THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF KANSAS. 563 



fold in the sinuosities, or by some short turn in the direction of the animal's 

 course in forcing its way through the mud, the parts being left in such rela- 

 tion to each other, as to indicate, not only their connection, but also the 

 method by which the separation had been made. In this way the stem is not 

 only broken once, but in some cases, several times. These facts, with others, 

 incline the writer to the belief that the natural position of the crinoid was hori- 

 zontal rather than vertical, living in the mud at the bottom of the sea. 



The long slender arms, with their fringes of pinnulge or tentacles, were also ■ 

 easily disjointed, especially at the point of connection with the calyx. Very few 

 specimens retain them all entire. Frequently the arms are all gone, leaving 

 nothing but the calyx. We have frequently found these long slender arms turn^ed 

 back upon the stem and disjointed, three or four of them sometimes, lying near 

 together, some near the head, others a it'N inches back along the stem, as though 

 the animal had left them behind in forcing its way through the mud. In remov- 

 ing the matrix from specimens, and especially in the large slabs, these detached 

 arms are frequently met with. It will be seen from these facts, that the value of 

 cabinet specimens must increase very rapidly in proportion to the perfection of 

 the head, and the length of the stem. 



It is an interesting fact that these Crawfordsville beds very clearly indicate a 

 deterioration in the crinoids in ascending from the lower to the higher strata. 

 In the outcrop near the level of the creek, are found remains of crinoids perfectly 

 enormous compared with the same species higher up in the bluif. If the heads 

 connected with these fragments of stems, bore the same relation to them that 

 the heads above do to their stems, they must have been giants from eighteen 

 inches to two feet in length. But no heads belonging to these stems have ever 

 been found. As far as excavations have been made, the largest species and' 

 the largest specimens of species which extend to the top of the shale, are found 

 in the lowest strata. Long ages must have elapsed during the formation of these 

 rocks, and the period of life recorded in them. 



Near the commencement of the Carboniferous period here represented, the 

 crinoid seems to have reached the zenith of its glory in size and in numbers, and 

 then began to wane, leaving in the same deposit the record of its glory and of its 

 decline. 



THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF KANSAS. 



A geological survey, carefully made, of any extended area, reveals the char- 

 acter of the rock formations for several hundred feet of thickness, and therefore 

 makes known where may or 77iay not be found the useful minerals — coal, salt, 

 building-stone, iron, lead, etc. 



Such a survey also makes known the dip or slope of the strata, and therefore 

 gives indications of probable water supply in various localities. 



Much geological knowledge of Kansas has been obtained, but it is in the 



