THE NAME " NEWARK'' IN AMERICAN STRA TIGRAPHY. 6 1 



names are more suitable than others, requiring at least definite 

 association with the rock beds, freedom from preoccupation, and 

 priority. 



The definite association he requires seems to be very slight ; 

 namely, the occurrence at Newark of perhaps one-tenth or one- 

 twentieth of the beds to be included in the name, and with 

 only two determined fossil species, plants. Suppose, in rummag- 

 ing among old periodicals of forty years ago, a foot-note by 

 some Baltimore collector were found, suggesting, without any 

 attempt at either stratigraphic or geographical delimitation, that 

 the whole body of Appalachian Paleozoic rocks be called the 

 Cockeysville group, because, forsooth, the Paleozoic marble 

 quarries there supply the city with fine building material ; would 

 not the argument for the revival of the name be quite as strong 

 as in the almost precisely parallel case of Newark? 



As to priority, and even preoccupation, and suitableness, too, 

 is it not with geologists the same as with everybody else, that 

 words, after all, are only used for the sake of being understood, 

 and those words are to be used that will be most readily under- 

 stood, so that currency, usage, is really the main criterion? 



— Usus 

 Quem penes arbitrium est et jus et norma loquendi. 



It is a great fundamental principle, that with the lapse of 

 thousands of years has become more and more firmly estab- 

 lished. 



The rule of priority is an excellent one for cases otherwise 

 doubtful or indifferent ; but surely we should not be sticklers 

 for it to the extent of raking up a name like Newark, that was 

 unsuitable in the beginning, never did find acceptance, and was 

 long ago wholly obsolete. 



Benjamin Smith Lyman. 



Philadelphia, December ii, 1893. 



