Charles Schuchert — Historical Geology, 1818-1918. 45 



Akt. II. — A Century of Geology. — The Progress of His- 

 torical Geology in North America; by Chaeles 

 Schuchert. 



Introduction. 



The American Journal of Science, ' ' one of the greatest 

 influences in American geology, " founded in 1818, has 

 published a little more than 92,000 pages of scientific mat- 

 ter. Of geology, including mineralogy, there appear to be 

 upward of 20,000 pages. What a vast treasure house of 

 geologic knowledge is stored in these 194 volumes, and 

 how well the editors have lived up to their proposed 

 "plan of work" as stated in the opening volume, where 

 Silliman says: "It is designed as a deposit for original 

 American communications" in "the physical sciences 

 . . . and especially our mineralogy and geology" (1, v, 

 1818) ! Not only is it the oldest continuously published 

 scientific journal of this country, but it has proved itself 

 to be "perhaps the most important geological periodical 

 in America" (Merrill). It is impossible to adequately 

 present in this memorial volume of the Journal the con- 

 tents of the articles on the geological sciences. 



Editor Silliman was not only the founder of the Jour- 

 nal, but the generating center for the making of 

 geologists and promoting geology during the rise of this 

 science in America. For nearly three decades, the work- 

 ers came to him for counsel and help, and he had a kind 

 paternal word for them all. This influence is also shown 

 in the many letters which were addressed to him, and 

 which he published in the Journal. A similar influence, 

 paternal care, and constructive criticism were continued 

 by James D. Dana, and especially in his earlier career 

 as editor. 



Not including mineralogy, there are in the Journal 

 upward of .1500 distinct articles on geology. Of these, 

 over 400 are on vertebrate paleontology, about 325 on 

 invertebrate paleontology, and 90 on paleobotany. Of 

 articles bearing on historical geology there are about 160, 

 and on stratigraphic geology more than 360. In addition 

 to all this, there are more than 2000 pages of geologic 

 matter relating to books and of letters communicated to 

 the editors Silliman and Dana. We may summarize with 



