124 SUMMER IN A BOG. 



its development. Less than fifty years covers 

 the period in wihich we have become acquainted 

 with the geological formations of Ohio. 



At last, having the good fortune to meet Dr. 

 Orton, the mystery was solved. Yes, he said, 

 the septaria are growing to-day just as they 

 did centuries ago. Wherever the proper con- 

 stituents are found the septaria gather about 

 a nucleus. This experiment, he assured me, 

 had been tried and the result was conclusive. 



It is interesting to trace the thought of this 

 geologist through the "SuiT^ey" on this sub- 

 ject. At first we hear only of nodules and "con- 

 cretions, " but toward the close of his researches 

 he makes them known to us as "septaria." 



An enviable task is that of the naturalist. 

 What pleasure Nature spreads in the path of 

 her devotee; the expectancy of the search, the 

 unmixed joy of the discovery! There are no 

 labors so purely delightful as those which we 

 assume with Nature. 



In fancy I can see Dr. Orton opening, for 

 the first time, these unsullied leaves of the 

 earth's book; his kind, bright face reflecting 

 the fine glow of intellectual enjoyment, like 

 light tempered through a clear porcelain vase, 

 remembering now that he has reached that 

 sphere where "knowledge shall vanish away" 

 in perfect knowing. 



1900. 



