MARYLAND GEOLOGICAL SURVKY 5>9 



published, and, in additiijn, a nion- cxiiaustive "Memoir" in IHII; bnt 

 in none of these ]>uhlieation.s was the Eocene recognized as such. 



Conrad, who actively continued his investigations, made an import- 

 ant contribution to the Kocene of the Middle Atlantic Slope in 1812 

 in his "Observations on a portion of the Atlantic Tertiary region, with 

 a descrij)tion of now species of organic remains." 



During this year the first of Lyell's publications upon the eastern 

 Tertiary belt appeared in the Proceedings, of the Geological Society of 

 London. His conclusions were derived from personal observations, and 

 were of special value from his wide knowledge of the Tertiary of 

 Europe. He succeeded in explaining many points in American Tert iary 

 stratigraphy hitherto imperfectly understood. The narrative of his 

 first report contains the following statement: 



Having examined the most important Cretaceous deposits in New Jersej', Mr. 

 Lyell proceeded in tlie autumn of 1841 to investigate tlie Tertiary strata of Virginia, 

 the Carolinas, and Georgia, with a view to satisfy himself, tirst, liow far tlie leading 

 divisions of Tertiary strata along the Atlantic border of the United States agree in 

 aspect and organic contents with those of Europe; and, secondly, to ascertain 

 whether any rocks containing fossils of a character intermediate between those of 

 the Cretaceous and the Eocene beds really exist. The conclusions at which he 

 arrived from his extensive survey are given briefly as follows: (1) The only Tertiarj- 

 formations which the author saw agree well in their geological types with the Eocene 

 and Miocene beds of England and France; (2) he found no secondary fossils in those 

 rocks which have been called Upper Secondary and supposed to constitute a link 

 between the Cretaceous and Tertiary formations. 



The Eocene deposits upon the James Eiver, Virginia, are described 

 in this paper. Hi his subsequent papers bearing upon the Eocene of 

 the Middle Atlantic Slope the stratigraphy of the Eocene is further 

 considered and references are made to other localities which he visited. 



Murchison, in his presidential address before the Geological Society 

 of London in 1843, reviewed the results of Lyell's investigations in 

 America and added his own interpretation of a few points. 



During the years immediately subsequent to Lyell's visit many im- 

 portant articles upon the Tertiary appeared from the pens of American 

 geologists, although the publications dealt more largely with the south- 

 ern than the northern deposits. Conrad, however, made additional 

 observations upon the Eocene strata of the Middle Atlantic Slope and 



