Hooke as Geologist

Abstract

Mr. ROSSITER does well to underline the early date of Hooke's geological work, but he might have gone further. For example, Hooke's observations on petrified wood, read before the Royal Society on June 17, 1663, were published in John Evelyn's ” Sylva” (1664, pp. 96–7) as well as in ” Micrographia” (1665), where Hooke also briefly outlined his views on fossils and refuted Stelluti's opinions on ” lignum fossile”. On p. 439 of the ” Posthumous Works”, Hooke refers to his ” lectures in 1664” on the agency of earthquakes in modifying the earth's surface. In my article I gave the date 1668 for certain passages because they were taken from the first section of the ” Discourses of Earthquakes”, which concludes (on p. 328) with the words ” Ended Sep. 15, 1668”. I should be sorry if anyone thought that Hooke's reputation suffered because other passages dated 1694 and 1699 were also quoted.