THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION, 719 
NOTES ON LOCAL FOSSILS IN THE GLACIATED 
CHERT NIAGARA BEDS. 
Read before the Geological Section of the Hamilton Association, 
November 24th, 7893. 
BY COL. C. C.- GRANT. 
The small attendance at our Sectional Meetings is exceedingly 
depressing to all who take an interest in the advancement of scien- 
tific research here. The reason of this non-attendance is unques- 
tionably a matter for enquiry. I understand it is attributed by 
some to our using technicalities, Latin names which are incompre- 
hensible to some without having the equivalents in English. Of 
course you all know this is unavoidable, as our fossils in general 
have no English names. On the other hand our papers may be 
severely criticized by scientific exchanges, when we attempt to meet 
the public requirement, for not entering more fully into details and 
descriptions, more especially when such is absolutely necessary to 
enable our readers to form an idea of any new or rare specimens. 
Dry details of the kind indicated may be welcome toa few, but 
certainly not to many. 
We must endeavour to interest the rising generation in our 
pursuits. This I look upon as a matter of supreme importance, and 
I am glad to see many of the youth of the city are already beginning 
to acquire small collections of fossils and to express a wish to have 
them named, and are desirous to learn all about them. One of the 
boys recently explained to me they found it hard work to pass the 
examinations ; that they had little time for recreation, and Saturday, 
when the museum is opened, is the only day in which they can en- 
joy a good game of baseball or cricket. This explanation may 
probably be considered sufficient to account for the absence, in some 
instances, of by no means an inconsiderable portion of the commun- 
ity. Well, despite all that, the fact is, several intelligent lads in the 
city and neighbourhood are really interested in things which have 
little attraction for the same class in European countries—Natural 
