PREFATORY NOTE ^ 



The original purpose of this work was solely to depict the character i 



and composition of the Oriskany fauna of Becraft mountain, which of j 



itself displays many features of interest. In its progress, however, vari- \ 



ous questions have arisen which concern the intrinsic value of the fauna i! 

 and its importance in correlation. Yet without an understanding of the 



fauna itself it would be impracticable to discuss the latter problems, and ' 

 for this reason the title of the paper is restricted to the principal argu- 



ment of the work, to which the discussions of somewhat broader scope 1 

 are corollaries. 



