86 Eaton's Geology. 



importance in the question — who does not know that Mr. Eaton's 

 efforts have been a failure ; and that it is so considered, both at 

 home and abroad. That Mr. Eaton may have shown zeal in the 

 service of his employer, has not been denied ; and that he has 

 made us acquainted with the localities of many rocks, is true : 

 but this, as a branch of geology, is a merit of the lowest order, 

 and more than counterbalanced by the gross errors of his ar- 

 rangements, and the nonsensical rhapsodies of his nomenclature. 

 These have been repeatedly exposed in Europe, and the proofs 

 of this were given, in the article complained of. Let any one 

 compare his " Synopsis of North American Rocks and Detritus," 

 in Silliman's Journal, Vol. XIV. page 145, with the tabular view 

 of De la Beche, the approved result of the labours of the first 

 geologists of the age — let them see the confusion he has introduced 

 into the order of rocks, and the effrontery with which he has 

 placed rocks in his American Synopsis, which neither he, nor any 

 other individual ever saw on this continent, as in the case of his 

 lias :" the creation of three graywackes — his making basalt 

 superincumbent to his third graywacke, when he does not even 

 pretend he ever saw it there ; and that silly division of the su- 

 perficial soil, into six formations, with Greek terminations ; let 

 all this nonsense be seen and understood, and not one word more 

 will ever be said about Mr. Eaton's geology. 



But leaving this scientific method of treating the subject, the 

 attention of General Van Renselaer is asked to the following il- 

 lustration. Geology, as far as the order of succession of rocks is 

 concerned, resembles our alphabet, the letters of which follow 

 each other in a definite order. A — taking the column in the de- 

 scending order, — being always at the top, where the superficial 

 diluvium is usually found, and Z being alwa5^s at the bottom, 

 where granite and the primitive rocks are always found. The 

 intermediate letters are also immovable as to the order of suc- 

 cession, M always preceding N, and S never preceding R : so it 

 is with the intermediate rocks. Now the order and forms of our 

 letters, are derived from those of the Roman alphabet — those 

 from the Greek, and these last from the Phoenician and Hebrew ; 

 so that every letter in our alphabet is a simple or compound copy 

 of a Hebrew letter, as every rock on this continent has its equiva- 

 lent in Europe, both as to mineral structure, and place in the 

 series. An individual is now to be supposed, who has heard of 



