ELISHA MITCHELL SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 17 



of streams, where flowing through yielding deposits (Rep. Geol. 

 N. Carolina, Vol. I, p. 9*); and the first to appreciate ade- 

 quately and describe the action of frost in producing the deep 

 movement and bedded arrangement of loose material on slopes 

 (Am. Jour. Sci., Ill, xxi, 1881, p. 345t), the depth in 

 North Carolina being such as to indicate, in his view, the unu- 

 sual conditions of a Glacial era." In 1881 (Am. Jour. Sci., Ill, 

 xxi, p. 216) he suggested the glacial origin of certain topographi- 

 cal features of the hydrographic basins of rivers in the southern 

 Appalachian region (North Carolina), but this does not appear 

 to have met with general acceptance. 



A full list of Professor Kerr's reports and more important 

 scientific papers will be given in the bibliography, published in 

 the Journal of the Society as an appendix to this sketch. Of 

 his official reports, the two first were small reports of progress, 

 published in 1867 and 1869, discussing mainly the general and 

 economic geology of the part of the State west of the Cataw^ba 

 river — especially the mountain region. The first of these con- 

 tained also (Chapter III) a short general discussion of the 

 ''Minerals of North Carolina," which was subsequently, in part 

 or as a whole, several times republished by the State and pri- 

 vate land agencies. A third small re[)ort was published in 

 1873, as an appendix to the report (Vol. I, 1875) then in press, 

 which was an abstract of that report, intended for general and 

 immediate distribution. This small report was subsequently 

 revised and republished in 1879, under the title of a "Physio- 

 graphical Description of North Carolina." The most impor- 

 tant of his reports is that of 1875 (Geology of North Carolina, 

 Vol. I), treating of the physical geography, general and eco- 

 nomic geology of the State. This re})ort was offered to the 

 Legislature in 1870, but its appearance was delayed until 1875, 

 the Legislature having failed to make an aj)propriation for its 

 publication. It was Professor Kerr's plan to prepare a second 

 volume (Vol. II of his Pinal Report), to contain a more full 



*See also Trans. Am. Phil. Soc, xiii, 1873, p. 190. 



tSee also Trans. Am. Inst. Mining Enjjineer, viii, 1879, p. 462. 



