CHAPTEE IV. 



Qualifications of a Geologist Instructions for the Beginner Practical Hints 

 for commencing the Study of the Science Scientific Institutions 

 Works on Geology Collecting and arranging Fossils The Microscope. 



QTJALIFI CATIONS OP A GEOLOGIST. It will be perceived, 

 from the foregoing remarks, that geology is a science far too 

 extensive to be successfully studied, in all its details, by any 

 single mind. In fact, the perfect geologist, like the perfect 

 orator of the Roman writer, is to be regarded rather as a 

 creature of the imagination than of real life. Such a person 

 ought to be versed in the complete circle of science, phi- 

 losophy, and letters, and possess attainments which a whole 

 life is insufficient to acquire. He should be acquainted 

 with mathematics and physics, that he may be enabled to 

 judge of the nature and importance of the facts submitted 

 to his investigation. He should base his researches on a 

 study of mineralogy, that he may be enabled to judge of 

 the internal structure and external characters of minerals 

 and their combination in rocks. He should possess a 

 knowledge of the theory and practice of chemistry. He 

 should acquire an extensive and well-founded acquaintance 

 with conchology, that he may attain the power of detecting 

 the minute but characteristic distinctions of species and 

 varieties of recent and fossil shells. His skill as a botanist 

 should be accurate and profound, so as not only to enable 

 him to describe a recent plant, but to determine from the 

 fragmentary mineral relics of vegetation, from the veins of 

 a leaf, the markings of a stem, or the character of a seed- 

 vessel, the tribe or family to which the plant belongs. 



He should not only be so far acquainted with compa- 

 rative anatomy, as to be able to identify the character of 

 a tooth or a bone ; but he should possess a profound know- 

 ledge of the laws of structure, to enable him to reconstruct 



