6 The American Geologist. juiy, looi. 
the slates were mostly the Uitca slate lying- in many cases con- 
formahly above the Trenton limestone. 
So the views of Mr. Wing- may be fairly expressed in a 
few words. The limestone region of the Otter valley lies with- 
in a great syncline. On the east it is bordered essentially by 
ridges of quartzyte, which extend along the western foot of the 
Green mountains ; on the west by the red sand rock whose ele- 
vation and fracture forms the great fault north and south, seven 
to nine miles from the Champlain shore. The axis of this syn- 
cline descends southward, while on the north it rises until the 
worn rims of the siliceous rocks, the quartzyte and red sand 
rock very nearly approach and unite. Within this trough lie 
the limestones and slates. These are of the age of those that 
lie west of the great fault, the fossils of which long ago placed 
them with the Lower Silurian. These strata originally de- 
posited in regular order, by some grand mountain-making 
movement have been folded, comnressed, snapped and displaced ; 
the fossils by the same movement largely obliterated. The 
great syncline was left with subordinate north and south anti- 
clinals and synclinals : the whole complex was exposed to the 
subsequent abrasions of geologic time. 
It was the planing down and the enormous wastage from 
without, together with the great modifications of structure and 
position of strata within, that disguised their true character and 
relationship, made the order and age of the rocks such a hard 
problem. Time, diligence, ability were needed. And we have 
seen how ^Mr. Wing solved it. It was to him a ten-years' 
problem. 
Mr. Wing had been slow to make known his researches, 
wishing apparently to put his theory beyond any possible over- 
throw by adverse criticism. Typical localities w-ere re-exam- 
ined that every weak point might be strengthened. He at 
length was clear in his own conclusions. He now wished the 
geological world to share with him in the results of his labors. 
It was a rare day to Mr. Wing when he secured the prom- 
ise from professor J. D. Dana to look into the facts, the basis 
of his theory. By arrangement a narty consisting of professors 
Dana, Genth, Prime and Blake came together on July 9, 18/^5, 
at Great Barrington, ]\Iass. A friend acquainted with the facts 
writes: "It was the climax in his life when Mr. Wing met 
