6^ Bibliographical Notices. 



notice has been to supply references to the best figures that have 

 been pubhshed of the fossils of the British Isles, including, if pos- 

 sible, the earliest illustrations ; so that all the " types *' may readily 

 be found. Occasionally more latitude has been allowed, and the re- 

 ferences to the figures and descriptions indicate everything that has 

 been published on the respective species. In all cases, monographs 

 that embrace the bibliographical history of the several forms are 

 carefully adverted to. 



Hence this work is eminently useful to the geologist and palaeonto- 

 logist ; for it assists them in the strict determination of the species 

 peculiar to each formation ; and they are hereby enabled without loss 

 of time to prove the full value of their observations and collections, 

 to draw up lists of the fossils of their respective neighbourhoods, 

 compare the fossil products of various localities, and advance the 

 knowledge of both practical and theoretical geology in the British 

 Isles. 



And not only in our own country, but in Europe, America, India, 

 Australia, — wherever geology is studied, this work will be found of 

 essential service. For although all the references to foreign works 

 are not given (English publications having generally the preference), 

 and though the foreign localities of species not peculiar to the Bri- 

 tish Isles are not always mentioned, — yet, in common with geologists 

 at home, our foreign brethren in the science will find Mr. Morris's 

 unpretending work a rich mine of paleeontological knowledge, ever 

 ready to yield information to the student in his researches in biblio- 

 graphy, or in his examination into natural-history affinities. 



That foreign naturalists fully appreciated the value of the ' Cata- 

 logue ' in its first edition, the "European reputation " which the 

 author earned by its production is sufficient evidence ; and the gene- 

 ral ' Index' by Bronn and his colleagues, and some of the valuable 

 Catalogues by D'Orbigny, Giebel, Geinitz, and others, whether 

 general or local in their characters, have avowedly had " Morris's 

 Catalogue " for their example. 



The general catalogues above referred to are highly valuable, and 

 are indeed often indispensable to the student, — for they aiford sy- 

 nopses of all the known fossil forms of animal and vegetable life, and 

 of their distribution in the geologic series (as far as the accounts of 

 the very numerous observers can be reduced to an orderly arrange- 

 ment) ; and moreover the German authors have laboured to supply 

 every bibliographic reference, of whatever value, for each species ; yet 

 the great desideratum of strict specific determination, combined with 

 an exact indication of stratigraphical and geographical locality, is 

 only supplied in such a work as that before us. 



Prof. J. Phillips has well observed that " the most important re- 

 sults to geology, arising from the contemplation of organic remains, 

 are founded on a minute scrutiny of their specific characters, and a 

 careful register of their localities in the strata. It is not enough for 

 the rigid accuracy of modern inquiry, to say that a given rock con- 

 tains corals, shells, and bones of fishes ; but we must know the par- 

 ticular species, and determine all the circumstances of their occur- 



