  NOTES OF EXCURSIONS, IN ILLUSTRATION OF THE MODE OF INVESTIGATING GEOLOGICAL PHENOMENA, AND OF COLLECTING ORGANIC REMAINS. GEOLOGICAL EXCURSIONS. ———— "Let the moon Shine on thee in thy solitary walk; And let the misty mountain winds be free To blow against thee; and in after years, When these wild ecstasies shall be matured Into a sober pleasure,—when thy mind Shall be a mansion for all lovely forms, Thy memory be a dwelling place For all sweet sounds and harmonies, oh! then If solitude, or fear, or pain, or grief Should be thy portion, with what healing thoughts Of tender joy wilt thou remember me And these my benedictions!" Wordsworth. I now propose to conduct the reader to a few British localities, and point out the mode of examining geological phenomena in the field, and of collecting organic remains from the rocks and strata; in other words, afford a practical illustration of the advantages to be derived from the knowledge acquired by our previous investigations. But from want of space, only one or two excursions can be described in detail; and I must restrict myself in a great measure to extracts from my note-book, and explanatory remarks and suggestions for the guidance of the student and collector. The subjects will be arranged in the following manner:— 1. Instructions for collecting specimens. 2. Excursions illustrative of the geological character and organic remains of the Tertiary deposits of the London and Hampshire basins; namely, to the Isle of Sheppey, Bracklesham Bay, &c. 3. Notes for a geological Excursion over the Chalk and Wealden 4. Geological notes of various places on the line of the Great Western Railway, from London to Clifton. 5. Excursion to Matlock and its vicinity; to examine the nature and position of the mountain limestone and associated strata of that part of Derbyshire. 6. Geological Notes for an examination of the central group of the plutonic or igneous rocks of England, and of the Carboniferous and Slate strata through which they are protruded: in an Excursion to Charnwood Forest, by Leicester, Mount Sorel, Swithland, Woodhouse, &c. to Whitwick. |
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