OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. 247 



prised to leurn that Sedgwick had only found Siluriaa fossils in his 

 Cambrian. Consequently, lie says, " the Cambrian is not inferior in 

 its position than the lowest stratified rocks of my Silurian of the region 

 of Shropshire and the adjacent part of Montgomeryshire, as we had 

 supposed, but is merely extension of the same strata." * 



In order to fix the date, Murchison hastened to publish his " Si- 

 lurian System," in 1839, taking great care to have all the fossils he 

 had procured described by such specialists as Agassiz, Sowerby, au<l 

 especially Lonsdale. He had also the skill to submit some portions 

 of his manuscript, principally the Introduction, to his friend Sedgwick, 

 to whom he dedicated it, and he included in his volume, as his own, 

 a quantity of observations of very great value by other geologists, 

 wlio liad with great liberality communicated them to him. We will 

 mention the Rev. T. T. Lewis, vicar of Aymestry, who had cleared up 

 and classed all the strata of his neighborhood before Murchison went 

 there, and whose talents as an observer, according to Prof. Phillips, a 

 good judge, were at least equal to those of Murchison. f 



Sedgwick, with his integrity and fairness of character, and simplicity 

 of manners, thinking only of the progress of stratigraphy and geology, 

 of which he was certainly the most learned representative and the 

 most capable since the death of " Strata Smith," failed to see at first 

 the great benefit of this publication, which in some sort cut the grass 

 from under his feet, and stole a march upon him. He continued his 

 studies, collecting his materials patiently, with the greatest care, above 

 all observing with gi-eat knowledge and ability all the superpositions, 

 dislocations, and associations of strata, and slowly made ready the 

 publication of his fossils in 1855, under the title, "A Synopsis of the 

 Classification of the British Paheozoic Rocks, by Adam Sedgwick, 

 with a Systematic Description of the British Palaeozoic Fossils in the 

 Geological Museum of the University of Cambridge, by Frederick 

 McCoy " (Royal 4to, Cambridge.) 



It is true, that meanwhile a very active controversy, especially on 

 the part of Murchison, arose between the associates. They became 

 irreconcilable enemies ; and a complete rupture, much to be regretted 

 in the interests of science, took place between them. 



It is now admitted that Sedgwick was right to insist upon the inde- 

 pendence of the second fauna, and its separation from the third fauna, 

 which alone has the ricjht to be called " Silurian." That from the 



* Siluria, 1st c<l., 8vo, p. 8 (London, 1854). 

 t Life of Murcliison, vol. i. p 2t2. 



