64 The A))i('rica)i Geoiotjlst. January, 185)5 
be traiist'ormi'd iiiln 'l'ri;is. cxcii wiicrc il is iiult'oiilnlojiically well .sup- 
ported by tilt' iircscncr of 'rcDuilobatiis btMlsaiul Tilhon. To designate tlic 
noii-l'ossilil'ei'oiis pari as Trias is indefensible from petroij'raphic and 
tektonie eonsideral ions. 
Mr. (J."s section is wrouy. 'I'he .Maim imrieiis sinlvinj;' into tlie valley 
near Lauterbrunnen is lo be united with the ().\for<lian between Mann- 
lichen and Tscliiig^'en above: and furtlier away, willi the Malm of tlie 
slopes of Liitsclienthal. 
The relations are here relatively simple and by their help llie other- 
wise iinintellisi'ible "NVetterhorn section, p. 208, is easier to compreliend 
with the (|uite abnormally placed Eocene. This section is besides 
wron<;ly ])rint(>d. since on the rijilit hand of the Wetterhorn summit 
fossiliferous I'pix'r i)o,i;<.;-er sliould ha\c been placed instead of marble. 
It is true this occurrence is not consistent with Mr. (jolliez's Trias hy- 
jjotliesis. 
The cut of the "(ilissement" on tile iiiieiss. of wbicii further explana- 
tions are wanting', is original. 
In a word, Mr. (iolliez's sections are \ery well adapted to create con- 
fusion in the minds of those who are not ac(iuainted with tlie fads: 
they do not belong in a "Livret-giiide, whose ])ur])Ose is not to dissemi- 
nate undigi'sti'd hypotheses, and I consider myself under the circum- 
stances justified in opposing these geological improvements of the Ober- 
land. 
(Signed) A. Baltzek. 
Professor in Hern. 
lNE(ir.vr>rTiKs ix tiik old Paleozoic sea tsottom. ^'ou will l)e inter- 
ested to learn that gray granite, similar to that found at LeMars, was 
struck at Siou.v City at tlie de[)th of 1,51") ft., or 35.i feet below the sea- 
level. It was penetrated about 500 feet and showed characters simil.-ir 
to those fo\ind in the LeMars well. \{ the latter jtoint granite was 
struck at 1.000 ft., atxiut I.IO feet above the .sea. a difference of .lOO feet 
in a distance of 2.3 miles. Crystalline schist was brought up by a dia- 
mond drill from otKI feet at Pawnee City, Pawnee Co., Neb., as 1 l)elic\c 
Prof. L. E. Hicks has ])ublished. That. I estimate, to be not less than 
G20 feet above the sea. Yet at Brownsville, .'5.5 miles northeast. ;i drill 
was sent down 1,000 feet, probably 100 feet below the sea, without i)ass- 
ing through the Carboniferous. At Omaha a boring to the depth of 
1,782 feet, 785 below the sea. failed lo clearly reach the Silurian, 'i'his 
gives us a glimpse of the irregularity of the old l*aleozoic sea bollom, 
and shows thai I heCarboniferous is considerably thickiM'than estimated 
by Dr. White in his report on Iowa. ,1. E. Todd. 
Tabo)-, Jotrd, Mail I .'. ISUd. 
PERSONAL AN D SCIE NTIFIC NEWS. 
The Geologu'al Dei'autment at Johns Hopkins University. 
Since the death of Prof. George H. Williams the courses of 
