1 64 CHARLES R. KEYES 



a terminology modeled according to the first extreme, inflexible 

 and unchanging, manifestly can never meet the wants of a grow- 

 ing science. The establishment of such an arbitrary system 

 could be defensible only in the case of a dead subject — a con- 

 dition that no geologist is willing to admit for his science. 

 Much as simplicity of statement should be sought it is not 

 always possible, nor is it always desirable, that it should be fol- 

 lowed at the expense of precision and easy understanding. 



On the other hand, a scheme built upon the plan of the sec- 

 ond extreme is less likely to be tolerated than the first. What 

 is gained in terseness and exactness may be wholly lest in other 

 directions. The new-born terms become mere symbols, per- 

 fectly meaningless and useless to all except the author. There 

 is great danger of producing exactly the opposite effect from 

 that intended. Instead of a beautiful fabric, the wonder and 

 admiration of all, there is merely a lifeless, shapeless mass, 

 shunned by many, cared for by none. 



There is another phase of the question about which exists 

 much confusion. Little mention is ever made of the twofold 

 field of usefulness for which every science is designed ; and in 

 none is a dual conception more important than in geology. The 

 one phase requires a terminology that is technical and special, 

 that is established primarily for the active investigator and that 

 is in no way intended to be memorized by the layman or any 

 others, or to reach outside of a small and select circle. There 

 will always exist a need for some such terms and the terms will 

 always come in reponse to the need. No amount of protest will 

 frighten the specialist out of using them. It may clutter up the 

 scientific literature ; it may be the bugbear of workers in closely 

 allied branches of science ; it may divert the attention of many 

 from the subject itself. No matter. It has come to stay. 



The other field demands names that are general, popular, 

 simple, and free from technical appearance. The literature 

 thus established is intended for an entirely different class from 

 that which the first category takes into consideration. This dis- 

 tinction is rarely made, yet no one can doubt the existence of 



