S06 
THE GEOLOGIST. 
ried out in tlie spirit of Sir Henry De la Bcclie's preface to the first De- 
cade, palseontologists and naturalists generally would benefit very greatly 
by a work so remarkable for the beauty and accuracy of its figures and 
the completeness of its descriptions. 
I dare say most palfeontologists would not object to receive one Decade 
or Monograph at the least every three months. 
I am, Sir, your most obedient servant, 
E. Lechmere Guppy. 
Port of Spain, Trinidad, X^th June, 1862, 
GEOLOGICAL NOTES IN THE GEEAT EXHIBITION. 
In a few months — and how soon they will fly away! — the great show of the 
world's industry, that daily attracts its tens of thousands of visitors, will 
have closed for ever, and have become like many other beautiful things — 
an item of the oblivious past. As the dulcet sounds of music pass away 
and are never heard again, although fresh lips or fingers may bring forth 
other sounds as tender and as sweet, so from our eyes this exquisite vision 
will pass, and if in future years other and nobler displays shall take its 
place, this glorious scene will truly be no more. How much material of 
high interest for the geologist is there ! as there is for the naturalist and 
ethnologist ; as there is for every thinking mind, for every inquiring intel- 
lect. In these notes it is not our intention to attempt to detail all the 
geology tliat may be learnt within those miles of walls, the catalogues show 
what a volume would be needed for this ; nor is it our wish to fill our 
pages with expatiations on the wonderful scenery. The work of the navvy 
and the mechanic, the work of the labourer and builder is the work that 
endures. "We attempt to harvest in the fields of facts which other men 
have there recorded ; facts written down for tiie present occasion for their 
purposes ; facts which we wish to gather for our science. We have mineral 
materials from all parts of the globe. Who has described them, figured 
them? Plants, trees, woods, animals, skins, bones, gems, and metals con- 
veying years of information to the student. Surely in these fields we may 
gather as much as we are able of such goodly seeds of knowledge. 
First, in walking through the courts, how many noble samples of our 
nation's great sources of power and wealth, coal. and iron, have we seen? 
Samples of many or of most of them we may have seen before, for 
they are of daily use, some or other hourly before us ; but when have we 
seen such samples so instructively placed? Where have we seen them 
accompanied and illustrated by such instructive plans and sections ? 
We have pondered long hoio we should hest place these various matters 
before our readers, and at last we have resolved to gather the good seed 
wherever we can find it, and to take it as it stands, to gather it as it is, 
and to store it in our volume for everybody's use. This we must do, or 
lose it altogether. Our readers may thrash it, grind it, do what they will 
with it ; but unless we bring it in it will perish thriftless in the field where 
it stands. What we intend to do, then, is to take note of whatever is 
valuable as we meet it, we shall not attempt more. As we find good facts 
we shall write them down — ay, in the Exhibition itself — and send them, 
then and there, direct to our printers. 
Mineral Eesources of Tasmania. — The bold greenstone and basaltic 
mountains of Tasmania, formerly known as Van Diemen's Land, their 
