﻿PROCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  GEOLOGICAL 
  SOCIETY. 
  3 
  

  

  Bologna 
  Congress 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  Commissioners 
  present 
  at 
  that 
  meeting, 
  

   having 
  regard 
  to 
  the 
  impossibility 
  of 
  drawing 
  up 
  any 
  thing 
  like 
  a 
  

   complete 
  report 
  upon 
  so 
  vast 
  a 
  subject 
  before 
  the 
  meeting 
  of 
  the 
  

   Congress, 
  and 
  feeling 
  that 
  there 
  would 
  bo 
  much 
  advantage 
  gained 
  

   by 
  settling 
  the 
  meaning 
  of 
  the 
  terms 
  commonly 
  used 
  to 
  designate 
  

   the 
  larger 
  and 
  smaller 
  divisions 
  of 
  the 
  materials 
  which 
  make 
  up 
  

   the 
  crust 
  of 
  the 
  earth, 
  and 
  the 
  portions 
  of 
  time 
  to 
  which 
  they 
  are 
  

   assigned, 
  recommended 
  that, 
  first 
  of 
  all, 
  those 
  questions 
  of 
  a 
  general 
  

   character 
  should 
  be 
  considered, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  definition 
  of 
  epoch, 
  

   period, 
  formation, 
  rock, 
  &c. 
  &c. 
  A 
  resume 
  of 
  the 
  reports 
  of 
  the 
  

   different 
  nationalities 
  was 
  drawn 
  up 
  by 
  the 
  General 
  Secretary, 
  

   M. 
  Dewalque, 
  and 
  presented 
  to 
  the 
  Congress, 
  and 
  the 
  discussion 
  was 
  

   taken 
  upon 
  it. 
  America 
  and 
  England 
  were 
  regarded 
  as 
  one 
  from 
  

   the 
  very 
  first, 
  a 
  happy 
  result 
  of 
  the 
  friendly 
  feeling 
  thai; 
  exists 
  on 
  

   all 
  points 
  between 
  the 
  two 
  nations, 
  and 
  at 
  Bologna 
  cordially 
  upheld 
  

   by 
  their 
  distinguished 
  guest 
  of 
  that 
  evening, 
  Dr. 
  Sterry 
  Hunt. 
  

  

  The 
  conclusions 
  arrived 
  at 
  were 
  briefly 
  — 
  that 
  the 
  term 
  Group 
  

   should 
  be 
  applied 
  to 
  the 
  largest 
  geological 
  division 
  of 
  rocks, 
  System 
  

   to 
  the 
  next, 
  Series 
  to 
  the 
  third 
  in 
  order 
  of 
  magnitude, 
  Stage 
  to 
  the 
  

   fourth, 
  and 
  the 
  French 
  word 
  "Assise" 
  was 
  placed 
  in 
  the 
  fifth 
  place, 
  it 
  

   being 
  left 
  to 
  other 
  nationalities 
  to 
  use 
  whatever 
  word 
  in 
  their 
  own 
  

   tongue 
  seemed 
  most 
  conveniently 
  to 
  represent 
  this 
  smallest 
  defined 
  

   term. 
  The 
  Time 
  -words 
  were, 
  in 
  descending 
  order 
  of 
  magnitude, 
  

   Era, 
  Period, 
  Epoch, 
  Age 
  — 
  Era 
  corresponding 
  to 
  Group, 
  Period 
  to 
  

   System, 
  Epoch 
  to 
  Series, 
  Age 
  to 
  Stage. 
  It 
  was 
  pointed 
  out 
  that 
  

   the 
  German 
  and 
  English 
  use 
  of 
  the 
  word 
  formation 
  for 
  a 
  set 
  of 
  

   deposits 
  which 
  it 
  was 
  desired 
  to 
  group 
  together 
  under 
  one 
  head, 
  

   e. 
  (j. 
  Carboniferous 
  formation, 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  adopted 
  by 
  the 
  French, 
  

   with 
  whom 
  this 
  word 
  always 
  had 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  origin 
  of 
  

   the 
  mass, 
  and 
  was 
  considered 
  an 
  abbreviation 
  of 
  tho 
  " 
  mode, 
  of 
  

   formation" 
  This 
  had 
  been 
  already 
  fully 
  recognized 
  by 
  the 
  English 
  

   Committee, 
  in 
  the 
  minutes 
  of 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  meetings 
  of 
  which 
  

   the 
  following 
  resolution 
  appears 
  : 
  — 
  " 
  The 
  term 
  Formation 
  having 
  

   been 
  used 
  by 
  Continental 
  geologists 
  to 
  denote 
  the 
  action 
  by 
  

   which 
  a 
  thing 
  is 
  formed, 
  and 
  its 
  mode 
  of 
  formation, 
  and 
  its 
  use 
  in 
  

   the 
  sense 
  accepted 
  in 
  England 
  being 
  given 
  up 
  in 
  America, 
  the 
  Com- 
  

   mittee 
  recommend 
  that 
  the 
  term 
  be 
  employed 
  as 
  rarely 
  as 
  possible 
  in 
  

   the 
  English 
  sense, 
  and 
  that 
  such 
  words 
  as 
  group, 
  rock, 
  bed, 
  &c. 
  be 
  

   substituted 
  for 
  it." 
  It 
  was 
  pointed 
  out 
  by 
  the 
  German 
  geologists 
  

   that 
  there 
  were 
  many 
  nations 
  who 
  could 
  not 
  adopt 
  " 
  terrain 
  ; 
  ; 
  ' 
  and 
  

   therefore 
  this 
  word 
  also 
  was 
  excluded 
  from 
  the 
  more 
  strictly 
  defined 
  

   terms. 
  MM. 
  Beyrich 
  and 
  Yon 
  Moller 
  explained 
  that 
  the 
  word 
  

   series 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  conveniently 
  introduced 
  into 
  German 
  or 
  Russian 
  ; 
  

   and 
  it 
  was 
  therefore 
  agreed 
  that 
  the 
  words 
  section 
  and 
  Abtheilung 
  

   should 
  be 
  admitted 
  as 
  synonyms 
  of 
  series. 
  It 
  will 
  be 
  observed 
  

   that 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  consistency 
  in 
  the 
  group 
  of 
  words 
  adopted 
  in 
  English, 
  

   they 
  are 
  all 
  what 
  may 
  be 
  called 
  synthetic 
  ; 
  the 
  analytic 
  words, 
  such 
  

   as 
  division, 
  subdivision, 
  section, 
  &c, 
  remain 
  undefined. 
  

  

  Prof. 
  Hughes 
  regretted 
  they 
  were 
  not 
  able 
  to 
  transpose 
  the 
  words 
  

   Group 
  and 
  Series^ 
  as 
  it 
  certainlv 
  would 
  be 
  more 
  convenient 
  to 
  use 
  

  

  a2 
  

  

  