s 62 Account of the late Mr, William Marthii F,L.S^ [Jan. 1, 
fwed for medicine to remove it. I have 
not done much to the work I have in 
liie press lately. Indeed, I have had 
neither spirits nor inclination to .attend 
to it. Yet I ought to do so, if possible, 
for that and my other work will be all, 
perhaps, that a wife and six helpless 
children will have to depend on, for a 
time, for subsistence.’' Unfortunately, 
This has been but too soon verified. 
The work to which he here alludes, 
as being in the press, he was enabled to 
publish in the beginning of March, 
1809, under the title of “ Outlines of 
an Attempt to establish a Knowledge of 
Extraneous Fossils, on scientific Princi¬ 
ples,” and he dedicated it to his friend 
Mr. Lambert. Notwithstanding the 
modesty of the title, it is truly a classi¬ 
cal production, which will be found ex¬ 
tremely useful to persons entering upon 
tlie study of geology and extraneous 
fossil?, and will be read with satisfaction 
iind advantage by those who have made 
considerable proficiency in tliese depart¬ 
ments of mineralogv. 
When IVIr. jM. first began to collect 
and describe the fossils, that have the 
form or structure of animal or vegetable 
bodies, and, indeed, till this work ap¬ 
peared, we had no elementary book, 
containing a regular exposition of facts 
and principles, on which this study could 
be conducted, as in other branches of 
natural history. Having felt greatly the 
want of such an introductory treatise, 
and aware of the importance of the 
task, he spared no pains to supply the 
deficiency and to render the science 
as easy and inviting to future students ns 
it was in his power to effect. 
It would exceed the limits we wish to 
assign to this account of our author, to 
enter into a full analysis or criticism of 
the work under consideration. We may 
be allowed, however, to state briefly, 
that, in the preface, he has laid down 
and illustrated the fundamental princi¬ 
ples on which he conceives tlie study of 
extraneous fossils may be scientifically 
conducted; and tliat, in the first part 
of tlie work, to which he has given the 
title of “ An Elementary Introduction 
to the Studv of Extraneous Fossils, See/' 
after giving definitions ot natural bodies, 
be points out the kinds, phenomena, 
and origin, of relics, with their introduc¬ 
tion into tlie mineral kingdom ; their 
distinctive characters, with an explana¬ 
tion or the terms used : their geographic 
situation ; the principles of tiieir ar¬ 
rangement and nomenclature, and the 
^delineation of relics, illustrated by seve¬ 
ral examples. In the body of this part 
of the work he has given the facts and 
inferences which constitute the basis of 
the study, indistinct propositions; and 
has added to these such observations as 
be deemed necessary for the illustra¬ 
tion of them. In the form of notes will 
be found the more foreign remarks on 
chemical, mineralogical, and geological, 
subjects, with references to authors, 
lists of zoological terms, iScc. ; from 
which the student will derive mucli use¬ 
ful information, condensed into a very 
narrow compass. 
The second part is entitled “ Systema 
Reliquiorum, or anArrangement oFExtra- 
neous Fossils, as far as it respects their 
orders, genera, and families,” and is 
written entirely in the Latin language. 
The orders and genera, of which lie has 
given a view’ in the first number of tlie 
Petrificata Derbiensia, differ very mate¬ 
rially from those he finally adopted in 
this volume. 
Speaking of the execution of this work, 
he has expressed Iiimseif in the following 
modest terms, “ At a distance from ex¬ 
tensive collections and valuable libraries, 
those necessary lielps to the naturalist 
when writing, my time is almost wholly 
taken up with the duties of my profes¬ 
sion, and debarred, by local situation, 
from that personal intercourse with the 
scientific, which might so materially 
have aided me in my pursuit; this work 
is truly the production of one who has 
possessed few advantages for its comple¬ 
tion, none indeed except those which 
have arisen from a long residence in a. 
mining country, where the objects of the 
study abound, and have been constantly 
examined under their most interesting 
relations. Hence I heg leave to add, 
that a large portion of the facts advanced 
in this treatise has been repeatedly con¬ 
firmed by my own observations. These 
facts, I am aware, are often rudely ex¬ 
plained, and sometimes inariificially put 
together; but I trust the errors and defi¬ 
ciencies of the work will not be found so 
numerous as to prevent its being consi¬ 
dered a proper collection of aata for the 
student to proceed on. Hereafter, per¬ 
haps, some one, with leisure and abilities, 
equal to the task, may condescend to fill 
up these “Outlines,” or, sketching others 
with a happier hand, give to the w'orld a 
complete “ Philosophia lleUgmoriofi.'* 
Tlie following extract from a letter, 
w'hich Dr. Hull received from Mr. Mar¬ 
tin in a few months after the oublication 
of 
