1877.] Geology and Paleontology. 247 
first of these works is an attempt to do for Egypt and Assyria what 
Lempriére has done for Greece and Rome. The second work mentioned 
is an improved reprint of Cory’s magnificent design of bringing together 
all the scraps of classical literature that bear upon the history and an- 
tiquity of the ancient East. 
In the third work, the anonymous author “arranges in consecutive 
order, under specific dates, some of the results of recent researches on 
prehistorical and Biblical archaeology and comparative mythology, with 
the view of attempting to furnish trustworthy materials for the study of 
religious anthropology.” Of the last-mentioned work Mr. Sayce says, 
“The work is simply indispensable for all who wish to have some ac- 
quaintance with the subject.” 
In the Contemporary Review of April, Mr. Sayce discusses the jelly- 
fish theory of language. The principal feature in this theory is the 
belief that the sentence is the fundamental unit, and that words, espe- 
cially “abstract and general terms, are only short-hand notes, in whic 
we sum up the results of our analytical processes.” — O. T. Mason. 
GEOLOGY AND PALMONTOLOGY. 
Tae Trenton Livestone at Minneaporis. — The Trenton lime- 
stone in the vicinity of Minneapolis presents many features of interest 
both to the student of science and the simply commercial observer. The 
value which it possesses as the support of our magnificent water-power 
is sufficiently well known and appreciated. But to the student it is of 
interest on account of its accessibility and the varied forms of life which 
are preserved in it. Below are given a few notes upon some of the 
many fossils which have been broken from the massive escarpments that 
overlook the Mississippi below the fall. Two important divisions may 
be seen in the rock which are nearly equal in thickness. The upper 
being crystalline, the lower more firm, and better adapted for building 
purposes. Both are surmounted by a thin layer of shale of varying 
thickness. The total height of these in a vertical section is forty feet in 
round numbers, but it lies an equal distance above the river-bed, being 
Supported by the St. Peter sandstone. 
It is interesting to notice that the lower or building rock is not as de- 
void of fossils as has been somewhat generally supposed. There seems 
to be good reason to believe that life was at least as abundant at the 
period when these rocks were deposited as in the succeeding one. The 
reason the fossils in the lower rock have been overlooked is obvious on 
a careful study of the rocks. The upper is quite crystalline and the 
fossils preserved are almost entirely in the form of casts; these are loose 
eN easily broken from the rock ; they are also generally colored by iron, 
Which is seldom the case in the lower layers. 
Though it is true that they have been to a great extent destroyed, yet 
_ by a careful manipulation of the building rock many curious forms are 
