Controversy in Victorian Geology: The Cambrian-Silurian Dispute

385 Pages·1990·45.42 MB·English

by  James A. Secord

Controversy in Victorian Geology

Controversy in
Victorian Geology
THE CAMBRIAN-SILURIAN DISPUTE
James A. Secord
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
Copyright © 1986 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street,
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press,
Oxford
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data will be
found on the last printed page of this book
ISBN 0-691-08417-3
ISBN 0-691-02441-3, pbk.
First paperback printing, 1990
This book has been composed in Linotron Palatino
Clothbound editions of Princeton University Press books
are printed on acid-free paper, and binding materials are
chosen for strength and durability
Printed in the United States of America
by Princeton University Press
Princeton, New Jersey
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
For Anne

Contents
Illustrations ix
Preface xv
Manuscript Sources xix
Introduction 3
ONE Controversy and Classification 14
TWO Collaboration and Contrasts 39
THREE Cambria and Siluria Established 69
FOUR The Spread of Siluria 110
FIVE Restructuring Wales 144
six Revivals of the Cambrian 173
SEVEN Professional Geology and
the Quest for Priority 202
EIGHT The Battle of May Hill 242
NINE The Creation of an Alternative 276
Conclusion 312
Abbreviations 319
Bibliography 321
Index 349

Illustrations
1.1. Meeting of the Geological Society. From [De la Beche],
"Annual Statement," lithograph in BGS: GSM1/558, p. 4.
Courtesy of the Director, British Geological Survey. 18
1.2. "Phillipsia Attacking Griffithides." Drawing by
H. James, [mid-1830s], in BGS: GSM 1/558, p. 4. Cour­
tesy of the Director, British Geological Survey. 19
1.3. Punch's Geologists on a British Association Excursion.
From Punch, almanac for May 1843, n.p. By permission of
the Syndics of Cambridge University Library. 26
1.4. Strata Classifications Commonly Used in England in
1831. Modified from De la Beche 1831: 38-39. Photograph
courtesy of the American Philosophical Society. 31
1.5. Punch's "Geology of Society." From [anon.] 1841: 157.
Courtesy of Punch. 35
1.6. Areas of Primary and Transition Rocks. Based on fron­
tispiece to Conybeare and Phillips 1822. 37
2.1. The Young Sedgwick. Pencil drawing by H. W. Jukes,
SM: portrait no. 205; quotation from Barclay Fox's diary
for 10 Aug. 1835, in Brett 1979: 80. Photograph courtesy
of Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cam­
bridge. 41
2.2. Murchison in 1836. Lithograph by W. Drummond,
Athenaeum portraits no. 41. By permission of the Trus­
tees of the British Museum. Quotation from J. D. Forbes,
diary of a tour in 1831, J. D. Forbes papers, University Li­
brary St. Andrews. 43
2.3. Geological Map of Wales. Reduced and simplified from
Greenough 1820. 52
2.4. Difference Between Stratification and Slaty Cleavage.
Sedgwick 1835a: pi. 57, figs. 4, 5. By permission of the
Syndics of Cambridge University Library. 59
2.5. Map Annotated by Sedgwick in the Field, early 1830s.
SM. Courtesy of the Department of Earth Sciences, Uni­
versity of Cambridge. 67