January 1, 1897.] 



SCIENCE. 



remarkably truthful representation, for the 

 times, of the broader features of Appala- 

 chian structure. He calls attention to the 

 fact that the littoral line on the Atlantic 

 face of the mountains is found near the 

 falls of the rivers. In his second report he 

 gives a columnar section showing the cor- 

 respondence of American and European 

 formations, with average thickness of the 

 latter, in which the Upper Cretaceous, 

 Wealden , Oolite, and possibly the New Ked 

 sandstones are said to be deficient in the 

 United States. In this section the Cam- 

 brian forms the base of the organic divi- 

 sion. He remarks upon the rapid progress 

 which geology has made in Europe during 

 the past thirty years, and the increased in- 

 terest manifested in this country as the re- 

 sult of his first report, giving rise to a 

 movement among the States to undertake 

 geological surveys. He says: "A geological 

 map of the whole United States, where all 

 the formations are exhibited on a large 

 scale, and the most important deposits of 

 fuel, metals and useful minerals be accii- 

 rately laid down, would be a monument 

 both useful and honorable to the country 

 at home and abroad, and I trust the day is 

 not distant when Congress will direct such 

 a map to be constructed upon a scale com- 

 mensurate with the undertaking." 



1838. In 1838 J. N. Mcollet, a Savoyard 

 naturalist, who had spent the last five years 

 studying, at his own expense, the physical 

 geography of the Southern and Mississippi 

 Valley States, was commissioned by Col. 

 Abert, of the Topographical Engineers, to 

 make a map of the hydrographic basin of 

 the Mississippi River. 



In his report Nicollet remarks on the 

 universal distribution of drift material, 

 even on the summit of the Coteau, which 

 had hitherto been called alluvium, but for 

 which he prefers the term Erratic deposites. 

 His principle contribution was the recogni- 

 tion of the fact that in that region there 



were limestones lower than the Carbonifer- 

 ous represented by fossils. He thought to 

 have the Devonion in the lower part of the 

 Mountain limestone, and he obtained Tren- 

 ton fossils from the limestone around the 

 Falls of St. Anthony. He also discovered 

 the Cretaceous above Council Bluffs, and 

 recognized its importance ' as destined to 

 occupy a conspicuous place in the history of 

 American geology.' Fort Pierre Chouteau 

 was the upper limit of his explorations oli 

 the Missouri River. He got authentic ac- 

 counts of pseudo-volcanoes caused by the 

 spontaneous combustion of bituminous ma- 

 terial within the rocks higher up the river, 

 which he thinks may account for some, at 

 least, of the pumice-like material that 

 floats down the Missouri River. 



1839. An important epoch in the study 

 of western geology is marked by the work 

 conducted under David Dale Owen, from 

 1839 to 1854. Dr. Owen was the son of 

 Robert Owen, the social reformer, and at 

 the same time a well-to-do manufacturer, 

 who had settled in New Harmony, Ind., to 

 carry out practically some of his social theo- 

 ries. David had received a liberal educa- 

 tion abroad, both in Switzerland and Scot- 

 land, and had spent a year in London study- 

 ing geology, in companionship with Henry 

 B. Rogers. He later took the degree of 

 M. D. in the Ohio Medical College in 1836. 

 Having been appointed State Geologist of 

 Indiana, he made a preliminary reconnais- 

 sance in 1837-8. The then Governor, James 

 Whitcomb, became later United States Land 

 Commissioner, and appointed Owen to make 

 a survey of the Dubuque and Mineral Point 

 land districts in Wisconsin and Iowa, under 

 authority from Congress, in order to enable 

 him to reserve from sale those sections con- 

 taining mineral wealth. This work had to 

 be done promptly, and it was commenced 

 in September, 1839, and completed in Feb- 

 ruary, 1840. He had 139 sub-agents and 

 assistants under him, examining each sec- 



