70 
POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
industrial towns which have sprung up in consequence of the vicinity of 
abundant fuel. We must remark, however, that Messrs. Davis and Lees 
confine their attention in this book exclusively to the West Riding of York- 
shire, leaving out of consideration the western portion of the North Riding) 
which nevertheless forms a continuous whole with the district investigated 
by them. This seems to be a pity ; but perhaps the authors might urge in 
defence of the course they have adopted that their western boundary is as arbi- 
trary as their northern one, and that they might with equal justice be called 
upon to cany their researches into the neighbouring counties of Lancashire 
and Westmoreland. So let us be thankful for what we have got and are 
promised. 
It appears from the authors’ statements that they had hoped to embrace 
in a single volume all that they have to say on the geology, physical 
geography, and botany of the West Riding of Yorkshire. In this expec- 
tation they have been disappointed, and this first instalment — which, we 
presume, may be regarded as constituting half the entire work — includes the 
geology of the district worked out by Mr. J. W. Davis, and the physical 
geography and botanical topography in accordance with the various 
drainage areas, by the combined labours of both authors. 
As the eastern boundary of the Riding is formed by the Ouse and 
Humber it includes a considerable portion of the Triassic formation of 
the great central valley, but the great mass of the district is composed, as 
above stated, of Palaeozoic rocks. In the north-west corner the Silurian 
rocks, which form the chief part of the adjoining county of Westmoreland, 
occupy a small space, and are exposed in considerable thickness in various 
sections ; along the eastern border of the Palaeozoic area stretches a great 
band of Permian rocks ; while the remaining space is occupied by different 
members of the great Carboniferous group, here very fully represented. 
All these formations, with their subdivisions, as well as the Trias of the vale 
of York so far as it falls within the Riding, and the post-Tertiary drifts 
and other more modern deposits which cover so much of the latter and occupy 
parts of the valleys among the older rocks, are described by Mr. Davis in 
accordance with the most recent investigations, checked and corrected by 
his own researches especially among the coal-measures. His description of the 
geological structure of West Yorkshire is illustrated with an excellent co- 
loured geological map and twenty-one plates, sixteen of which represent actual 
sections in black and white, while the remainder contain coloured diagram- 
matic sections of different parts of the area. Mr. Davis thus furnishes the 
student with an excellent resume of West Yorkshire geology, particularly 
well adapted to serve as a guide in its practical investigation, especially as 
his lists of the fossils obtained from the different formations are very full 
and complete. 
In the second part, which is the joint production of both authors, the 
surface conformation of the district is treated of, with special reference to 
the distribution of its native plants, which are here noticed in accordance 
with the river drainage-basins in which they occur. This section of the 
work is illustrated with a map of the Riding, in which the different drainage 
areas are distinguished by colours. The richness of the flora appears from 
the fact that 1,189 species of flowering plants, ferns, and fern-allies have been 
