38 Dr. Fitton's Notes on the History of English Geology. 



ciety *, that the following pages will be little more than a state- 

 ment of dates and circumstances connected with that diffusion 

 of Ins views, which is known to have had great effect in the 

 advancement of the subject in this country, before the appear- 

 ance of his geological map in 1815: and such a statement the 

 writer of these pages is enabled to give upon the best authority, 

 through the kindness of Mr. Phillips of the York Institution, 

 who has entrusted to him several original maps and other 

 papers, of very early date, prepared chiefly by Mr. Smith 

 himself at various times. The collection however, unfortu- 

 nately, is but a part of what it was originally; several of the 

 documents having been lost on Mr. Smith's removal from his 

 residence in London in 1819. 



The best mode of introducing the information contained in 

 these papers, will be to prefix a brief notice of Mr. Smith's 

 progress, drawn up in very unpretending language by himself, 

 about the year 1804. 



" In 1787, at the age of eighteen, I became an assistant of 

 ' Mr. Edward Webb, land-surveyor, and was employed in the 

 ' survey of estates and the inclosure of extensive commons and 

 ( open fields in the counties of Oxford, Warwick, Worcester, 

 ' Gloucester, Wilts, Hants, and Somerset; which embraced 

 ' all the strata, from the red-marl at Inkborough, and Rugby, 

 ' near Alcester, to the sand and gravel over chalk at Dibden, 

 ' between the New Forest and Southampton. 



" In 1789 I first saw the red-marl at Inkborough, and 

 ' made many inquiries respecting it and the lias, and its clays 

 ' contiguous. The latter were further noticed on setting out 

 ' the allotments of inclosure at Great Kinton, Warwickshire, 

 ' and also the red- marl on the road to Warwick. On the lat- 

 ' ter site of lias, there had recently been an experiment for coal. 



" In 1790 I particularly noticed a boring for coal on the 

 1 very different soils of the New Forest. All the varieties of 



* soil in so many surveys were particularly entered; and, from 

 ' still more juvenile habits, some of the organized fossils, as the 

 ■ anomia, and quoitstone, or flat echinus of the under oolite: 

 ' and employed in the fields, I observed no stone in those parts 



* would set an adge to a knife. The chalk, with which I wrote 

 ' and drew rude figures, and the black flints used in striking 

 ' fire with steel, I then also learnt came by the drivers of stage- 

 ' waggons from Stokenchurch Hills; which chalk hills I pass* 

 i ed in my way to and from London, when between twelve and 

 ' fourteen years of age. The surface of the country from 



* London to Bath, and from Warwick to Southampton, being 

 ' familiar to me before I settled in Somersetshire, I was struck 



* See Phil. M.ng and Annals, N.S. vol. ix. r/272. 



