188 Analyses of Books. (Fes. 
have been better if the title of the paper had been “ On the 
Red Sandstone of the Middle District of Scotland.” 
That portion of Scotland to which Prof. Jameson gives the 
name of the middle district is bounded on the north by the 
Caledonian canal, and on the south by the Frith of Forth. A 
ereat variety of formations exist in it both primitive, transition, 
and floetz. But the red sandstone covers perhaps a greater 
portion of it than any other formation ; and it has been very 
earefully and skilfully examined by our author, who is, without 
exception, the most industrious and. indefatigable geologist in 
Scotland ; devoting the three autumnal months of every year to 
the examination of some tract of country or other. 
The red sandstone in the middle district of Scotland stretches 
from Stonehaven, in Kincardineshire, to the west side of the 
island of Arran, and in some places extends in breadth to many 
miles. The Ochils and the Seadley Hills are both situated in 
the red sandstone, and constitute each a pretty long range of 
hills. These hills are composed of rocks very different in their 
nature from red sandstone ; but as they lie m that formation, 
Prof. Jameson considers them as constituting so many subordi- 
nate formations to the red sandstone. Nor is this the only 
alteration in the Wernerian geognosy which has been the conse- 
quence of the examination of the structure of Great Britain. 
Werner distinguished the sandstone formation by the name 
of old red sandstone, and considered it as the oldest of the floetz 
formations, and as lying immediately over the primitive, or 
transition rocks. Red sandstone in Great Britain may be traced 
from Kincardineshire, in Scotland, as far south as Devonshire. 
One portion of this sandstone, the portion which exists in Scot- 
land and in the north of England, is obviously below the coal 
beds, and immediately in contact with primitive or transition 
formations. It is, therefore, the o/d red sandstone of Werner. 
But in the south of England, as in Warwickshire, Worcester- 
shire; &c. it lies as obviously above the coal beds. On this 
account two distinct red sandstone formations have been distin- 
guished by British geologists under the names of old red 
sandstone and new red sandstone. Mr. Jameson seems inclined. 
to suspect that these two sandstones constitute in fact but one 
great formation, and that the coal beds are in reality only beds 
occurring in red sandstone, and subordinate to it. If this 
supposition were to be adopted, it would be necessary to reduce 
allthe floetzformations of Werner below the chalk to ofd redsand- 
stone, and to consider almost all the floetz formations of Werner 
as subordinate to the red sandstone. This seems to me to 
approach to the opinion entertained by Mr. Whitehurst, and 
founded upon a survey of the midland district of England. Such 
a sweeping generalization would be undoubtedly very convenient 
for Wernerian geologists, as it would enable them to overleap 
