68 JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS 
NOTES ON THE LATE COLLECTING SEASON. 
BY COL. C. C, GRANT. 
The writer had merely examined a portion of an Indian corn- 
field (which had in former years produced many Sponges and 
Sections) after the crop was removed, when a severe attack of 
inflammation of the eyes rendered further examination or collect- 
ing impossible, and he reluctantly abandoned the field of research, 
consoling himself with the expectation that a few weeks’ rest 
would set them all right; however, in this he was mistaken; the- 
matter proved much more tedious than was supposed. In the . 
early spring, when he proceeded to complete the examination, he 
ascertained his sight was so imperfect that he was unable to dis- 
tinguish a single specimen, owing to short-sightedness—a second 
attempt subsequently proved a little more successful. An entire 
restoration of the eyes to their original condition may not be at- 
tainable—but perhaps, unless a gradual improvement has takin 
place since spending a short time at Winona, I fear the recent 
collecting season may have proved. a complete failure as regards 
results. Any considerable falling off in the numbers of ‘‘Cambro- 
Silurian Drift Fossils,’’ collected at Winona (lake shore) is not 
apparent, and probably a larger number of specimens were ob- 
tained than in any year previously. We cannot say that many 
new forms rewarded investigation of the lake shingle or ‘‘ Glacial 
Clay’’ overlying, but at least some few rare ones were secured. 
The writer thinks the term ‘‘Erie Clay’’ of Sir W. Dawson was 
not happily chosen. You may recollect the late Mr. A. E. Walker 
when Chairman of ‘‘the Geological Section’’ (a Geologist of con- 
siderable experience), in one of the papers published in our pro- 
ceedings, expressed the opinion that he could not understand why 
the name was applied. I fully agreed with him that it was rather 
misleading, and in conversation subsequently, pointed out that 
