6 
DAVIS : PRO. PHILLIPS. 
deluge. He also found two vertebrae, which he attributed to 
another individual of gigantic size of the same race. The belief 
being thereby strengthened in the huge size as well as long life of 
our progenitors — both probably equally incorrect. Engravings of 
both these were subsequently given in the Copper Bible." Cuvier 
afterwards examined these interesting relics and pronounced the 
skeleton of the supposed child to be the remains of a gigantic sala- 
mander, and the two vertebrae to be those of an ichthyosaurus ! 
During the latter part of the eighteenth century and early in 
the present one, William Smith, uncle of John Phillips, made a 
series of distinct and remarkable discoveries, which served in a few 
years to revolutionize and place on a truly scientific basis the whole 
theory of geological knowledge. 
William Smith was a land surveyor and engineer, and whilst 
engaged in his professional labours he had repeated opportunities 
of studying the surface of the land in various parts of the country. 
Having become well acquainted with the series of oolitic rocks in the 
neighbourhood of Bath, bis nativ^e place, he discovered that each 
separate stratum of rock or clay had its pecaliar system of 
fossils, many of which were quite characteristic of the bed in which 
they were found and did not extend to those above or below. 
After fully maturing his conception of this fact, business called him 
to Yorkshire, and here he had opportunities of observing that the 
same fossil shells, etc., which characterized the strata near Bath also 
occurred in similar beds of limestone or sandstone in this county, 
and are equally certain in their distribution. Repeated visits to 
various parts of the country convinced Smith that his generaliza- 
tions applied to all parts ; and resulted, after many years of hard 
and patient labour, in a geological map of the strata of England 
and Wales, which was followed by more detailed maps ot many of 
the counties. He also tabulated the whole series of strata occur- 
ring in England and Wales with the characteristic fossils of each 
section of the rocks. William Smith did immense service to the 
science by clearly ^fenonstrating : — I. That the strata wherever 
