Stratification of the Limestone District of Derbyshire. 129 



among other things of having carried off the Derbyshire lime- 

 stones. He appears, according to the same philosopher, to 

 have terminated his existence by precipating himself to the 

 earth, thus, after having long disturbed the peace of his pri- 

 mary, violating in his last act the universal laws of motion*. 



Now it is very true that theoretical absurdities are not ne- 

 cessarily associated with imperfect statements of facts, or in 

 all cases with incorrect generalizations of them ; and moreover 

 I do not think that geological blunders of five-and-twenty years 

 ago demand any great severity of criticism; but absurdities 

 such as those to which I have just alluded are quite intoler- 

 able, even though their date were very long prior to the com- 

 mencement of the present century, and assuredly inspire us 

 with little reverence for the philosophical opinions of the per- 

 son who fell into them, or for any particular views with which 

 he associated them. 



From the representation I have given of Farey's opinions 

 of the stratification of this limestone part of Derbyshire, it 

 might almost appear that thiey are scarcely worth the trouble 

 I have taken to refute them. It must, however, be recollected 

 that such refutation can only rest on a much more detailed 

 examination of the district than geologists in general can have 

 an opportunity of giving it, and that, in fact, these opinions 

 have, to a certain degree, stood the test of such cursory in- 

 vestigations as some of our most eminent geologists have made 

 of it; that Farey has been frequently appealed toon this sub- 

 ject during the last twenty years; and moreover that Mr. 

 Conybeare, in the " Geology of England and Wales," (a work 

 distinguished for its general accuracy in the geological details 

 of this country,) whatever doubts he may have entertained as 

 to Farey's accuracy on particular points, has nevertheless con- 

 sidered him sufficient authority for a detailed account of the 

 district in question. For these reasons I shall not, perhaps, 

 appear to have given an undue importance to the refutation 

 of the opinions against which I have been contending. 



I shall conclude with a short abstract of the views I have 

 myself formed on the stratification of this limestone district, 

 premising, however, that my examination of some of its details 

 is not yet complete. 



1 . The toadstone is interstratified with the limestone. It 

 cannot, I conceive, have been forcibly protruded among the 

 limestone beds, but must have been diffused over the surface 

 of the country at the time of its emission (assuming it to be of 

 igneous origin). 



* See Phil. Mag. for 1807, vol. xxviii.; and for 1808, vol. xxxi. 

 Third Series. Vol. 5. No. 26. Aug. 1834.. S 



