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buckland found herself being shaken awake in the middle of the night； her husband crying inexcitement： 鈥渕y dear； i believe that cheirotherium 鈥檚 footsteps are undoubtedly testudinal。鈥�
together they hurried to the kitchen in their nightclothes。 mrs。 buckland made a flour paste；which she spread across the table； while the reverend buckland fetched the family tortoise。
plunking it onto the paste； they goaded it forward and discovered to their delight that itsfootprints did indeed match those of the fossil buckland had been studying。 charles darwinthought buckland a buffoon鈥攖hat was the word he used鈥攂ut lyell appeared to find himinspiring and liked him well enough to go touring with him in scotland in 1824。 it was soonafter this trip that lyell decided to abandon a career in law and devote himself to geology full…time。
lyell was extremely shortsighted and went through most of his life with a pained squint；which gave him a troubled air。 （eventually he would lose his sight altogether。） his other slightpeculiarity was the habit； when distracted by thought； of taking up improbable positions onfurniture鈥攍ying across two chairs at once or 鈥渞esting his head on the seat of a chair； whilestanding up鈥潯。╰o quote his friend darwin）。 often when lost in thought he would slink so lowin a chair that his buttocks would all but touch the floor。 lyell鈥檚 only real job in life was asprofessor of geology at king鈥檚 college in london from 1831 to 1833。 it was around this timethat he produced the principles of geology； published in three volumes between 1830 and1833； which in many ways consolidated and elaborated upon the thoughts first voiced byhutton a generation earlier。 （although lyell never read hutton in the original； he was a keenstudent of playfair鈥檚 reworked version。）between hutton鈥檚 day and lyell鈥檚 there arose a new geological controversy； which largelysuperseded； but is often confused with； the old neptunian鈥損lutonian dispute。 the new battlebecame an argument between catastrophism and uniformitarianism鈥攗nattractive terms for animportant and very long…running dispute。 catastrophists； as you might expect from the name；believed that the earth was shaped by abrupt cataclysmic events鈥攆loods principally； which iswhy catastrophism and neptunism are often wrongly bundled together。 catastrophism wasparticularly forting to clerics like buckland because it allowed them to incorporate thebiblical flood of noah into serious scientific discussions。 uniformitarians by contrast believedthat changes on earth were gradual and that nearly all earth processes happened slowly； overimmense spans of time。 hutton was much more the father of the notion than lyell； but it waslyell most people read； and so he became in most people鈥檚 minds； then and now； the father ofmodern geological thought。
lyell believed that the earth鈥檚 shifts were uniform and steady鈥攖hat everything that hadever happened in the past could be explained by events still going on today。 lyell and hisadherents didn鈥檛 just disdain catastrophism； they detested it。 catastrophists believed thatextinctions were part of a series in which animals were repeatedly wiped out and replacedwith new sets鈥攁 belief that the naturalist t。 h。 huxley mockingly likened to 鈥渁 succession ofrubbers of whist； at the end of which the players upset the table and called for a new pack。鈥潯twas too convenient a way to explain the unknown。 鈥渘ever was there a dogma more calculatedto foster indolence； and to blunt the keen edge of curiosity；鈥潯niffed lyell。
lyell鈥檚 oversights were not inconsiderable。 he failed to explain convincingly howmountain ranges were formed and overlooked glaciers as an agent of change。 he refused toaccept louis agassiz鈥檚 idea of ice ages鈥斺�渢he refrigeration of the globe；鈥潯s he dismissivelytermed it鈥攁nd was confident that mammals 鈥渨ould be found in the oldest fossiliferousbeds。鈥潯e rejected the notion that animals and plants suffered sudden annihilations； andbelieved that all the principal animal groups鈥攎ammals； reptiles； fish； and so on鈥攈adcoexisted since the dawn of time。 on all of these he would ultimately be proved wrong。
yet it would be nearly impossible to overstate lyell鈥檚 influence。 the principles of geologywent through twelve editions in lyell鈥檚 lifetime and contained notions that shaped geological thinking far into the twentieth century。 darwin took a first edition with him on thebeaglevoyage and wrote afterward that 鈥渢he great merit of the principles was that it altered thewhole tone of one鈥檚 mind； and therefore that； when seeing a thing never seen by lyell； one yetsaw it partially through his eyes。鈥潯n short； he thought him nearly a god； as did many of hisgeneration。 it is a testament to the strength of lyell鈥檚 sway that in the 1980s when geologistshad to abandon just a part of it to acmodate the impact theory of extinctions； it nearlykilled them。 but that is another chapter。
meanwhile； geology had a great deal of sorting out to do； and not all of it went smoothly。
from the outset geologists tried to categorize rocks by the periods in which they were laiddown； but there were often bitter disagreements about where to put the dividing lines鈥攏onemore so than a long…running debate that became known as the great devonian controversy。
the issue arose when the reverend adam sedgwick of cambridge claimed for the cambrianperiod a layer of rock that roderick murchison believed belonged rightly to the silurian。 thedispute raged for years and grew extremely heated。 鈥渄e la beche is a dirty dog；鈥潯urchisonwrote to a friend in a typical outburst。
some sense of the strength of feeling can be gained by glancing through the chapter titlesof martin j。 s。 rudwick鈥檚 excellent and somber account of the issue； the great devoniancontroversy。 these begin innocuously enough with headings such as 鈥渁renas of gentlemanlydebate鈥潯nd 鈥渦nraveling the greywacke；鈥潯ut then proceed on to 鈥渢he greywacke defendedand attacked；鈥潯♀�渞eproofs and recriminations；鈥潯♀�渢he spread of ugly rumors；鈥潯♀�渨eaverrecants his heresy；鈥潯♀�減utting a provincial in his place；鈥潯nd （in case there was any doubtthat this was war） 鈥渕urchison opens the rhineland campaign。鈥潯he fight was finally settledin 1879 with the simple expedient of ing up with a new period； the ordovician； to beinserted between the two。
because the british were the most active in the early years； british names are predominantin the geological lexicon。 devonian is of course from the english county of devon。 cambrianes from the roman name for wales； while ordovician and silurian recall ancient welshtribes； the ordovices and silures。 but with the rise of geological prospecting elsewhere；names began to creep in from all over。jurassic refers to the jura mountains on the border offrance and switzerland。permian recalls the former russian province of perm in the uralmountains。 forcretaceous （from the latin for 鈥渃halk鈥潱e are indebted to a belgian geologistwith the perky name of j。 j。 d鈥檕malius d鈥檋alloy。
originally； geological history was divided into four spans of time： primary； secondary；tertiary； and quaternary。 the system was too neat t