AND THE REPORT ON THE GEOLOGY OF VERMONT. 119 



based on facts must be answered and explained otherwise than by the inference of a mi- 

 raculons and invisible fault. 



V. The Eeport on the Geologt of Veemont. The Classification and 

 Nomenclature of Messes. E. and C. H. Hitchcock. 



Until now I have refrained, in all my papers, to review or even to notice the Geolog- 

 ical Snrvey of Yermont. Mr. Walcott having taken it as an authority, not only for the 

 history of the Georgia formation, liut also on questions of priority in nomenclature and 

 paleontological publications ; and Prof C. H. Hitchcock's position lately taken in two 

 publications in the BuUetin of tlie American Museum of Natural History of New York' 

 and in the Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Mujirieers'^ render it nec- 

 essary to give exact dates of publications, exact titles of reprinted papers in the "Geology 

 of Yermont," and to quote the classification and nomenclature used for the strata of 

 Yermont. 



The "Geology of Yermont" is a work in two quarto volumes, containing the geolog- 

 ical map of Yermont, published by the state of Yermont at Claremont, New Hampshire. 

 Its title is "Report on the Geology of Yermont: Descriptive, theoretical, economical 

 and scenographical," by Edward Hitchcock, Edward Hitchcock, jr., Albert D. Hager 

 and Charles H. Hitchcock, published under the authority of the state legislature by Al- 

 bei-t D. Hager. As Messrs. Edward Hitchcock and Charles H. Hitchcock are the only 

 members of the Survey who treated of stratigraphy and paleontology, I shall only refer 

 to them in my quotations and remarks. 



These two volumes are three times antedated, and as they were not entered in the 

 clerk's ofRce of any district court for cojjyright, we do not possess any direct means of 

 knowing their exact dates of publication. But.we shall come to it within a few days by 

 strict study of their contents and the thne when they were distributed. 



The Introductory or "Preliminary Report," as it is called, is dated Oct. 1, 1859 and 

 dh-ectly an additional preliminary report is added with the date of Oct. 22, 1860 (see 

 pp. 15, 16 and 17). Official reports are not always printed and issued at the date of 

 presentation to legislative bodies, governors, or Congress; although the introduction is 

 always written when the reports are completed and ready for the printers, and I would 

 not have pointed out these two dates of the " Preliminary Report," if Prof C. H. Hitch- 

 cock had not claimed priority for another work, "Outline of the Geology of the globe, 

 and the United States in particular, etc.," Boston, 1853, based on the date of the introduc- 

 tion which, according to his opinion, ought to be accepted as the date of publication^ 



• " Geological sections across New Hampshire and Ver- dated January 1, 1853, and placing it as anterior to " Jules 



niont," Art° viii, Vol. i, No. 5, p. 155, Feb. 13, 1884, New Marcou's Map of 1853." As the two maps and booljs were 



Yoj]5_' both copyrighted at tlie same Clerli's Offlce of tlie District 



' "The geological map of the United States" (St. Louis Court of the District of Massachusetts for 1853, at Boston, 



meeting, Oct., 188G). 't is very easy to see the exact date of their publication. 



3 See" The Geological Map of the United States" in Marcou's map was issued on July 1, 1853, wlien Hitchcoclv's 



Trans. Amer. Inst, of Mining Engineers, Oct. 1880, wlicre nnip only appeared in October, 1853, more than three moutlis 



at p. 7, Mr. Hitchcock says ; "E. Hitchcock's map of 1853. later (see also the advertisements of all the leading Boston 



The manuscript and maps were delivered to the publishers newspapers for 1853). 

 in Jaimary," is the only plea for the introduction being 



