PREFACE. 



The Members of the Geological Society, to whom the arrange- 

 ment of its papers for publication has been deputed, conceive that 

 it may be satisfactory to prefix to the First Volume of the Society's 

 Transactions a short account of the origin and progress of the 

 Institution, and some cursory remarks on the objects which its 

 plan embraces. 



The few individuals, who were the founders of the Society, met 

 in consequence of a desire of communicating to each other the result 

 of their observations, and of examining how far the opinions main- 

 tained by the writers on Geology were in conformity with the facts 

 presented by nature. They likewise hoped, that a new impulse 

 might, through their exertions, be given to this science j and with 

 this view, shortly after their establishment, they drew up and 

 distributed a series of inquiries, calculated in their opinion to excite 

 a greater degree of attention to this important study, than it had 

 yet received in this country; and to serve as a guide to the geolo- 

 gical traveller, by pointing out some of the various objects, which 

 it is his province to examine. 



