65 
with many horny warts before and be- 
hind. Lower shell hard and horny in the 
middle. Head with lateral comparti- 
ments above and lateral contractible 
warts. Nose proboscidal. Mouth with 
horny jaws. Five palmated toes to all 
the feet with crooked claws, 
Mesoxleca bartrami, Raf. Upper shell 
elliptical entire brown unspotted. Head 
long, neck rugose, warty. 
Synonyms. Great Soft shell Tortoise 
Bartram ’s travels in Florida (Philadel- 
phia 1791) page 177 to 179 fig. 4 and 5. 
Testudo ferox of many authors but se- 
veral species have been blended by 
them, found in Carolina, Alabama, and 
Louisiana, while Bartram says he found 
this only in East Florida. The T. ferox 
had been described and figured by many 
authors; but their figures and descrip- 
tions must be compared and revised. 
When not copied from Bartram they ap- 
ply to other species or the true T . ferox 
of L. first figured in Philol. Trans, vol. 6. 
fig. 10. See also Lacepede, vol. 1. tab. 5. 
and Schoepf. turtles, tab. 19. 
This turtle of Bartram cannot more be 
the T .ferox which is a true Trionyx , than 
the Apdlone ! For the complete descrip- 
tion and history of this species see Bar- 
tram’s page and fig. quoted. It is one of 
the most explicit descriptions of his book, 
and the 2 figures of the body and head 
are no doubt correct. It is a large sp. 
2§ feet long and weighing from 30 to 40 
lb. excellent to eat. Although carnivo- 
rous it is no more ferocious than all the 
other turtles and terrapins feeding on 
prey. 
JYezv-York , October , 1816. 
13. Geology and Oryctology. 
Extracts of a Series of Geological Letters 
to Prof Al. Brongniart, President of 
the Geological Society of Paris; by Prof. 
C. S. Rafinesq,ue[ 
First Letter, March 1832. 
There are now 4 schools or Sys- 
tems of Geology in the U. States. 
1. The old school to which Maclure, 
Mitchell, James, Troost, Nuttal, 
Schoolcraft, &c. belong. This is 
properly an American branch of the 
Wernerian school. They neglect 
fossil remains, and merely depend 
upon the position of rocks. 
2. The Northern school of which 
Prof. Eaton and Silliman are the 
founders: it has many followers in 
the Northern States. It is based 
upon the series of formations from 
Boston to Lake Erie. It neglects 
fossils also, and lacks the solid foun- 
dation of Oryctology. It surmises 
that all the rocks of the U. States 
must agree with those of the' North, 
without being able to prove it, since 
Eaton wlio has laid out the series of 
rocks, has never seen those of the 
South and West. He leans to the 
Plutonic theory. 
3d. The English school belieyes 
that the whole world is to be found 
in England, and that our strata and 
formations mustagree of course with 
those of England. Prof. Feather- 
stbnaugh, who has. given lectures on 
this System of Geology, and now 
publishes a Journal of Geology is 
very sanguine and active on that 
opinion. He has jnany followers, 
who all incline to the lluttonian 
theory. They know that Oryctolo- 
gy is as needful to Geology , as Chro- 
nology is to History; but have hardly 
began yet to examine our fossils in 
sites. . 
4th. The fourth school is my own, 
I call it the Natural and Ory cto lo- 
gical Method of American Geology. 
I began to teach it in my public lec- 
tures in Lexington in 1 819 and 1820. 
Mr. Clifford and others had adopted 
it. I have not published much upon 
it yet; I was apprehensive of hurting 
the ideas of the systematic writers. 
But after 30 years of observations 
and reflections I think that I can 
boldly venture to compete with them 
for what I have seen and studied, 
while they have not. My theory is 
not a system; but the result of what 
I have seen in the South of Europe, 
Sicily, the Azores and this Conti- 
nent: nor do I mean to apply it to 
the whole world, as I deem that 
every region has peculiar local fea- 
tures. I take besides whatever is 
good in every previous theory. 
I propose to divide the formations 
as follow, in 3 series and 10 groups; 
each with many formations. 
1. Series.—Tnorganic formations. 
1 gr. Uniform formations. 
2 gr. Compound formations. 
3 gr. Volcanic formations, including 
the Basaltib and Trapic. 
