272 TWENTIETH REPORT ON THE STATE CABINET. 



"valve along the centre, with a depression or sinus on the ventral valve, 

 " being the reverse of the usual arrangement. The beak is incurved, with 

 "a perforation at the apex, which occupies, also, a part or all of the 

 " deltidial area, being usually narrow and long. 



"Mr. Conrad sometime since proposed the name Stenocisina for some 

 "specimens of the group of Atryp^ or TEREBRATULiE, which he sub- 

 " sequently abandoned. Should the characters here noticed be found 

 "persistent [consistent], and accompanied by the narrow foramen, I pro- 

 " pose to restore the name first indicated by Mr. Conrad for the genus." 



I intended to restore the name Stenocisma, should these species be 

 found to possess characters corresponding with those given by Mr. Conrad 

 to his genus. We have the assertion, however, from this palaeontologist, 

 " that Mr. Conrad had suggested for this shell \^A. modesta] the generic 

 " name Stenocisma.'''' He does not seem to consider it necessary for him to 

 say when or where Mr. Conrad had made this suggestion, but merely to 

 make the assertion ; nor does it appear that he had ever seen Mr. Con- 

 rad's Report, or knew anything about it. He might, however, recollect 

 a code older than the Linnean system of nomenclature, which says, " Thou 

 " shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." 



AYhen Mr. Meek was writing this note, he either knew, or he did not 

 know, what Mr. Conrad had written of Stenocis-ma. If he did not know, 

 it would have been well to have expressed a less decided opinion ; and if 

 he did know, he has falsified the record. This is only one of many, not 

 dissimilar cases, where this author assumes the rectification of other people's 

 errors, or the assertion of scientific facts, with just about the same degree 

 of correctness as he exhibits in the above* quoted paragraph. This 

 mode of treating a scientific question may serve his purpose or suit his 

 animus, but it is scarcely in accordance with the dignified character of the 

 " Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge.''^ 



Genus Leiorhynchus (Hall). 

 At the time of proposing the Genus Leiorhynchus, I had some ground 

 for believing it referable to the Spiriferidce ; but later examinations have 

 not shown the existence of internal spires, while, so far as I have been 

 able to determine, the hinge-structure is very similar to that of Rhyn- 

 chonella=Stenocisma. The septum in the dorsal valve has a decided 

 triangular pit at its upper or rostral end, while the crura are apparently 

 reduced to short curving processes. Externally the sppicies of Leiorhyn- 

 chus may be distinguished from those usually referred to Rhynchonella 

 by the low rounded plications, which are often bifurcating and become 

 obsolescent on the sides and towards the beak of the shell. These very dis- 

 tinctive external characters are, I believe, sufiicient to warrant the separation 

 from any other genus, and I have no doubt they will be found connected 

 with internal characters differing from Rhynchonella or any other genus 

 of fossil shells. 



