Figures of Characteristic British Fossils

Excerpt from Figures of Characteristic British Fossils: With Descriptive Remarks The rapid progress made in the advancement of the various Sciences, especially that of Geology, and its important branch of Palćontology, has necessitated, for instructive purposes, such a condensation of details, as may simplify the subject to the Students of that Science. With this object the present work was projected, its design being to exhibit to the eye such fossils only as are considered characteristic of the principal groups or formations of the stratified rocks; requiring, necessarily, considerable judgment in their selection, from the large number now known, as well as truthfulness in depicting them; the author's long experience, and personal execution of the plates, may be considered a sufficient guarantee for their correctness. The descriptive remarks on the groups of fossils, with Woodcut Illustrations, is an additional part of the work not originally intended, but it is hoped this portion, with the aid of the excellent Wood Engravings by Mr. William Oldham, of recent and fossil forms, for comparison, will add to its clearness and utility. It is a matter of regret that so long a time has elapsed between the publication of the first part and the conclusion of the Volume; this has arisen from various causes, over which the Author had no control. This Volume has been made to complete the Palćozoic division of strata by the addition of two extra plates. It thus contains forty-two Lithographic plates, comprising more than 700 figures of fossils, over 300 of these being original. The descriptive remarks are illustrated by eighteen Wood Engravings, including fifty-eight figures. All the figures are of the natural size, except where otherwise mentioned, the subjects being arranged as far as practicable, zoologically, as well as strati-graphically. Although complete in itself as far as the Palćozoic division extends, this volume is intended to be followed by others, including the Secondary and Tertiary formations. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.