Devon and Cornvoall, Belgium^ the Eifel, S^c, 391 
geologists as it being referable to the carboniferous lime- 
stone. I may here remark also, that it contains among its 
upper beds one or two seams of coal. It exhibits many 
fossils that are common to the carboniferous limestone of the 
British isles; but in it are found also some species which 
occur in the Silurian system and other transition regions, 
namely, Calymene macroplithalma^ Orthoceras striatum^ Tere^ 
bratula lacimosa, Cyathophyllum turhinatum^ Cyathophyllum 
caspitosum ; besides one fossil, which is a native of the trans- 
ition districts of Normandy, Brittany, and Anjou, namely, 
the Calymene Tristani, The only Goniatite noticed in this 
carboniferous limestone is Gon. sphcericm ; but in the lower 
part of the succeeding coal formation there occur also Gon, 
Listeria Gon, Diadema^ and Gon. atratus^'. 
Even this brief review may be sufficient to show that there 
is but little analogy between the three lower systems of the an- 
thraciferous tract in Belgium and the formations of the Silurian 
system, to which they have been assimilated ; that is judging by 
the organic remains hitherto elicited from the former as com- 
pared with the latter. What other fossils may be discovered by 
the extended researches of M. Dumont and others remains 
to be seen. At present the author appears to be fully justi- 
fied in his remark, that ‘‘though the English divisions esta- 
blished by Mr. Murchison are very good for England, as 
being founded on the existence of fossils which appear to be 
different in each of them; yet these divisions must present 
palaeontological differences more or less remarkable in other 
countries, and that this is in fact what takes place in Belgium : 
and he therefore proposes to draw the attention of the Royal 
Academy of Brussels to this subject at a future period f.” 
With such an admission, would not the ievm Belgia?i have been 
more appropriate than that of Silurian^ as applied to these 
formations? Premature approximations tend rather to re- 
tard than promote the advance of science. It has been well 
observed by a profound judge, that, “as we must be careful 
not to apply our domestic types without modification to other 
regions, so we must take care not to despair of modifying our 
scheme, so that it shall be more extensively applicable than 
it at first appeared to be ±.” It will be well for geologists to 
bear this reflection in mind. Much, I apprehend, remains 
yet to be accomplished, before anything like a definite order 
* See the works of MM. Dumont and Beyrich already quoted. 
t Bulletin de V A cademie Roy ale des Sciences d Bruxelles, November 
1838, and bond, and Edinb. Phil. Mag., August 1839. 
X Proceedings of Geol. Soc., Address of the Rev. W. Whewell, as Presi- 
dent, February 1839. [bond, and Edinb. Phil. Mag. vol. xiv., p. 450.] 
