144 The American Geologist. September, 1893 
identical," etc. lit- is evidently in doubt about some of the 
characteristics described by Dr. Litton, but whether these 
doubts refer to "easy approach," the bight of the deposits, or 
to the fact of its being "packed in barrels." he does not 
say. 
The above quotations are fair samples of the full "litholog- 
ical and chemical characteristics" of these rocks as defined by 
the authors quoted. What would be thought to-day of a man 
who should attempt to found an important geological division 
upon such data? 
Prof. Broadhead is wrong when he states that the writer has 
not visited the counties of Franklin, Jefferson, and St. Gene- 
vieve. No detailed work was done in these counties, but they 
were visited. 
II. Prof. Broadhead's criticism in regard to fossils can be 
fairly explained. It is true that in the plates of sections in 
the "Report on Iron Ores" the writer omits "fossils" in all the 
sections after section 26, while in a paper in the American 
(Geologist he reports fossils all along the Gasconade river. 
These statements are not so contradictory as they appear. 
On page 110, "Iron Ores of Missouri," this statement will be 
found: "Comparatively few of the fossil localities have, how- 
ever, been located ; only the better ones are shown on the 
maps, for they may be found in nearly every bluff." 
In making the sections along the Big Piney. Gasconade and 
Current rivers, fossils were found in the following manner. 
The talus at the foot of the bluff was first searched. If fossils 
were found, the mother stratum was sought for and in every 
case the search was successful. In many cases, however, from 
lack of time, or from the fact that the junction point of the 
Bandstone and limestone was obscured, the fossils found in 
the talus were not traced to the parent ledge. The sixteen 
localities given in the plates of sections are so easily observed 
that one can find them with little trouble. In many more 
sections the ledge is not marked on account of obscure out- 
crop. There are hardly a half dozen sections in which fossils 
were not found in the talus. Putting these two facts together. 
first, that no attempt to locate in the parent stratum the fossils 
found in the talus was a failure, and. second, that fossils were 
found in nearly every section observed, is it too great a gen- 
