138 CHARLES S. PROSSER 



It is quite true that Dr. Girty wrote me when the manuscript of 

 the Cottonwood Falls folio was being revised, stating "that the 

 common so-called FusuUna cylindrica, or Fusulina secalica, of the 

 Mississippi Valley is not congeneric with the real Fusulinas of Russia, 

 or at any rate belongs to a distinct subgenus.'"^ It seemed to me 

 that the specimens in the Cottonwood limestone and associated forma- 

 tions of Kansas were Fusulina, which I stated to Dr. Girty. He 

 answered as follov/s: 



I am sorry that you do not agree with me in the matter of Triticites, but it 

 matters less what you think or what I think than what the consensus of Paleonto- 

 logic opinion decides. I feel confident Triticites will be accepted as a good sub- 

 genus and probably as a genus. Nevertheless I would be glad to convince you and 

 am sending a couple of examples of Fusulina. That from 2,931 shows the fluted 

 partition wall when viewed against its surface. That from 2,957 shows the edges 

 of the partition walls and the pattern which their undulating edges make in con- 

 junction with one another. You doubtless have good specimens of Triticites in 

 your own collection. You will observe that in the latter the partition is quite 

 straight, and if you bear in mind the differences upon which other genera are 

 established among the foraminifera you will feel a little more like accepting 



Triticites Please return the specimens which are from western Texas. 



They show the same structure as typical Fusulina from Russia, but are much 

 more elongate.^ 



These Texas specimens were compared with some from the Cotton- 

 wood limestone of Kansas and specimens of the latter were found 

 with fluted partition walls essentially the same as in the former, 

 according to my observation. I also wrote Dr. J. W. Beede concern- 

 ing these Kansas specimens, who answered that "the Cottonwood 

 limestone specimens are true Fusulinas''^ and later in answer to 

 my direct question said that "the Cottonwood specimens certainly 

 have fluted septa. "^ 



The literature also supported the above identification and as far 

 back as 1866 Dr. H. B. Geinitz identified specimens which had been 

 collected by Jules Marcou from Plattsmouth, Nebraska, as Fusulina 

 cylindrica Fischer and F. depressa Fischer. ^ 



In 1872 Meek published the following paragraph under his descrip- 



1 Letter of April 13, 1904. 3 Letter of May 11, 1904. 



2 Letter of May 9, 1904. 4 Letter of May 14, 1904. 



5 " Carbonformation und Dyas in Nebraska" {M. d. K. Leop.-Carol. Ahad. d. 

 Natiirl.), p. 71, PI. V, Figs. 5a, h, and c, and p. 72, PI. V, Figs. 6a, b, and c. 



