672 
work had cost the State over $1,000,000. 
His comprehensive studies on the paleon- 
tology of New York naturally demanded 
researches beyond the limits of the State, 
and these he extended westward to the 
Rocky Mountains. It is now generally ad- 
mitted that his investigations ‘ have served 
as the basis of all our knowledge of the 
geology of the Mississippi Basin.’ * 
In 1855 he was offered charge of the 
paleontology of the Geological Survey of 
Canada, with the promise of succeeding Sir 
William E. Logan as director on the retire- 
ment of the latter. When he was about to 
accept, promises of more liberal appropria- 
tions from the legislature of New York, 
and the influence of many leading American 
scientists, including Louis Agassiz and 
James D. Dana, led to his declining the 
offer, a decision which as the promises were 
never realized, he came to regard as ‘the 
great mistake of his life.’ + 
The splendid work which he did in New 
York led to the request for his services else- 
where, and he was appointed to the charge of 
the Geological Survey in Iowa, in 1855, and 
to that of Wisconsin in 1857, preparing re- 
ports on both of these surveys. The pale- 
ontology of several government exploring 
expeditions was referred to him for discus- 
sion, notably that of Frémont, that of 
Stansbury, that of the Mexican Boundary 
Survey, and that of King’s exploration of 
the fortieth parallel. 
In 1866 the New York State Museum 
was reorganized, and Hall was made direc- 
tor, a place which he then held until 1893, 
retaining, however, until his death, the 
office of State Geologist. It was at our 
Buffalo meeting, in 1896, that special com- 
memoration exercises were held in honor 
of the sixtieth anniversary of Hall’s con- 
*T. Sterry Hunt in the American Cyclopedia. 
See note 2, p. 20. 
{ Biographical Record of Rensselaer Polytechnic 
Institute. 
SCIENCE. 
[N. S. Vou. KX. No. 254, 
nection with the Geological Survey of the 
State of New York, and at that time papers 
were read descriptive of his work. W J 
McGee described him as the ‘founder of 
stratigraphic geology and applied paleon- 
tology in America.’* Referring to Hall’s 
study of the crystalline stratified rocks he 
also said: ‘It is not too much to say that 
the method was established by the New 
York Survey, and that it finds its best illus- 
tration in the classic fourth district ; here 
it was that American stratigraphic geology 
was founded.” + 
Tt was also Hall, who, according to Hunt, 
“laid the grounds for a rational theory of, 
mountains, which must be regarded as one 
of the most important contributions to geo- 
logical science.”’ { 
He died in August, 1898, and the ‘‘mon- 
ument of the man himself is builded in the 
rocks of New York, a monument more en- 
during than bronze or gold.” § 
Our Association is not local to the United 
States, but American, and at its tenth meet- 
ing it was decided to hold the gathering, in 
1857, in Montreal, Canada. For president 
of that meeting Jacob Whitman Bailey was 
chosen, but early in the year he died, and 
the vice-president filled his place. 
BAILEY. 
Bailey was born in Auburn, Massachu- 
setts, and, after a common school education, 
he entered the United States Military Acad- 
emy, where he was graduated in 1832. He 
joined the artillery branch of the service, 
and for several years was stationed at 
various army posts. An early fondness for 
natural science was assiduously cultivated 
during these years, and he soon returned to 
West Point, where he was given charge of 
* ScrENCE, New Series, Vol. IV., p. 706. 
ft Idem, p. 702. 
{ American Cyclopeedia, Vol. VIII. 
20. 
2? Benjamin K. Emerson in ScIENCE, Vol. IV., p. 
717. 
See note 2, p. 
