874 Reviews — Life of Sir Joseph Prestuich. 



together with a series of portraits of his old friends and con- 

 temporaries : we should have welcomed also a portrait of that 

 devoted partner, who for twenty- four years shared his scientific 

 labours at Oxford and at Shoreham, and who aided Sir Joseph 

 Prestwich so materially in bringing out his great work on geology, — 

 the niece of his lamented friend Dr. Hugh Falconer. 



To those who, like the present writer, knew Sir Joseph 

 Prestwich well, this volume serves to recall not only many events 

 of personal interest now almost forgotten, but also much of the 

 contemporary geological history of the past half-century, in the 

 midst of which Prestwich occupied so prominent a place, and took 

 such 'an active part in helping to build up our science, contributing 

 personally so largely to its records. 



We make no apology for quoting at considerable length from the 

 admirable summary of the scientific work of Sir Joseph Prestwich, 

 given at the end of the present volume, by Sir Archibald Geikie, 

 D.C.L., F.E.S., whose facile pen always affords pleasure to the 

 reader. (See pp. 402-421.) 



" The scientific career of Joseph Prestwich was marked by the 

 long period over which it extended and hy the wide range of 

 subjects within the domain of Geology which it embraced. For 

 more than sixty years, with indefatigable industry, he continued to 

 contribute original observations and reflections to the science to 

 which he had dedicated his life. His writings cover almost the 

 whole field of geology. He discussed the various agencies, epigene 

 and hypogene, which are now giving rise to geological changes on 

 the earth. He studied the various geological formations from the 

 Old Bed Sandstone to the most recent gravels, but specially devoted 

 himself to the Older Tertiary and Quaternary series. He gave 

 much thought to the practical applications of geology, and led the 

 way in pointing out the intimate relation between water-supply and 

 geological structure. And lastly, he gave the world the benefit of 

 his ripe experience and long reflection in the text-book in which 

 he took a philosophical survey of the whole realm of geological 

 investigation." ^ 



" To gain a general idea of the nature, extent, and value of his 

 scientific work, it will be convenient to subdivide his writings 

 according to the several branches of geology which they illustrate. 

 For this purpose we may first consider his contributions to our 

 knowledge of the causes that produce geological changes, and the 

 efiects to which they give rise. 



"From an early part of his scientific studies Prestwich paid close 

 attention to the influence of running water on the face of the land. 

 His interest in this subject was greatly quickened by his observations 

 in connection with the high-level and low-level gravels of the river- 

 valleys in the south-east of England and the north-west of France. 

 From these deposits he drew the important conclusion that the 



^ This work is entitled, "Geology: Chemical, Physical, and Stratigraphical." 

 By Joseph Prestwich. In two vols. (vol. i, Chemical and Physical, pp. xxiv and 477, 

 •with 218 illustrations, Oxford, 1886 ; vol. ii, Stratigraphical and Physical, pp. xxviii 

 and 606, with 256 illustrations, Oxford, 1888). Eoyal 8vo. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 



