28 



THE DEVONIAN AND CARBONIFEROUS. 



{ BULL. 80. 



Eaton's article is entitled " Ought American geologists to adopt the 

 changes in the science proposed by Phillips and Conybeare?" He 

 protests against accepting such a radical change in classification as 

 Phillips and Conybeare propose, which is practically a defense of the 

 older Wernerian classification, while Conybeare aud Phillips, conced- 

 ing the importance of defining the various formations by their chemical 

 and external characters and mineral contents, distinctly recognized 

 also the importance of the organic remains as a means of determining 

 and characterizing each individual geological formation, thus following 

 directly in the steps of William Smith and Ouvier. 



In 1824, in volume 1 of the second series of Transactions of the Geolog- 

 ical Society, is an article by J. L. Bigsby, entitled "Notes on the Geog- 

 raphy and Geology of Lake Huron." This, one of the earliest descrip- 

 tions of a geological section in that part of the country, recognizes 

 (p. 196) the following formations: " Primitive rocks, Secondary, lime- 

 stone with Orthoceratites on High Cliff Island, Eed sandstone equiva- 

 lent to the Old Eed of Werner, underlying Lake George, and the Straits 

 of St. Mary, and limestones at St. Joseph, and on Drummond Island, 

 with Orthoceratites, Milliporae, Madrepore, Encrini, shells," etc. Some 

 of the fossils are described and figured ; they are all referred to the 

 "Secondary." A Trilobite is also figured 1 and described by Charles 

 Stokes. 2 This is plainly a Lower Silurian fossil, and its identification 

 indicates the use of the term " Secondary " in 1824 as including part 

 of what we now call Silurian rocks. 



In 1825 Chester Dewey spoke of Eaton's survey of the Erie Canal 3 

 and recognized its value, but mildly protested against the " needless 

 novelties in technical language." 



In 1825 a letter 4 William Maclure urges "perhaps the most useful 

 classification in the present state of the science would be to retain 

 Werner's five classes as being well defined, that is, as well as the graded 

 variety of nature will permit, and to make some subdivisions in each, 

 class without deranging the system already best known, or the ideas of 

 those who follow it." 



Thus it will be seen that, at this date, the ablest geologists of Amer- 

 ica adhered to the old Wernerian system of classification, and when we 

 remember that this system was based upon a study of the primitive 

 rocks, and that the classification which was applicable to them was 

 applied to the whole series as well, we need not be surprised at the 

 retarding influence exerted upon all true progress in geological science. 



During the year 1826, and for several years after, frequent papers 

 were published descriptive of coal mines, and dealing particularly with 

 the properties of coal considered as a fuel and in its economical aspects. 

 The regions discussed in these several papers were principally three, 



1 Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 8, p. 20. 



» It is called by him Asaphus platycephalus, and figured on Plate 27, Figs. 1, a-b-c, and 2. 



8 Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 9, p. 355. 



4 Ibid., p. 254, dated Paris, January 14, to the editor. 



