278 Notices of Memoirs — Paheozotc Bocks of Sweden. 



Cambrian and Ordovician ^ for the two lower groups, it remains for us 

 to choose another name for what is otherwise called Upper Silurian or 

 Silurian. 



In 1900 de Lapparent, in his TraiU de Geologie, proposed for this 

 group the name ' Gothlandien'. And we think there is every reason 

 to accept this proposal. The sedimentary rocks which are here in 

 question are completely represented ^ in Gothland, and no other strata 

 occur among the rocks there. As Cambrian and Ordovician have been 

 named from tribes, we should, perhaps, in case we had to choose the 

 name, take one that would recall to us the Gutar, the Gothland 

 settlers — for instance, Gutnium or Gutnian ; but such an emendation 

 of de Lapparent's appelhition would be looked upon as exaggerated 

 purism. Already in Angelin's General Map of Scania, there is a 

 mention of a "Fifth or Gothland Group" as being about synonymous 

 with what has latterly been called Upper Silurian. Even if we wish 

 to see in this a pronouncement in favour of the nomenclature here 

 recommended we must point out that as an adjective to the proposed 

 name Gotlandian we ought to adopt a new term, ' Gotlandisk ' 

 (Gothlandic), since the Sw. ' gotlandsk ' (or the representative prefix 

 form, 'Gotland's-') should be reserved for cases where there is some 

 reference to the Island of Gothland or its belongings. 



Even provided the name Gotlandian should not readily gain the 

 approbation of strangers — we know how long it was before Lapworth's 

 Ordovician made its way — it can safely be used in our country without 

 danger of being either not understood or misunderstood. 



This, then, is the nomenclature we propose: Silurian, with the 

 three series, Cambrian, Ordovician, Gothlatidian. This nomenclature 

 fully takes into consideration the excellent methods in disentangling the 

 formations in question that we owe to Murchison, Sedgwick, Barrande, 

 and Lapworth. And it can scarcely be considered presumptuous if the 

 Silurian geologists of Sweden, in generally adopting de Lapparent's 

 appellation, Gotlandian, recognize in some measure what we hold to be 

 a noticeable contribution made by them and their predecessors to the 

 Silurian division ." 



If anyone should possess world-embracing views it is the geologist; 

 but, as a matter of fact, even his point of view is not a little infl.uenced 

 by his nearest surroundings — his own country and the prevalent 

 opinions in it. A word or two supplementary to what has been said 

 above seems to me, therefore, to be appropriate on this occasion, since 

 I am now especially addressing English readers. 



^ As it is quite superfluous to repeat here the reasons stated by Lapworth (see 

 op. cit.), in our opinion most satisfactorily, for his proposed name, Ordovician, we 

 will only point out that this name, apart from the fact that its meaning offers a way 

 out of a difficulty in nomenclature acceptable to the various EngHsh schools, is also 

 made necessary, so to speak, for us, since on the one hand we wish to retain the 

 name Cambrian, but on the other hand wish to use the name Silurian exclusively as 

 a collective appellation. 



^ However, J. Kiaer, in his Das Obersilur im Kristianiagehiete, which has just 

 appeared, expresses the opinion that the lowest strata in Gothland correspond to the 

 uppermost part of Llandovery ; the lower part of the latter is therefore inaccessible 

 in Gothland. Moreover, he questions whether there is anything there to correspond 

 to the most recent Ludlow strata. 



