436 Eminent Living Geologists — II. H. Howell 



of Natural History in the University of Glasgow) joined the staff, 

 and he aided the field-work in Scotland. In 1866 the raenioir on 

 " The Geology of East Lothian," by H. H. Howell, A. Geikie, and 

 John Young, was issued. Several maps on the six-inch scale of the 

 coalfields of Edinburgh and Haddington were also published. 



The main geological result of the work in these Carboniferous 

 regions of Scotland was the recognition for the first time that the 

 " Boslin Sandstone" was the representative of the Millstone Grit, 

 and occupied the same position as does that formation in the 

 Carboniferous Series of England and Wales. Moreover, it was 

 ascertained that the true Coal-measures, with many workable seams 

 of coal, occurred, as in the Northumberland and Durham Coalfield, 

 at a higher horizon than the Millstone Grit. The same group of 

 rocks as had been found in East and Mid Lothian was shown to 

 extend across the Firth of Forth into Fifeshire. 



In 1861 Mr. Howell was transferred again to England, and for 

 the next four years he was occupied in mapping (on the one-inch 

 scale) large areas of Jurassic rocks, chiefly in the counties of 

 Northampton, Bedford, and Huntingdon. 



The continuation of this work into Rutlandshire and South. 

 Ijincolnshire was in after years carried on by Professor Judd, 

 who, together with the late Samuel Sharp, ascertained that the 

 Lincolnshire Limestone, which had been regarded as Great Oolite, 

 was of the age of the Inferior Oolite. On a memorable occasion 

 in 1869 the revised interpretation of the geology was considered by 

 the Director, Ramsay, who visited parts of Northamptonshire with 

 Howell, Judd, Sharp, and Etheridge. 



Ramsay, after reviewing the evidence, turned, in his quick im- 

 patient way, to Howell to ask why he had regarded the Limestone 

 as Great Oolite ? To which Howell replied by quietly pulling 

 from his breast-pocket a list of the fossils which he had collected, 

 and which had been named and referred, in the Palseontological 

 Office, to the Great Oolite. 



In 1866 Mr. Howell was instructed to commence the geological 

 survey of the Northumberland and Durham Coalfield. 



In the following year, when large additions were made to the 

 staff of the Survey, Mr. Howell took the superintendence of 

 a number of the men who were engaged in the Survey of the 

 North-Eastern Counties. At this time the late Prof. A. H. Green 

 took immediate charge of the Yorkshire Coalfield, while in course 

 of time Mr. Howell directed the whole of the work in North 

 Lincolnshire, East Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumberland. In 

 1869 he was called upon to give evidence on the Northumberland 

 and Durham Coalfield before the Royal Commissioners appointed 

 to enquire into the several matters relating to Coal in the United 

 Kingdom.^ In 1872 he was promoted to be District Surveyor, the 

 duties of which office he had in fact for a long time been discharging. 



1 See Eeport, vol. ii (1871), p. 503. 



