Observations Concerning Fossil Organic Remains. 95 



It is well known, that over an extent of some thousand 

 square leagues, (in Thuringia and all the northern part of 

 Germany,) nine of the upper formations, viz. the transition 

 limestone, the graywacke, the red sandstone, the zechstein 

 with bituminous shale, the muriatiferous gypsum, the oolitic 

 limestone, the gypsum in clay, the muschelkalk, the white 

 sandstone, and the quadersandstein, have been distinguished 

 from each other without the aid of zoological characters.* 



M. Cuvier in his theory of the earth after having done jus- 

 tice to the high reputation of Werner observes, that neither 

 M. Werner or M. de Saussure — -the geological historian of 

 the Alps, have described the species of the organic remains 

 in each of the strata, with that accuracy which has now be- 

 come necessary, since the number of animals already known 

 is so great. 



It is true Werner was not so well versed in comparative 

 anatomy as M. Cuvier, who in this branch surpasses all his 

 predecessors, and probably his contemporaries also ; yet I 

 will venture to say to M. Cuvier, that it appears to me he is 

 not acquainted with the merits of Werner in contributing to 

 the promotion of the natural history of organic remains. 

 Far from confining himself to the mere science of mineralo- 

 gy, in forming his theory of the earth, Werner from the first 

 occupied himself with the study of the different relations of 

 all the classes of organic remains. A genius like his must 

 naturally have perceived that a complete knowledge of these 

 relations was absolutely necessary to a geologist, and ac- 

 cordingly, with such a conviction, he informed himself of 

 all that was known of petrifactions. During his lectures, he 

 often called the attention of his auditors to the importance 

 of forming collections, which besides a complete series of 

 rocks and minerals, to illustrate the formation of our globe,, 

 he insisted, ought also to embrace an extensive collection of 

 organic remains, both of vegetables and animals. Neither 

 did he neglect, at the same time, to make mention of the nu- 

 merous researches and discoveries, relating to those caverns 

 which contained large quantities of animal remains. 



Werner also insisted much upon the observation, made, if 

 I mistake not, by M. Lister, more than one hundred and fifty 

 years ago, that the different formations were capable of be- 

 ing distinguished by means of the fossil remains they con- 



* See Humboldt on the superposition of rocks. 



