296 
but also thatin Huxley’s writings the latter is 
applied to an ordinal subdivision of the former. 
Burr G. WILDER. 
SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 
Report on the Valley Regions of Alabama. By 
Henry McCarey, Assistant State Geolo- 
gist. Part I., on the Tennessee Valley Region, 
pp. 436. Part II., on the Coosa Valley Re- 
gions, pp. 862. Geological Survey of Ala- 
bama, Montgomery, 1896-97. 
The aim of this report is to give a complete 
account of the geology and mineral resources 
of that part of Alabama which is occupied by 
known Paleozoic formations. This includes 
approximately the northern third of the State, 
with an area of about 18,000 square miles. It 
is limited on the southeast by the metamorphic 
series of undetermined age and on the south- 
west by the unconformable post-Paleozoic for- 
mations. The term ‘valley regions’ in the 
title is somewhat misleading, since all the moun- 
tains of Alabama, such as they are, are included 
in the region described and are as fully treated as 
the adjacent valleys. Except to one already fa- 
miliar with the topographic features of the State, 
the title conveys no idea of location whatever. 
The region outlined above is about equally 
divided between the Tennessee and Coosa 
drainage basins, and this division is a natural 
one from geologic and economic points of view. 
It is, therefore, taken as the basis for subdividing 
the report into two parts which treat respectively 
of the Tennessee and Coosa Valley regions. 
Each part is again subdivided into two sections. 
In the first is given a general account of the to- 
pography, geology and mineral resources, and 
in the second each county is described in de- 
tail. This method of treatmentis, perhaps, nec- 
essary where the county is the all-important 
unitin the political and social organization, but 
its defects are serious as seen in the present 
case. It involves endless repetition and dis- 
tributes through a volume details which should 
be in a compact body. Thus there are 275 
more or less extended but entirely distinct ref- 
erences to the limonite deposits, containing 
sufficient observations for an exhaustive mono- 
graph on the subject if brought together and 
properly arranged. Yet one seeks in vain for 
SCIENCE. 
(N.S. Vox. VI. No. 138. 
any systematic classification of the deposits or 
a statement of their essential characteristics. 
In reading the report one is continually ham- 
pered by the lack of maps. It is true the State 
geological map, published in 1894, is referred 
to, but its scale is entirely too small for repre- 
senting details of structure, and in numerous 
respects it does not correspond with the state- 
ments in thereport. The crudest sort of sketch 
maps would be of the greatest assistance to an 
understanding of the complicated structural 
relations found in parts of thisregion. In fact, 
no amount of verbal description, even from a 
master of English, can supply their place, and 
the present case is hopeless for reasons which 
the following quoted sentence will readily sug- 
gest: ‘‘The northeast end of the belt, just to 
the northwest of the Terrapin or Ladiga Moun- 
tains, or the portion of that belt within this 
county, isa portion of the counterpart of the 
belt last described, or is a portion of the south- 
east rim of the badly faulted, broad, broken, un- 
symmetrical synclinal of which the belt last 
described is the major part of the northwest 
rim.’’? The reader cannot rid himself of the 
suspicion that among other reasons for the 
absence of maps and diagrams is the lack, on 
the author’s part, of a sufficiently clear concep- 
tion of the structure for their preparation. 
In the descriptions of topographic features 
the principles of modern geography or physi- 
ography are entirelyignored. Hence there is a 
vagueness and uncertainty about the descrip- 
tions which might have been excusable twenty 
years ago, but for which no excuse can be found 
at the present time. It borders on the absurd 
to speak of ‘high rugged mountains with lofty 
peaks’ in Alabama, where the greatest relief is 
barely 2,000 feet above the sea-level. 
By far the most valuable portion of the report 
is found in the detailed county descriptions, 
especially those of mineral deposits. Here is a 
vast mass of facts, poorly digested and arranged, 
it is true, but given in such a way that they 
will be of great service in the economic develop- 
ment of the region. All locations are given by 
land numbers, so that, while they convey little 
meaning to the general reader, they are in the 
best possible form for use by the prospector 
upon the ground. C. W. HAYES. 
