434 G. K. Gilbert — Congress of Geologists. 



of terminations, those of the same rank having the same ter- 

 mination. Thus it is proposed by a committee that every name 

 of a group shall end in ary, — Tertiary, Primary, Archearv ; it 

 is proposed that names of systems end in ic, — Cretacic, Car- 

 bonic, Siluric; it is proposed that names of series end in ian : — 

 Eifelian, Laramian, Trentonian ; and it is proposed that stage 

 names terminate with in. Another committee suggests that ic 

 be used for stages instead of systems. The adoption of such a 

 plan would enable a writer or speaker to indicate the taxonomic 

 rank of a terrane without adding a word for that purpose. If 

 he regarded a certain terrane taking its name from Cambria as 

 a system, he would call it the Cambric ; if lie esteemed it only 

 a series, he would say Cambrian; and there would be no need 

 of adding the word system, or series, in order to express his full 

 meaning. Conversely the reader or hearer would always learn 

 its taxonomic rank, or supposed rank, whenever a terrane was 

 mentioned. These I conceive to be the advantages derivable 

 from the change, but they would not be the only effects. It 

 would become impossible for a geologist to name or allude to a 

 terrane without declaring its rank, and. the consequences of this 

 would be evil in many ways. In the first place one could not 

 discuss terranes from any point of view without expressing an 

 opinion as to their taxonomy, and the change would thus con- 

 travene one of the most important rights of opinion — namely, 

 the right to reserve opinion. Again, geologists who differed as 

 to the rank of a terrane would necessarily terminate its title dif- 

 ferently, and a needless synonymy would thus be introduced. 

 In the third place the created necessity for taxonomic discrim- 

 ination on all occasions would tend to direct undue attention to 

 taxonomic problems. Taxonomy would be conceived by many 

 geologists as an end instead of a means, just as correlation has 

 been conceived, and energy would be wasted in taxonomic 

 refinement and taxonomic controversy. It is convenient for 

 purposes of description and comparison to classify the strata 

 that constitute a local columnar section in phalanges of various 

 magnitude or rank, but the criteria on which we depend for dis- 

 crimination are in the nature of things variable and offer ground 

 for endless difference of opinion; and it would be extremely 

 unfortunate to have such differences perpetually brought to the 

 foreground. 



Another subject considered by the congress is the nomencla- 

 ture of paleontology. A committee appointed for the purpose 

 formulated rules for the establishment of the names of genera 

 and species, and their report was adopted by the congress. I 

 have no opinion to express as to the wisdom of the rules, but it 

 is a matter of surprise that a body of geologists assumed to 

 speak with authority on the subject. From one point of view 



