AMERICAN GEOLOGY EATONIAN ERA, 1820-1829. 271 



limestone occurring- as the principal rock forming the ridge south of 

 the land from Oneida Creek to Pittsford." 



The naturalist liafinesque, as might have been expected, did not 

 hesitate to express himself on subjects geological, his ideas, however, 

 being a strange admixture of Wernerism and groundless imagery. 

 We will note here only his Annals of Kentucky, which 

 views of RaHnesque, a p peare d i n Humphry's history of that State, pub- 

 lished in 1824, where, as Doctor Peters has succinctly 

 remarked, "In only 26 duodecimo pages he gives the geological, eth- 

 nological, and historical annals of Kentucky from the first day of 

 creation, according to Moses, down to the current year.'" 



The geological history of the State he divided into six periods, the 

 first being that of a general inundation, in which the "briny ocean 

 covers the whole land of Kentucky and the United States, rising above 

 4,000 feet over the Cumberland or Sawioto Mountains and 5,000 feet 

 over the limestone region near Lexington." The Organ and Mexican 

 mountains alone in all North America rose above the water level. 



Through a gradual decrease of the ocean and the decomposition and 

 consolidation of its waters the various rock strata were deposited in 

 the following order: (1) Limestone; (2) slate; (3) sandstone; (4) free- 

 stone; (5) grit; (6) pebblestone. These, he stated, were not always 

 superincumbent or coexistent, though generally horizontal except the 

 last four toward the Cumberland Mountains, which; having probably 

 a granitic nucleus, have compelled the incumbent strata to become 

 1,4 obliqual " or inclined from ten to thirty degrees. (In this, it will 

 be noted, he showed an inability, characteristic in his day, to com- 



"The following reference to this survey appeared in the American Journal of 

 Science, IX, 1825, and will serve to show how Eaton's work was regarded by his 

 contemporaries. The note, it should be stated, was signed C. D. (presumably 

 Chester Dewey) : 



"Mr. Jeffrey, the principal conductor of the Edinburgh Review, has obtained the 

 opinion of Professor Buckland, the celebrated author of the Reliquiae DUuvianse 

 (published in 1823), on the above work of Professor Eaton. In a letter to the Hon. 

 S. Van Rensselaer Mr. Jeffrey has given the result. Mr. Buckland says that the 

 'author seems both to understand his subject and to have done his work carefully.' 

 The work contains, indeed, abundant evidence of extensive and patient examination. 

 This point will not he affected by the adoption or rejection of Mr. Eaton's peculiar 

 views by our geologists. In some parts there is an evident improvement upon some 

 of his previous publications on the geology of our country. Thus, at page 31 and 

 page 62 and onward we find introduced 'primitive argillite,' a rock so clearly sepa- 

 rated and so easily distinguished in our country from 'transition argillite,' though 

 both are united under the same name by Bakewell and some others. 



"Mr. Buckland makes some objection to the style, and complains of Mr. Eaton for 

 'affecting some needless novelties in technical language.' However true this 

 charge may be, the censure is feeble when compared with the commendation con- 

 tained in the previous quotation. In our country the work has been censured for 

 (his fault, and more particularly for the introduction of rocks or localities which do 

 not belong to the district which is described. In this way unity is not preserved, 



