VI 
THE GEOLOGIST. 
thus briefly expressing our opinion) we will endeavour to collate 
from the matter that has been presented to our notice,, so much 
of interest as shall encom-age to greater and more largely re- 
warded exertion — may be^ the apparent apathy is in part attri- 
butable, in this instance, to the various political and commercial 
disturbances which have withdrawn the attention and taken 
away the means from such pursuits and their due publication. 
Of the results of individual exertion we cannot give the sum total 
as the records of these are widely distributed, and no settled 
mode for theij* collection has been adopted ; we trust, however, 
that as our journal progresses, so it will fall into the hands of all 
active geologists, and they may be led to record in our pages 
what they do not contribute to societies, the reports of which 
find their way into our work as a matter of course ; we refer to 
the reports of Geological (not merely local) Societies. Of the value 
of preserving such collateral records, we would instance a simple 
case which is to be found in our present volume. 
For example, the circumstances under which " Lignite'^ occm-s 
— as tending to elucidate not only the age of the deposit in which 
it is buried, but the comparative preservative powers of the seve- 
ral beds — of this we have recorded both Mr. Greenes and Mr. 
Eose's researches, singularly enough relating to neighbom-ing, 
if not identical deposits ; then again, the researches relative to 
American geology are thus placed side by side, affording consi- 
derable elucidation of the subject j but on this we shall dwell 
more largely at some future portion of our summary. In placing 
before our readei*s the annual summary we hope then to effect 
two objects, viz. to inform them of what has been done in geo- 
logy since we were last occupied in the same manner, and to 
prove that we have effected our purpose also. 
The Glacial Theory. — This, so lately, all important question, 
has elicited but little interest dm-iug the past year, although its 
agency to a limited extent is fully acknowledged. Investigation 
has turned, from the consideration of the theory, to the observance 
