78 Werner on Fossil Organic Hemnins. 



2. Professor Jameson's notice of Werner'' s Views of the Natu- 

 ral History of Petrifactions. 



From the observation in Section 22, Cuvier does not appear 

 to have known how much Werner has done for the advancement 

 of the natural history of fossil organic remains. He did not 

 rest satisfied with the development of the mere mineralogical 

 branch of the Theory of the Earth. On the contrary, early in 

 life he began to'investigate the relations of fossil organic remains, 

 being well convinced, that, without an accurate and compre- 

 hensive knowledge of these interesting bodies, geological specu- 

 lations would have excited comparatively little notice. 



Many years ago he embodied all that was known of petrifac- 

 tions into a regular system. He insisted on the necessity of 

 every geognostical cabinet containing, besides complete series 

 of rocks, for illustrating the mineralogical relations of the globe, 

 an extensive collection not only of Shells, but also of the va- 

 rious productions of the class Zoophyta, and of Plants ; and an 

 examination of the remains of Quadrupeds, in the great lime- 

 stone caves and alluvial soils of Germany, and of Fishes and 

 Amphibia in various rocks, soon pointed out to him the neces- 

 sity of attaching to the geognostical cabinet also one of com- 

 parative osteology. As his views in geognosy enlarged, he 

 saw more and more the value of a close and deep study of petri- 

 factions. He first made the highly important observation, that 

 different formations can be discriminated by the petrifactions 

 they contain. 



It was during the course of his geognostical investigations, 

 that he ascertained the general distribution of organic remains 

 in the crust of the earth. He found that petrifactions appear 

 first in transition rocks. These are but few in number, and of 

 animals of the zoophytic or testaceous classes. In the older se- 

 condary rocks they are of more perfect species, as of fish and 

 amphibious animals ; in the newest secondary and alluvial rocks, 

 of birds and quadrupeds, or animals of the most perfect kinds. 

 He always maintained that no fossil remains of the human 

 species had been found in secondary rocks, or in any of the 

 older alluvial formations ; but was of opinion, that such re- 

 mains might be discovered in the newer alluvial depositions. 

 He was also led to believe, from his numerous observations, that 



