v Sir atigraphical Development 241 



present, they likewise unfolded an altogether new and 

 marvellous panorama of the progress of life upon that 

 surface. They had hitherto shared with minerals and 

 rocks the usage of the term " fossil." As their importance 

 grew, they were discriminated as " organized fossils." But 

 the rising tide of awakened interest soon swept away 

 the qualifying participle, and the organic remains became 

 sole possessors of the term, as if they were the only objects 

 dug out of the earth that were any longer worthy to be 

 denominated fossils. 



While the whole science of geology has made gigantic 

 advances during the nineteenth century, by far the most 

 astonishing progress has sprung from the recognition of 

 the value of fossils. To that source may be traced the 

 prodigious development of stratigraphy over the whole 

 world, the power of working out the geological history 

 of a country, and of comparing it with the history of 

 other countries, the possibility of tracing the synchronism 

 and the sequence of the geographical changes' of the 

 earth's surface since life first appeared upon the planet. 

 To the same source, also, we are indebted for the rise 

 of the science of palaeontology, and the splendid con- 

 tributions it has made to biological investigation. In 

 the midst of the profusion, alike of blossom and of fruit, 

 let us not forget the work of those who sowed the seed of 

 the abundant harvest which we are now reaping. Let us 

 remember the early suggestive essays of Guettard, the 

 pregnant ideas of Lehmann and Fuchsel, the prescient 

 pages of Giraud-Soulavie, the brilliant work of Cuvier and 

 Brongniart, and the patient and clear-sighted enthusiasm 

 of William Smith. 



R 



