PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 401 



Carboniferous [and Magnesian] Limestone, Old Red Sandstone. It is the 

 tirst geological map of England and Wales. 



In 1805 Smith finished a large and detailed map of Somersetshire, which 

 was publicly exhibited and described at meetings of the Agricultural Societies. 

 In an incomplete state it had been shown at a meeting of the Bath Agricultural 

 Society (of which he was a member) so early as 1799. This map is lost, but 

 we hope search in old Somersetshire libraries may bring it to light. 



Smith's great work was his wonderful map of England and Wales, measuring 

 6 ft. by 8^ ft., on the scale of five milee to an inch. It was projected in 1801 

 and published in 1815. Twenty different colours were used, and opposite the 

 Humber Mouth is a ' Sketch of the Succession of Strata and their relative 

 Altitudes,' often being accompanied by !-!mith's autograph, and the number of 

 the map. In addition to the strata, collieries, various lead, copper, and tin 

 mines, salt and alum works were indicated. The map, as might be expected, 

 has defects, and these were pointed out by Judd {' Geological Magazine,' 1898, 

 page 101), but they do not minimise the credit due to 'The Father of English 

 Geology ' for his masterpiece. 



From a copy of the original prospectus it appears that the map was dedicated 

 to Sir Joseph Banks, sanctioned by the Board of Agriculture, and was sold at 

 prices varying from 51. 5s. to 12?., according to the method of mounting. At 

 least 96 numbered copies were published. Some idea of the amount of work 

 connected with them may be gathered from the following extract from Smith's 

 diary :— 



' May 14, 1815. — Began at nine in the morning with an artist to colour 

 for me the first printed copy of the " Map of the Strata" on canvas. 



'May 22, 1815.— Finished colouring the first ""Map of the Strata" on 

 canvas. 



' May 23, 1815. — Attended n meeting of the Board of Agriculture with 

 the first finished copy on canvas of my " Map of the Strata." ' 



This was the map for which the Societv of Arts awarded Smith the premium 

 of 50.'. 



Between 1819 and 1824 Smith published six parts of a ' New Geological 

 At'jas of England and Wales ' twenty-one counties being represented in this work, 

 which evidently did not receive adequate support, and was unfinished. The 

 maps, which are very rarely met with, show much more detail than was possible 

 on the large sheet of 1815. Yorkshire, in this series, is exceptionally accurate 

 and complete, due to Smith's residence in the county from 1820, the map being 

 issued in 1821. 



In 1820 a reduced copy of Smith's large m.ap of England and Wales was 

 published by Gary. It measures 24 in. by 30 in. and is on the scale of 15 miles 

 to an inch. It was entitled 'A New Geological Map of England and Wales, 

 with the Inland Navigations, exhibiting the districts of Coal and other sites of 

 Mineral Tonnage.' Information as to the economic products of the strata is 

 here given. A second edition was contemplated, and I have a copy, engraved 

 from the same plate as the 1820 issue, but with the date altered to 1824. The 

 colours, however, have not been filled in. My copy, with another, was found 

 in Scarborough a short time ago. So far I have not traced a copy of the 

 1824 edition coloured : it may never have appeared. 



From 1828 to 1834 Smith was land steward to Sir John V. B. Johnstone, 

 and resided at Hackness, near Scarborough. While there he prepared a 

 geological map of the Hackness area, briefly referred to by his nephew Phillips. 

 This map had not been seen, and neither the Geological Society nor any other 

 society seemed to possess one or know anything about it. Through inquiries 

 made in the Scarborough district, where Smith spent his last years, I was success- 

 ful in securing two copies. A comparison between these and those of the 

 Geological Survey .shows a remarkable similarity, and the way in which Smith was 

 able to map the intricate series of beds in the Scarborough area — nearly a cen- 

 tury ago — is most creditable to him. It was lithographed by Day, London, hand- 

 coloured by Smith, measures 23 in. by 36 in., scale 12 chains to 1 inch. Smith 

 prepared a memoir describing the rocks represented upon it, which has recently 

 been published. 



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