Humane Bodies, the Bodies of Quadrupeds, and other Land-Animals, of Birds, of Fishes, both of the Cartilaginous, the Squamose, and Crustaceous kinds; the Bones, Teeth, Horns, and other parts of Beasts, and of Fishes: the Shells of Land-Snails: and the Shells of those River and Sea Shell-Fish that were lighter than Chalk &c. Trees, Shrubs, and all other Vegetables, and the Seeds of them: and that peculiar Terrestrial Matter whereof these consist, and out of which they are all formed, ... were not precipitated till the last, and so lay above all the former, constituting the supreme or outmost _Stratum_ of the Globe.... The said _Strata_, whether of Stone, of Chalk, of Cole, of Earth, or whatever other Matter they consisted of, lying thus each upon other, were all originally parallel: ... they were plain, eaven, and regular.... After some time the _Strata_ were broken, on all sides of the Globe: ... they were dislocated, and their Situation varied, being elevated in some places, and depressed in others ... the Agent, or force, which effected this Disruption and Dislocation of the _Strata_, was seated _within_ the Earth." Woodward's writings no doubt exercised a direct influence on the growth of our subject, but the indirect effects of his munificent bequest to the University of Cambridge and his foundation of the Chair of Geology in that University were even greater, for as will be pointed out in its proper place, two of the occupants of that chair played a considerable part in raising stratigraphical geology to the position which it now occupies. The discoveries which were made after the publication of Woodward's book and before the appearance of the map and writings of William Smith are given in the memoir of the latter author, written by his nephew, who formerly occupied the Chair of Geology at Oxford[1]. It would appear that the fact that "the strata, considered as definitely extended masses, were arranged one upon another in a certain _settled order_ or _series_" was first published by John Strachey in the _Philosophical Transactions_ for 1719 and 1725. "In a section he represents, in their true order, chalk, oolites, lias, red marls and coal, and the metalliferous rocks" of Somersetshire, but confines his attention to the rocks of a limited district. [Footnote 1: _Memoirs of William Smith, LL.D._ By J. Phillips, F.R.S., F.G.S. 1844.] The Rev. John Michell published in the _Philosophical Transactions_ for 1760 an "Essay on the Cause and Phænomena of Earthquakes," but Prof. Phillips gives proofs that Michell, who in 1762 became Woodwardian Professor, had before 1788 discovered (what he never published) the first approximate succession of the Mesozoic rocks, in the district extending from Yorkshire to the country about Cambridge. Michell's account was discovered written by Smeaton on the back of a letter dated 1788. The following is the succession as quoted in Phillips' memoir (p. 136):