Abstract
ALL who have had occasion to use the valuable Post Office Directories of the English counties published by Messrs. Kelly and Co., will have noticed that the imperfect notes on geology contained in former editions have now been replaced by very accurate and well-written articles on the subject. These notes on the geology of the English counties have been drawn up, evidently with much skill and labour, by Mr. W. J. Harrison. In each case the scattered maps and publications of the Geological Survey have been very carefully studied, and the various memoirs and notices on the geology of each of the counties contained in miscellaneous journals and magazines faithfully summarised. The result is that the numerous readers of those widely diffused publications, the County Directories, have at hand a reliable sketch of the geology of the district in which they live, carefully brought down to the date of publication. What is perhaps of still greater importance is, that these sketches include references to all the principal works bearing on the subject, so that the reader is told where he may find fuller and more detailed information upon any point in which he may be interested. We can scarcely conceive a method by which useful geological information could be more widely diffused, or made more easily available for those who wish to obtain correct ideas concerning the geology of the district in which they live. These sketches of the Geology of the English Counties have now been collected into a volume, and constitute a very useful work of reference. We have tested it in many ways, and find that in almost every case the latest information, even when published in journals of very restricted circulation, has been discovered and made use of. Mr. Harrison's essays are clearly written, and each of them is preceded by a list of the local Natural-History and Scientific Societies, the members of which collect information bearing on the geology of the county; of the museums in which rocks and fossils from the county are preserved; of the publications of the Geological Survey bearing on the county; and of such other works as in any way refer to the subject. In all cases where he was in doubt Mr. Harrison appears to have sought the assistance of competent authorities, the result being a work which is exact, and at the same time is written in a popular style. There are numerous excellent woodcuts, most of which appear to be taken by permission from the publications of the Geological Survey and the Geological Society. We can heartily recommend this book as a convenient and reliable work of reference.
Geology of the Counties of England and of North and South Wales.
By W. Jerome Harrison. (London: Kelly and Co., 1882.)
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Geology of the Counties of England and of North and South Wales . Nature 25, 408 (1882). https://doi.org/10.1038/025408a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/025408a0