180 G. M. Dawson — Cretaceous of British Columbia. 



Llandeilo and Caradoc beds, both geologically and paleonto- 

 logically, leaves no question as to Murchison's title. Below 

 this level lie the rocks studied chiefly by Sedgwick ; and if a 

 dividing horizon of sufficient geological value had been found 

 to exist, it should have been made the limit between a Cambrian 

 and a Silurian System. 



The claim of a worker to affix a name to a series of rocks 

 first studied and defined by him cannot be disputed. But 

 Science may accept, or not, according as the name is, or is not, 

 needed. In the progress of geology, the time finally was 

 reached, when the name Cambrian was believed to be a 

 necessity, and " Cambrian " and " Silurian" derived thence a 

 right to follow one another in the geological record. 



" To follow one another ;" that is, directly, without a sup- 

 pression of " Silurian " from the name of the lower subdi- 

 vision by intruding the term " Ordovician," or any other term. 

 For this is virtually appropriating what is claimed, (though 

 not so intended), and does marked injustice to one of the 

 greatest of British geologists. Moreover, such an intruded term 

 commemorates, with harsh emphasis, mis judgments and their 

 consequences, which are better forgotten. Rather let the two 

 names, standing together as in 1835, recall the fifteen years of 

 friendly labors in Cambria and Siluria and the other earlier 

 years of united research. 



Akt. XXIII. — Notes on the Cretaceous of the British Colum- 

 bian Region. — The Nanaimo Group; by George M. 

 Dawson. 



In Bulletin ~No. 51 of the United States Geological Survey, 

 (1889) by Dr. C. A. White, on Invertebrate Fossils from the 

 Pacific Coast, Part III is devoted to the discussion of lower 

 Cretaceous fossils from the Vancouver Island region ; and the 

 name ' Vancouver group ' is proposed for the formation from 

 which these are derived. Dr. White writes : — " Although this 

 formation is paleontologically equivalent, at least in large part, 

 with the Chico portion of the Chico-Tejon series of California, 

 as has been indicated by Meek, Gabh, Whiteaves and by Pro- 

 fessor Whitney, I propose to use the name Vancouver group 

 as a local name for those strata which occur in the Vancouver 

 Island region ; and still retain the name Chico group for the 

 California strata, which the geologists of that State applied to 

 them."* On meeting with Dr. White's proposal for the adop- 

 tion of the term ' Vancouver group,' as above stated, I wrote 



* Op. cit, p. 33. 



