49R 
THE GEOLOGIST. 
obliquely ; ami not to weary the reader with too numerous selections of such 
jialpable i'ancics, wc restrain ourselves to the notice of one other — jjlate vii., 
fig. 2. Let us quote the description of this " Eig. 2. — ' Terebratula' : The 
entire pel)ble was formed inside of a ' peetcn'-shcU, and iiisifle f/te pebble^cs this 
formation, which was a living organism connected with the hinge." 
Can a more magnificent jnud^le of absurdities be penned ? This specimen, as 
we sec by the plate, is an ordinary moss-agate, from wliicli the structui-e of a 
choanite has disappeared under the effect of mineralization, and to tlie unedu- 
cated eye of the author, dreaming of likenesses instead of tracing out nature, 
lias appeared to bear a vague resemblance to a shell which he has termed, of all 
tilings under the sun, a terebratula. 
Neither can wc avoid commenting here on the author's very evident want of 
knowledge of the different characters and conditions presented by the substance 
of which the objects he pretends to describe are composed, othenvise we should 
not iind him speaking of " quartz-agate," " agatine-siliceous," &e. His know- 
ledge of mineralogy might surely have been sutlicieutly improved by a reference 
to any popular handbook to have saved him from an exposure of Ins ignorance 
of the distinctive characteristics of flint, chert, chalcedony, agate, carnelian, 
and quartz. The " silicified parti-coloured madrepore" spoken of at p. C2, and 
the pebbles " chafed and worn to skeletons" on the Bognor shore (p. G2), must 
be curiosities indeed worth preserving. 
After our pause at page 17, by an effort we did resume our reading, hoping 
to find some redeeming qualities for such sad errors. At page 18 are some 
figures of fossils, amongst them one of the most abiindant from the white chalk, 
which formerly was called Spulaiirjus, and of late years Micrasfer cor-ungidnum. 
The prefix to the wood-cut of this is merely cor-aiit/znintm. Was the author in 
doubt which generic cognomen to take, or can not it be possible he could be 
ignorant of the proper name of so common an object ? 
With the practical du'cctions contained in the account of " the lapidary's 
workshop" we were certainly pleased, and regard it as the best written portion 
of the work. 
The chapter on the contents of a good beach might have been deemed good 
also, had it been correct ; but when we hint that the author supposes the pre- 
sence of bitumen in ehalk-fliuts — that he throws his refuse ehalcedonY-pebDles 
" into the sea, there to undergo a fresh impregnation" — a strange notion which 
is repeated at page 65, where he refers to the effects produced by the " crystal- 
lizing waves" — we shall have done quite enough to expose the shaUomiess of 
his mineralogical accpiiremeuts. 
Those who read (i*) the work wiU find he employs his mother tongue in a 
very loose manner indeed, as tliis sentence from page 5 wiU exemplify. " But 
what have I got ? Above thirty globes of chalcedony, blue and white, as oval 
as bantams' eggs." Althougli a book upon "pebbles," he rarely if ever uses 
that word even with its proper meaning, for he confines it merely to denote 
more or less transparent and parti-eoloured sUiecous stones. The natural his- 
tory knowledge displayed is no better than that shown of other departments of 
science. At page 41, the choanite — a bulbous sponge — is described as 
" undoubtedly a beautifid creature," and at page 42 as possessing "feelers." 
At page 42, too, that there might be no mistake about that absurdity, the 
unfortunate "actinia" is again alluded to as being "of the 'crass' kind" with 
" tubular tentacles." We puzzled ourselves at first what the " crass" kind of 
actinia were. Our knowledge of the objects of the sea-shore is not slight : 
after five-aud-twenty years residence on the coast, we were tolerably familiar 
with most of tiie " sea-anemones," and yet we did not know the " crass" kind. 
At last a light stniek in upon our reveries, and we suspected " crass" was a 
slang contraction of " crassicornis." Wc do not like slang, and there is far too 
