expenditure, in any other State. But it was not possi- 

 ble, in the nature of things, that the whole State should 

 be explored and the whole work accomplished in so 

 short a period, with so small an annual appropriation. 

 At the close of the three years there still remained 

 some portions of the State which had not been exam- 

 ined, and other portions of which circumstances had 

 rendered a re-examination desirable ; and it was 

 confidently expected that an additional appropriation 

 would be made, sufficient to enable the State geolo- 

 gist to complete the necessary examinations, and 

 prepare for publication a well digested, final report. 

 But our Legislature have thought otherwise. They 

 have now, for three annual sessions, since the survey 

 was suspended, refused to make any further appro- 

 priations for that object, and most of the results of the 

 labor performed seem likely to be lost to the State and 

 to science. With the exception of what is contained 

 in the brief annual reports, nearly all that remains is 

 locked up, in short hand note, in the field books in the 

 boxes of untrimmed and unticketed specimens, and 

 in the heads of the State geologist and his assistants. 



The Green Mountains have, for some years past, 

 presented to geologists an interesting problem, which 

 was the determination of their geological age and 

 character, and particularly the age and character of 

 that portion of the western slope of these mountains 

 which has been denominated the Taconic System. 

 And as the larger part of this range of mountains was 

 within the limits of Vermont, the attention of the geol- 

 ogists of the country was directed to the geological 

 survey of that State, as being likely to furnish a satis- 

 factory solution .of the problem ; and during the con- 



