19 



REPORT ON COURSES IN GENERAL GEOLOGY 

 AND PALEONTOLOGY. 



By Professor N. S. Shaler. 



The course in Elementary Geology (Geol. 4) maintained during 

 the year the special meetings in small sections instituted in the 

 previous year and commented upon in the last Report. The aid 

 of an additional Assistant in the course rendered the work of 

 instruction more effective than it has heretofore been. 



In the advanced course in Geology (Geol. 8) the plan of assist- 

 ance employed in the previous year was also pursued. The field 

 work was slightly increased by the addition of exercises in geologi- 

 cal surveying, undertaken by each student on an assigned area of 

 one square mile. In order to make the most of the limited time 

 which our students can command for field work, their attention 

 was directed to a discrimination and survey of the pleistocene 

 deposits of the country adjacent to the College. The result of 

 this work has been the preparation of twenty-eight maps covering 

 as many square miles. The correctness of the maps and the pro- 

 gress of each student has been gauged by means of a manuscript 

 map already prepared s and by visits to particular localities. 



In the work of palaeontological instruction, Dr. Jackson contin- 

 ued to bring the collections into a more extended use by the 

 students, and a large amount of time was spent in improving the 

 condition of the teaching collections. The laboratory work is now 

 considerably hindered by the want of room. 



A machine for cutting and grinding fossils was added to the 

 equipment of the Department. It is placed in the Petrographical 

 workshop, and is run by electric power with which that department 

 is supplied. 



Mr. A. Agassiz very kindly gave the department a fine specimen 

 of the recent Pentacrinus deeorus, in alcohol, which will be an 

 invaluable accompaniment to fossil types. Considerable palaeonto- 



