GROWTH OF GEOLOGY. 249 



eenth when in 1795 Cuvier and Brongniart began 

 their immortal researches on the remains of animals 

 and plants in the Paris basin, and William Smith 

 (1799) published his table of strata and their charac- 

 teristic fossils. It may thus be said that the utili- 

 sation of fossils as aids in stratigraphical geology is 

 only about a century old. But the whole progress 

 of the century may be illustrated by the difference 

 between Smith's general use of fossils and say 

 Lapworth's specific use of Graptolites in deter- 

 mining the succession of closely approximated 

 zones. 



Gradually the key which Smith has used to so 

 much purpose came to be generally appreciated. 

 Zittel notes the historical importance of the Out- 

 lines of the Geology of England and Wales, by 

 W. D. Conybeare and W. Philips (1822) in whicn 

 the indispensable value of fossils was clearly recog- 

 nised. Lyell, Deshayes, d'Omallius d'Halloy and 

 Bronn are probably the most outstanding of the 

 early geologists who vindicated the union of palaeon- 

 tology and geology which has proved so profitable 

 to both sciences. 



To follow the development of stratigraphical 

 goology from Sir Roderick Murchison (1792-1871) 

 and Professor Adam Sedgwick (1785-1873) on- 

 wards through the century is far beyond the scope 

 of this sketch. As with comparative anatomy, the 

 results of stratigraphical geology are necessarily for 

 the most part quantitative and appeal more to the 

 expert than to the general reader. It may be said, 

 however, that 



" "While the whole science of geology has made gigan- 

 tic advances during the nineteenth century, by far the 

 most astonishing progress has sprung from the recogni- 



