i873-l Notices of Books. 253 



course has been to notice the several geological formations in 

 ascending order — first describing their general nature, and then 

 detailing their range, their lithological characters, and the 

 sections in which they are exposed. 



Having thus described the nature and range of the various 

 formations, the author devotes one chapter to the disturbances 

 which the beds have suffered, and another to the physical 

 features which they present. In discussing the causes which 

 have given to the country its present contours, Mr. Whitaker 

 clearly shows that the surface has been sculptured into its pre- 

 sent form of hill and scarp and dale by subaerial denudation, 

 rather than by marine action — that, in fact, the varied features 

 of the scenery are mainly, if not exclusively, due to meteoric 

 agencies — to rain, rivers, frost, and the like — agencies which are 

 ever silently at work under our eyes, and are fully competent to 

 effect all that has been ascribed to their action, if only sufficient 

 time be granted for the work. 



The concluding chapter of the Memoir is devoted to Economic 

 Geology — a subject which, in this area, does not admit of very 

 extensive treatment. But perhaps the most valuable part of the 

 work — as a work of reference — is to be found in its copious 

 Appendices. One of these, on the Bibliography of the subject, 

 shows in a remarkable manner Mr. Whitaker's extensive ac- 

 quaintance with geological literature ; whilst the second Ap- 

 pendix contains details of upwards of 500 well-sections and 

 borings within the area under description. Finally, Mr. Ethe- 

 ridge and some other palaeontologists contribute valuable lists 

 of fossils from the beds of the London Basin. 



Before closing the work we should remark that, though the 

 great bulk of the text has been written by Mr. Whitaker, certain 

 parts have been contributed by his colleagues — Mr. H. W. Bris- 

 tow, F.R.S., Director of the Geological Survey of England and 

 Wales ; and Mr. T. McK. Hughes, M.A., the new Wood- 

 wardian Professor of Geology at Cambridge. 



The publication of this elaborate volume leaves no longer any 

 excuse for ignorance on the geology of the country around Lon- 

 don. It must, however, be confessed that the physical features 

 of the country within a moderate distance of the metropolis are 

 not such as tend to foster geological tastes ; and, in spite of the 

 labours of Mr. Prestwich and of the Geological Survey, we fear 

 that among the millions who dwell within the area of the London 

 basin, there are comparatively few who know anything of the 

 true nature of the ground beneath them. " Turpe est in patria 



VOL. III. (N.S.) 2 L 



