﻿ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS OP THE PRESIDENT. 



xxxiii 



been published. Of his geological studies there are records in the 

 Proceedings and Journal of this Society, in the ' Philosophical Ma- 

 gazine,' and especially in an independent memoir, published in 1838, 

 entitled a ' Geological Memoir on a part of Western Sussex,' &e. 

 The geological structure of the picturesque country around his 

 residence at Pulborough early attracted Mr. Martin's attention ; and, 

 following up the labours of Sedgwick, Fitton, Webster, Mantell, 

 and Murchison, who had already in great part elucidated the his- 

 tory of the Upper Secondary Pocks of Sussex, Hampshire, and the 

 Isle of Wight, Mr. Martin was enabled to throw still more light on 

 the nature and relations of the Chalk, Firestone, Gault, Shanklin 

 Sand, and Weald Clay of Western Sussex. In doing this, he gave 

 greater distinctness to the features of the " Weald Clay " than had 

 hitherto been recognized, and he particularly drew attention to the 

 nature of the valleys and ridges in the Wealden area, considering 

 the valleys to have been fissures produced by the elevation and 

 consequent fracture of the strata, and that the drainage -system of 

 the country follows these lines of fissures to their outlets through 

 the North and South Downs. These points are treated in detail in 

 the memoir above alluded to, where also the effects of the de- 

 rangement of strata in the production of certain valleys (valleys 

 of elevation, (fee.) are largely illustrated, comprising the phenomena 

 of " outliers-by-protrusion," or " inliers " as they are now termed 

 (by the Geological Surveyors) ; and the contemporaneous or imme- 

 diately consecutive diluvian action affecting a region so disturbed was 

 also an important subject of his consideration. The relations of 

 the London and Hampshire basins, as trough- or basin-shaped con- 

 tortions of the strata, were a favourite subject with Mr. Martin ; 

 and observations on the anticlinal line of these basins were pub- 

 lished from time to time in the ' Philosophical Magazine.' The most 

 elaborate of this series of 1 Observations ' was read before the Geo- 

 logical Society in 1840 ; but the MS. was mislaid, and not again 

 found until 1848, three years after which it was published by its 

 author, with additional matter, in the ' Philosophical Magazine.' It 

 contains a large amount of information respecting the strata and 

 lines of elevation and dislocations of the Wealden rocks, and also 

 on the different zones of drift (gravel, pebbles, and loam) which are 

 recognizable along the several concentric escarpments in that area, 

 and which Mr. Martin referred to the diluvial currents consequent 

 on the upheaval of the Wealden area. 



In 1855 Mr. Martin gave the Society a note on his views of the 

 relations of the gravels of the Sussex coast to the drift of the in- 

 terior of the Wealden area, stating his belief that they belong to an 

 outer zone of drift due to one stage of the Wealden elevation, and 

 probably an early one. 



In 1856 he still pursued his favourite researches into the nature 

 of the diluvial phenomena of the Wealden and of the elevation and 

 denudation of strata generally, as shown by his papers in the 

 ' Philosophical Magazine' for 1856 and 1857 ; and, although failing 

 health began to show itself, his energies were not weakened in this 



vol. xvii, c 



