INACCESSIBILITY OF LITERATURE. 23 



them now out of print and difficult to obtain. In fact it would 

 be almost impossible to secure a complete set of these publi- 

 cations, even insofar as they relate to Missouri. These vol- 

 umes contain references both to the forms which were origin- 

 ally discovered in Missouri, and the species which were first 

 found elsewhere but now are known to occur within the bor- 

 ders of the State. Other descriptions are scattered far and 

 wide through various journals and other serials, both in Eng- 

 lish and in foreign languages. Besides, there are many short 

 papers and more or less lengthy allusions incorporated in the 

 long list of government publications, and in volumes whose 

 existence is unknown to the majority of people. There is still 

 another class of information which the public does not have 

 the use of; this comprises a number of privately issued mat- 

 ters and personal correspondence, which, though it cannot be 

 regarded as "published," in the general usage of that term by 

 all scientists, is nevertheless of very great value. 



The absolute inaccessibility to this vast amount of litera- 

 ture is probably the one great drawback in the consideration 

 of ancient life and the related geological problems — one of 

 the most fascinating studies open to the young and old alike 

 of our country. It justly calls for something brief, com- 

 prehensible, and within the reach of all. Private enterprise 

 cannot undertake such work, and it thus becomes the duty of 

 the State to vouch for its accomplishment. 



While the report embraced in the following pages cannot be 

 regarded as a complete exposition of the fossil animals occur- 

 ring in the several geological formations, it is thought that it 

 will form a reasonably fair presentation of our present know- 

 ledge of the paleozoic faunas of the State. Missouri is an 

 exceedingly rich field for the student of ancient life, as is 

 attested by the large number of species described from the 

 rocks within her borders, and by the great collections of speci- 

 mens made at various times. A considerable proportion of 

 the forms early described were not fully understood, and when 

 first noted were unaccompanied by figures. During the third 

 of a century which has elapsed since these remains were ori- 



