928 
with Lehmann was Fuchsel (1722-1773), 
who in 1762 published one of the most re- 
markable works, with map and sections, 
which had ‘ up to that time been devoted to 
the description of the actual structure and 
history of the earth.’ ‘He recognized as 
clearly as Lehmann, and with more accu- 
racy of detail, the sequence of stratified 
rocks,’ and considered that ‘the changes 
which the earth had undergone were of no 
abnormal kind.’ In divining with singular 
sagacity ‘that a continuous series of strata 
of the same composition constitutes a for- 
mation, or the record of a certain epoch in 
the history of the globe,’ he anticipated, ac- 
cording to the author, ‘a doctrine which 
afterward took a prominent place in the 
system of Werner.’ 
The most notable figure in the mineralog- 
ical and geological arena during the last 
quarter of the last century and the early 
years of this was Werner (1749-1817), who, 
chiefly by the vast influence of ‘his per- 
sonal gifts and character,’ wielded an over- 
mastering power upon the geological opin- 
ions of the time. Appointed professor at 
twenty-five in the Mining Academy of Frei- 
berg, he gradually, by the brilliancy of his 
teaching, drew about him an enthusiastic 
body of pupils from all portions of the civi- 
lized world, and raised the local mining 
school into the position of a great univer- 
sity. ‘ No teacher of geological science, ”’ 
says Geikie, ‘‘ either before or since has ap- 
proached Werner in the extent of his per- 
sonal influence or in the breadth of his con- 
temporary fame.”’ His most distinguishing 
quality, he states further, was ‘his over- 
mastering sense of orderliness and method, ’ 
which made his contributions to the then 
half chaotic science of mineralogy of vast 
significance, although he wholly ignored 
crystalline form in his classification. In 
the study of the earth, for which he and his 
adherents used the term geognosy, he en- 
deavored to apply the same precision, and 
SCIENCE. 
[N.S. Vou. VI. No. 156. 
laid down doctrines which he dogmatically 
applied, although there was generally no 
basis for them in observed fact. He 
adopted the idea that “ the whole globe had 
once been surrounded with an ocean of 
water, at least as deep as the mountains are 
high, and he believed that from this ocean 
there were deposited by chemical precipita- 
tion the solid rocks which now form most 
of the dry land.” His order of sequence, 
taken toa considerable extent from Leh- 
mann and Fuchsel, was developed into a 
system of hisown. He believed basalt and 
other eruptive rocks to be of aqueous 
origin, and all volcanic activity modern 
phenomena, produced by vast repositories 
of inflammable matter. 
The greatest service which Werner ren- 
dered to the cause of geological science, ac- 
cording to the author, was the enthusiasm 
he inspired; in so many capable men. 
Among the most distinguished of Werner’s 
“pupils were d’Aubuisson (1769-1819) and 
von Buch (1774-1853), who, although loyal 
to their master, gradually became con- 
vinced of the fallacy of many of his views, 
and finally practically abandoned them 
altogether. Curiously, they were led to 
these conclusions largely from a study of 
the district of the Auvergne, where in pre- 
vious years Guettard and Desmarest had 
done such valuable work for the cause of 
geological science. Von Buch especially 
became one of the most prominent figures 
in European geology. He traveled widely, 
and the result of his investigations greatly 
enriched geological literature. In 1824 he 
brought out a geological map of Germany 
in forty-two sheets, while his contributions 
to the science covered nearly every branch 
of geological research. 
The fourth lecture is devoted to the con- 
‘sideration of a very different school of 
geology than that described in the previous 
chapter. It had for a time far fewer sup- 
porters than the Neptunist System of 
