1855] A REPLY TO AN ARTICLE IN THE JUNE NUMBER OF THE CANADIAN JOURNAL. 



291 



which view Professor Owen coincided in 185-3." (See Journal of the 

 Geological Society, August, 1853.) 



Here, then, I am accused of ignorance, and leading the Committee 

 into error. First, as to the ignorance. A complete and circumstantial 

 history of these fossil tracks was given to me personally in England by 

 Mr. Logan, on one of the few occasions on which I was in his society 

 before I came to Canada ; and as to the edition of Lyell's Manual, in 

 which an account, though by no means a complete one, of these tracks 

 is given, I happen, unfortunately for the argument, to possess from ac- 

 cidental circumstances no less than a couple of copies. Besides which, 

 on more than one occasion, I have publicly referred in ray lectures to 

 the various points connected with this discovery. But when persons 

 are so exceedingly hypercritical, surely they should be exact also. 

 Now, the truth is, Mr. Abraham, although the announcer, was not the 

 real discoverer of these tracks. They were first detected by a miller 

 residing near the spot ; and the discovery being brought by this miller, 

 (whose name science unjustly ignores), or by some of his neighbours, 

 under the notice of Mr. Abraham, that gentleman published an account 

 of the matter in the Montreal Gazelle. Mr. Logan then took up the 

 subject, and pointed out certain geological errors into which Mr. 

 Abraham had fallen. Again, the second and correct determination of 

 the nature of these tracks was made by Owen, not in 1853 as incorrectly 

 stated, but in the eai-ly part of 1852. Although dates in scientific' 

 matters are serious things, I should scarcely have thought it worth 

 while to notice this error, were it not to show in its true light the i-idi- 

 culous parade of erudition here brought against me. 



Secondly, I am accused of misleading the Committee. But let us 

 see how the case actually stands. I am asked by the Committee, as to 

 the eslablishmenl of new scientific truths (the italics are my own) in 

 reference to the labours of the survey. Now, I will maintain that the 

 "establishment" of this discovery as a new scientific truth is entirely 

 due to the exertions of Mr. Logan. If the survey had not been insti- 

 tuted at the time, one of two things must inevitably have followed : 

 the discovery would have been a ten days' wonder, and then passed out 

 of mind ; or, it would have been taken up by some of our scientific 

 neighbours, aud the merits of its further developement thus lost to 

 Canadian geology. In 1851, Mr. Logan laid before the Geological 

 Society of London, a large slab of the rock containing these tr.acks, 

 together with a series of casts relating to the same, and a minute 

 account of their occurrence. In 1852 he agiiin crossed the Atlantic 

 with further casts and more ample particulars, and thus led to the 

 determination by Professor Owen, with whom Mr. Logan put himself 

 in immediate communication, of the true nature of the animals by 

 which these tracks were made. If, after this, the Geological Survey 

 of Canada may not claim the merit of " establishing" the discovery as 

 a scientific truth — and, be it remembered, I spoke to nothing more — 

 with whom, I would ask, in the name of justice, does the merit lie? 



But to place my position fairly before the reader, the entire question 

 and answer should be given. 



" 54. The results to be expected from a Geological Survey being 

 two-fold ; the establishment of new Scientific truths, and the discovery 

 of facts and materials of Economic application, can you state to the 

 Committee some of the advantages in both of these branches, which 

 have been already derived from the Survey, and may be expected from 

 its future extension ? — Ans. With regard to Economic discoveries, I 

 may state generally, that the Survey has brought to light the exist- 

 once of beds of workable Peat, before, I believe, unknown in Canada, 

 or at least undescribed : of Slate of excellent quality, of Limestone 

 bands, where Limestone was supposed to be absent, and of Litho- 

 graphic stone. Serpentine, So_apstone, White brick clay, and other 

 valuable materials, previously altogether unknown or uudiscovered, 

 along the 1 jcalities indicated by the Survey ; it should also be remem- 

 bered in an enquiry of this kind, that positive discoveries are not the 

 only facts of importance to be made known, nef/ative results being in 

 many instances almost equally valuable. Of this latter class, the 

 proof of tlio non-e.xistence of Coal over the greater part if not the 

 whole of Canada, is entirely due to the Survey ; whose labours have 

 thus put a stop to much useless expenditure of money in futile 

 researches after tliat mineral. Looking at the Survej' again, in a 

 Scientific point of view, we find it elaborating many facts of the highest 

 interest, some of which, 1 do not hesitate to saj', may take rank with 

 anything made known of late years by European Science. The dis- 

 covery of Phosphate of Lime as the chief component of certain shells, 

 is a striking case in point. It was long considered as a settled fact 

 that tlie Chemical composition of the bones and teeth of vcrtebrated 

 animals differed entirely from that o/f the shells and hard parts of the 



lower classes of the animal kingdom : consisting in the former essen- 

 tially of phosphate, and in the latter, of carbonate of lime. This fan- 

 cied diff'erence has been broken down so i-ir as regards certain brachio- 

 pods, by the chemical researches of the survey ; a discovery which 

 will, no doubt lead to important deductions. Another very interest- 

 ing discovery is that of the crustacean tracks on the Potsdam sand- 

 stone. The celebrated discussion, to which this has given rise in 

 England, has attracted the attention of scieniific men, all over Europe, 

 to the results of the survey. Several new minerals have likewise been 

 discovered, and errors have been rectified in regard to species long 

 known. A great deal of light has also been thrown on the complicated 

 question of the metamorphism of rocks, and from the investigations 

 now being carried on, both by Mr. Logan and Mr. Hunt, much more 

 may bo shortly expected. There can be no doubt also, that when the 

 complete investig.ation of our Canadi.an rocks is accomplished, so far 

 as to justify minute comparison with rocks of the same age in the 

 United States and Europe, many important generalisations will be 

 arrived at, leading in the end to a revised grouping and nomenclature. 

 Finally, it should be borne in mind, that the chief attention of the 

 survey has been hitherto bestowed on economic questions, the scientific 

 investigation of the geology of the Province having been made in a 

 great degree subservient to these. As the survey progresses there- 

 fore, its science will be necessarily more fully developed." 



Alluding, towards the close of his attack, to the first part of the 

 above answer, my anonymous assailant affects great indignation at the 

 omission of certain economic substances from my list;* although it 

 will be seen I stated to the Committee that I spoke in gener.al terms, 

 and also that the phrase "and other valuable materials" occurs at the 

 end of my enumeration. It was at the same time distinctly under- 

 stood in the committee-room that the question of economics was to be 

 taken up in full by Mr. Logan, and hence the comparaiive brevity of 

 my reply. The " serpentine" and " soapstone", and the " bringing to 

 light the existence of valuable beds of peat," seem, from their inverted 

 commas, to be thought fair game for the critic's irony. But what do 

 we find, in relation to these matters, in Mr. Logan's evidence, given the 

 day after mine. I quote from that gentleman's answer to question 

 89:— 



" Soapstone is a material pointed out as existing in abund.ance. 

 There are many establishments in the States whose business is devoted 

 to the manufacture of it alone, and the Canadian localities are coming 

 into operation. From what we have reported of peat and from the 

 dearness of domestic fuel, a person in Montreal has commenced pre- 

 paring and selling it for house use, at $5 per cord of 128 cubic feet 

 unpressed, and $12 J for the same bulk pressed. He tells me that 

 braziers and blacksmiths have been using some of it to their satisfac- 

 tion, and I am aware that some enquiry has been making about it for 

 the smelting of iron. It is used for such a purpose in France and other 

 countries. It is known that 40,000 people are employed in France 

 in the preparation of peat in various ways." 



The serpentine, white-brick clay, &c., are spoken of in other 

 answers. Hei-e then, I have at least the satisfaction to know, that if 

 my reference to the peat have anything ridiculous about it, Mr. Logan 

 has kindly placed himself in a similar dilemma. 



In conclusion, I would observe, that a mode of assault commonly 

 followed in hostile criticism, is first to ferret out errors or imperfec- 

 tions in the subject-Tnatter — or to create such, if they chance to /exist 

 only in the wish or distorted imagination of the critic — and then to 

 base on these real or imaginary shortcomings, a system of inferences, 

 worked out in a sarcastic spirit with a view to irritate the fecliugs or 

 affect the reputation of tlie writer. This latter element constitutes the 

 main part of the -attack upon me in the anonymous article admitted 

 into the last number of our Journal; and it must be evident to the 

 impartial reader, that if I were disposed to retaliate in a similar spirit, 

 I have abundance of materials at command to enable me to do so with 

 success. In my reply, I have necessarily limited myself as closely a.s 

 possible, to a bare refutation of the charges and insinuations brought 

 against me. I have thus shewn : — 



First, that my past labors in practical geology, although certainly 

 not comprising a survey of 300,000 squai'o miles, have been amply 

 sulEcient to enable me to give legitimate evidence on the working of 

 our Canadian Survey, on the best means of bringing its results before 

 the country, and on the future requirements of Mr. Logan's staff. 



Secondly, that after a good opportunity, during my constant inter- 



* These, it will be noticed, he gleans from an answer in Mr, Logan's 

 evidence. 



