamouraska, and elsewhere on the Lower St.
Lawrence, in limestones and limestone conglomerates of the
same series. In these beds there are also small phosphatic
tubes with thick walls, which have been compared to the
supposed worm-tubes of the genus Serpulites.']'

At Kamouraska, where I have studied these deposits, the
ordinary phosphatic nodules are of a l)Iack colour, appearing
brown with blue spots, when examined in thin slices with
transmitted light. They are of i-ounded forms, having a
glazed but somewhat ])itted surface — and are very hard and
compact, breaking with glistening surfaces. They occur
in thin bands of compact or bi-ecciated limestone, which ai-e
very sparingly fossil iferous, holding only a few shells of
Hyolithcs and certain ^S'^oa^MS-like cylindrical markings.
In some of the.so beds siliceous pebbles occur with tho

* (JonloKy of Cimada, p. V&.

t Geology of Canada, p. 259; Ricliardcon's Report, 1869.

§ Journal Geological Society, 1876.

Tlieir Geological and other Relations.

11

•the

iitic

the

;. the

•injr

und

)ccin'

1 are

8 of

Iho

noduleH, rendering it possible that the latter may have been
derived from the <lisintegrati(m of older beds; but their
forms show that they are not themselves pebbles. Phos-
phatic nodules also occur spaiingiy in the thick beds of
limestone conglomerate which are characteristic of this
formation; they are found both in the included fragments
of limestone and in the paste. The conglomerates contain
hu'ge shibs and boulders of limestone rich in Trilobitcs and
Hljolithes; but in these [ have not observed phosphatic
nodules.

In some of the limestones (he phosphatic bodies present
a veiy different ap])eai'ance, fust noticed by Richardson at
Riviere Ouelle, and of which I have found numerous
examples at Kamouraska. A specimen now before mc is a
portion of a b:md of grey limestone, about four inches in
thickness, and imbedded in dark red or purple shale. It is
filled with ii'rogular, black, thick-walled, cylindrical tubes,
and fragments of such tubes, along with phosphatic nodules
— the whole crushed together confusedly, and constituting
half of the mass of the i-ock. The tubes ai-e of various
diameters, from a quarter of an inch downward ; and the
colour and texture ot their walls ai e similar to those of the
ordinary phosphntic nodules.

Under the microscope the ncdules and the walls of the
tubes show no organic structure (u- lamination, but a))pear
to consist of a finely granulaj- paste holding a few gi'ains of
sand, a few small fragments of shells without apparent
Btructrre, and some small spicular bodies oi' minute setio.
The general colour by transmitted light is brown; but
irregular spots show a bright blue colour, duo pi'obably to
the presenceof ])hospliate of iron (vivianile). The enclosing
limestone aiiJ the filling of the tubes present a coarser
texture, and appear made up of fragments of limestone and
Itroken shells, with somo dark-coloured fib. cs, pi'obably
portions of Zoophytes. Scattered throrigh the mati-ix there
are also small fragments, invisible to the naked eye, of
brown and blue phosphatic matter.

One of the nodules from Alumette gave to Dr. Hunt

IS

On Specimens of Eozoon Canndense and

36-38 of calcic pliosphute; one from HawkcHbiiiy 44-*70 ;
jinothoi- from Rivic^re Quelle 40-34: and a tube from the
sam.e place 67-53.* A specimen from Kamouraska, analyzed
by Dr. Han'ington,gave 55-65 per cent. One of the richest
pieces of the linguliferous sandstone from St. John yielded
to the same chemist 30-82 of calcic phosphate and 32-44 of
insoluble siliceous sand, the remainder being chiefly car-
bonate of lime.

Various opinions may be entertained as to the origin of
these phosphatio bodies ; but the weight of evidence inclines
to the view originally put forward by Dr. Ilunt/j- that the
nodules are coprolitic ; and I would extend this conclusion
with some little modification to the tubes as well. The
forms, both of the tubes and nodules, and the nature of the
matrix, seem to exclude the idea that they are simply con-
cretionary, tlnugh they may in some cases have been
modified by ('(tnci-etionary action. There are in the same
beds little piles of worm-castings cf much smaller diameter
than the tubes, and less phosjjhrlic ; and there ai-e also
ScoUthus-WkG burrows penetrating some of the limestones,
and lined with thin coatings of phosphatic matter similar
to that of the tubes. Farther, the association of similar
nodules in the Chazy limestone with comminuted Limjultv.
as already stated, is a strongly contirmator}' fact.

The tubes are of unusual form when regarded as coprolitic •
but they may have been moulded on the sides of the burrows
of marine worms ; or these creatures may have constructed
their tubes of this material, either consisting of their own
excreta or of that of other animals lying on the sea-bottom.
In any case, the food of the animals producing such excreta
must have been very rich in solid phosphates, and these
animals must have abounded on the sea-bottoms on which
the remains have accumulated. It is also evident that such
phosphatic dejections might either retain their original
forms, or be aggregated into nodular masses, or shaped into
tubes or buri-ows of Annelids, or, if accumulated in mass,
might form more or less continuous beds.

• Ocology of Canadc, p. 461.
t Ibid.

Tlieir GeoIoii;ic(il and other Rdnlions

79

The food of the animals producing such coprolites can
scarcely have been vegetable; for though marine plants
collect and contain phosphates, the quantity in these is very
minute, and usually not more than required by the animals
feeding on them.

We must therefoi'e look to I be animal kingdom for such
highly pbosphatic ibod. Here we lind that a large i)ro-
porti(Mi of the animals inhabiting the pi-imordial seas
employed calcic phosphate in the construction of their hard
parts. Dr. Hunt has shown that the shells of Lingula and
some of its allies are composed of calcic phosphate; and he
has found the same lo be the case with certain Pteropods,
as Conularia, and with the suiiposed woi'm-tubes called
SerpuUtes, which, however, ai-e very different in structure
from the tubes above referred to.

It has long been known that the crusts of modern Crusta-
ceans contain a notable percentage of calcic phosphate ;
and llicks and Iludieston have shown that this is the case
also with the Cambrian Trilobitcs. Dr. Harrington has
kindly verilied this foi- me by analyzing a specimen of
highly trilobitic limestone, probably Middle Cambrian,
from St. Simon, in which the crusts of these animals
are so well preserved that tuey show their minutely tubulated
structure in great perfection under the microscope.* He
finds the pei'centage of calcic phosphate due to these crusts
to be 1.49 per cent, of the whole mass. It is to be observed,
howevei', that the crusts of Trilobites must have consisted
very largely of chitinous matter, which, in some cases, still
exists in them in a carbonized state. A crust of the modern
Liiiiuhis, or King Crab, which I had supposed might
resemble in this respect that of the Trilobites, was analyzed
also by Dr. Harrington. It belonged to a half-grown
individual, measuring 5-25 inches across, and was found to
contain only 1-8-45 per cent, of ashes, and of this only 1-51
per cent, of calcic phosphate. The cruHts of some Trilobites
may have contained as large a propoi'tion of organic matter ;
but they would seem to have been richer in phosphates.

* This limestone is from a large boulder in the Quebec group conglomerate.

«**-

fc-

80

On Specimem of Eozoon Cunadense and

Next to Lingular and Trilobitos, the most abundant fossils
in the formations containing the phosphatic nodules are the
shells of the genus Ifyolithes, of which several species have
been described by Mr. liillings.* Dr. Ilai-rington has
ascertained that those shells also contain calcic phosphate
in considerable proportion. f The proportion of this substance
in a shell not quite freed from matrix was 2-09 per cent.
Those shells have usually been regarded as Pteropods; but
T find that the Canadian primordial species show a structure
very different from that of tliis group. They are much
thicker than the shells of proper Pteropods; and the outer
layer of shell is perforated with round pores, which in one
species are ai-ranged in vertical rows. The inner layer,
which is usually vevy thin, is imperforate. In one species
(I believe, the H. americanus of Billings) the perforations
resemble in size and appearance those in the shells of
Terebratukv. Jn another species (/i. micans probably) they
are very tine and close together, as in some shells of
tubicolous worms. I am therefore disposed to regard the
claim of these shells to the lank of Pteropous as very
doubtful. They may bo tubicolous worms, or even some
peculiar and abnormal type of Brachiopod. In connexion
with this last view, it may be remarked that the operculum
of some of the species much resembles a valve of a
Brachiopod, and that the conical tube is in some of them
not a much greater exaggeration of the ventral valve of one
these shells than the peculiar Calceola of the Upper Silurian
and Devonian, which has been regarded by some paleonto-
logists as a true Brachiopod. I have not, however, had any
opportunity of comparing the intimate structure of: Calceola
with that of these shells. Shells of ^^oZ(Y/tes occur on the
Lower St. Lawrence in the beds with the phosphatic
nodules; and in one of these Mi-. Weston has found a series
of conical shells of IlyoUthes pressed one within another, as

• Canadian Naturalist, Dec. 18T1.

t Mr. Matthew h.iH direeted my attention to tin fact that Battando has
noticed that the shell of Uuulitlicn is similar in composition to the crust of
Trilobites.

TJieir Geological and other Relations.

81

lie has
Ust of

if they had passed in an entire state through the intestine of
the animal which prrxhiced the coprolite.

Inasmucli, then, as some of the most common invertehi'ates
of the Cambi'ian seas secreted pliosphatic sliells, ii is not
more incredible that carnivorous animals feeding on them
should produce phosphatic coprolites than that this should
occur in the case of more, modern animals feeding on fishes
and other vertebrates.

We may now turn to the question as to the source of the
abundant apatite of'the Laurent ian rocks. Were this diffused
uniformly through the beds of this great system, or collected
merely in fissure or segregation veins, it might be regarded
as having no connexion with other than merely mineral
causes of deposit. It appears, however, I'rom the careful
stratigraphical explorations of the Canadian Survey, in the
districts of Burgess and J^lmsley, which are especially ri' h
in apatite, that the mineral occurs largely in beds of mica-
ceous schist and limestone, interstratitied with the other
members of the series, though de]iosits of the nature of
veins likewise occur. It also ajipoars that the principal
beds and veins are confined to cei'tain horizons in the np])er
part of the Middle Laurentian, above the limestones contain-
ing Eozoon, though some less important deposits occur in
lower positions.* This great apatite-bearing band of the
Laurentian, consisting of beds of gneiss, limestone, and
pyroxene-rock, has also been traced ovei' a great extent of
country east of the Ottawa river, and is well developed in
the districts of Buckingham and Tompleton. Tho mineral
often forms compact veins or beds with little foreign inter-
mixture; and these sometimes attain a thickness of several
feet, though it has been observed that their thickness is
variable in ti-acing them along their out-crops. The veins
are especially rich in beds of pyi-oxenite, in which they
form "lahi bands" or interrupted transverse veins thinning
off on entering the gneiss or limestone. Thin layers of
apatitealso occur in the linos of bedding of (he pyroxene-rock.
In other tases, disseminated crystals are foun«l throughout
thick beds of limestone, sometimes, acc< ding to Dr. Hunt,

II

82 On Specimens of Eozoon Canadenae and

amounting to two or three per cent, of the whole mass.*
Disseminated ciystals also ot-cur in some of the beds of
miignetite, a mode of occurrence which, according to Br.
Hunt, has also Iteen observed in Sweden and in New York,
in the Laui'cntian magnetites of those i-egions. In one in-
stance, at Tieonderoga, in New York, the apatite, instead of
its usual crystalline condition, assumes the form (if radiating
and botryoidol masses, constituting the Eupyrchroite of
Emmons.

The veins of apatite fill narrow and usually irregular
fissures ; and the mineral is associated in these veins with
calcite and with large crystals of mica. Since those veins
are found principally in the same members of the series in
which the beds occur, it is a fair inference that the former
are a secondary formation, dependent on the original depo-
sition of apatite in the latter, which must belong to the time
when the gneisses, pyroxenites and limestones were laid
down as sediments and orgaiuc accumulaticms.

In all the localities in which \ have been able to examine
the Laurentian apatite, it presents a perfectly crystalline
texture, while the containing strata are highly meta-
morphosed ; and this appears to be its general condition
wherever it has been examined. Numerous slices of the
more compact apatite of the beds have been prepared by
Mr. Weston, of the Geological Survey ; but, as might be
expected, they show no ti'ace of organic structure. All
direct evidence for the organic origin of this substance is
therefore still wanting. There are, however, certain con-
siderations, based on its mode of occurrence, which may be
consitlered to aftb'-d some indirect testimony.

\i\ with Hunt, we regard the iron ores of the Laurentian
as organic in origin, the apatite which occurs in them may
reasonably be supposed to be of the same character with
the phosphatic matter which contaminates the fossilifei'ous
iron ores of the Silurian and Devonian, and which is mani-
festly derived from the included organic remains.

• Vennor's Reports, 1872-73 k 1873-74.

* One of our Museum specimens is a nodule of apatite encased in a coating of
graphite.

Their Geological and other Relations.

83

loo 18

con-
lybe

\tian

I may

Iwith

jrous

ani-

line

of

\f wo consulor the evidence of Eozoon suflSciont to
establiHh the organic origin, in jiart at least, of the
Laurentian limestones, we may suppose the disseminated
crystals of apatite to represent coprolitic masses or the
d(5bris of phosphatic shells and crusts, the structure of which
may have been obliterated by concretionary action and
metamorjihism.

Such Silurian bods of compact and conci-etionary apatite
(without structure, yet manifestly of organic origin) as
that described by Mr. Davies in the " Journal " of the Geolo-
gical Society,^'' may be taken as representing the bedded
apatite of the Laui'entian. Further, the presence of graphite
in association with the apatite in both cases may not be an
accidental circumstance, but may depend in both on the
association of carbonaceous organisms, whether vegetable
or animal.

Again, the linguliferous sandstone of the Acadian group
is a material which, by metamorphism, might readily atf'ord
apyroxenite with layers or veius of apatite like those which
occur in the Laurentian.

The probability of the animal origin of the Laurentian
apatite is perhaps fui-ther strengthened by the prevalence
of animals with phosphatic crusts and skeletons in the
Primordial ago, giving a presumption that in the still earlier
Laurentian a similar preference for phosphatic matter may
have existed, and, perhaj)s, may have extended to still
lower forms of life, just as the appropriation in more
modern times of phosphate of lime by the higher animals
for their bones seems to have been a(Com])anied by a
diminution of its use in animals ol' lower grade.

The Laurentian apatite pretty constantly contains a
small percentage of calcium fluoride; and liiis salt also
occurs in bones, more especially in ci-rtain ibssil bones.
This may in both cases be a chemical accident ; but it
supplies an additional coincidence.

In the lowest portions of the Laurentian, no organic

* August, 1875.

84

On Specimens of Eozonn Canadense and

remains liave yet boon dotectcd ; and these bods are
also poor in pliosphates. The horizon of special preval-
ence ( Eozoon is the Grenvillo band of liniestono, which,
according to Sii- William Logan's sections, is about 11,500
foot above the fundamental gneiss. It ap])oar.s, from recent
observations of Mr. Vonnor and Mr. \V. T. Morris, that the
bed holding the J^urgess Eozoon is on the same horizon
with the limestone of (ironville. The phosphates are most
abundant in the bods overlying this band. This gives a
further presumption that the collection and separation of
the apatite is due to some organic agency, and may indicate
that animals having phosphatic skeletons first became
abundant after the sea-bottom had been largely occupied
by Eozoon.

\ would not attach too groat value to the above con-
siderations; but, taken together, and in connexion with the
occurrence of apatite in tho Cambrian and Silurian, they
seem to afford at least a probability that the separation of
the Laurentian phosphate from the sea-water, and its ac-
cumulation in particular beds, may have been duo to tho
agency of marine life. Positive proof of this can bo
obtained only by the recognition of organic form and
structure ; and for this wo can scarcely hope, unless wo
should be so fortunate as to tintl some portion of the Lower
Laurentian seiies in a loss altei'od condition than that in
which it occurs in the apatite districts of Canada, Should
such structures be found, however, it is not improbable
that they may belong to forms of life almost as much lower
than the Lhigulce and Ti-ilobites of tho Cambrian as these
are infei'ior to tho fishes and rejitilos of the IMesozoic.

Graphite of the Laurentian^^'

In my paper of 18(54, on the Organic Remains of the Laurentian
Limestones of Canada, as a sequel to the description of Eozoon
Camahnse, I noticed, among other Indications of organic matters in
these limestones, tlie presence of films and fibres of graphitic mat-
ter and insisted on tl;e probability tluit at least some of tlie lower
forms of plant life must have existed in the seas in which gigantic

* Quart. Journ. Gcol. Soc. 1860.

Tlieif Geological and other Relations.

85

gentian

I Eozoon
tters in
lie mat-
lower
igantic

Foraniinifora could llourish. Dr. Hunt had previously, on cliemi-
cal ovidonce, inferred tlie oxiHttMico of LaunMitian veKetationf, and
Dana had arguod as to tho probability of this (Jii various !.'roiuuls+ ;
and my object in referriii*? to tlieso indications in 18G4, as well as
to the supposed burrows of annelids, subsequently described by
meii, was to show that the occurrence of Eozoon was not to be re-
garded as altogetiier isolated and unsupported by jjrobabililies of
the existence of organic remains in the Laurentian deducible from
other considerations.

Now that the (piestions which have been raised regarding Eozoon
have been answered, not only by tlie adhesion of some of tho greatest
authorities in palaeontology and zoology, but by the discovery of
similar organisms in rocks of the same age elsewiiore, and by speci-
mens jncserved in such a manner as to avoid all the objections
raised to the mineral condition of the fossil, it may be proixjr
to invite the attention of geologists more particularly to tlie evi-
dence of vegetablo life allbrdod by tho deposits of graphite existing
in the Laurentian.

The graphite of tlie Laurentian of Canaila occurs both in beds
and in veins, and in suoh a manner as to show that its origin and
deposition are coiitomporaneous with those of the containing rock.
Logan and Hunt statet that "tho deposits of plumbago generally
occur in the limestones or in their immediate vicinity, and granu-
lar varieties of the rock often contain large crystalline plates of
l>lumbago. At otlior times this mineral is so finely disseminated
as to give a bluish-gray colour to the limestone, and the distribu-
tion of bands thus coloured, eeems to mark the stratification of the
rock." He further states: — " Tlio plumbago is not confined to tlie
limestones; large crystalline scales of it are occasionally dissemi-
nated in pyroxene roclc or pyrallolite, and sometimes in quartzite
and in feldspathic rocks, or even in magnetic oxide of iron." In

t ' AinoiMoiiii Jouniul of Seieiicu' (li), .\xxi. |). 305. Vvom this tirtiulo, written
ill 18l)l, after tlie juinouncomi'iit of the existence of liiiiiiiiated foriiis fUi)|io.<ecl
to be ori-'iiiiic ill the fiiuireiitiiin, l)y Sir AV. K. Jjokiui, but before their structure
1111(1 iiiriiiiiies had been asecrtiiiued, I quote the following sentences; — "We sco
in tiie Liiureniian series beds and veins of metullic sulphurets, precisely as in
more recent formations; and the extensive bods of iron-ore, hundreds of feet
thick, which abound in that ancient system, correspond not only to^ruat volumes
of strata deprived of that metal, but. as we may supptise, to orKiinic maifers
which, but for the then sreat dill'usion of iron-oxyd in conditions favourable for
their oxydation, nuKht have formed deposits of mineral carbon far more exten-
sive than those beds of plumbago which we actually meet in the Laurentian
strata. All these conditions lead us then to conclude the existeuce of an abun-
dant vegetation during the Laurentian period."

t Manual of Geology. I may also be permitted to refer to my own work
" Archaia,' p. 168, and Appendix D, 18iiO.

§ Quart. Journ. Geol. boc. vol. xxii. p. 008.

•I -

86

On Specimens of Eozoon Canademe and

f {),;

addition to those bedded forms, there are also true veins in which
graphite occurs associated witli calcite, quartz, orthochiso, or pyr-
oxene, and either in disseminated scales, in detached masses, or
in bands or layers "separated from each other, and from the wall
rock by feldspar, pyroxene, and quartz." Dr. Hunt also mentions
the occurrence of finely granular varieties, and of that peculiarly
waved and corrutratod variety simulating fossil wood, though really
a mere form of laminateil structure, which also occ-urs at Warrens-
burgh, New York, and at the Marinski mine in Siberia. Many of
the veins are not true fissures, but rather constitute a net-work of
shrinkage cracks or segregation veins traversing in countless num-
bers the containing rock, and most irregular in their dimensions,
so that they often resemble strings of nodular masses. It has been
supposed that the grai)hite of the veins was originally introduced
as a liquid hydro-carbon. Dr. Hunt, however, regards it as pos-
sible that it may have been in a state of aqueous solution^ ; but in
whatever way introduced, the character of the veins indicates that
in the case of the greater number of them the carbonaceous
material must have been derived from the bedded rocks traversed
by these veins, wiiile there can bo no df)ubt that the graphite
found in the beds has been deposited along with the calcareous
matter or muddy and sandy sediment of which these beds were
originally composed.

The quantity of graphite in the Lower Laurentian series is enor-
mous. In a recent visit to the township of Buckingham, on the
Ottawa River, I examined a band of limestone believed to be a
continuation of that described by Sir W. E. Logan as the Green
Lake Limestone. It was estimated to amount, with some thin
interstratified bands of gneiss, to a thickness of tJOO feet or more>
and was found to be tilled with disseminated crystals of graphite
and veins of the mineral to such an extent as to constitute in some
places one-fourth of the whole ; and making every allowance for
the poorer portions, this -band cannot contain in all a less vertical
thickness of pure graphite than from 20 to 30 feet. In the adjoin-
ing township of Lochaber, Sir W. E. Logan notices a band from
25 to 30 feet thick, reticulated with graphite veins to such an ex-
tent as to be mined with protit for the mineral. At another place
in the same district a bed of graphite from 10 to 12 feet thick, and
yielding 20 }Xir cent, of the pure material, is worked. When it is
considered that graphite occurs in similar abundance at several
other horizons, in beds of limestone which have been ascertained
by Sir W. E. Logan to have an aggregate thickness of 3500 feet, it

t ' Geology of Canada,' 1808.

X 'Keport of the Geological Survey of Canada,' 1866.

Their Geological and other Relatione

8?

eiior-

11 the

be a

iieon
thin
i.iore»

Iphite

01116

\ for
tical
join-
from

ex-
[jtlace
, and

it ia
veral
liined
let, it

is scarcely an exa^'jj;eratiGn to maintain that tiie (luantity of car-
bon in the Lanrontian if ecjual to tiiat in similar areas of the
Carboniferous System. Tt is also to be observed that an immense
area in Canada appoiirs to be occupied by these j»raphitic and
ii'o2oo/t-lime3tones, and that rich graphitic deposits exist in the
continuation <;f tliis system in the State of New York, while in
rocks believed to be of this age near St. John, New Brunswick,
there is a very thick bod of graphitic limestone, and associated
with it three regular bods of graphite, having an aggregate thick-
ness uf about 5 feet*.

It may fairly be assumed that in the present world and in those
geological i)eriods with whose organic remaii.s we are more familar
than with tliose of the Laurentian, there is no otlier source of un-
oxidized carbon in rocks than that furnished by organic matter, and
that this has obtained its carbon in all cases, in tlie tirst instance,
from the deoxidalioii of carl ionic acid by living plants. No other
source of carbon can, I believe, be imagined in the Laurentian
period. We may, however, suppose either that the graphitic mat-
ter of the Laurentian has been accumulated in beds like those of
coal, or that it has consisted of ditl'usod bituminous matter similar
to that in more modern bituminous shales and bituminous and oil-
bearing limestones. The beds of graphite near St. John, some of
those in the gneiss at Ticonderoga in New York, and at Lochaber
and Buckingham and elsewhere in Canada are so puruiiid regular
that one might fairly compare them with the graphitic coal of
Rhode Island. These instances, however, are exceptional, and the
greater part of the disseminated and vein graphite might rather be
compared in its mode of occurrence to the bituminous mutter in
bituminous shales and limestones.

We may compare the tlisseminated graphite to that which we
find in those districts of Canada in which Silurian and Devonian
bituminous shales and limestones have been metamorphosed and
converted into graphitic rocks not dissimilar to those in the less
altered portions of the Laurentian.f In like manner it seems pro-
bable that the numerous reticulating veins of grajjliite may have
been formed by the segregation of bituminous matter into fissures
and planes of least resistance, in the manner in which such veins
occur in modern bituminous limestones and shales. Such bitumi-
nous veins occur in the Lower Carboniferous limestone and shale
of Dorchester and Hillsborough, New Brunswick, with an arrange-
ment very similar to that of tlio veine of graphite ; and in the

• Matthew in ' Quart. Journ. Geol
p. 662.

i-IOC.

vol. xxi. p. 423. Acadian Gcolog,
t Granby, Melbourne, Owl's Head, &c., ' Geology of Canada,' 1863, p. 599.

..t..

^7^^> ^^ oO.

o . V'e>^^,.*.

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-S)

7

/

/.

O

^/ <^*

.V, %a M/^ ^

'''"' ///// ^^

1.0

2.0

I.I

ii.25 i 1.4 ill 1.6

y

<^

/a

7

"c^l

#

M

'^J^ ^

^^

'■^

L<?

€?■

L^<

i

mmmmmr^

SHI

88

O/i Specimens of Eozoon Canadense and

Quebec rocks of Point Levi, veins attaining to a thickness of more
than a foot, are tilled with a coaly matter having a transverse
columnar structure and regarded by I^ogan and Hunt as an altered
bitumen. These pateozoic analogies would lead us t<j infer that
the larger part of the Laurentian graphite falls under the second
class of deposits above mentioned, and that, if of vegetable origin,
the organic matter must have been thoroughly disintegrated and
bituminized before it cliangod into graphite. This would also give
a probability that the vegetation implied was aquatic, or at least
that it was accumulated under water.

Dr. Hunt has, however, observed an imlication of terrchtrial
vegetation, or at least of subaerial decay, in the great beds of
Laurentian iron ore. Those, if formed in the same manner as
moro modern deposits of this kind, would imply tlio reducing and
solvent action of substances ju'oduced in the decay of plants. In
this case such great ore beds as that of Hull, on the Ottawa, 70 feet
thick, or that near Newborough, L'OO feet thick,* must represent a
corresponding (juantity of vegetable matter which has wholly dis-
appeared. It uiay bo added that sinular demands on vegetable
matter as a deoxidizing agent are made by the beds and veins of
metallic sidphides of the Laurentian, though some of the latter are
no doubt of later date than the Laurentian rocks themselves.

It would be very desirable to coiifirm such conclusions as those
above deduced by the evidence of actual microscopic structure. It
is to be observed, however, that when, in more modern sediments,
Alga' have been converted into Ijituminous matter, we cannot ordi-
narly obtain any structural evidence of the origin of such bitumen,
and in the graphitic slates and hmestones derived from the meta-
morphosis of such rocks no organic structure remains. It is true
that, in bituminous shales and limestones, JLuu'ospores and shreds
of organic tissue can often he det(H;ted,t and in some cases, as
in the Lower Silurian liuiestone of the La Clodie mountains
in Canada, the ])ores of brachiopoduus shells and the cells of
corals have been penetrated by black bituminous matter, form-
ing whai- may be regarded as natural injections, sometimes of
much hearty. In correspondence with this, while in some Lauren-
tian graphitic rocks, as, for instance, in tho compai^t graphite of
Clarendon, the carbon presents a curdled appearance due to segre-
gation, and precisely similar to that of the bitumen in more modern
bituminous rocks, 1 can detect in the graphitic limestones continu-

• Ooology of Caniida, 1363.

t Sou " Uuological History of Plants," by tho Author, pugo 48.

Their Geological and other Relations.

89

those
e. It
uents,
t ordi-
mnon,
iiieta-
true
lireds
es, as
itaiiis
dls of
I'orm-
iis of
nvrou-
lite of
segri-
)dern
itinn-

ous bands resembliiij^ elcjngated leaves or flattened stems*, fibrous
structures wliicli may bo remains of ve^^etable tissue, and in >ome
specimens vermicular lines, which I believe to be tubes of Eozoon
l)enetrated by matter once bituminous, but now in the state of
i^raphite.

Wlicn palaeozoic land-plants have been converted into graphite,
they sometimes ])erfectly retain their structure. Mineral charcoal,
with structure, exists in the frraphitic I'oal of Rhode Island. The
fronds of ferns, with their minutest veins perfect, are preserved in
the Devonian shales of St. .John, in the slate of graphite ; and in the
same formation there are trunks of Conifers (l)adoxijdon Onamjoii-
dianum) in which the material of the cell-walls has been converted
into graphite, while their cavities have been tilled with calcareous
spar and quartz, the finest structures l)eing preserved 'ijarly as well
as in comparatively urudtered specimens from the coal-formationf.
No structures so jierfect have as yet been detected in the I.auren-
tian, though in the largest of the three graphitic beds at St. John
there appear to be fdirous structures, which I believe may indicate
the existence of land-plants. This graphite is comi)Osed of con-
torted and slickouBided lamina}, much like those of some bitu-
minous sliales and coarse coals ; and in these there are occasional
small pyritous masses which show liollow carbonaceous fibres, in
some cases presenting obscure indications of lateral pores. I re-
gard th(we indications however, as uncertain ; and it is not as yet
fully ascertained that these beds at St. John are on the same geo-
logical horizon with tlie Middle Laurentian of Canada, though they
certainly underlie the Primordial series of tlie Acadian group,
and are separated from it by V)ed8 liaving the character of the
Huron! an.

There is thus no ab.'^olute impossibility that tlistinct organic
tis.uies may be fotnid in tlie Laurentian graphite, if formed from
land-j)lants, more especially if any i)lants existed at that time hav-
ing true woody or vascular tissues ; but it cannot with certainty be
aliirmed that Siich tissues have been found. It is possible, however,
that in the Laurentian period the vegetaticm of the land may have
consisted wholly of cellular plants, as, for exaniple, mosses and
lichens ; and if so, there would be comparatively little hope of the
distinct preservations of their forms or tissues, or of our being able
to (listingni.di the remains of h.nd-plants from tho.se of Algie.

* These aro iilmndiint in some liiycr.s of limestone of the (Jrenvillo bund at
Liichute. Siuiihvr .specimens have recently l)eon de.^crib^u by Britton from tho
Laurentian of New Jersey, under the name Arcliiropliyton JVcwheiTiniiiim,

t y\cadian (ieolof^y, p. .W. In calcified specimens, the structures remain in the
uraphite after decalcilication by an acid.

T^

90

On Specimens of Eozoon Canadense and

We may sum up these facts and considerations in tlie following
statements: — First, that somewhat obscure traces of organic struc-
ture can be detected in the Laurentian grapliite ; secondly, that
the general arrangement and nucroscopic structure of the substance
t jrresponds with that of the i. ..rbonaceous and bituminous matters
in marine formations of more modern date; thirdly, that if the
Laurentian graphite has been derived from vegetable matter, it
has only undergone a metamorphosis similar in kind to that which
organic matter in metamorphosed sediments of later age has ex-
perienced ; fourthly, that the association of the graphitic matter
with organic limestone, beds of iron ore, and metallic sulphides,
greatly strengthens the probability of its vegetable origin ; fifthly,
that when we consider the immense tliickness and extent of the
Eozoonal and graphitic limestones and iron-ore deposits of the
Laurentian, if we adniit the organic origin of the limestone and
graphite, we must be prepared to believe that the life of that early
period, though it may have existed under low forms, was most
copiously developed, and that it equalled, jH3rhaps surpassed, in its
results, in the way of geological accumulation, that of any subse-
quent period.

In conclusion, this subject opens up several interesting fields of
chemical, physiological, . nd geological inquiry. One of these re-
lates to the conclusions stated by Dr. Hunt a& to the probable exis-
tence of a large amount of carbonic acid in the Laurentian atmos-
phere, and of much carboiuite of lime in the soas of that period, and
the possible relation of this to the abundance of certain low forms
of plants and animals. Another is the comparison already insti-
tuted by Professor Huxley and Dr. Carpenter, between the condi-
tions of the Laurentian and those of the deejier parts of the modern
ocean. Another is tiie possible occurrence of other forms of animal
life than Eozuon and Annelids, which I have stated in my paper of
18G4, after extensive microscopic study of the Laurentian lime-
stones, to be indicated by the occurrence of calcareous fragments
difiering in structure from Eozoon, but at present of unknown
nature. Another is the effort to bridge owx, by further discoveries
similar to tiiat of the Eozoon harctricurn of Gumbel, the gajj now
existing between the life of the Lower-Laurentian and that of the
Primordial Silurian or Cambrian period. It is scarcely too much
to say that these inquiries oi)en up a new world of thought and in-
vestigation, and hold out the hope of bringing us into the presence
of the origin of organic life on our planet. I would here take
the opportunity of stating that, in proi)0Bing the name Eozoon for
the first fossil of the Laurentian, and in stiggesting for the period
the name " Eozoic," I have by no means desired to exclude the

Their Geolosrical and other Relations.

91

pogsibility of forms of life which may have been precursors of what
is now to us the dawn of orL^unic existence. Should remains of
still older orjranisms be found in those rocks now known to as only
by pebbles in the Laurentian, these names will at least serve to
mark an important stage in geological investigation.

aids of
!se re-
e exis-
atmos-
d, and
forms
insti-
condi-
nodern
uiinial
iper of
lime-
ments
known
verits
[) now
of the
much
ad in-
esence
e take
on for
period
le the

IX. SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT OF
THE ANIMAL NATIJRK OF EOZOON
0 ANA DENSE.

1. It occure in masses in limestone rocks, just as Stroma-
toponi' occur in the Paltcozoic limestone.

2. While sometimes in confluent and shapeless sheets or
masses, it is, when in small or limited individuals, found to
assume a regular rounded, cylindrical or more frequently
broadly turbinate form.

3. Microscopically it presents a regular lamination, the
laminse being confluent at intervals, so as to form a net-
work in the ti-ansverse section. The laminie have tuber-
Culated surfaces or casts of such tuberculated surfaces, giving
an acervuline a])pearance to those laminu> which are sup-
posed to be the casts of chambers,

4. The original calcareous laminie are traversed by sys-
tems of branching canals, now tilled with various mineral
substances, and in some places coarse and in many others
becoming a tine tubulated wall. The typical form of these
canals is cylindrical, but tbey are often flattened, especially
in the larger stems.

5. In some specimens, large vertical tubes or oscula may
be seen to penetrate the mass.

(). On the sides of such tubes, and on the external surface,
the laminte sub-divide and become confluent, thus forming
a species of porous epidermal layer or theca.

7. FiagmoMts of Eozoon an 'ound forming layers in the
limestone, showing that ii was being broken up when the
limestones were in process of deposition.

8. The great extent and regularity of the limestones
show that thoy were of nuuine origin, and they contain

92

On Specimens of Eozoon Canadense and

graphite, apatite and obHCure organic (?) fragnientH olhor
than Edzooii.

9. The oi'dinaiy specimenK of Eozoon are mineralized
with hydrous silicates (serpentine, &c.) in the same man-
ner with Silurian and other specimens tilled with glaucoiiitc,
&c. These hydrous silicates also occur in the same lime-
stones in concretions, bands, c^c, in such a manner as to
prove that they were ilepositcd contemporaneously.

10. In some cases, the canals and chamherlets are tilled
with calcite and dolomite, in the nianuci- of oi'dinaiy cal-
careous fossils, and this tilling can often be distinguished
from the original calcaremis wall by a minutely granular
or porous sti-uctuie in the latter.

11. The specimens of Eo:ooti have been folded and fault-
ed with the contaiidng limestones, showing that they are
not products of any subsequent segregation.

12. Similar testimony is borne by the fact that the
masses of Eazoon are crossed by tlie veins of cbrysotile
which traverse the limestones and ai'e of later origin.

13. The whole of the forms and structures seen in Eozoon
correspond with those to be expected in :. gigantic and
highly gencj'alised Ehizoixnl seci-eling a calcareous test,
and possessing, as might be anticipated in such early organ-
ism, structures in some degree allied lo such later forms as
Stromatopora' and calcareous s])onges, which in the Eozoic
it functionally lepresenled.

14. The above evidence re([uires for its due appreciation
the study of large suites of specimens in ditt'crent states of
j)reservation, and a piactical knowledge of the ditt'crent
states of ])reservation of fossil i-emaius, more jiarticularly
in the older and more ci-ystalline rocks. Many objections
taken have been based either on insutllcient or imperfect
specimens, or on want of the necessaiy experience in the
study of the more ancient fossils in various slates of
preservation.

Finally, the question may bo asked — What is the pi-e-
cise relation o{ Eozoon Cnnadense, considered as an animal
organism, to any later and better known ajiimals ? This

Their Geological and other Relations.

93

[•iution
It OS of
hVccnt

|uli\rly
actions
licri'ect
in the

^es of

le pro-
tin i mill
This

question may he answered in either of two ways : — (1) Func-
tionully or in rehition to the position of sucli an animal in
nature; or (2) Zooloi^icaily, or with reference to its affini-
ties to other animals. With reference to the tirst con-
sidei-ation, the answer is phi in. The geological function
of Eozoon was that of a collector of calcareous matter from
the surrounding watei-s, then probably very rich in calcium
carbonate, and its role was the same with that of the
Sti'omtitopoi'jc and calcareous Sponges, smaller Foraminifera
and Corals in latter times. The answer to the second as-
pect of the ([uestion is less easy. An ordinary observer
would at once place Eozoon with tlie Stromatoporida' or
Layer-corals, which fill or even constitute whole beds of
limestone in the Cambro-Silui-ian. Silurian anrl Devonian
Periods. Wh'le, however, Kozoon has been claimed on the
highest authoi'ity for the Rhizopods, the Stromatoporic and
their allies have been regarded as Sponges, or more recently
as Hydroids allied to the ITydractiniie and Millepores.* 1
confess that I am not satisfied with these interpretations.
I have in my collections large numbers of encrusting spi-
nous forms, usually called Sti'omatopora^, but which I have
long set aside as ])robably llydractinitP. There are other
forms with large vertical tubes which 1 have regarded as cor-
als, but some Stromatoponc seem to heditferent frf)ra either,
and I am still disposed to regard many of them as Protozoa.
Bearing in mind, however, that the Silurian is as remote
from the Laui-entian on the one hand as from theTertiaiy
on the othei", we might be pi-epared to expect that if the
Layer-corals of the Silurian are divisible into ditferent
groups, .somewhat witlely separated, we may bo prepared to
expect in the Laui-entian much more generalised forms,
less susceptible of cla.ssification in our modern systems. If,
therefore, Eozoon were accessible to us in a living state, I
should not be surprised to find that — while perhaps more
aUin to the calcareous-shelled iihizopods than to any other
modern group — it may have presented points of resem-
blance to Sponges or even to Hydroids, in its skeleton and

* See NiohoUou's ublo memoirs, Publications of Pal. Socy,, 1885>

94 On Specimens of Eozoon Canadense and

mode of growth, and even in the structure of its soft parts.
The precise facts as to these resemblances are, however,
likely to be more or less uncertain; and in the meantime,
the modern Polytrema, which encrusts shells and dead
corals in the warmer seas, seems to me to present more re-
semblance to Eozoon than any other organism I know.

The following definition, originally in my little book,
" Life's Dawn on Earth," may serve the purpose of charac-
terising this remarkable foim, which, whatever its nature,
is certainly co-eval with and an agent in building up the
limestones in which it occurs : —

Eozoon Canadense, Dawson.

General Form. — Broadly turbinate, often with a depres-
sion of cavity in the middle, sometimes rounded or de-
pressed 01' confluent in sheets. Larger specimens often
with several depressions or tubes peneti-ating the mass.

Structure of Test. — Calcareous, consisting of successive
lamimc which are not continuous, but connect at intervals
either by meeting together, by partitions, or by irregular
pillars. Laminjc of granular textuie, penetrated by minute
tubuli, which in the thicker poj'tions become branching
canals. These are of rounded forms, somelimes articulated,
and not unf'requently flattened at the extremities, or divid-
ing into a vast number of tubuli.

Cavities of the Test. — Flattened, with slightly tuberculate
surfaces, sometimes passing into series of rounded lobes,
more or less circular (acervuline form) and occasionally
sending off chaniberlets into the thicker parts of the test.
The canals terminate by a vast number of tubuli on the
cavities, or sometimes hy large tubes with widened open-
ings. The chambers are larger and the walls of the test
thicker and peneti-ated with larger canals near the base of
the form. The upper layers, by separation of the consti-
tuent tubercles, often become acervuline.

The above structures are distinctly visible only in those
specimens whose chambers and canals have been infiltrated
with Serpentine, Pyroxene, Dolomite or Carbonaceous Lime-

TJieir Geological and other Relations.

95

stone. Sucb specimens aie sometimes associated with no-
dular masses of Serpentine or Pyro\ene. Specimens in
wliicli the cavities have been fil'ed with calcite, or obli-
terated by compression, I'arely show any structui-e other
than Ihe fine granular texture or remains of the canals.
Small and detached specimens, mineralised with Serpentine,
are those most available for minute study.

X. CONCLUSION.

Ist
lof

U-

se
kd
|e-

In concluding this resumd of facts and opinions respecting
Eozoon, and of its representation in the Peter Eedpath
Museum, the author may be permitted to offer a few
explanations, partly of a personal nature.

On my removal to Montreal in 1855, I had proposed to
limit my geological work to two departments: (1) The
completion of my researches in the Devonian and Carboni-
ferous Geology and Pala3obotany of the Maritime Provinces
of British North America ; and (2) the study of the local
phenomena and fossils of the Pleistocene deposits, as devel-
oped in the vicinity of my new home in the St. Lawrence
Valley. My only concern with Laurentian geology on the
one hand, and foraniiniferal fossils on the other, lay in the
obligation to know something of the former for teaching
purposes, and to examine such forms of the latter as 1 found
in the Pleistocene clays, and which led me to study the
then recent publications of Carpenter, Williamson and
Rupert Jones.

I took some interest in the discovery of Eozoon by Sir
William Logan and his assistants, and it happened that I
was the first to recognize its minute structures in some slices
shown tome by I)i-. Sterry Hunt, in connection with a paper
which he was preparing on the mineralisation of fossil
remains. I undertook the examination of the specimens at
the request of Sir William Logan, and after offering to the
late Mr, Billings, the Pahv^ontologist of the Survey, to give
him all the aid in my power if he would undertake the

1^"-

96

On Specimenii of Eoznon Canadense and

investigation. This, Iiowevei', he declined, alleging the
pi-essiire of other work and his want of familiarity with
microscopic rcseai'ch.

On the {'omplction of my notes on the numerous speci-
mens, not only of Eozoon, but of Laurentian and other
crystalline limestones, submitted to me by Logan, i placed
them with a number of caincra drawings, pre])ared by the
artist of the Survey, in the hands of Sir William, Avho was
then about to proceed to England, Foreseeing the scepticism
with which the unnouncemont of Laurentian fossils was sure
to be j-eceived, and not wisliing to be involved in farther
labour and controversy, I advised him to place my notes,
along with the specimens and his own geological notes and
those of Dr. Sterry Hunt on the minoralogical questions,
in the hands of Dr. Car|)entei' and Prof. liujiert .Jones, with
carte blanche as to any use which these exj)erts in the study
of Foraminifera might be disposed to make of them. 1 had
hoped that the matter was thus finally out of my hands, but
the complicated and difficult questions which have since
arisen, have made it a matter of obligation to devote more
time to them than has been either agreeable or profitable.
With the present publication 1 dismiss the matter finally,
and without an}- feeling whatever as to the ultimate verdict
of science with respect to these curious and puzzling
specimens.

It is proper, however, to add that, independently of the
nature of Eozoon itself, the questions it has raised have not
been without advantage to Science. Eozoon is character-
istic of Laurentian limestones in all parts of the world, and
is not known in rocks later than those of the Archaean or
Eozoic Period. For practical purposes, therefore, it is a
Laurentian fossil. The matters discussed in the preceding
jmges show that it has directed attention to the nature and
origin of the Laurentian beds, to the various modes of min-
eralisation of organic remains, to the structures of many
ancient forms of animal life, as Stromatopora, Hyolithes, etc.,
to the origin and significance of the Laurentian Phosphates,
to the origin of Graphite, and. to the possible existence of

I: (

Their Geological and other Relations. 97

for th. ,.t L, ::z:t t^^t'ir^™- °^ '^"==°°"- -^

It was hoped thai my late l„rae„tod friend Dr W R

"=;::d^r;::o;:tr^^^
=;:;ird:;:i?f''~^^

tho r>ioa»; 0 „ ^mi ;;:r: rr"' ™ *" ™"^"''- ^ "»"

..nde.. hi, di,.e«tion. Hi, . let 3 ri'^Cr'^'

may be found for i.« n " '" ^' ^'^'^'"^ ^''^^ "^^'-^n^

~on,irnot;.:;iitxv:;':i:rr ^

7

-^iP'PEn^TnDi^^.

I. BIliLIOCEAPIIY OF EOZOON CANADENSE.

The following is not intended as a complete Tiibliography,
but merely to ufford means of reference to the original
descriptions and the more important later contributions
containing additional facts.

1. Preliminary notices.

After the original communication of Sir W. E. Logan to
the American Association at Springfield in 1863, the notice
by Sir W, E. Logan in the Geology of Canada, p. 48, 1863, and
the preliminary statement by Sir W. K. Logan, J)r. Dawson
and Dr. Hunt in the American Journal of Science of March,
1864, several short notices appeared in various quarters. Of
these may be mentioned, Geological Magazine, July, 1864 ;
British Association lleport, in the same, vol. 1, p. 225;
Bigsby's liaurentian Geology, lb. p. 207 ; Letter by Dr.
Carpenter to the j'resident of the R^yal Society, December,
1864; Geological Magazine, January, 1865.

2. Original detailed descriptions^ and notices subsequent
thereto, in 1865.

1. February 'ist, 1865. On the occurrence of Organic
Eemains in the Laurentian Rocks of Canada, by Sir W. E.
Logan, LL.D., F. R. S., &c.. Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. Vol.
XXI, p. 45, with the following papers appended thereto.

(1) On the st''Mcture of certain Organic Eemains in the
Laurentian Lime., ones of Canada. By J. W. Dawson,
LL.D., F. R. S., &c. Ibid. p. 51. 2 plates.

Their Geoloscical and other Relations.

99

(2) Additional note on tho structure and affinities of
EozooH Canadense. ]}y W. B. Carpenter, M. I)., F. E. S., &c.
Ibid. p. 59. 2 plates.

(3) On the Mine'-alogy of certain Organic Eoniains from
the Laurentian Eocks of Canada. J3y T. 8. Hunt, Esq.,
M. A., F. E. S. Ibid. p. 67.

2. April 18G5. On tho oldest known fossi '^ozoon Cana-
dense of the jjiiurentiaii Eocks of Canada; \u. place, struc-
ture and significance. By 'f. Eupert Jones, F. G. 8. Pop-
ular 8cience Review, Vol. IV., ]). 343, &c., PI. B.

3. May, 18()5. On the structui-e, attiiiities and geologi-
cal position o\ Eozoon Canadense, by W. B. Carpenter, M. JJ.,
F. E. 8., &c. Intellectual Observer, No. X, .May, 1865, p
2T8. 2 plates.

4. April, 1865. On the History of Eozoon Canadense ;
papci's by Sir \\. F. Logan, Dr. ,1. AV. Dawson, Dr. W. B.
Car[)enter, and Dr. T. 8. Hunt. (Same with No. 1, with ad-
ditions). The Canadian Naturalist, new series, Vol. 7, p. 9!>,
1 plate.

5. June, 1865. Professors King and Eowney on Eozoon,
stating objections to its organic nature. "The Eeader,"
June 10th, 1865, p. 660.

3. The more important papers, more especially by th^ original
describers, arranged according to authors.

lent

)rgaiiic
W. E.
Vol.

leto.
in the

lawson,

1. W. B. Carpenter on Eozoon Canadense. Intellectual Ob-
server, No. XL., p. 300, 1865.

Supplemental notes on the structure and affinities

of Eozoon Canadense, Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. Jjond. Vol.
XXII, pp. 219-228, 1866.

Notes on the structure and affinities of Cocoon Can-
adense. Canad. Nat., new ser.. Vol. U, pp, 111-119, wood
cut, 1865. A reprint from Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. Loud.,
1865.

Further observations on the structure and affinities
o^ Eozoon Canadense. In a letter to the President. Proc.
Roy. Soc. Lond. Vol. XXV., pp. 503-508, 1867.

100 On Specimens of Eozoon Canadense and

-On the Eozoon Canadense. '' Nature," vol. Ill, pp.

185, 186, 386, 1871.

Xew observations on Eozoon Canadense. Ann., and

Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 4, vol. XIII., pp. 45G-470, 1 plate,
1874.

Final note on Eozoon Canadense. Ann., and Mag.

Nat. Hist., SOI 4, vol. XIV., pp. 371-372, 1874.

Ilemai-ks on Mi-. II. J. Carter h letter to Prof. King

on the structure of the so-called Eozoon Canadense. Ann.
and Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 4, vol. XII 1, pjx 277-284 with 2
engravings, 1874.

Remai'ks on Eozoon Canadense. " Nature," vol. IX,

p. 491, 1874. (Abstract.)

— Further Researches on Eozoon Canadense. " Na-

tui-e," vol. X, p. 390, 1874.

On the j-eplacerr.ent of organic matter by Siliceous

Deposits in the pi'ocess of Fossilization. " Natu'-e," vol. X.
p. 452, 1874. (Abstract.)

Further Researches on Eozoon Canadense. Rep,

Brit. Assoc, for 1874, pp. 136-137, 1875.

New Laurentian Fossil. " Nature," vol. XIV., pp.

8, 9, 1876.

Supposed ne^v Laurentian Fossil. "Nature," vol.

XIV., p. 68, 1876.

Note on Otto llahn's Microgeological Investigation

of Eozoon Canadense. Ann. and .Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 4, vol.
XVIL, pp. 417-422, 1876.

The Eozoon Canadense. " Nature," vol. XX, pp.

228-330, 1879.

and .1. W. Dawson. T\\q Eozoon Canadense. " Na-
ture," vol. XX., p. 328, 1879.

Eozoon Canadense. The Microscope and its Re-
velations, sixth edition, pp. 587-592, 1881.

2. J. W. Dawson (and W. B Carpenter.) Notes on Fos-
sils recently obtained from the Laurentian Rocks of Canada,
and on objections to the organic nature of Eozoon. Quart.
.Tourn. Geol. Soc. Lond. : vol. XXIII, pp. 257-265, 2 plates,
1865.

'l^

101

Ueir Geological and other Relations.

pp. 307-411807 • "■"• '"•' ^°'- ^^1^1^- 2nd. «e.,

«lo^^!?nX'"r ""T"^' '"'"^'"^ '" the Laurontian Lime-
-i^^, i.^<s. ,^ wood cui.s, 18()5 ' '

naturoti^" "''' '"'"> ^'^•i^^^''^"'^ *" tl,e organic

257 ;-> ?7'-t- Jo'»-". G^eol. Soc. Loud., vol XXlil pp'
^57-^00, platen XI, XIT, 1867. ^^'

obtT;;;;^^/?"^!'^^""'"*"'-^ ^^^^^^ onFcssnsrecently
tions o fh I^''^'"-ent.an Rocks of Cana<Ia, and obiec-

lions to 1 he organic nnfm-n r,f 7<v^ a "•'^i uujoc

vol YTiv 9 A J^ozoon. Amer. Journ. Sci

vol. XLIV, 2Dd. se.-., pp. 367-376, 1867

-0.7^ w'"^ ^^" ^- ^^^-Penter.) Op „ew specimens of Eo-

xt . rt ' "^^'^^ ' ''^I^'->' ^" ^^^ objections of P.-ofessors
lung and Rowney. Amer. Journ. Sci., vol. XLV "nd
ser., pp. 245-255, 2 plates, 1868 ' ^^

1 oT^^T'l^T."" ^"^"'^ ^«««^^^''.^'e. " Nature," vol X p
10.:i. 1 wood cut, 1874. vci.^v.,p.

Co^^P^""*'' '?J^" occurrence of Eozoon Oanadmse, at
Cot^P , ''Nature," vol. XII., p. 79, 1875. (Abstract
1871. C^a^mrfe.... "Nature," vol. JIJ., p. 287,

It ?. '^ '''' *'^^ ^•'^'^b ''^"^ ^'•^"- I^ondon, 1873
, -The Dawn of Life: being the history of the oldest

known fossd remains, and their relations to gLo< "u te
and to t e development of the animal kingdom i.p 23 ,
with 8 plates ana 49 wood cuts. London, 1875 ^ '

M ^"T.^iV^"" ^'"■^'"■'' ob.ioctions to Eozoon. Ann and
Mag. Nat ILst., ser. 4, vol. XYII. pp. 118-110. 1^76 '
n ~~—^^^^^ on the Phosphates of the Laurentian -ind
Cambrum Eocks of Canada. Quart. Journ. Gool. So Lo
vol. XXXII., pp. 285 -291, 1876. '

atT^sf'p- '" '^T "^'^•'^'■^•«"^'« «f Eozoon Canadense
XXXII, pp. 66.-74, plate X. wHh 4 wood cuts, 1876

102 On Sj/ecinienx of Eozoon Canadenae and

■On some new apei'imcns of Fosnil Protozoa from

Canada. Proc. Am. Af^soc. Adv. 8ci. XXIV., pp. "1OO-IO6,
wood cutH, ISTO.

Now Factrt relating to Eozoon Canadmse. Pi'oc.

Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., vol. XXV., pp. 2:^.1-234, 1870.

Eozoon Canailensi; accordiniji; to Ilahn. Ann. ^Fag.

Nat. Hist., ser. 4, vol. XVIII., pp 20-38, 18T7.

New Facts relating to Eozoon Canadense. Canad.

Nat. new ser., vol. Vill., pp. 282--2S5, 1878.

On the Micros<'opic Structui-e of Stromatoporidac,

and on Paheozoic Fossils mineralized with Silicates, in illus-
tration of Eozoon. (^uart. Jour. Geol. Soc. Lond., vol.
XXXV., pp. 48-06, 3 plates, 187!).

Mcibius on Eozoon Canadense. Amer. Journ. Sci„,

vol. XVH., p. 100, wood cuts, 187!>.

Note on recent controversies respecting Eozoon Cana-
dense. Can. Nal., vol. IX., p. 228, 1870.

Notes on Eozoon Canadense. The Cana. Rec. of

Sci., vol.1., pp. 58-5!>, 1884.

On the Geological Kelations and Mode of Preserva-
tion of Eozoon Canadense. Eeport Brit. Assoc, (Southport,
1883.) p. 404, 1884.

Canadian and Scottish Geology, an address deliver-
ed before the Kdinburgh Geological Society at the close of
Hcssion, 1884. Trans. Fdin. Geol. Soc, vol. V., pp. 113-114,
1885.

New Facts Relating to Eozoon Canadenscs. Geol.

Maga., February, 1888.

3. C. ]V. G/imbel, Ueber das Vorkommen von Eozoon
in dem ostbayerischen Uigebirge ; Sitzungsber. d. k. v.
Akad. Wiss. Munch., 1806, lid. I, pp. 25-144, 3 plates.

4. T. S. Hunt. Laurentian Rhizopods of Canada. Fx-
tiwt of a letter from T. Sterry Hunt, F. R. 8., to .1. 1). Dana,
April 2nd, 1864. Amer. Journ. 8ci.,vol. XXXVII, 2nd. ser.
p. 431, 1864.

On the Mineralogy of^ Eozoon Canadense. Canad.

Nat. n. H,, vol 11., pj). 120-127, 1 plate, 1865.

103

Proe.

Tlieir Geohgiml and other Relntions.

On (he Mineiiiloifv of cp.-f.n-n n • t.

Socy. L„„,l., v,.l. XX.., ,.„. ,;,.;,';';::„'5 '^"'"■'- •'™™- «-'•

vol. I., pp. ICS- 215. 18.S.!. •*• *'" *^"''"'''''

r. A Jones. EoMn Vanadeiise in this r„„nt,.„ ^t .

372-273,1864. ^'- ^-^'^^il-, -'nd .series, pp.

(J. W. J)aw,son and T. 8. [lunt ^ O,, »f,^

18G4. '^^'^"to^j -i^''^"s. Sections, p 225,

On new Specimons of.fi'o-ooH nnn,.f r
Soc. London, vol. XX„1., pp. 25:;:2T;: iS" "■"■^^^'•

THE PETEii EEDPATH MUSlfuT

1. Specimens showimj general form,

TJiree si)ecimens from (oteSt I'iprm w«>ofi

broad unequally turbinate ibrnT/' '''"'' ""^' «''°^^'-^'
feevoral specimens showing otlier forms weathered ..n ,
showing rounded antl flattened -hapes '^^^^^'^'^'^' '^"^
La^e^contlueat specimens indicating agg^gation of simple

104 On Specimens of Eozoon Canndeni>e and

Specimen with two tubes or oscula penetrating it, and

showing modifications of laminii:> on approacliing the tubes.
Other specimens sliowing what seem to be wider oscula.
Large convex specimen based on Pyroxene —the specimen

figured in Life's Dawn on Eartli.
Specimens contorted by the movements of tlie containnig

bods.
Piiotograph of elongated or clavate s|jecimen from the

Hastmsrs group. Original in Ottawa Museum.
Thin and irregular specimens with only a few layers.
Specimens showing forms apparently calcified rather than

serpentinous, and showing less distinct layers than those

with serpentine.

2. Specimens showing structure.

Laminated specimens, weathered, etched and polished,
showing many varieties of the structure. Some of these
are Burgess specimens, mineralized with liOganito.

Specimens polished and etched and showing the laminse, and
in some cases the canals. These are merely mounted in
glass topped boxes. Among them are specimens sliowing
pyroxene and dolomite, filling canals and chauibers, and
specimens traversed by chrysotilo veins of secondary
origin.

Variety showing continuous laminaj with intervening canals
or vescicles in manner of Cryptozoum of Hall.

Variety minor, with very narrow chambers and thin
lamina;.

Acervuline variety and acervuline parts of large masses.

3. Specimens showing states of preservation and modes of

occurrence.

(1.) The greater part of the specimens are mineralized with
serpentine, but this is of diflerent qualities, more es-
pecially deep green, light green and amber-coloured and
cream-coloured varieties, and the ferruginous variety
when fresh, nearly colourless but weathering reddish.
Most of the above are from Petite Nation and Grenville*

(2.) Other si)eci mens from Burgess.mineralized with Loganite.

(3.) Largo slabs in upright cases from Logan collection show
the alternation of beds in the £'o;oo)) limestones, also
layers of calcite which when etched are seen to be full
of fragments of Eozoon. A fragment etched (in the

Their Geological and other Relatiom. 105

'7;;"7ff^-«-- separate ohamberlets-formerly
:i:ow!^tr''^^^'^^^- '^'— eral.peci.enl

(6.) Large poli,s}>od specimen from Logan collection, showin<.

contortion and the more massive form.
(7.) Larg^ weathered and other specimens from Petite

Nation showing irregular forms. One of these is based

c bed ''"'' '"^ '" "' "^' ^"^^ ''''''^' has been des-
cribed as a mere rock of transition.

4. Summary of states of preservation dlustrated by the

specimens.

[2 ) Minri"'^, '''*'\''''^' "■■ "^"''^^ ^^'"^« serpentine.

(2.) Minerahzed with ferruginous serpentine, weathering

(3.) Mineralized with dark green serpentine.

(o.) Mineralized with Loganite.

(6.) Specimens traversed with chrysotile veins.

sSr''^' "• '"'^'^ '^''^' '' ^''^'^ ^^'l^^tion and in

(«.J Weathered specimens, showing the detached cellules
.„ . k»own as as Arch^ospherina).

rfft'rl^r^^r" ^'"""^ various appearances in
timereut stages of erosion.

5. Associates of Eozooit.

(1.) Cylindrical casts in pyroxene, will, central cores of

"* '"STLfeTton';.*" "'^°"*'' "*" "'= «"-"■»

1^'

'1.

106

On Specimens of Eozoon Canadense.

Ct. Imitative fortns.

(1.) Banded trap, pyroxene and felspar, Montreal Mountain.

(2.) Banded gneiss, Laurentian,

([].) Banded limestone, Laurentian.

(4.) Banded apatite, Laurentian.

(5.) Banded quartz and tourmaline, Laurentian.

(6.) Layers of calcite and serpfntino, Laurentian.

(7.) Graphic granite and other similar rocks.

(8.) Seri)entine grains, dis.seminated in limestone.

(9.) Chrysotile v(iins iii serpentine.
The above are in trays bolow tl..> table-case with Eozoon,

7. Microscopic specimens, disc.

A cabinet containing extensive series of slices, transparent
or ptched, oi Eozoon and of various fossils similarly mineralized
WiU .licates, as well as specimens from which the slices have
been taken, is placed in the Board-room of the INIuseum and
will be accessil)Ie to those desiring to study such specimens.
This collection contiuns a variety of examples of different
states of preservation and kinds of mineralization, and includes
the specimens originally prepared and studied by Sir Wm.
Dawson.

'\

ountain.

CONTENTS.

s parent
sralized
Bs liave
un iuid
!imens.
illerent
icludes
I- A\ m.

Page.

I. Introductorij ^ . . i

II. Geological Relations— Sectwns of Laiirentian, Subdivisionp,

Local descriptions 2

III. State of Preservation— Description of form and structure,

Various kinds of mineralization, Archgrospherinte,
Chrysotile veins 13

IV. New Facts and Special Points— Vorm, Tubes or Oscula,

Fragments, Veins, Nodular masses in beds, Mode of
prewervation, Other organisms, Cryptozoum, Continuity
of beds, Imitative forms, INIineral layers 27

V. Notes on Peculiar Specimens— From St. Pierre, var minor,

var acernUinum, Tuder specimen, Long Lake and Went-
wortb. Canals and Dendrites, Canals filled with calcite...

VI. Replies to Mobius, Hahn, &c 50

VII. Palncozoic Fossils mineralized vAth /SfYicateg— Serpentine of

L. Chebogamong, of Melbourne, Limestone of Pole Hill
and Llangwyllog, &c 64

VIII. Phosphates and Qrazhite of the Laurentian— Deposits of
Apatite, Parallels in Cambrian and Silurian, Phosphates
in Lingula, Trilobites, Hyolithes,Coprolites, &c.,Graphite

of Laurentian as probable evidence of vegetation 75

IX. Summary of Arguments in support of Animal nature of

Eozoon, Characters of Eozoon Canadcnse 91

X. Conclusion 95

APPENDIX.

I. Bibliography 98

II. Synopsis of Specimens 103