FLORA OF OLDER POTOMAC FORMATION. 40:) 



by myself and still in Professor Fontaine's hands, I eonsidered it highly 

 desh'able to have ihem all brought togclhoi' and ti'cated in a single general 

 report. I therefore recommended to the Director that the Maryland 

 State Survey be i)ermitte(l to use the electroplates of that part of my paper 

 relating to the Maiyland plants, on condition that the collections belonging 

 to the State or available for its use l)e sent to Professor Fontaine for 

 elaboration along with those already in his hands. The Director approved 

 the plan and the collections were all shipped direct to the l^niversity of 

 Virginia early in February, 1901. 



In my coi-respondence with Professor Clark, and in several interviews 

 during the early part of 1901, the cjuestion of nomenclature was freely 

 discussed. It was admitted on my part that the name "Aquia Creek" 

 was published by him a few months eai'liei- than by me and must apply 

 to the Eocene beds if used at all, though it is only a portion of Mr. Dai'ton's 

 Pamunkey. Vov the Potomac beds, so called by me, Professor Fontaine's 

 term "Brooke" must be retained. It was also virtually admitted by 

 Professor Clark, after personally examining the Virginia beds, that the 

 Patuxent and Arundel were practically of the same age as the James 

 River and Rappahannock, which I agreed with Professor Fontaine in 

 regarding as a geographical rather thau a stratigraphical distinction. It 

 had already been conceded by me that my Iron Ore series, which was 

 fomided on stratigraphical evidence before any fossil plants had been 

 found in it, included part of the Rappahannock beds and also the purple 

 clays, and was therefore no longer tenable and must be abandoned as a 

 geological designation. As this and the Brooke beds do not contain the 

 same species of fossil plants, or only a few identical species, although 

 they must have been to some extent synchronous, there seems to be no 

 objection to the use of the term Patapsco for all the beds in Maryland 

 between the iron ores and the Raritan. 



The terms Patuxent, Arundel, and Patapsco, however, must be 

 regarded as merely local synonyms and can not be applied to beds outside 

 of Maryland. The older terms, James River, Rappahannock, and 

 Brooke, of Professor Fontaine and myself are the true ones for the Older 

 Potomac and may be used wherever that formation exists, as well in 

 Maryland as in Virginia, and also in North Carolina, Delaware, and 

 Pennsylvania. 



