Correspondence. 477 



As a result of this neglect, the nomenclature of this portion of 

 British geology has been virtually at a stand for about half a 

 century. While so much has been done in this respect by chemists 

 and geologists abroad, we are but little further forward than when 

 the great outlines of the subject were sketched long ago by the early 

 leaders in the science. The same vague names, the same confused 

 and defective arrangement, the same absence of careful chemical and 

 mineralogical analysis, so excusable in the infancy of the science, 

 still disfigure our geological writings and even the best of our 

 geological collections. Field-geologists must be content to bear 

 their share of the blame, yet it is not from their hands that the 

 needed reform is mainly to be looked for. They can do but little 

 till chemistry comes to their aid with information regarding the com- 

 position of the rocks which they investigate, and the extent to which 

 the nomenclature adopted in other countries can be applied in their 

 own. Surely the time must come ere long when it will be deemed a 

 task worthy of years of long and patient research to work out the 

 nature and history of the volcanic rocks of this country. Such a task 

 will not be the work of merely a single observer. It will require 

 the labour of the geologist skilled to glean the data that can only be 

 gathered in the field, and of the chemist, who, aided and guided by 

 these observations, shall seek to determine the composition of the 

 difierent igneous rocks, and the relation which in this respect they 

 bear to the rocks of other regions, and to the products of modem 

 volcanos. But, whether distant or near, the day will doubtless 

 arrive when we shall be able to connect into one story, as far at 

 least as our fragmentary records will permit, the narrative of the 

 varied volcanic eruptions which from early geological times have 

 taken place in the British Islands, and to link that chronicle with 

 the long history of volcanic action over the globe. 



cos,ie,:E]Si^oisrx):B3^CE. 



THE CHEMISTRY OP THE PEIMEVAL EAETH. 



By referring to page 432 of the September Number of the Geo- 

 logical Magazine it will be seen that every efi"ort was made on the 

 part of the Editors to furnish as complete a list of corrections as possible 

 of Dr. T. Sterry Hunt's Lecture, which appeared in August last. On 

 August 27th — the Magazine having gone to press — we received the 

 subjoined letter from Dr. Hunt, which we publish intact, only 

 omitting those errata which are already noticed in our last Number. 

 We are glad Dr. Sterry Hmit does the short-hand writer the justice 

 to state that he is doubtless a competent reporter, and has in most 

 cases reproduced his language with fidelity, — the errata being for the 

 most part obvious to the scientific reader, and that they do not in. 

 any way afi'ect his argument, all the points of which may be well 

 enough understood from the report. We cannot, however, agree 

 with Dr. Sterry Himt in considering the abstract, which appeared 

 in the Chemical News of June 27th, superior to the very full report — 



