N . H . Winchell on the Taconic ''■ 
Objection No. 4. 
• It is partly ArcJiccan and •partly primordial and cannot be 
issigned to any definite horizon. Dr. T. Sterry Hunt has in- 
sisted on a "Taconian" foi'mation, lower than the primordial 
zone. He has steadfastly sustained the Taconic system, but has 
livided it between the "Taconian" and the primordial. This 
lownward extension of the Taconic into an Archaean terrane 
;eems, however, to have been negatived by the recent researches 
)f Mr. C. D. Walcott, who has stated that the lowest portion 
)f the Taconic of Emmons contains primordial fossils,' and be- 
onsrs to the "Georg-ia" formation. 
Objection No. j". 
The term better be abandoned because it has caused trouble 
mough already. It zvonld be an analogous reply to insist on 
ts adoption, because its rejection has caused trouble enough 
dready. But whether rejection or adoption be the result, the 
rouble that may be caused in reaching a settlement, should play 
10 part in the jDrocess. The arbitrary suppression of an unset- 
led problem in science, is not the best step to insure quiet, and 
)bviate "trouble." The scientific spirit scorns "trouble," and 
ittacks the most mountainous obstacles. The "trouble" must 
)e suppressed by a correct solution and a just settlement. 
Objection No. 6. 
It is an inheritance of the dim and distant past, and cannot 
■>e understood ivith any Jinaniniity by the present generation. It 
s pre-Linnccan and mythical. It is to be admitted that the term 
s a trifle older than the terms Cambrian and Hudson River, as 
I semi-geological designation,- but it was oflicially j^ublished 
irst in 1S42, and many American geologists now living were 
^resent at its birth. The literature is all extant. Every fact 
:an be avouched or disproved. It is mythical, moreover, onlv 
:o those who are opposed to Its recognition. 
Objection No. 7. 
The Taconic is primordial.^ and later in use than the Cam- 
1 Am. Journal of Science. (3), xxxiii, 153. 
2 Notes on classification and nomenclature. N. II. Winchell, Am. N at- 
iralist, August, 1SS7. 
