394 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



rocks. Other fossils are few. There are only Cypricardites Cat- 

 skillensis and C, august at a at Mount Upton on the River Unadilla, 

 Chenango County. They resemble freshwater shells. 



We have here the characteristic fish Holoptychius nobilissimus and 

 Sauripteris Taylori (Hall), the former being plentiful in Europe on 

 the same horizon. 



Inferences. 



The following inferences, from the Synoptical View now completed 

 as far as my information extends, are presented to the Society, as mark- 

 ing some of the principal points of interest ; but I may be permitted, 

 by way of preface, to make two or three short remarks. 



First, I desire to express my high admiration of the learning and 

 ability displayed by the State Geologists of New York, as well as by 

 the able and now famous men engaged in the like arduous pursuits 

 in other portions of the North American Confederation. Upon the 

 results of their toils, dangers, and personal sufferings in the hot and 

 mosquito-haunted forests of the United States, this Synoptical View 

 has been constructed. 



Secondly, one very disinterested remark I feel constrained to make 

 before proceeding to my proper work. In my endeavour to under- 

 stand fully the Silurian system, I read and re-read the works of Sir 

 Roderick Murchison. The impression left on my mind after their 

 perusal, is that they are master-pieces of geological investigation, 

 which a rare combination of talent, perseverance, and opportunity has 

 in all essential points rendered impregnable. 



Thirdly, I am entitled thus to speak, because many years ago, 

 standing in North America, on Silurian ground, before it was so de- 

 nominated, personally and well acquainted with many of the most 

 important geological sections, I clearly foresaw the coming discoveries 

 in their universality and grandeur. Before me was a new and deeply 

 interesting volume of palaeozoic story, which my want of field-expe- 

 rience in Europe at that time (together with other duties) prevented 

 my displaying for the instruction and delight of those who find plea- 

 sure in the works of creation. 



Inferences, Conclusions, or Results*. 



1. That, whatever may be the case elsewhere, the Silurian and 

 Devonian systems of New York are parts of one connected and har- 

 monious period — the product of successive and varying Neptunian 

 agencies, operating in waters which deepened westward from the 

 Atlantic, and southwards from the Laurentine chain on the north. 



2. That from the Catskill group (Old Red Sandstone) downwards 

 through the whole series, to Potsdam Sandstone, there is perfect and 

 close conformability, and no such unwonted change in fossil life as 



* It must be fully understood that these inferences have reference solely and 

 exclusively to the central palaeozoic basin or area of Middle North America — not 

 to any similar formation in Europe, nor even to the North-eastern palaeozoic 

 basin of Eastern Canada, Gaspe, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, unless specially 

 mentioned. 



