[ 26'8 ] 



L. Notes 071 the History of English Geology. By William 

 Henry Fitton, M.D. F.R.S. S^c. 



[Continued from p. 160.] 



T>UT the most important observations, perhaps, that have 

 -*-' ever yet appeared on the subject of stratification, are those 

 of the Rev. John Michell, in a paper ' On the Cause and 

 Phenomena of Earthquakes,' published in the Philosophical 

 Transactions for 1760*; where the author not only describes 

 the general appearance and structure of stratified countries, 

 but explains most clearly the arrangement of the strata in En- 

 gland : — and this, not as confined to Britain, but as exemplify- 

 ing a general principle, which he supposes to hold universally 

 in other parts of the globe. 



' The earth,' he says, ' (as far as we can judge from the 

 ' appearances,) is not composed of heaps of matter casually 

 ' thrown together, but of regular and uniform strata. These 

 ' strata, though they frequently do not exceed a few feet, or 



* perhaps a few inches in thickness, yet often extend in length 

 ' and breadth for many miles, and this without varying their 

 ' thickness considerably. The same stratum also preserves a 

 ' uniform character throughout, though the strata immediately 



* next to each other are often totally different.' 



The perpendicular fissures of the strata are then noticed, 

 their bendings, and their position, which is stated to be, in a ge- 

 neral view, horizontal. — ' What is very remarkable, however, 



* in their situation is, that from most, if not all, large tracts of 



* high and mountainous countries, the strata lie in a situation 



* more inclined to the horizon than the country itself, the 

 ' mountainous countries being generally, if not always, formed 



* out of the lower strata of earth. This situation of the strata 



* may be not unaptly represented in the following manner : 

 ' Let a number of leaves of paper, of several different sorts 



* of colours, be pasted upon one another ; then bending them 

 ' up together into a ridge in the middle, conceive them to be 

 ' reduced again to a level surface by a plane, so passing 



* through them as to cut off all the part that had been raised ; 

 ' let the middle now be again raised a little, and this will be 

 ' a good general representation of most, if not of all, large 



* Vol. li. Part ii. Sections 37 to 4!), p. 5G6, &c.— Mr. Farey states that 

 Mr. Michell was appointed VVoodwardian Professor at Cambridge, about 

 l?^^; an ofRce which he held, we believe, for about eight years. He was 

 then, unfortunately for Geology, transferred to the Rectory of Thornhill, 

 near Wakefield, in Yorkshire"; and died on the 21st of April 1793. Mr. 

 Michell was the author also of some excellent Astronomical papers in the 

 Philosopliical Transactions. 



