548 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF 



Dr. Corse, in presenting a specimen of tuberculous disease in a sheep, called 

 attention to the importance of collecting more detailed and numerous data, 

 having reference to the connection between good agriculture, food, water and 

 shelter, and the health of our domestic animals, used as food for man. 



December 11th. 



Mr. Lea, President, in the Chair. 



Forty members present. 



Mr. Vaux, on behalf of the Publication Committee, laid on the table 

 Part 4, Vol. iv. of the Journal. 



Mr. Lea read the following letter from Mr. Marcou : 



Boston, 26th Nov., 1860. 



At the end of the " Proceedings" for 1859, there is a Catalogue of the Fossils of 

 the Cretaceous Formation of the United States, by Mr. Wm. M. Gabb, where I see 

 placed the Ostrea Marshii aud Gryphcea dilatata, var. Tucumcarii, found by me in 

 the Jurassic strata of Pyramid Mount in New Mexico. Mr. Gabb ought, I think, 

 in thus placing these fossils, at least to have mentioned in a note that I have 

 placed them in the Jurassic formation of the United States. 



In a notice of Geological Discoveries made by Capt. J. H. Simpson, by Messrs. 

 Meek and Engelmann, published in April, I860, "Proceedings," page 126, 1 observe 

 a paragraph entitled Jurassic Rocks, where they have found a Gryphma probably 

 identical with G. calceola, Quenstedt, and a plicated oyster closely allied to Os- 

 trea Marshii, in the strata of the Utah Territory, where, since 1854 I have indi- 

 cated the existence of the Jurassic Formation. Notwithstanding that Messrs. 

 Meek and Engelmann say that this species of Ostrea Marshii is distinct from the 

 species of Mr. Marcou, and notwithstanding the probable identity of Gryphcea 

 calceola, I do not doubt that Mr. Engelmann has found in Utah, at Ducherne 

 river and at Weber river, the Gryphcea dilatata, var. Tucumcarii, and the Ostrea 

 Marshii indicated by me in the Jurassic rocks of Pyramid Mount. These two 

 fossils are tco numerous around the Tucumcari Mountains, north of the Llano 

 Estacado, not to be distributed over other parts of the plateau which surrounds 

 the Rocky Mountains. The Gryphcea calceola of Quenstedt is very closely allied 

 to Gryphcea dilatata, and with many geologists it is considered but a variety. 

 Dr. B. F. Shumard, in " Observations upon the Cretaceous Strata of Texas {Trans. 

 Acad, of Sci., St. Louis, p. 587,) maintains that my Ostrea Marshii of Pyramid 

 Mount is identical with his Ostrea subovata from Fort Washita, and that my 

 Gryphcea dilatata, var. Tucumcarii, is found at Fort Washita, in strata two hun- 

 dred feet above beds that contain well-marked cretaceous types. The question 

 to resolve is, actually to give a detailed section of Fort Washita, with plates of 

 fossils, as 1 have done for Pyramid Mount, to do the same for the strata of Utah 

 Territory, and compare the three localities. Then we shall see if Washita is 

 identical with Pyramid Mount and with Utah, or if Pyramid Mount and Utah 

 are identical, and different from Washita. 



Mr. Gabb remarked that, while he strongly deprecated anything like the 

 unfortunate discussions that have taken place on the above subject, he still 

 considered that the candid expression of the views of persons holding a differ- 

 ence of opinion on scientific points, was the only way to arrive at the facts. 

 The omission of the note, in regard to the position to which Prof. Marcou 

 referred these species, was accidental, and not an intentional slight, as Prof. 

 M. seems to imply. 



Nevertheless, the species are not, in his opinion, identical with the species 

 bearing the same names in Europe. As far as can be determined, Ostrea 



[December, 



