SEQUEL TO SYSTEMATIC GEOLOGY. 575 



as Syenite, Serpentine, Porphyry, Granite. But 

 the more technical part of his phraseology wai 

 taken from that which is the worst kind of name, 

 arbitrary numeration. Thus he had his first sand- 

 stone formation, second sandstone, third sandstone ; 

 first flotz limestone, second flotz limestone, third 

 flotz limestone. Such names are, beyond all others, 

 liable to mistake in their application, and likely to 

 be expelled by the progress of knowledge ; and 

 accordingly, though the Wernerian names for rocks 

 mineralogically distinguished, have still some cur- 

 rency, his sandstones and limestones, after creating 

 endless confusion while his authority had any sway, 

 have utterly disappeared from good geological 

 works. 



The nomenclature of Smith was founded upon 

 English provincial terms of very barbarous aspect, 

 as Corner ash, Lias, Gault, Clunch Clay, Coral Rag. 

 Yet these terms were widely diffused when his clas- 

 sification was generally accepted; they kept their 

 place, precisely because they had no systematic sig- 

 nification ; and many of them are at present part 

 of the geological language of the whole civilized 

 world. 



Another kind of names which has been very 

 prevalent among geologists are those borrowed 

 from places. Thus the Wernerians spoke of Alpine 

 Limestone and Jura Limestone, the English, of Kim- 

 meridge Clay and Oxford Clay, Purbeck Marble, 

 and Portland Rock. These names, referring to the 



