AMERICAN GEOLOGISTS AND NATURALISTS. 45 



strangely overlooked by some eastern writers on ivestern geology,-— 

 that besides these, all the other western rocks yet made known, 

 have been described by western geologists. Especially the bed of 

 mountain or carboniferous limestone, superimposed on the cliff at the 

 upper rapids of Mississippi, underlying the great Illinois coal basin, 

 cropping out at St. Louis, and forming the bluffs at and above Alton, 

 Illinois, with its characteristic fossil, the Archimedes of Le Sueur, 

 was well known to Messrs. Troost, Owen and myself The same 

 rock occurs within the limits of the survey of the Professors Rogers, 

 who belong, in part at least, to the western corps. In 1839, I had 

 the pleasure of comparing notes with Prof James Rogers, on the 

 characters of this very rock as it occurs in Indiana and Illinois on 

 the one part, and in VVestern Virginia on the other. I hope yet more 

 specifically to settle the claims of the various laborers in our western 

 geology. At the same time I would obsei-ve, that it is impossible for 

 an eastern geologist, without visiting the West, or even by a post- 

 haste journey over the trans-Appalachian world, to write upon its 

 geology without committing errors injurious to his own reputation, 

 the publication of which he would, of course, gladly recall. 



Remarks were offered and facts stated, on the above subject, by 

 Dr. King, Mr. Haldeman, Mr. Teschemacher, Prof. Henry D. 

 Rogers, Dr. C. T, Jackson, Prof. Vanuxem, Prof. Hitchcock, 

 Prof. Beck and Dr. Dana. 



Mr. Haldeman laid on the table, at the request of Dr. Morton, 

 some copies of a work on cretaceous fossils, bringing our knowl- 

 edge of this subject near the present day, most of these being 

 from the researches of Prof Nicollet. 



A letter was read from Prof Park, of Philadelphia, regretting 

 his inability to attend the present meeting. The Associatioii 

 adjourned to, 



Tuesday^ April 26th, 9 o'clock a. m. — Prof Locke in the 

 chair. The committee on the constitution and by-laws was 

 called upon for a report. Dr. Jackson read the rules, as submitted 

 by this committee. 



Dr. Morton having arrived, took the chair as president of the 

 meeting. 



Resolved., That Prof Locke, Dr. Jackson, and Prof Hitch- 

 cock, be appointed a committee to prepare business for the As- 

 sociation. 



Prof Hitchcock then read a paper " on the Phenomena of 

 Drift in this country," w^hich was illustrated by numerous draw- 

 ings, and a map of the United States, on which were drawn lines 

 representing the course of the striae, and lines of dispersion of 

 bowlders. In the course of his paper. Prof H. called on Mr. 



