112 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 



access, and which would hardly seem to be invested with that charm 

 of novelty which remoter portions of this vast Empire might afford. 

 But the excellent charts existing of the lower part of the Yang-tse ex- 

 hibit only its banks and shallows, while the country immediately adjacent 

 is, with the exception of a few places, even less known than the 

 borders of the upper portion of the river, above Han-kau. 



In attempting to give you a brief resume of some of my results, I 

 must remark that I give them only as a preliminary notice, and am 

 quite prepared to see them corrected and enlarged by my own future 

 examinations. 



This was the first opportunity I had for getting somewhat acquainted 

 with the sedimentary formations of any part of China. I soon became 

 aware that I must abandon the views taken by my predecessors in 

 Chinese geology, and had better commence from the a b c. Mr. 

 Pumpelly's distinction of one great grauite-metamorphic formation, 

 one great (Devonian) limestone formation, and one great subdivision 

 embracing the Chinese coal-measures, of which a Triassic age- was 

 made probable by Dr. Newberry, was based on observations made in 

 other parts of China. I found it quite insufficient for the country 

 which I visited, while the addition, by Kingsmill, of the Tung-ting 

 sandstones, which he considers to fill out the gap between the granite 

 and the " great limestone formation," was a slight step in advance, 

 but not one by any means representing the variety of formations. 

 The task of establishing their order of succession was not easy, and I 

 had to work hard to accomplish this end. But the amount of evidence 

 increased with the number of good sections, and I had the good fortune 

 to find fossils in several localities, one of which is of some importance, 

 as it yielded a large number and variety of shells in an excellent state 

 of preservation, establishing for the rocks in which they occur the age 

 of the mountain-limestone. These rocks can easily be recognized, and 

 appear to be widely distributed in China. 



I give you the list of formations, with the local denomination, which 

 I used in my note-books, and on my geological maps, for convenience' 

 sake only? that I may refer to them in any letter I may send you here- 

 after. The lowest formation observed is, — 



1st. Ta-ko sandstone, a series of coarse variegated sandstones, not 

 interrupted, so far as my observations extend, by conglomerates or 

 shales. Red, lilac, purple, green, are the prevailing colors. Some beds 

 are hard, but the greater part of the sandstone is remarkably soft, con- 



