294 REPORT ON THE STATE CABINET. 



Note. — After the matter quoted on the preceding pages had been some 

 time in print in Vol. iv, Palwontology of New York, I saw in the American 

 Journal of Science for May, 1866, a notice of a paper in the Proceedings 

 of the Academy of Science of PMladeliohia , entitled " Observations on the 

 Microscopic shell structure of Spirifer cuspidatus, and some similar forms, 

 by F. B. Meek." 



Thinking there might be some similarity in the results, and wishing 

 to avoid all chance of future charge of plagiarism when the volume 

 should appear, I sent the printed sheets to Prof Dana, with a request 

 that he would note the fact of receiving them, and in case any complaint 

 should be made hereafter, simply to state that this matter was in print 

 at that time. In order still further to guard myself against any I'uture 

 attack, I sent the sheets to Mr. J. P. Lesley, of Philadelphia, asking him 

 to communicate them to the Academy of Natural Science, with the 

 explanation before given, with a view to avoid all cause of future com- 

 plaint. There was no priority claimed, nor any expression indicating- 

 such intention. It was merely publishing matter already printed in 

 another form. The matter was published in the Proceedings of the American 

 Philosophical Socieig,a,s "from the Palaeontology of New Yoi'k, Vol. iv, pp. 

 252-257 ; unpubhshed." 



Notwithstanding all my efforts to avoid an attack, there appears in the 

 American Journal of Science for May, 1867, an article "On the puncate 

 shell structure of Syringothyris, by F. B. Meek, with the following foot- 

 note on page 408 : 



" In a paper on certain types of Spinfericlse, published in the Proceedings of the 

 American Philosophical Society for 1866, and presented to that Society in May of 

 1866, Mr. J. Hall presents facts confirming my observations communicated in a 

 paper read before the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science, in December, 

 1865, and published February, 1866, in which the presence of a punctate 

 structure in shells of this type, and its coincidence with the internal tube of 

 iSyringothyris, were first announced. He, however, makes no allusion to my 

 investigations, of which he certainly was not ignorant." 



Now, Mr. Meek saw by the publication that it was not " a paper " pre- 

 sented by me to the Society, but an extract from a volume printed and 

 not published. It may have been quite disingenuous on his part to cite 

 it as "a paper" presented in the usual manner, and he affects to believe 

 that I was not ignorant of his investigations, etc. I have stated above 

 simply the facts. The Journal of Science professes to deal fairly and justly 

 in all scientific matters, and one of its editors was in possession of all 



