1839-1845.] SIR R. PEEL AT DRAYTON. 
165 
discovery of the highest interest to geology) are these 
excrements ; and it seems probable that in these strata 
England possesses the means of supplying the place of 
recent bones, and therefore the principal conditions of 
improving agriculture.” 
Speaking of the same valuable discovery, Sir Roderick 
Murchison recalls, not without a touch of true pathos, the 
“ fervid anticipation ” with which Buckland was 
“ led to hope that these fossil bodies would prove of real use 
in agriculture ; and one of the many regrets I have experi¬ 
enced since his bright intellect was clouded, was that my 
friend had not been able to appreciate the truly valuable 
results that have followed from this his own discovery , which, 
at the time it was made, was treated as a curious but 
unimportant subject, and almost scouted as being too mean 
for investigation. The hundreds of tons of these phosphatic 
coprolites and animal substances which are now extracted, 
to the great profit of the proprietors of Cambridgeshire 
and the adjacent counties, for the enrichment of their lands, 
is a warning commentary to those persons of the ‘ cui 
bono’ school who are ever despising the first germs of 
scientific discovery.” 
It was the delight of Sir Robert Peel to gather round 
him at Drayton Manor the most distinguished men of the 
day in art and science and literature. From these parties 
Buckland was hardly ever absent. He was, indeed, a 
frequent visitor at Drayton at other times, and both from 
Sir Robert and Lady Peel he always received the greatest 
kindness and goodwill. These parties at Drayton gener¬ 
ally consisted of about five or six persons eminent in their 
various branches of science and information. The names 
of George Stephenson, Smith of Deanston, Dr. Lyon 
Playfair, Baron Liebig, Mr. Mechie, Sir W. Follett, Mr. 
