PEESIDENTIAL ADDEESS. S 



one half of the United States. If any authority is yet sufficient to describe accurately the 

 Huronian System, it should be the Canadian Survey, but there is no necessity for hurrying 

 to conclusions in advance of suificieut facts. Science is not aided by prematïire specula- 

 tions and classifications. They only involve loss of time over arguments which are 

 aftervrards found to have been wholly unnecessary when more facts have been obtained. 

 Our reports on these subjects have never been theoretical. They have endeavoured to 

 state the facts ascertained from year to year, and then stopped. 



In an interesting paper, published in the American Journal of Science for September, 

 October and November, 1887, Prof. Irving says, the term Huronian "is not made to 

 apply specially to any one individual or typical area, but to embrace vaguely defined 

 series of rocks occurring in various wholly separated areas on Lakes Superior and Huron, 

 which series may or may not be, geologically, equivalents of one another, so far as any 

 evidence presented goes to show." This, therefore, disposes of the argument that there 

 is a "typical Huronian" and admits that Logan did apply the term to areas of rocks on 

 Lake Superior ; but of this no question could exist in the mind of anyone who reads 

 what Logan says on the subject in the "G-eology of Canada," where the descriptions are 

 as clear as language can make them. The argument that there may be a doubt as to the 

 exact equivalency of the diifereut members has no force or value. The Huronian was 

 made comprehensive enough to include them all, and did expressly include them. The 

 term was never meant to be restricted to a very limited set of rocks, as is now attempted 

 to be done, or to a small formation or area. Is there always an absolute certainty that 

 crystalline rocks in any two separate areas are stratigraphically or chronologically equiva- 

 lent ? Questions of equivalency in such rocks can only be determined absolutely by a 

 perfect knowledge of the stratigraphy, and that in contiguous regions, and yet, even then, 

 how many accidents and strange or unlooked-for phenomena may intervene to puzzle 

 us, as witness the case of the rocks of the Eastern Townships of the province of Quebec. 



The description of the Huronian system in the "Greology of Canada" required to be 

 brief, and it could not enter into tedious details or arguments. It had to be accepted on 

 the supposition that the author knew more than he stated there, and had good reasons 

 for all he said. "Is there a Huronian Group? " is the title of Prof Irving's paper above 

 referred to. This seems a strange question to ask at this date, and one might suppose the 

 inquirer had yet to learn what had been done by the Canadian Survey during the last 

 forty -five years — unless indeed his question api^lies merely to the word "group." In the 

 latter case I should say, " No." But if the question refers to the existence or otherwise of a 

 great set of rocks, to which the name Huronian should apply, and which have been so long- 

 recognised as the Huronian System, then I answer, "Yes." Prof. Irving says: "If then 

 we seek — as we must do — for a type series with which to start a study of the so-called 

 Huronian, we can find it only in this Lake Huron series." "Why, I ask? Logan, Murray 

 or Hunt, the founders of the system, never said so. They left us just as free to set up the 

 prevailing Lake Superior variety of these rocks as our type, if we are to be allowed at all 

 to separate, thus arbitrarily, any one portion and imagine it to be the "typical Huronian" ; 

 instead of continuing to call the whole set Huronian, as we should if we follow those who 

 originally defined what the Huronian is. 



I must here pause for a moment to protest against the use of two terms which have 

 lately become too fashionable among beginners in this subject, namely, the words 



