lead him to undertake geological, mining, or exploring adventures in distant and little-known lands, he will find himself far better qualified to draw conclusions respecting the age and position of fossiliferous strata than if he had come to the inquiry with a vague general knowledge, such as he might gather from the inspection of a universal collection; for an intimate acquaintance with the fossils of all regions could not be acquired by him even during many years. He has learnt not only how to observe, but also what to observe; he has gone through that wholesome training which monographic exercises in any of the divisions of natural history invariably give. Without it, zoologists, botanists, and geologists, must be content to take place among mere declaimers and talkers about things, which, in the absence of practical knowledge, all possible reading and lecture-listening will fail to make them understand. The collections of organic remains displayed in the galleries of this Museum are not of interest to the student only, they have a public value they bear testimony to the correctness of our knowledge of the geological structure of the British Islands; and, where they coincide with the operations of the Geological Survey, present the minutest evidence of the age and features of the strata explored, as far as fossils can afford such evidence. And as the economic value of geological observations must ever depend on their strict accuracy on the confidence that may be placed in them by those who would invest capital or prosecute researches on account of their faith in data officially laid before the public-such tangible proofs, open to the most severe scrutiny, as collections of organic remains made on the spot by the officers of the Survey, must have a practical importance, upon which too much stress cannot be laid. In a country where riches are a title to high esteem and power, any branch of science that has no direct influence upon money-making is likely to be held in low estimation by the unenlightened. The meaning attached to the word practical in England is often nearly synonymous with money-producing or money-saving. Although I would be the last person to maintain that scientific establishments should be supported by the nation, or scientific researches respected mainly on account of such recommendation, I am not one of those who would separate science from the ordinary pursuits of men, or who would desire to see philosophers withdrawing themselves from the multitude, by keeping their thoughts unmingled with the meaner aims of the crowd. When science, provided she be mindful of her honour, and make no sacrifices of her love of truth, serves as the handmaiden of even the humblest of arts, her dignity gains in lustre, and her familiarity breeds respect. There is no department of science without some ties with the common business of life. Even palæontology may have a direct as well as an indirect influence on commercial enterprises. An example or two, out of many, may serve as an illustration. Not long ago considerable funds were spent in a district in the west in a useless search for coal. The adventurers, ignorant of geology, had set to work in dark Silurian shales, among the oldest of stratified rocks, and far beneath our carboniferous strata. Their mineral aspect, however, resembled that of certain coal-shales with which the miners were familiar. Had they possessed even a slight acquaintance with organic remains, they would have abandoned their profitless experiment at the very commencement; for the shales in which they were working were charged with graptolites, extinct zoophytes, which do not range higher than the lowest fossiliferous group, and the presence of which indicated the true character of the strata beyond question. The fossils did not escape the notice of the miners. They collected them, and grew the more confirmed in their mistake: for, unacquainted with the differences, they mistook them for coal plants. They might have bored through the earth's centre without coming to the treasure they sought; their only chance of reaching it was by perforating quite to the antipodes. In a second example I was myself personally concerned. Some years ago, when as yet but a student attending the geological and mineralogical lectures of Professor Jameson, I opposed by letter in a provincial journal a mistaken enterprise upon which much money was unfortunately spent. The object of it was to sink through the old red sandstone, with the hope of reaching coal, in a district where such a search was hopeless. The parties engaged were confirmed in their intentions by the advice of practical coal-miners well acquainted with the collieries of the north of England. These men argued, that since there was limestone and sandstone similar to those rocks associated with coal, and overlying it, in the districts where they had worked, therefore the strata were the same, and coal should be found. I pointed out, chiefly from the evidence of the fossils contained in the limestone overlying the sandstone, that the rocks on which they proposed to operate were only like to, but not identical with, those to which they were compared. I told them the warning was proffered in vain-that they were throwing away their money. One of the shareholders, an intelligent man, and a reader of elementary works on geology, replied to my objections, by attempting to meet them on scientific grounds. In some old-fashioned books it used to be asserted, that shells of the genus Cardium-in plainer language, cockle-shells-when found fossil, are characteristic of tertiary strata. "Now," wrote my opponent, "cockles abound in the limestone in question, therefore it is tertiary, and the carboniferous strata must lie beneath." He had mistaken certain forms of Terebratulu, shells of a very different order, for cockles; a very unfortunate mistake, for the error was persisted in, and much good gold turned into irremediable dust. I have cited these instances because they not only shew how serious an error, leading to considerable pecuniary losses, may be committed in consequence of ignorance of science, but also are examples of the danger of inaccurate or fancied knowledge. In both these cases the fossils were noticed, but, through ignorance of these distinctions, altogether mistaken. There is much popular palæontology abroad, as likely to mislead as to guide. The practical value of this section of natural history depends upon its certainties, and not upon its uncertainties. In the former class may be placed the determination which fossils afford of the origin of rocks, whether they be marine or estuary or freshwater deposits; of the relative ages of sedimentary strata; of the indications they give of the climate of different epochs; of the information they contribute respecting the ancient physical geography of our globe; of the testimony they bear to the unity, harmony, and benevolence of the Divine scheme of creation, the same during incalculably distant centuries of primeval time as now. Under the head of uncertainties may be ranked theories of transmutation of species; of progression towards perfection; of universal diffusion of species at ancient epochs; of the retrograde development of animal and vegetable forms in time; of original perfection and subsequent degeneration; of original generalisation of specific types, and subsequent specification; of differences in the physiological habits of creatures anciently and now. All these notions are hypothetically or theoretically advocated, more or less, by men of science at the present day. All of them, it seems to me, are at best inductions from insufficient data. They may or may not be true, but at present, as we may see by a glance at the comparative extent of our knowledge of existing and extinct forms, we are not in a condition to come to a decision on the important questions they involve. The collections of fossils displayed in the cabinets of this Museum are highly illustrative of the great truths of geology, and are arranged so as to convey instruction on the fundamental principles of the science. The fossils of each formation-in stricter language, the creatures of each epoch in the Preadamic history of the earth's formation are grouped together, and each group is displayed in strict geological sequence, in order of superposition of strata. Whoever studies these collections carefully may gain a clear conception of the nature of the proofs afforded by natural history of the vast duration of the earth, and the series of epochs, each characterised by a distinct creation of organised beings, that have preceded the present condition of animated nature. Although in the commencement of our educational efforts we can scarcely hope to embrace all the subjects that spring out of the arrangements of this Institution, it behoves us to look forward to the utilization in other directions than that of geological science, even of its natural history resources. There is a great blank yet unfilled in the teaching of the numerous applications which may be 220 Relations of Natural History to Geology and the Arts. made of natural history to the arts. Charming as are the exquisite examples of ceramic, vitreous, and metallic manufactures collected in our Museum, we cannot but feel that the workman, however fine his natural or acquired taste may be, is unaware of the vast variety of beautiful shapes and designs that lie unused in the treasury of nature. The aiding of the manufacturer in the perfecting of his works is one of the aims we profess. The chemist can teach him how to improve his materials, or furnish him with new substances and new pigments to use in his art; the metallurgist can shew him those metallic compounds that can give the finest effect to his castings; the mineralogist and geologist can open out fresh stores of ore and earth suitable for his operations. Cannot the naturalist also come forth with friendly aid, and render some good service? The relations of natural history with the arts are of two kinds, either illustrative or suggestive. To the first belongs the inquiry into the nature and sources of the numerous products derived from the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and applied, or capable of being applied, as direct materials for arts and manufactures. A more perfect acquaintance with old, and a discovery or indication of new, materials adapted for the exercise of human skill and workmanship may thus be attained. But the naturalist may render higher, and, at the same time, as practical services to the craftsman, by furnishing out of the endless store of beautiful objects that are rendered familiar to him by his scientific pursuits, sources of new and exquisite design, fancies originating in the teeming brain of nature,― God-born thoughts, that become manifest in living shapes,-all consistent,never jarring,-in every part admirably adapted to each destined purpose. Now, the laws of these adaptations and harmonies, the proportions by which the beauty of living things is maintained, the ideas by which similar forms have been grouped in nature, and, though like exceedingly, yet wondrously dissimilar,-~ these are among the earnest studies of every philosophical naturalist. Surely out of such studies lessons applicable to art may be derived? What is ornamental art but the isolation and embodiment in works of human skill of the beauty that is diffused through all the works of God? And that beauty lies, not merely in the bulk of objects, nor on their surface, but is as manifest in every part and atom composing them as in the combined whole. It is in itself composite; the combination, not of lesser, but of minuter beauties. To imitate, to approach, we must attempt a like arrangement, in order to obtain the same exquisite result. And how, except through earnest and scientific study, can we attain the knowledge that shall enable us to discover the pathway leading towards perfection? 221 On Coral Reefs and Islands. By JAMES D. DANA. (Continued from page 62.) Formation of Reefs, and Causes of their Features and Geographical Distribution. An inquiry into the causes and origin of the features presented by coral reefs and islands, has led us to glance at the nature of coral zoophytes, and at the effects of various agents upon their development. The way has thus been prepared for considering the bearing of these facts, and of other influencing causes, on the growth of the coral plantation as a whole. While, therefore, the preceding pages treat of zoophytes as individual species, the following will relate to those results which proceed from their accumulation, and the causes which have determined the features and geographical distribution of reefs and islands. 1. Formation of Reefs. Very erroneous ideas prevail respecting the appearance of a bed or area of growing corals. The submerged reef is often thought of as an extended mass of coral, alive uniformly over its upper surface, and, by this living growth, gradually enlarging upward; and such preconceived views, when ascertained to be erroneous by observation, have sometimes led to scepticism with regard to the zoophytic origin of the reef rock. Nothing is wider from the truth; and this must have been inferred from the descriptions already given. Another glance at the coral plantation should be taken by the reader, before proceeding with the explanations which follow. Coral plantation and coral field, are more appropriate appellations than coral garden, and convey a juster impression of the surface of a growing reef. Like a spot of wild land, covered in some parts with varied shrubbery, in other parts bearing only occasional tufts of vegetation over barren plains of sand, here a clump of saplings, and there a carpet of variously-coloured flowers-such is the coral plantation. Numerous kinds of zoophytes grow scattered over the surface |