* 
= ae ae 
136 Association of American Geologists and Naturalists. 
being unable to attend, on motion of Prof. J. W. Bailey, Mr. B. 
Silliman, Jr. was elected Secretary. 
So much of the proceedings of last year were read as referred 
to the committees appointed to report on specified subjects at the 
present meeting. 
No business being ready at the moment for the consideration 
of members, Prof. H. Emmons, by request, furnished the meet- 
ing with a general account of the principles of arrangement 
adopted in the great cabinet of geological specimens, collected 
during the geological survey of the state of New York, and in 
the midst of which the meeting was convened. He said the 
intention had been to make the arrangement as far as possible an 
expression of the natural order of succession observed in the vati- 
ous rock masses in the state ; and as such it was both stratigraph- 
ical and sectional. No attempt had been made to combine with 
the stratigraphical a geographical arrangement.* 
Mr. Emmons answered. in reply to a query from the Chair, 
that he thought it was possible in a collection, to some extent to 
express both the geological and geographical distribution, while 
Mr. Vanuzxem gave the opinion that any attempt to combine 
the two objects, would be productive only of confusion and diffi- 
culty. Inthe New York State Museum, the gallery had been set 
apart for a geographical arrangement. 
Dr. Beck stated in reply to an enquiry from Dr. Houghton, 
that he had found it impossible to preserve a strictly chemi 
arrangement in the state mineralogical collection, although he 
had given up his attempts to this end very unwillingly. ‘This 
led to a discussion between Messrs. Beck, Houghton, Emerson, 
Silliman, and others, on the general principles of mineralogical 
_homenclature and arrangement. 
ee 
- Dr. Owen then read a paper “on Geological Paintings and — 
- [llustrations, 
* By Art. XIII. of the Constitution, “ All communications to the Association 
shall be presented in writing, and upon them discussions may take place which 
shall not be reported, but the facts presented in such discussions may be red 
to writing by the persons communicating them, and they may then be handed in 
at a subsequent session, when they may be entered on the records.”"—The Secre- 
tary has felt himself bound by this article to refrain from giving any fullness 
the remarks of members who have not furnished abstracts of their observations, 
and the oral communications, as given in this abstract, are therefore necessarily 
much abridged, although contributing very greatly to the interest of the meet- 
ings.——-B. 8, Jr. 
