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But whilst we thus submit to patient investigation in our 

 own Coal-field, let us still take large and comprehensive views 

 of the operations of nature. Let us not only consider our 

 Coal-field in connexion with that of Lancashire, or Derbyshire, 

 or Durham, but as forming a part of the great Coal-field of 

 Europe. By thus combining theory with practice, the subject 

 may not only yield economical benefit, but afford also intellec- 

 tual gratification. That the various Coal-fields of Europe are 

 all parts of one great contemporaneous deposit, is, I believe, 

 allowed by all geologists ; and that the carboniferous strata 

 are but the poor remains of still more extensive deposits, 

 which have been carried away by the denuding action of 

 water, is a fact substantiated by the strongest evidence. It 

 is unnecessary, however, here to enter upon any lengthened 

 remarks on the denudation of strata. I may merely mention 

 the Coal-field of Ingleton, which can be looked upon in no 

 other light than a continuation of that of Bradford and 

 Halifax ; and it is well known that the two imperfect coal 

 beds of the Eastern Moorlands of Yorkshire, which terminate 

 at the vale of Cleveland, are found again in all their char- 

 acteristic features in the northern parts of Scotland. 



" Viewing the subject in this comprehensive manner, we 

 may speculate on the nature of those extensive agents which 

 have brought about the formation of our own Coal beds, and 

 many facts may be brought to bear upon the perplexing 

 question — Whether coal be formed of vegetable matter grown 

 upon the spot where we find it, or, has that vegetable matter 

 been transported from a distance ? 



''As it regards the Stanley shale, there can be no doubt 

 that it has been formed beneath somewhat deep and tranquil 

 waters, and that it has been deposited in the ordinary manner 

 in which all shales have been formed. But in strata imme- 

 diately above, we find the stems of sigillaria standing erect, 

 as if in the very place where they had grown ; and numerous 



