276 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. n. No. 35. 



been the aim to avoid them so far as possible. 

 The ' uew species ' described are scarcely more 

 than a dozen in nvimber. Particular attention 

 is called to the economic value of fossils, a fact 

 which is so commonly overlooked. A success- 

 ful attempt has been made to present the ancient 

 organisms in their proper light, and it is quite 

 manifest that the emphasis placed on this side 

 of the question has been none too great. In 

 reality the fossils are regarded as labels to the 

 rocks containing them, telling the observer at a 

 glance the age of the beds being worked and 

 providing a most reliable guide in directing the 

 miner and prospector to the layers most likely 

 to contain the minerals sought. 



It is stated that the report is the outcome of 

 a widespread desire which has existed for many 

 years among the more enlightened class of 

 citizens who are interested directly in advanc- 

 ing the mineral development of the State. The 

 demand for accurate accounts of the organic 

 remains found in the rocks of the region is 

 shown to have become more and more urgent 

 in the light of the fact that the fossils have such 

 a distinct practical importance. In the attempt 

 to satisfy properly the calls arising in connec- 

 tion with the work, it has been the aim of the 

 author to present as briefly as possible : (1) an 

 index to the fossils of the State, through means 

 of which forms now kno\\ai to occur within the 

 limits of the region considered may be recog- 

 nized rapidly without recourse to great libraries; 

 (2) a list of works pertaining to Missouri fossils, 

 in which has been brought together all that has 

 been written on the subject and that is now 

 widely scattered and almost inaccessible ; (3) a 

 concise summary of all that has been done up 

 to the present time in this branch of science, so 

 far as it pertains to the State ; (4) knowledge to 

 more comprehensive study involving the solu- 

 tion of problems now more or less obscure con- 

 cerning the arrangement and relations of the 

 various strata. In short, it is a handbook of the 

 fossils of the State adapted to the use of the 

 teacher, student and layman alike. 



The general plan of treatment of the different 

 species enumerated has been to give under each 

 a more or less complete bibliography, by refer- 

 ence to which additional information or good 

 illustrations of the forms not here figured may 



be found. In the diagnoses the author has en- 

 deavored to give a rather full description of 

 some leading representative of each genus, ac- 

 companied by a suitable figure, and to make 

 the sketches of the other members of the genus 

 brief and in a great measure comparative. In 

 this way of dealing with the subject it is thought 

 that the characterizations of all the species will 

 be sufficiently ample for intelligent comprehen- 

 sion and for the particular uses to which the 

 work will be put. At the same time the bulk 

 of the report is gi'eatly reduced — to one-fourth 

 at least of what it otherwise would have been. 

 The matter of localization is necessarily rather 

 general, allusion being made to the nearest post 

 office usually, or in a few instances, when the 

 fossil is common and the distribution wide, 

 merely to the county. As a further help there 

 has been appended a stratigraphical catalogue, 

 which is intended for ready reference, and a 

 synonymic index list of all the names applied to 

 Missouri species. 



The chief characteristics of this report, as 

 enumerated above, show that in many particu- 

 lars it is radically different fi'om the usual 

 reports on paleontology prepared by the 

 various State Geological Surveys. That it will 

 be of much practical value to the citizens of 

 Missouri is certain. On the other hand, the 

 report gives a sufficiently complete scientific 

 account of what is at present known coucerning 

 the fossil organisms of the State, and opens the 

 way for future work of a more detailed and ex- 

 haustive nature. U. S. Grant. 



Geol. and Nat. Hist. Suev. of Minn. 



NEW BOOKS. 



A Hand-book for Surveyors. Mansfield Mee- 

 EiMAN and John P. Brooks. New York, 

 John Wiley & Sons. 1895. Pp. 196. 



Die Vertheihtng der Erdmagnetischenkraft in 

 Ofiterreich-Uiigarn. Von J. Litznee. 1st 

 Part. Wien. 1895. Pp. 232. 



Annual Report of the Pennsylvania Slate Collei/e 

 for 1S94. Clarence M. Busch, State Printer. 

 1895. Pp. 375. 



A Working Manual of American History. Wil- 

 liam H. Mace. Syracuse, N. Y., C. W. 

 Bardeen. 1895. Pp. 297. 



