224: €. JR. Keyes — Bethany Limestone. 



strata than are embraced in the '' main body." Therefore there 

 does not appear, especially in the light of later investigation 

 and a consequent desirability to adjust the nomenclature with- 

 out the introduction of any more new terms than is absolutely 

 necessary, to be any impropriety in extending somewhat the 

 original meaning of the title. There is no violation of uni- 

 versal custom, no confusion incurred. 



Regarding the term Erie itself. Dr. Haworth claims that it 

 has priority over Bethany because it was " proposed" previous 

 to the formal extension of the latter term to the whole of the 

 basal limestone formations. By referring back to the places 

 cited, in which the term Erie is used, it is found that the first 

 time that it was mentioned, according to the references made 

 by Dr. Haworth, was in a preliminary description of a section 

 made up the JSTeosho river in southeastern Kansas. It is re- 

 ported as sixty feet thick and as occurring at several localities. 

 "It may be called the Erie limestone on account of its greater 

 abundance in the neighborhood of that thrifty little town." 

 Nothing is given of its biological characters, nothing of its 



Geological position, except that it is somewhere in the Coal 

 leasures, and lies between the "Laneville" shales and the 

 " Chanute " shales. 



In another account, which appeared a year later, but a few 

 months after the formal extension of the term Bethany over 

 the whole of the limestone formation. Dr. Haworth again con- 

 siders the member in question. It is now described fully as 

 the " Triple " limestone, with only an incidental reference in 

 another place to "Erie." The names of the underlying and 

 overlying shales are changed also, to " Pleasanton " and 

 " Thayer." The geological position of the formation, how- 

 ever, is accurately located at the base of the Upper Coal 

 Measures and the lowermost bed of the " Triple " limestone is 

 correlated with the Bethany Falls limestone, the latter being 

 erroneously regarded as the basal part of the limestone forma- 

 tion. From this it is evident that in the first usage of the 

 name, "Erie" cannot be regarded as defined, audit must be 

 also concluded that Dr. Haworth, in his preliminary descrip- 

 tion of the l^eosho river section, did not even have in mind the 

 formal proposition of the term Erie for a widespread geological 

 formation. 



There is still another consideration in this connection that 

 demands attention. If in any way the first usage of the term 

 " Erie " can be regarded as a proper definition of the forma- 

 tion and the title can be in any manner considered as having 

 priority over Bethany, then the term Winterset, as suggested by 

 Dr. White for apparently the same formation in Iowa, has prece- 

 dence. Dr. White makes frequent mention in his Iowa reports of 



