4 



THE GEOLOGIST. 



of error and rigidly excluding all he finds; to such a man— 

 and is it not the duty of all of us to tiy to make ourselves such ? — 

 Geology presents a never faiHng resource wherever he may be. It 

 may be studied ill every locality, is open alike to him whose lot 

 lies in remote rm^al districts, and to the denizen of cities. The 

 surface of the whole earth, and the operations constantly in pro- 

 gress upon it, form the pages from which its lessons are learnt. 

 Each cloud-capt mountam and fruitful vaUey ; each rushing river 

 and rippling brook ; the surging ocean and the placid lake ; the 

 tide-worn sea beach and the well-tilled field, alike contribute to 

 elucidate its mysteries. Not a lane, not a gravel-pit, not a quarry, 

 or weU, no summer's scorching-heat, no winter's flood and firost, that 

 does not furnish either the results and relics of bye-gone ages, or 

 the key, by whose aid these may be deciphered, and their meaning 

 interpreted. Every pebble, every grain of sand, has a wonderful 

 history. The very dust of the ground we tread on is replete with 

 food for thought. 



If age is venerable, then do the subjects of which Geology treats 

 command the highest veneration. The antiquaiy counts the years 

 that have elapsed since the stately building, over whose ruin he 

 ponders, was first raised towards heaven, but the Geologist can 

 say, — "Your old building is a mere stripling, compared with the 

 stone it is built of; I will tell you of periods when that stone 

 itself was being made ; so lengthened, so remote, that the mind is 

 lost in amazement, in consideiing them; if you love antiquities, 

 follow me, and I will show you monuments and medals, ruins and 

 relics, that will amply gratify your love for searching into the 

 hidden past; I will disolose to you a tale of ancient epochs, so 

 astounding as to make one quiver with emotion in listening to it, 

 so marvellous as to fill the mind with unmixed reverence for the 

 great Controller of events ; the all-wise and Almighty Creator of 

 the universe." 



This grand Science is intimately associated with several other 

 natural sciences. It is mdebted to them, and they to it. The Chemist 

 and JNIineralogist have here an ample field for turning their 

 studies to account ; both of them gather from Geolog\- stores of 

 knowledge, and yield to it valuable information ; the Zoologist is 

 enlightened by it, and sheds upon it invaluable light; the 



