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TO THE SECOND EDITION. 



The first edition of this work, published in 1812, is nothing more 

 than a collection of Memoirs, published successively by the Author 

 in the Annals of the Museum of Natural History, to which he en- 

 deavoured to give some appearance of connection, by means of supple- 

 mentary articles, and an Introduction. 



From this mode of publication, many of the chapters remained 

 incomplete, others had been composed of various fragments written 

 at different times and in contradiction with each other. It was not 

 possible to arrange them all in an order sufficiently methodical. 



Notwithstanding, this edition had a rapid sale ; some parts of it 

 were translated in different languages, with comments and additions 

 by the translators. There are four editions in English of the Preli- 

 minary Discourse, followed by extracts from the rest of the work, and 

 interesting notes by the editor, Mr. Jameson, Professor of Geology in 

 Edinburgh. A learned American Naturalist, Dr. Mitchell, has published 

 an edition of it at New- York, enriched with valuable observations on 

 the geology of the United States. 



The science of fossils has besides made great progress in Europe 

 since the publication of the first edition. Many celebrated men have 

 collected the fossils of their respectivecountries, and have published 

 them with drawings, and excellent descriptions ; such, for instance, 

 are those of Sir Everard Home in London, Privy Councillor de 

 Soemmering at Munich, Councillor Cortesi at Placenza, Professor 

 Buckland at Oxford, President Schlotheim at Gotha, Professor Nesti 

 at Florence, the Aulic Councillor de Fischer at Moscow, and of 

 many other geologists or anatomists, from whose works and corre- 

 spondence, the Author has derived abundant materials. 



He has himself pursued with unabated ardour his researches in 

 France, and travelled into Italy, Germany, Holland, and England, 

 principally with a view to collect fossils, to describe those which 



