So lookign at this quote.
Firstly it STARTS with an old Earth view.
Then it states that ideas of the formation of coal fit into this view.
Then it refers not to Lyell's
Principles of Geology but to "Lyell's school" and refers not to the time to convert plant matter to coal but the time taken for the environmental changes required to explain the geological sequences where coal is commonly found.
But lets emphasise the major point. Neither quote states that the formation of coal was very important to estimates of the age of the Earth. The emphasis on coal seems to have more to do with the subject of the book, rather than its importance to geological thought (which is not explicitly stated in either quote).
This message has been edited by PaulK, 03-22-2005 12:12 PM