November 4. 18^7] 



NA TURE 



study and under great privations, for more congenial 

 labours, he removed to Torquay and opened a small day- 

 school. Here he met with good success, which rapidly 

 increased as the years passed by. 



His earliest geological lesson had been learned at 

 Lyme Regis when, as a sailor boy, he had been weather- 

 bound on the Dorset coast, and had observed a fine 

 ammonite. Later on the reading of a chapter on 

 geology in a work published by the brothers Chambers, 

 gave him his first insight into the objects of the science, 

 and led him to devote attention to the subject. Thus, 

 when he went to London in 1843, he was interested in 

 visiting the British Museum, the Royal College of Sur- 

 geons, and the Museum of Economic Geology (as it was 

 then called) at Craig's Court. He had some difficulty in 

 finding the last-named museum. 



Torquay has always been a locality of great interest to 

 the geologist, and when Pengelly commenced his labours 

 it was not long after the founding of the Devonian system 

 by Sedgwick and Murchison, aided by Lonsdale. More- 

 over, De la Beche and Godwin-Austen had published 

 their important researches on South Devon, and McEnery 

 had brought into notice the interest attaching to the local 

 bone-caves. No wonder that Pengelly, when once "his 

 ardour had been kindled, started to explore the district 

 with vigour and enthusiasm. 



Many little adventures and anecdotes are recorded 

 with reference to his geological expeditions. On one 

 occasion at a wayside inn, where he had taken a 

 seat on the kitchen settle, Pengelly answered some 

 inquiries addressed to him by three labourers, and finally 

 entertained them to such good effect on the subject of 

 stone-breaking, that the landlord became keenly in- 

 terested. Seeking an interview next morning with Pen- 

 gelly, he thus expressed himself: 



" I hope no offence, sir : but ef you'd stop 'ere for a 

 foo days, or a week, and talk to the men in the evenin's, 

 you shud be welcome to meat, drink, washing, and 

 lodging free gratis. I'm sure lots o' men wud come an' 

 hear 'ee, and I should zell an uncommon zight o' beer." 



In 1855 Pengelly went, for the first time in London, 

 to an evening meeting of the Geological Society. In a 

 letter to his wife he says : 



" There were probably about forty persons present, 

 which I believe is considered a good attendance. We 

 were rather late, and found on our arrival that a paper 

 was being read descriptive of Mauna Loa, the volcano 

 in Owhyhee. At its close, Austen, a well-known geolo- 

 gist, and who once lived at East Ogwell, read a paper 

 on the ' Probability of coal existing at workable depths 

 near London.' ... A discussion followed the paper, in 

 which the author was by no means spared, as the various 

 speakers expressed thtmselves freely." 



What seems remarkable to us is the small attendance 

 at the reading of this important paper by God win- Austen, 

 and the fact that it was given second place at the 

 meeting ! Ne.xt year Pengelly attended another meeting 

 of the Geological Society, when papers were read by 

 Carrick Moore and Babbage. He says, " It was a mag- 

 nificent meeting, and made me wish for a town residence." 



Pengelly first attended the British Association in 

 1856, at Cheltenham, and he was present at all sub- 

 sequent meetings up to 1889, with the exception of that 

 held at Montreal in 1884. 



NO. 1462, VOL. 57] 



In 1858 his detailed researches on the caverns of 

 Devonshire may be said to have commenced. In that 

 year the Brixham Bone-cavern was discovered, and the 

 investigation was undertaken by the Royal and Geological 

 Societies ; a committee being appointed by the latter 

 body, and the exploration being placed under the super- 

 intendence of Mr. (afterwards Sir Joseph) Prestwich and 

 Mr. Pengelly. The bulk of the work naturally fell to 

 Pengelly. It was long before the results of this inves- 

 tigation were issued. The delay, indeed, was aggravat- 

 ing, for it was not until 1873 that the full account was 

 published. 



Meanwhile Pengelly became engaged in a systematic 

 examination of the lignites and clays of Bovey Tracey, 

 in conjunction with Dr. Oswald Heer, who undertook 

 the determination of the plant-remains. This important 

 work was executed at the expense of the Baroness 

 Burdett-Coutts, and the results were published in 1862. 

 The age of the deposit was regarded by Heer as Miocene, 

 but it has since been shown by Mr. Starkie Gardner to 

 be Eocene. 



In 1864 the first steps were taken to secure a sys- 

 tematic exploration of Kent's Hole, Torquay ; and, aided 

 by grants from the British Association, the work was 

 carried out by Pengelly, who for more than fifteen years 

 devoted himself with never-flagging energy to the task. 

 During these years he annually reported progress at the 

 meetings of the British Association, and his discourses 

 on these occasions formed an attractive feature in the 

 proceedings of Section C. Here, as elsewhere in all his 

 lectures, he contrived to blend his science with a con- 

 siderable amount of humour, while his expositions were 

 both clear and spirited. 



With regard to the exploration of Kent's Hole, Prof. 

 Bonney rightly observes that " it was the most complete 

 and systematic investigation of a cavern which had ever 

 been undertaken." The time and labour, the care and 

 patience, exhibited by Pengelly, and the precision with 

 which he noted every fact, were extraordinary, but 

 thoroughly characteristic of the man. His very full re- 

 ports will ever remain as a monument of these labours. 

 He had intended to publish a separate book on Kent's 

 Cavern ; but, considering that all particulars have been 

 given in his many papers, the abandonment of this task 

 need not seriously be regretted. 



This outline of his principal work affords but a meagre 

 idea of the activity of the man. He not only spent a 

 good deal of time in lecturing in many provincial towns, 

 but devoted much energy to local institutions in Torquay. 

 The organic remains from various formations in Devon- 

 shire were eagerly sought for, and a fine collection of 

 Devonian fossils which he had gathered together was 

 presented to the Oxford Museum by the Baroness 

 Burdett-Coutts in i860. 



His main eff"orts were always directed to the geological 

 questions relating to Devon and Cornwall. He was 

 master of all the literature, and many of his contributions 

 were most useful summaries of knowledge on particular 

 subjects. Curiously enough, but little is said in this 

 volume of his fellow-workers in Devonshire. Dr. Harvey 

 B. Holl, who, after Godwin- Austen, published a detailed 

 account of the geology of South Devon, is not mentioned. 

 Nor is much said of G. \V. Ormerod nor of A. Cham- 



