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37 
stumbling block in the path of the geological student, and, even at 
the present time, there are many who still be'ieve in the universality 
of the deluge. The natural consequence of the great difficulty of 
reconciling the Mosaic account with what was clearly visible in 
opposition, led to the proposal of various theories, some of which 
were more singular than philosophical, for we find one suggesting 
“that the globe is a hollow shell with a large loadstone inside, 
which being pulled alternately from one pole to the other, caused 
one or other half of the globe to be covered with water.”” Another, 
after examining a collection contained in the Museum at Verona, 
declared his belief that ‘‘the shells, &c., were nothing more than 
mere earthy secretions and sports of nature to puzzle us poor 
mortals.” Buffon was obliged to publish a recantation of his 
theory, because it was supposed by the priesthood to militate 
against the Scriptures. But in the latter half of the last century, 
men sprang up who determined to collect facts, and we have Werner, 
while Professor of the School of Mines at Freyborg, after carefully 
studying the district in his immediate neighbourhood, bringing forth 
a theory which gained many staunch supporters. It was called the 
Neptunian, because he stated his belief that all or almost all the 
strata were formed from water containing material chemically dis- 
solved or mechanically suspended therein, and that igneous action 
had only come into existence in very recent times. Hutton, a 
Scotchman, while travelling in pursuit of his favourite study, viz., 
mineralogy, collected many facts connected with geology, and 
published a work, ‘‘The Theory of the Earth,” in which he says:— 
‘¢ The ruins of an older world are visible in the present structure of 
our globe, and the strata which now form our dry land have been 
once beneath the sea, and were formed from the materials washed 
down from other dry land, and these several strata have been more 
or less, and at various times, altered by internal heat and volcanic 
action.” He satisfied himself that trap basalt, porphyry, and many 
other rocks, were of igneous origin, and had, while in a melted 
state, been forced up through cracks in the strata, and in many 
cases had flowed over their surface, even while covered by the sea. 
He raised a storm by observing, ‘‘In the economy of the world I 
can find no traces of a beginning, no prospect of an end.” Hutton’s 
theory was called the Vulcanian, and as between fire and water, so 
between the Vulcanists and Neptunists, fierce controversy raged. 
But there is another name I must not omit, viz., William Smith, 
who while carrying on his profession as surveyor, was quietly 
collecting facts and studying the various strata in England; and in 
1790 published ‘‘A Tabular View of the British Strata,” and 
afterwards produced a geological map of England, which remains a 
lasting monument of talent, extraordinary patience, and _per- 
severance. In the early part of the present century the Geological 
Society of London was founded for the collection and recording of 
