580 HISTORY OF GEOLOGY. 



refer to theoretical views yet have not the recom- 

 mendation of systematic connexion. 



Sect. 4. Geological Synonymy, or Determination 

 of Geological Equivalents. 



IT will easily be supposed that with so many dif- 

 ferent sources of names as we have mentioned, the 

 same stratum may be called by different designa- 

 tions; and thus a synonymy may be necessary for 

 geology; as it was for botany in the time of Bauhin, 

 when the same plants had been spoken of by so 

 many different appellations in different authors. 

 But in reality, the synonymy of geology is a still 

 more important part of the subject than the analogy 

 of botany would lead us to suppose. For in plants, 

 the species are really fixed, and easily known when 

 seen; and the ambiguity is only in the imperfect 

 communication or confused ideas of the observers. 

 But in geology, the identity of a stratum or forma- 

 tion in different places, though not an arbitrary, 

 may be a very doubtful matter, even to him who 

 has seen and examined. To assign its right cha- 

 racter and place to a stratum in a new country, is, 

 in a great degree, to establish the whole geological 

 history of the country. To assume that the same 

 names may rightly be applied to the strata of dif- 

 ferent countries, is to take for granted, not indeed 

 the Wernerian dogma of universal formations, but a 

 considerable degree of generality and uniformity ii 



