SKETCH OF AMOS EATON. n 7 



gable author was without a guide in exploring the older forma- 

 tions, and that he described rocks which no geologist had at that 

 time attempted to classify. Rocks were then classified chiefly by 

 their mineralogical characters, and the aid which the science has 

 since learned to derive from fossils in determining the chronology 

 and classification of rocks was scarcely known here, and had only 

 just begun to be appreciated in Europe. We are indebted, never- 

 theless, to Prof. Eaton for the commencement of that independ- 

 ence of European classification which has been found indispen- 

 sable in describing the New York system. . . . Prof. Eaton 

 enumerated nearly all the rocks in western New York, in their 

 order of succession, and his enumeration has, with one or two 

 exceptions, proved correct. It is a matter of surprise that he 

 recognized, at so early a period, the old red sandstone on the Cats- 

 kill Mountains, a discovery the reality of which has since been 

 proved by fossil tests/' 



In 1824 Prof. Eaton was placed at the head, as " Senior Pro- 

 fessor," of the School of Science founded by the Hon. Stephen 

 Van Rensselaer at Troy, N. Y., then called the Rensselaer School, 

 now the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He spent the remain- 

 der of his life in this position. He introduced and developed here 

 a system of instruction in which the students were made experi- 

 menters and workers, and, in place of recitations, delivered lect- 

 ures to one another. The success of this method was such that 

 some one or other of its features were introduced into other 

 schools. 



Summarizing his career in brief, Prof. Nason says, in his 

 biography in the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Record: "In 

 developing the botany and geology of the Northern States, Prof. 

 Eaton rightfully ranks among the pioneers of the new era of the 

 natural sciences in this country. His efforts in various depart- 

 ments of natural history were a rich gift to New England, New 

 York, and even to the whole country, for which the country owes 

 him a debt of gratitude. Many of his pupils have been for years 

 among the most justly distinguished scientific men of the coun- 

 try. As an educator and an active laborer in the general cause 

 of natural history in America, his memory will long be cherished. 

 The history of natural science on this continent can never be 

 faithfully written without giving the name of Amos Eaton an 

 honorable place. It was he, more than any other individual in 

 the United States, who, finding the natural sciences in the hands 

 of the learned few, by means of popular lectures, simplified text- 

 books, and practical instruction, threw them broadcast to the 

 many. He aimed at a general diffusion of the natural sciences, 

 and nobly and successfully did he accomplish his mission." 



Prof. Eaton is described as having been a kind and courteous 



