38 THE ORDNANCE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CHAP, n 



Mr. Sedgwick, as Professors of Geology in the Universities of 

 Oxford and Cambridge, and to myself, as President of this Society, 

 to offer our opinion as to the expediency of combining a geological 

 examination of the English counties with the geographical survey 

 now in progress. In compliance with this requisition we drew up a 

 joint report, in which we endeavoured to state fully our opinion as 

 to the great advantages which must accrue from such an undertaking, 

 not only as calculated to promote geological science, which would 

 alone be a sufficient object, but also as a work of great practical 

 utility, bearing on agriculture, mining, road-making, the formation of 

 canals and railroads, and other branches of national industry. The 

 enlightened views of the Board of Ordnance were warmly seconded 

 by the present Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. T. Spring Rice), 

 and. a grant was obtained from the Treasury to defray the additional 

 expenses which will be incurred in colouring geologically the Ord- 

 nance county maps. This arrangement may be justly regarded as 

 an economical one, as those surveyors who have cultivated geology 

 can with small increase of labour, when exploring the minute topo- 

 graphy of the ground, trace out the boundaries of the principal 

 mineral groups. This end, however, could only be fully accom- 

 plished by securing the co-operation of an experienced and able 

 geologist, who might organise and direct the operations ; and I con- 

 gratulate the Society that our Foreign Secretary, Mr. De la Beche, 

 has been chosen to discharge an office for which he is so eminently 

 qualified. 1 



The amount granted by the Treasury was only 

 ^300 a year, so that most of the expense of the 

 surveying still fell upon De la Beche himself. He 

 obtained, indeed, occasional assistance from two officers 

 of the Ordnance Survey 2 who possessed some geo- 

 logical knowledge, and who more especially helped 

 him in the mining districts. 



At last by the year 1839 all the maps of the south- 

 west of England had appeared ; likewise an admirable 

 octavo volume, giving a description of the geology of 

 this interesting and important region. 3 How these 



1 Proc. GeoL Soc. vol. ii. p. 358. 



2 H. M'Lauchlan and H. Still, who were both Fellows of the Geological 

 Society. 



3 Report on the Geology of Cornwall, Devon, and West Somerset, by Henry 

 T. De la Beche, F.R.S. and Director of the Ordnance Geological Survey, 1839. 

 The Survey maps are sheets 20-33. 



