Personal and Scientific News. 
61 
Erie division’ (of the New York system) for the series of deposits called 
Upper Silurian by Conrad, but added to them the Chemung group.” 
First —“Vanuxem proposed the name Erie division.” In his final report 
i(1842, for the 8d district, pp. 12 and 13,) Vanuxem says: “The views of Dr. 
Emmons were cordially embraced and adopted.”.... “adopting the terms 
Champlain, Ontario and Erie.” Dr. Emmons in the final report (1842, for 
the 2nd district, p. 100,) says: “Following out the plan of the nomencla¬ 
ture for the rocks of New York (using national names,) I have considered 
that, for purposes of study, they might be arranged in four groups as fol¬ 
lows: Champlain group, at the base of the Transition system; Ontario 
division... .the Helderberg series; and lastly the Erie group.” The names 
of group , division and series, being all used indifferently and in the same 
paragraph. There is no possible doubt that Dr. Emmons is the author of 
the national names of “Taconic system,” “New York system,” “Champlain, 
Ontario, Helderberg and Erie divisions.” 
Second —Conrad added the Chemung and Portage groups to the Catskill 
group, and referred the whole to the Old Red sandstone or Devonian 
system, in his fifth annual report, pp. 41 and 42, 1841. 
Those two quotations and dates are at variance with professor Williams’ 
expressed opinions. 
Farther on professor Williams says: “In 1846, (Paleontology of New 
York, Vol. i, p. xvii,) professor Hall first announced the opinion that 
‘from a paleontological point of view the deposits down to the Oriskany 
should be included in the Devonian.’ Thus the term Devonian became 
established in ihe nomenclature of American geology.” First, the Paleon¬ 
tology of New York, Vol. i, did not appear in 1846, but in 1847. Second , 
at p. xvii, there is no such paragraph as the one quoted by professor 
Williams; and no such paragraph exists anywhere in the volume. Third, 
the term Devonian comprising the deposits down to the Oriskany was 
established by de Verneuil in 1846, during a visit to Schoharie, and the 
collection of John Gebhard in that village, (“Note sur le parallelisme 
des roches des depots paleozoiques de l’Amerique septentrionale, etc.” 
Seance du 19 avril 1847, p. 677, in Bulletin , Soc. geol. France, tome iv, 2d 
series). 
There is no question that de Verneuil, established with its proper mean¬ 
ing the term Devonian in the nomenclature of American geology. 
Professor Williams refers to the name Erian as proposed in 1871, by 
Mr. J. W. Dawson, “as equivalent to Devonian.” It is simply the term 
Erie division of Dr. Emmons, with the termination an for homophony. 
Jules Marcou. 
Cambridge , Mass., 8 Nov., 1888. 
PERSONAL AND SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 
Mr. B. Shimek, a contributor to the Geologist, on the 
subject of the fauna of the Loess, and formerly an instructor 
