310 
SILUEIA. 
[Chap. XIII. 
In the north of England, the different deposits which are now united in 
a group were admirably described by Sedgwick*, who clearly showed 
their relations to the German rocks of like age . Professor Phillips f, indeed, 
first suggested, that, on account of its fossils, the 4 Magnesian Limestone ' of 
England should be classed with the Palaeozoic rocks. Subsequently the 
organic remains of the Magnesian Limestone have been illustrated by 
King X, Howse §, Kirkby ||, and other authors, under the term ' Permian ' ; 
and the word has been used for some time in the construction of the 
Geological Survey Map ; also Binney %, Ormerod **, Harkness ft, and 
other geologists have all employed it in their writings. 
As many persons may not have access to the large volumes on the geology 
of Russia, in which a full description is given of the leading characters of 
the group in that Empire, and as I wish to put the reader into possession of 
the reasons for the adoption of the name ' Permian,' a few passages from 
the writings of my colleagues and self are here reproduced. By the first of 
these extracts it will be perceived that, in describing the whole structure 
of Russia, we began, as on the present occasion, with the lowest rocks in 
which any traces of life could be detected. 
" Having worked our way upwards through Silurian, Devonian, and Carbo- 
niferous rocks, we have now to describe the next succeeding natural group. 
Spread out over a larger surface than any others in Russia, the rocks in question, 
with certain overlying red deposits, which we cannot separate from them, occupy 
the greater part of the Governments of Perm, Orenburg, Kazan, Nijni Nov- 
gorod, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Viatka, and Vologda, a region more than twice the 
size of the whole kingdom of France ! " J J 
After showing to what an extent opinions varied respecting the age of these 
Russian deposits, most authors referring them to the New Red Sandstone or 
Trias, others to the Carboniferous era, it was next observed §§ : — 
" Such was the state of the question when we entered upon the survey of 
Russia. To arrive, therefore, at a sound conclusion respecting the age of these 
rocks, it became essential to traverse, as far as possible, the countries over which 
they extended, and compare the phenomena which had led to such contradictory 
opinions. The result has been, that, though these deposits are of very varied 
mineral aspect, and consist of grits, sandstones, marls, conglomerates, and lime- 
stone, sometimes enclosing great masses of gypsum and rock-salt, and are also 
much impregnated with copper, and occasionally with sulphur, yet the whole 
group is characterized by one type only of animal and vegetable life. 
" Convincing ourselves, in the field, that these strata were connected by their 
organic remains with the Carboniferous rocks on the one hand, and were inde- 
pendent of the Trias on the other, we ventured to designate them by a geogra- 
phical term derived from the ancient kingdom of Perm, within and around 
whose precincts the necessary evidences had been obtained. 
* Trans. Geol. Soc. n. s., vol. ii. pp. 37 et seq. % Mem. Lit. & Phil. Soc. Manchester, vols. xii. 
t Treatise on G-eology, p. 189. and xiv. ; Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. vol. xii. p. 138, 
J Monograph, Palseont. Soc. 1856 ; Ann. Nat. and vol. xviii. p. 439. 
Hist. 2 ser. vol. xvii. ; and J ournal Geol. Soc. ** Journ. Geol. Soc. vol. vii. p. 268. 
Dublin, vol. vii. tt Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. vol. xii. p. 267, &c. 
$ Ann. Nat. Hist. 2 ser. vol. xix. pp. 33 &c. jj Russia-in-Europe, vol. i. p. 137. 
|! Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. ; Annals Nat. Hist. ; Ibid. p. 138. 
Trans. Tyneside Nat. Club. 
