Dr. Fitton's Notes on the History qfJEtigJish Geology. 149 



find them in the same company with which they are associated 

 in that neighbourhood : and, after full investigation, he became 

 at last convinced, that the series of beds was uniform through- 

 out the whole of the south-eastern portion of the island; and 

 that the edge of every stratum, vvitli very few exceptions, might 

 be traced uninterruptedly, from one shore to the other, in a 

 direction from S.W. to N.E. These important observations, 

 which were made, we have no doubt, without any acquaintance 

 with previous publications on the subject, led very naturally 

 to the project of a map, in which they might be embodied 

 and combined, and gave birth to the valuable works at present 

 under our consideration. 



It has been unfortunate for the celebrity of Mr. Smith, that 

 he did not communicate to the public, in a more early stage 

 of his inquiries, some general account of the principles which 

 he had developed, with an outline at least of the detail. If, for 

 example, he had given to the Royal Society a list and brief 

 description of the English strata, his claims would have been 

 recorded in the most dignified and authentic form, and his 

 further progress would, no doubt, have been assisted by all 

 those who felt an interest in the subject. His wish, however, 

 seems to have been to abstain from publication till his project 

 was completed ; and the accomplishment of this purpose was 

 from time to time delayed, in part, by his necessary attention 

 to the pursuits of his profession; by the great expense attend- 

 ing an undertaking of such magnitude; and by his anxiety to 

 give his work that perfection which every discoverer is natu- 

 rally ambitious of conferring on his publications. In the mean 

 time, as his inquiries advanced, he did not hesitate to make 

 known the facts and inferences which occurred to him, and 

 to exhibit freely his maps, sections and specimens*, with the 

 warmth and liberality, and we may add, with the want of pru- 

 dence, which are frequently characteristic of men of talents. 

 Not only the elements, but a great part of the detail, of the 

 present performances, were thus, in fact, giade public; and 

 the knowledge so diffused has had a most important, though 

 unobserved, effect upon the labours of all succeeding inquirers ; 

 who were, perhaps unconsciously, but not less really, indebted 

 to the author for very essential assistance in their progress, 

 long before the productions now before us had actually issued 

 from the press. 



In an early stage of his int|uiry, Mr. Smith communicated 

 his observations to the llcv. Joseph Townsend, the author of 



[• Some of tlie dociinients here referred to, of very early date, have re- 

 tciitly been presented to the Geological Society :— 183;^.] — iSce Phil. Mag. 

 and Annals, N. H., vol. ix. p. 281. — Edit. 



