Chapter IV: Third Day (3)

Plants, when forced from their natural position, are endowed with the power to restore themselves. A hop-plant, twisting round a stick, directs its course from south to west, as the sun does. Untwist it, and tie it in the opposite direction, it dies. Leave it loose in the wrong direction, it recovers its natural direction in a single night. Twist the branch of a tree, so as to invert its leaves, and fix it in that position, if left in any degree loose, it untwists itself gradually, till the leaves be restored to their natural position. What better can an animal do for its welfare? A root of a tree meeting with a ditch in its progress, is laid open to the air. What follows? It alters its course, like a rational being, dips into the ground, surrounds the ditch, rises on the opposite side to its wonted distance from the surface, and then proceeds in its original direction. Lay a wet sponge near a root laid open to the air; the root will direct its course to the sponge. Change the place of the sponge; the root varies its direction. Thrust a pole into the ground at a moderate distance from a climbing plant; the plant directs its course to the pole, lays hold of it, and rises on it to its natural height. A honeysuckle proceeds in its course till it be too long for supporting its weight; and then strengthens itself by shooting into a spiral. If it meet with another plant of the same kind, they coalesce for mutual support, the one screwing to the right, the other to the left. The claspers of briony shoot into a spiral, and lay hold of whatever comes in their way for support. If, after completing a spiral of three rounds, they meet with nothing, they try again, by altering their course.

By comparing these and other instances of seeming voluntary motion in plants, with that share of life wherewith some of the inferior kind of animals are endowed, we can scarce hesitate at ascribing the superiority to the former: that is, putting sensation out of the question. Muscles, for instance, are fixed to one place as much as plants are; nor have they any power of motion, besides that of opening and shutting their shells; and in this respect, they have no superiority over the motion of the sensitive plant: nor does their action discover more sagacity, or even so much, as the roots of the plane tree, mentioned by Lord Kames.[102]

Beckmann’s History of Inventions and Discoveries presents us with an interesting account of Kitchen Vegetables and Garden Flowers, collected from numerous authorities; some parts of which I shall now transcribe, and incorporate with information derived from other sources.

Our foreign kitchen vegetables have, for the most part, been procured from the southern countries, but chiefly from Italy; and the number of them has rapidly increased, in the course of the last two centuries. Many of them require laborious attention to make them thrive in our climate. On the other hand, some grow so readily, and increase so much without culture, even in the open fields, that they have become like indigenous weeds, as is the case with hops, which at present abound in our hedges. Some plants, however, both indigenous and foreign, which were formerly raised by art and used at the table, are no longer cultivated, because we have become acquainted with others more beneficial.

Among many which were formerly cultivated, but at present are no longer esteemed, are the following. Winter-cresses, _erysimum barbarea_; common alexander, _smyrnium olosatrum_, which in the seventeenth century was used instead of celery; bulbous chærophyllum, the roots of which are still brought to market at Vienna, where they are boiled and eaten as salad. Rampion, _phyteuma spicata_, was formerly used in like manner. The earth nut, the tuberous roots of the _lathyrus tuberosus_, which grows wild in many parts of Germany, is still cultivated in Holland and in some districts on the Rhine. Rocket, _brassica eruca_, in Italian, _ruchette_, the young leaves of which were eaten by our forefathers as salad, and is still retained in Italy. And there are several others either but imperfectly known or little regarded.

Among the kitchen vegetables of which no certain traces are to be found in the works of the ancients, is spinage, _spinacea oleracea_. Its native country is unknown; but the name is new, and certainly derived from the nature of its prickly seeds. As far as I know, it first occurs in the year 1351, among the food used by the monks on fast-days; and at that time it was written _spinagium_ or _spinachium_.

The ancients were acquainted with curled cabbages, and even with some of those kinds which we call _broccoli_. Under this term is understood all those species, the numerous young flower heads of which, particularly in spring and autumn, can be used like cauliflowers. The broccoli used at present was however first brought from Italy to France, together with the name, about the end of the sixteenth century.

Our cauliflower, about the same time, was first brought from the Levant to Italy; and in the end of the seventeenth century was transplanted thence to Germany. For a long time the seeds were procured annually from Cyprus, Candia, and Constantinople, by the Venetians and Genoese, who sent them to every part of Europe, because at that time the art of raising seed was not understood. The seeds of cauliflowers were brought from Italy to Antwerp, where no seed was raised, or such only as produced degenerate plants. Prosper Alpinus, in the year 1588, found abundance of this vegetable in Egypt, and from his account there is reason to conjecture it was then very little known in Europe. Conrad Gesner seems not to have been acquainted with it; at any rate it is not mentioned by him in a list of the cabbage kind of plants. Even in the time of Bauhin, it must have belonged to those vegetables which were scarce; because he has been so particular in naming the garden in which he saw it. Von Hohberg, who wrote about 1682, says that cauliflower, a few years before, had been brought to Germany for the first time.--It would be difficult to define all the species of the cabbage kind, the leaves and flowers of which were used by the ancients as food; but it would be a task still more arduous to determine those that have esculent roots.

Potatoes were first imported into Europe, in the year 1565, by Hawkins, from Santa-Fe, New Mexico, Spanish America. They were planted for the first time in Ireland, by Sir Walter Raleigh, who had an estate in that kingdom. The natural history of the potatoe was so little understood, that a total ignorance which part of the plant was the proper food, had nearly ruined any further attention towards its cultivation. For perceiving green apples appear on the stems, these were first supposed to be the fruit; but on being boiled, and finding them unpalatable, or rather nauseous, Raleigh was disgusted with his acquisition, nor thought any more of cultivating this plant. Accident, however, discovered the real fruit, owing to the ground being turned over, through necessity, that very season; and to his surprise, a plentiful crop was found under ground, which being boiled, proved nourishing to the stomach, and grateful to the taste. On its utility being known, its cultivation became general through Ireland. It found its way to this kingdom, and was first planted on the western coast, in consequence of a vessel containing some potatoes, being wrecked at the village of Formby, in Lancashire; a place still famed for this excellent vegetable.

Asparagus was first planted in England in the year 1662, in the reign of Charles II. Artichokes were first introduced about the same time. Cos lettuces were originally brought from the island of Cos, near Rhodes, in the Mediterranean. Turnips were brought into this country from Hanover. In the time of Henry VIII, several kinds of fruits and plants were cultivated in England, as apricots, and a fine gooseberry from Flanders; also salads, carrots, and other edible roots. These vegetables were before this period imported from Holland and Flanders. So that Queen Catherine, to procure a salad, had to dispatch a messenger to fetch it from those countries. Fruit seems to have been scarce in the time of Henry VII. In an original manuscript, signed by himself, and kept in the Remembrance office, it appears that apples were not less than one or two shillings each, and that a red one cost two shillings. The great plenty and variety of vegetables displayed upon modern tables, through every month in the year, evidently shows what superior blessings we enjoy, in this respect, compared with those of our forefathers.

Some of the flowers introduced into our gardens, and now cultivated either on account of their beauty, or the pleasantness of their smell, have been procured from plants which grew wild, and which have been changed, or, according to the opinion of florists, improved by the art of the gardener. The greater part of them however came originally from distant countries, where they grow in as great perfection as ours, without the assistance of man. It is probable that the modern taste for flowers came from Persia to Constantinople, and was imported thence to Europe for the first time, in the sixteenth century. At any rate, many of the productions of our flower-gardens were conveyed to us by that channel. Clusius and his friends, in particular, contributed very much to excite this taste; and the new plants brought from both the Indies by travellers who frequently visited these countries, tended to increase it. That period also produced some skilful gardeners, who carried on a considerable trade in the roots and seeds of flowers; and these, likewise assisted to render it more general. Among these were John and Vespasian Robin, gardeners to Henry IV, of France, and Emanuel Sweert, gardener to the emperor Rodolphus II, from whom the botanists of that time procured many rarities, as appears from different passages of their works.

Simon de Tovar, a Spanish physician, brought the tuberose to Europe before the year 1594 from the East Indies, where it grows wild in Java and Ceylon, and sent some roots of it to Barnard Paludanus, who first made this flower publicly known, in his annotations on Linschoten’s voyage. The full tuberoses were first procured from seed by one Le Cour, at Leyden, who kept them scarce for some years, by destroying the roots. The propagation of them in most countries is attended with difficulties: but in Italy, Sicily, and Spain, it requires no trouble; and at present the Genoese send a great many roots to England, Holland, and Germany. The oldest botanists classed them among the hyacinths, and their modern name _polianthes tuberose_ was given them by Linnæus in his Hortus Cliffortianus.

The auricula, _primula auricula_, grows wild among the long moss covered with snow, on the confines of Switzerland and Steyermark, whence it was brought to our gardens, where, by art and accident, it has produced more varieties than any other species of flower. I do not know who first transplanted it from its native soil. Pluche says only that some roots were pulled up by Walloon merchants, and carried to Brussels. However, this is certain, that it was first cultivated with care by the Flemings, who were very successful in propagating it. In the time of Clusius, most of the varieties of the auricula were scarce.

The common fritillary, or chequered lily, _fritillaria meleagris_, was first observed in some parts of France, Hungary, Italy, and other warm countries, and introduced into gardens about the middle of the sixteenth century. At first it was called _lilium variegatum_; but Noel Capperon, an apothecary at Orleans, who collected a great many scarce plants, gave it the name of _fritillaria_, because the red or reddish-brown spots of the flower form regular squares. It was first called _meleagris_ by Dodonæus, because the feathers of that fowl are variegated almost in the same manner.

The roots of the magnificent crown imperial, _fritillaria imperialis_, were about the middle of the sixteenth century brought from Persia to Constantinople, and were carried thence to the Emperor’s garden at Vienna, from which they were dispersed all over Europe. This flower was first known by the Persian name _tusac_, until the Italians gave it that of _corona imperialis_, or crown imperial. It has been imagined that the figure of it is to be found represented on the coins of Herod, and that, on this account, it has been considered as the lily so much celebrated in the Scripture.

The Persian lily, _fritillaria Persica_, which is nearly related to it, was made known almost about the same time. The bulbs or roots were brought from Susa to Constantinople, and for that reason it was formerly called _lilium Susianum_.

African and French marigolds, _tagetes erecta_ and _patula_, are indigenous in South America, and were known to botanists under the name of _caryophillus Indicus_, from which is derived the French appellation _œillet d’ Inde_. Cordus calls them, from their native country, _tanacetum Peruvianum_.

Among the most beautiful ornaments of our gardens, is the bella-donna lily, _amaryllis formosissima_, the flower of which, composed of six petals, is of a deep red color, and in a strong light, or when the sun shines upon it, has an agreeable yellow lustre like gold. The first roots of it ever seen in Europe were procured in 1593, on board a ship which had returned from South America, by Simon de Tovar, a physician at Seville. In the year following, he sent a description of this flower to Clusius; and as he had at the same time transmitted some roots to Bernard Paludanus, and count d’Aremberg, the former sent a dried flower, and the latter an accurate drawing of it, to Clusius, who published it in 1601. One of the Robins gave, in 1608, a larger and more correct figure, which was afterwards copied by Bry, Parkinson, and Rudbeck; but a complete description, with a good engraving, was published in 1742, by Linnæus, who in 1737 gave to that genus the name by which they are known at present. Tovar received it from South America, where it was found by Plumier and Barrere, and at a later period by Thiery de Menonville. At first it was classed with the narcissus, and it was afterwards called _lilio-narcissus_, because its flower resembled that of the lily, and its roots those of the narcissus. It was named _flos-Jacobæus_, because some imagined that they discovered in it a likeness to the badge of the knights of the order of St. James in Spain, whose founder, in the fourteenth century, could not indeed have been acquainted with this beautiful amaryllis.

Another species of this genus is the Guernsey lily, _amaryllis Sarniensis_, which in the magnificence of its flower is not inferior to the former. This plant was brought from Japan, where it was found by Kæmpfer, and also by Thunberg, during his travels some years ago in that country. It was first cultivated in the beginning of the seventeenth century, in the garden of John Morin, at Paris, where it flowered, for the first time, on the 7th of October, 1634. It was then made known by Jacob Cornutus, under the name of _narcissus Japonicus flore rutilo_. After this it was again noticed by John Ray, an Englishman, in 1665, who called it the _Guernsey lily_, which name it still very properly bears. A ship returning from Japan was wrecked on the coast of Guernsey, and a number of the bulbs of this plant, which were on board, being cast on shore, took root in that sandy soil. As they soon increased, and produced beautiful flowers, they were observed by the inhabitants, and engaged the attention of Mr. Hatton, the governor’s son, whose botanical knowledge is highly spoken of by Ray, and who sent roots of them to several of his friends who were fond of cultivating curious plants. Of this elegant flower Dr. Douglass gave a description and figure in a small treatise published in 1725, which is quoted by Linnæus in his Bibliotheca, but not by Haller.

Of the numerous genus of the ranunculus, florists, to speak in a botanical sense, have obtained a thousand different kinds; for, according to the manner in which they are distinguished by gardeners, the varieties increase almost every summer.

The principal part of them, however, and those most esteemed, were brought to us from the Levant. Some were carried from that part of the world so early as in the time of the crusades; but most of them have been introduced into Europe from Constantinople since the end of the sixteenth century, particularly the Persian ranunculus, the varieties of which, if I am not mistaken, hold at present the first rank. Clusius describes both the single and the full flowers as new rarities. This flower was in the highest repute during the time of Mahomet IV. His Grand Vizir, Cara Mustapha, well known by his hatred against the Christians and the siege of Vienna, in 1683, wishing to turn the Sultan’s thoughts to some milder amusement than that of the chase, for which he had a strong passion, diverted his attention to flowers; and, as he remarked that the Emperor preferred the ranunculus to all others, he wrote to the different Pachas throughout the whole kingdom to send him seeds or roots of the most beautiful kinds. The Pachas of Candia, Cyprus, Aleppo, and Rhodes, paid most regard to this request; and the elegant flowers which they transmitted to court were shut up in the seraglio as unfortunate offerings to the voluptuousness of the Sultan, till some of them, by the force of money, were at length freed from their imprisonment. The ambassadors from the European courts, in particular, made it their business to procure roots of as many kinds as they could, which they sent to their different sovereigns. Marseilles, which at that period carried on the greatest trade to the Levant, received on this account these flowers very early; and a person there, of the name of Malaval is said to have contributed very much to disperse them all over Europe.

Some of our most common flowering shrubs have been long introduced into the gardens: the bay-tree has been cultivated more than two centuries; it is mentioned by Tusser, in the list of garden plants inserted in his work called, “Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry,” printed in 1573. The laurel was introduced by Cole, a merchant at Hampstead, some years before 1629, when Parkinson published his Paradisus Terrestris, and at that time we had in our gardens oranges, myrtles of three sorts, lauristinus, cypress, phyllyrea, alaternus, arbuttus; a cactus, brought from Bermuda, and the passion-flower, which last had flowered here, and showed a remarkable peculiarity, by rising from the ground near a month sooner, if a seedling plant, than if it grew from roots brought from Virginia.

_Crust of the Earth._

[In the preceding section the Author has noticed the
_superficies_ of the earth principally; as its inequalities
because of seas, lakes, rivers, mountains, vallies, &c. The
_rocky_, and _earthy_ masses and strata, which cover the
nucleus of our globe, are scarcely mentioned at all. Whether
the _central_ parts of the earth be solid, soft, or hollow, and
filled with gaseous matter, is not the subject of enquiry here:
but the _composition_ and _arrangement_ of the _solid crust_ of
the planet come under consideration.

As it regards the composition of the crust of the earth
considered principally, it consists of _metallic oxides_.
The bases of the different earths are well known to be
_metals_. The metal called _Silicon_, is the base of silex or
flint--_Aluminum_ is the metallic base of pure clay--_Calcium_,
of lime--_Magnesium_, of magnesia--_Potasium_, of potash, &c.
Iron, also, enters largely into the composition; and soda,
whose metallic base is _sodium_, forms a considerable portion.

These bases, at their creation, existed in an _uncombined_
state, as did all the elementary substances. When they entered
into combination with _oxygen_ they became _earths_, which are
simple metallic oxides, which readily combine with the _acids_,
in which combination they are generally seen, though not
always, at the earth’s surface; as carbonate of lime, or common
limestone; the composition of which is _calcium_, _oxygen_, and
_carbonic acid_.

Rocks of the _silicious_ family are not considered _earthy
salts_, though, occasionally, they may contain a small per
cent. of acid. They are called _earthy compounds_. _Granite_
is an instance; composed of _feldspar_, _quartz_, and _mica_.
Gneiss, and mica slate are of similar composition, though in
different proportions, and under different arrangements.

It will readily occur to the reader that there are some
other earths, and other substances also, as the acids, and
gases, which enter into the composition of the earth’s crust,
though in small proportions, and, therefore, are not considered
_principal_ ingredients, and hence not noticed in this general
sketch.

The rocky, or stony substances, composed of the above
elements, under the influence of chemical affinities, and
other principles, are found in _crystalline_, _stratified_,
_amorphous_, and _aggregate masses_. The _position_,
_structure_, and _contents_ of these masses will develope the
_natural history of the solid crust of our Earth_.

In order to facilitate this development, the rocks have
been divided, according to their age into,

1. _Primitive Rocks._ These were deposited _first_, as is
evident from their position, being the lowest of all the rocks.
Their name indicates their relative age.

2. _Transition Rocks._ These rocks are deposited
immediately above the primitive, of course subsequently to
them. They are called _transition_ rocks, because they were
deposited as the earth was _passing_ from an uninhabitable to a
habitable state, as is evident from the fact that _they contain
the first traces of organized being imbedded in them_.

3. _Secondary Rocks._ These are deposited next in
succession to the transition rocks, and mark a _third_ grand
geological epoch, by being almost altogether a _mechanical_
deposition, and lie _horizontally_ when _in situ_, and contain
an increase of organic remains, both in quantity and variety.

4. _Tertiary Rocks._ These derive their name from their
succession to the secondary, and of course mark the _fourth_
geological epoch in the history of the arrangement of the
earth’s crust, which completed its redemption from the abyss of
waters, and fitted it for the habitation of man.

This division of the rocks designates the _order of time_
in which they were successively deposited, as is evident from
their position.

Considering these rocks _in situ_, they may be reckoned
_general formations_, extended all around the globe in
concentric circles, as the coats of an onion around its centre,
in the order above stated, beginning with the primitive rocks.

It is, however, well known that _fractures_ and
_dislocations_ prevail to a great extent, the result of
violence subsequently to the deposition of these rocks,
removing large portions of them _out of place_. But this
circumstance need not interrupt the grand _natural_ order of
the construction of the earth’s crust.

There is also a class of stony substances which follow no
general laws, either in regard to _position_, _form_, or _age_.
These are volcanic and igneous productions of every kind; as
basalt, lava, &c. These shall be mentioned subsequently.

In the above remarks we have an _outline_ of the structure
of the crust of the earth; but in order to have a more
satisfactory development, the principal and distinctive
features of the leading rock formations must be stated in order.

_Primitive Rocks._

1. _This class occupies the lowest position as a class_,
yet the individual rocks of this class have a general order of
position among themselves. Granite is lowest; then Gneiss--Mica
Slate--Clay Slate--Primitive Limestone--Porphyry--Sienite--and
Greenstone.

_These rocks are sometimes observed alternating with each
other, and sometimes passing into each other._ But these
circumstances do not effect the general order. When the
formations are _undisturbed_, in penetrating them we should
come to granite last; and it is universally the lowest of all
observed rock formations.

2. _This class is generally, indeed we may say,
universally, crystalline in its structure._ Each integrant
particle is not a _perfect crystal_; but throughout the mass
there is a partial crystallization, such as would be the result
of an effort to crystallize perfectly, under a great pressure;
in which case the particles would mutually interfere with each
other.

The very fact of this crystallization implies _first_; a
prevailing state of _unagitated solution_ of the crystallizing
materials: _secondly_: that their crystallization was the
effect of _chemical action_.

3. _The primitive rocks contain no fragments, either
angular, or rounded by attrition, imbedded in them_; simply
because no rocks preceded them, and of course could not be
broken up. It is, however, to be carefully observed, that
perfect crystals of different kinds are found imbedded in
primitive rocks. When they prevail to a great extent they
constitute _porphyritic rocks_. It is evident that these
crystals must have been formed before the consolidation of the
including rock, and must have been suspended in the solution
which formed the rock upon crystallization.

4. _The primitive rocks contain no traces of organized
bodies._ This is an universal characteristic, and proves
incontestibly that they were formed _previous to the existence
of organized beings_.

5. _The primitive rocks are usually inclined at a high
angle to the horizon, and frequently are vertical._ This seems
to be the result of crystallization, as mechanical deposition
would place them _horizontally_, having the general bearing of
the curve of the earth.

6. The principal primitive rocks are granite, gneiss, and
mica slate.

They are composed of the same materials, in different
proportions; viz; feldspar, quartz, and mica. These three
minerals constitute granite, when feldspar is the _base_,
and the quartz is embedded in a crystalline state, and the
mica interspersed generally. They constitute gneiss, when the
feldspar _decreases_, and the mica _increases_, and is arranged
in layers. They compose mica slate, when the feldspar almost
_disappears_, and the mica and quartz are intimately united.

7. Though the primitive rocks occupy the lowest position
_in situ_, yet they sometimes form, not only the _summits_ of
lofty mountains, but sometimes the _mountain mass_ itself, and
appear at the surface. In these cases it is evident that they
have been _upheaved_ by a force acting beneath, and forcing
them through the superincumbent rocks, which were rent, and
glided down the sides of the rising mass of primitive rocks,
leaving them bare and visible at the summit. In this case the
rocks which were uppermost before the mountain mass began
to rise, would be found at the _foot_ of the mountain; and
the rocks which were next to the uppermost, would be found
immediately above them, reclining on the side of the mountain;
and thus _ascending through the ages of the rocks to the summit
of the mountain, where we find the primitive rock formations
constituting its apex_.

This phenomena of primitive rocks forming the apices of
mountains may be explained differently. The primitive rocks,
and other classes in succession, _may have been deposited in
mountain masses_, and the upper rocks being _softer_ and more
_exposed_, have yielded to the ravages of the elements, and
to the demolishing force of the deluge, and thus laid the
primitive rocks bare. The _first_ seems to be the most probable
supposition.

8. It is beyond a doubt, that in some instances, an
upheaving force has operated, and elevated the granitic summits
of mountains; and so powerful was the upheaving force that the
blocks of granite have broke at the apex of the elevation, and
some of them hang over perpendicularly in awful grandeur; and
others have rolled down the sides far into the plains below.

This theory of the formations of some of the principal
mountains would be firmly established in every mind, if every
one could have an opportunity of inspecting them without
prejudice. The primitive rocks would be seen shooting up from
the centre of the mountain, into lofty pyramidal elevations,
resembling, sometimes, lofty spires, or cupolas; and sometimes
the summit is rounded off as a dome. The rocks are in a
_verticle_ position, which proves they could not have been
_deposited there_ from a state of quiet repose.

Sometimes two summits project from the same common base,
having an intervening valley or depression between them. In
this case, the rocks which lay uppermost before the mass was
upheaved, upon upheaving, broke and glided down the sides, on
which they depend in magnificent drapery; but the portion of
them which was situated _between_ the uprising summits, not
being able to escape, is found in the valley which is formed
between the peaks.

In some instances, as the mass is elevating itself it bears
up upon it a large mass of the over-laying rock, which forms
the apex of the mountain, crowning it as a stately castle
crowns the summit of the hill on which it is built. In this
case the crowning mass is entirely different, and perfectly
distinct from the subjacent materials. _For some further
remarks on the structure, and formation of mountains, and
mountain masses, and the deluge, see Theory of the Earth, end
of Sect. 2, chap. iv._

9. As there was a rapid and irresistible chemical action,
at a very high temperature, going on during this first great
geological period, and the whole globe in almost omnipotent
fermentation, there is no difficulty in accounting for the
irregularities, contortions, dislocations and fractures which
we observe in the earth. This whole process was anterior to the
existence of organized being.

_Transition Rocks._

1. _This class was deposited subsequently to the primitive
rocks, and after they had consolidated._ This is evident
from the fact that, in their natural order, they _overlay_
the primitive, which could not be the case, unless they were
deposited subsequently, any more than the roof of the house
could be put on before the foundation was laid.

2. _Their structure is evidently the result both of
chemical action, and mechanical deposition._ These principles
appear to have acted sometimes conjointly; and at other times
to have alternated. Hence the crystallization is more imperfect
than in the primitive, and occasionally seems to disappear.

3. _From the complex action under which they were
deposited, they are generally, neither verticle nor horizontal,
but inclined about between these two positions._

4. _They were deposited as the primitive chaotic ocean
was subsiding, and the elevations of the new-born earth had
recently emerged._ Hence they are found next to the summits of
the primitive mountains, _on their flanks_.

5. _The transition rocks contain some fragments of all the
primitive class._ This would be the natural consequence of the
summits of primitive rock formations being exposed to the fury
of the elements; which would rend portions of them, and thus
deposit the fragments mechanically in the floods subsiding
below on the flanks of the mountains.

6. _In these rocks we meet with the first traces of
organized being._ (SILLIMAN.) This fact is irresistible proof
that these rocks were deposited _subsequently_ to the existence
of the enclosed remains. The probability is, that the animals
and vegetables found in transition rocks, were created at the
_commencement_ of the transition period, and their remains
deposited as the rocks were successively deposited.

It is remarkable that these organized beings belonged to
genera now extinct. They were of an inferior class, having
neither the delicacy, complexity, or sensibility of those which
we now see. They were crude, and gross, corresponding to the
condition of the earth at the time of their existence.

It is also evident that they lived, and died, and were
inhumed in the same places; as they present, generally, no
marks of violence, and their most delicate parts are well
preserved.

These organic remains occupy vast districts of country, and
constitute, principally, large masses of marbles, sometimes
many hundreds of feet in the interior of mountains. They are
identified with the rock, and frequently impart to it its
beauty.

7. The reader will readily perceive that this class of
rocks marks the _commencement_ of _sensitive_ existence. And it
would seem, from an examination of fossil remains generally,
that the creation of animals and vegetables was _progressive_,
produced with structures and functions adapted to the condition
of the globe, at the time of their creation.

_Secondary Rocks._

1. _These rocks are so called, because they are the second
great deposit, after the grand foundation of the primitive
rocks were laid._ Of course they point out the third great
geological period.

2. _Their position is horizontal, corresponding to the
general curve of the earth._ This regards their natural
position. They are found, under particular circumstances,
inclined to the horizon. They occupy a lower position on the
sides of mountains, resting on the transition class, which is
immediately subjacent _in natural order_.

3. _This class is much less chemical, indeed very little
so, in its structure._ It is the result of mechanical
deposition, after the chemical action had nearly ceased in the
great primitive and retiring abyss.

4. _These rocks abound more in fragments of other rocks,
and in the remains of organized beings, than the preceding
class._ This would be natural, as a greater extent of the
earth’s surface would be exposed to the elements, and thus the
destruction would be greater: and as the condition of the earth
was better for sustaining sensitive beings, these would of
course be more abundant both in _kind_ and _number_.

It is also well ascertained, from the fossil remains found
in this class of rocks, that during their deposition, there
existed many species of animals and plants which do not now
exist: that many of the animals were _monsters_ of incredible
size and voracity; of such hugeness, grossness, and ferocity as
were suitable to the then prevailing condition of the earth.

The researches of the last ten or fifteen years, in
England, have brought to light the skeletons of animals,
approaching the _lizard genus_, from _sixty to seventy feet
long_!! They are abundant in England, and occasionally found
on the continent. Who can say, but that the other genera
of animals then existing, were also as much more vast, and
misshapen than their present existing types? A single glance
at the _geological reminiscences_ of this ancient period must
convince any observer, that the vegetable, and specially the
animal genera then existing were really astonishing both in
_size_, _shape_, and _nature_.

It becomes a question of some interest, whether these huge
animals ceased to exist, having found their graves in this
secondary class of rocks, before the existence of man?

There are many reasons which induce a supposition they did
cease to exist. Man could scarcely have been safe in the land
of these wonderful creatures. Moreover, it is probable their
constitutions were adapted to the condition of the world at
this period, which we suppose to have been more gross in its
air, and water, and more ardent in its climate; as it had not
yet settled, and dried; and the waters had not yet sufficiently
subsided, to render the earth the abode of the more delicate
land-animals, birds, and specially man. It is probable the
earth was marshy, with numerous inland lakes, to a considerable
extent; the waters still somewhat turbid; the air gross and
moist; and the temperature still very high. Such a state of the
planet would suit the constitutions of such monsters as the
_ichthyosaurus_, and _plesiosaurus_, which would perish as the
condition of the globe became more pure, and its temperature
reduced.

_Tertiary Rocks._

1. _These rocks were deposited as the earth was actually,
and finally redeemed from water, and became fit for the abode
of the more delicate and gentle land-animals and birds._ Hence,
it is very rare, if ever, the fossil remains of animals which
live wholly on land, are found below this class of rocks. But
man’s companion animals are found, as elephants, deer, horse,
sheep, &c.

2. This class is not so extensively spread as the preceding
classes. It includes the _diluvial_ and _alluvial_ formations,
and indicate an alternation of fresh and sea waters in its
deposition. This class covers the low countries as they slope
from primitive districts towards the sea. Such grand vallies
are called _diluvial_, because deposited chiefly by the great
primitive ocean, as it retired through its last stages to
its resting beds. The deposites at the mouths of rivers, or
any other deposites from causes now in operation, are called
_alluvial_.

3. Some of the principal members of this class are: 1.
Argillaceous, and sandy depositions from the sea. 2. Marl,
and gypsum, from fresh water. 3. Sand, and sandstone, with or
without shells, from sea water. 4. Limestone, and silicious
millstone grit, from fresh water.

_Conclusion._

From what has been said above we may clearly deduce the
following particulars.

1. The crust of the earth is constructed of four great
general classes of rocks: the _primitive_ at the foundation;
the _transition_, laying immediately over the primitive; the
_secondary_ immediately above these; and the _tertiary_ at the
surface. In this arrangement we consider the rocks in their
natural position.

2. The _position_, _structure_, and _organic remains_ of
these classes, clearly point out a grand geological epoch,
corresponding to the time of the deposition of each class,
and thus indicate their relative ages. They indicate also the
successive conditions of the globe as it passed from its gross
chaotic state, to a state suitable for the habitation of man,
and his companion animals.

3. _The natural history of the_ PRIMITIVE WORLD, _as
deduced from_ GEOLOGICAL FACTS, CORRESPONDS _expressly in the_
ORDER _and_ NATURE OF THE EVENTS, WITH THE ACCOUNT GIVEN BY
MOSES.

4. The gradual retiring of the primitive chaotic ocean,
would give sufficient time for the production of those immense
beds of marine animals which are found in the most solid and
elevated mountains. During the prevalence of the sea, these
beds would form at the bottom, and when it retired they would
consolidate, with the mineral deposites, into rocks.

In this case the process is supposed to go on in a _quiet_
ocean, peaceably retiring, and leaving the deposition in
layers. But we must not suppose the waters were always still,
and peacefully retiring. If so, there could not have been
such distinct and different deposites, in which different
substances sometimes alternate. Moreover, in this case there
would have been but one deposition, which would have been
regular and continuous, changing its character simply by almost
imperceptible degrees, and extending all round the globe, as
the globe was at first wholly immersed in water. But this is
not the case. There is every reason to believe there were
violent agitations, earthquakes, volcanos, tempests, deluges,
&c, _occasionally_, during the subsidence of the primitive
waters. Hence the _dislocations_, _contortions_, _protrusions
of lower rocks through upper ones_, and the _upheaving
of the bottom of the seas in various places into ridges,
and mountains_, producing a tremendous _deflux of waters_
frequently, which would wash out channels and vallies, and
carry off fragments of rocks, &c, into the waters below.

Hence it is evident that the elevations on the earth’s
surface have been _partly_ caused by subterranean force
upheaving them; and _partly_ by currents of water wearing away
channels, defiles, vallies, &c.

The natural result of upheaving, _in mass_, the bed of
the ocean, would be to protrude a body in which were embedded
the marine exuviæ throughout the whole depth of the marine
deposites. Hence mountain masses are sometimes composed of
limestone, in which are found immense quantities of sea
shells, throughout the mass, and entering intimately into the
composition of the rock. This, without doubt, is the true
origin of these marine mountain remains.

Some have been disposed to attribute them to the _deluge_
in the days of Noah; but this is impossible for two reasons.
1. The deluge did not continue a sufficient length of time to
allow these animals to be produced in such quantities, or to
bury them so deeply in the earth. 2. The _rising_ waters could
not have carried them to their present places; because, in
that case they would be found at the _surface_ of the earth, or
near it _exclusively_; whereas they are found buried thousands
of feet in mountains, and embedded in solid rocks. They could
not have been _transported_ by the waters, because they would
have suffered violence, and been fractured, and compressed;
which is not generally the case. They are found perfectly
preserved, though of such delicate structure as would seem
to have been destroyed by the least violence. Hence it is
evident they are buried where they lived and died in perfect
tranquillity.

It is true, there are instances in which the _position_ and
_nature_ of the animals clearly prove that they were inhumed
by some _sudden_ catastrophe. For instance: when we see the
fossil remains of delicate, and very active fish so placed as
to indicate they were _caught_, we are convinced they perished
_suddenly_. But this case is always _local_, and may have been
produced by an earthquake, or volcanic action.

That the primitive chaotic ocean occupied the earth a
long time, _generally_ in a state of tranquillity, though
occasionally, strongly agitated, and rising into overwhelming
deluges and gradually retired, is evident also, from the fact,
that the most delicate _plants_, _leaves_, and _flowers_ are
found inhumed, as the marine animals above, _in a state of
perfect preservation_.

All the above phenomena took place prior to the creation of
man.

_Appendix._

There is another class of rocky substances which obey no
settled laws, and, therefore, are noticed here in an appendix:
_They are rocks and substances of evident igneous origin_: as
_basalt_, _obsidium_, _lavas of all textures_, and _trap_ rocks
_frequently_, perhaps generally. These have one common origin:
they are also of similar composition generally; and in this
approach the composition of primitive rocks. They have been
evidently _ejected from the bowels of the earth in a melted
state_. They are found in almost all countries; and in some
cases form mountains, and cover the surfaces of large districts
to an astonishing depth: as in the north of Ireland, more than
500 feet thick, and over an area of 800 square miles. (URE.)

Being _protruded_ from beneath in a melted state they are
found injected through the superincumbent rocks in _shafts_ or
_veins_ of various sizes, from several inches to several feet.
Sometimes being unable to rend the solid rocks above they are
injected _between their strata_. They are generally somewhat
crystalline in structure, because deposited on the same
principles as granite, when undisturbed. From their _position_,
_superficial extent_, and _quantity_, we infer they are the
products of all ages, and of immense igneous action, seated at
an unknown distance beneath the surface of the earth. Hence we
may have some idea of the vast amount of igneous action which
operated in the early ages of our planet. It must have been
violently shaken from the centre to the surface.]

We may well ask, in the language of a German philosopher, Who can enumerate all the blessings which the vegetable kingdom affords? It is at least manifest that all the arrangements of Providence, in this respect, have for their grand object the advantage of the creatures. God has provided for the wants of each individual. He has assigned to each that plant, which is most proper for its nourishment and support. There is not a plant on the earth, but what has its particular destination and use. What sentiments of veneration and gratitude should we feel, at the sight of lawns, gardens, fields, and meadows! Here his beneficent care has collected all that is necessary for the comfort and preservation of the inhabitants of the earth. Here, oh God! thou openest thy hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living creature! Here every herb, ear of corn, flower, and tree, proclaims thy goodness! How closely might our modern geologists walk with God, if, like a Boyle, and a Ray, every new discovery led them to an increasing admiration of Divine wisdom and omnipotent power![103] for

“Philosophy, baptiz’d
In the pure fountain of eternal love,
Has eyes indeed; and viewing all she sees
As meant to indicate a God to man,
Gives him his praise, and forfeits not her own.”

To meet God in the immensity of his works, and trace him in the operations of his hand, gives expansion to intellect, opens new sources of enjoyment, and greatly exalts the character of man. The sacred writers conduct us to the _forest_, and, after selecting particular trees, press on our attention their emblematical uses.

* * * * *

_Section_ III.--MINERALS.

Gold -- Silver -- Platina -- Mercury -- Copper -- Iron
-- Tin -- Lead -- Nickel -- Zinc -- Palladium -- Bismuth --
Antimony -- Tellurium -- Arsenic -- Cobalt -- Manganese --
Tungsten -- Molybdenum -- Uranium -- Titanium -- Chromium --
Columbium or Tantalium -- Cerium -- Oxmium -- Rodium -- Iridium
-- Religious Improvement.

Some parts of the earth’s surface are barren and unfruitful, yielding no pleasant herb for cattle, nor vegetable for the service of man. But the bowels of the earth in such places are commonly stored with rich mines, and useful minerals. Without these what could we do in the field, the house, the market, or crossing the seas? Surely, the infinitely wise Architect has not made any thing in vain! It is deserving of notice, says Mr. Parkes, that if minerals had been placed on the _surface_ of the globe, they would have occupied the greatest part of the earth, and prevented its cultivation. Their being deposited _below_, is a proof of management and design worthy of that Being who could furnish so great a variety of this class of bodies.

There are twenty-seven distinct metals, which possess properties very different and distinct from each other. For a knowledge of most of these, we are indebted to the more perfect modes of analysis, which modern chemistry has afforded. The ancients were acquainted with only seven. The properties of these were tolerably well known to the early chemists, who acquired their knowledge from the alchemists. Metals are divided into two classes, by modern chemists. The one contains the malleable, and the other the brittle metals. This last class is sometimes subdivided into those which are easily, and those which are difficultly fused. The malleable metals are eleven, namely, Gold, Silver, Platina, Mercury, Copper, Iron, Tin, Lead, Nickel, Zinc, and Palladium. The brittle metals are Bismuth, Antimony, Tellurium, Arsenic, Cobalt, Manganese, Tungsten, Molybdenum, Uranium, Titanium, Chromium, Columbium or Tantalium, Cerium, Oxmium, Rodium, and Iridium.

_Gold_ is the heaviest of all metals excepting platina; it is neither very elastic nor hard; but so malleable and ductile, that it may be drawn into very fine wire, or beaten into leaves so thin as to be carried away by the slightest wind. Dr. Black has calculated, that it would take fourteen millions of films of gold, such as is on some fine gilt wire, to make the thickness of one inch: whereas fourteen million leaves of common printing paper make near three quarters of a mile. According to Fourcroy, the ductility of gold is such, that one ounce of it is sufficient to gild a silver wire more than thirteen hundred miles long. Such is the tenacity of gold, that a wire 1-16th of an inch in diameter will support a weight of 500 pounds without breaking. Gold may be known from all other metals by its bright yellow color, and its weight. Its specific gravity is 19.3; when heavier, it must be combined with platina; when lighter, and of a deep yellow color, it is alloyed with copper; and if of a pale color, with silver.

Arabia had formerly its gold mines. The gold of Ophir, so often mentioned in Scripture, must be that which was procured in Arabia, on the coast of the Red Sea. We are assured by Sanchoniathon, and by Herodotus, quoted by Eusebius, that the Phœnicians carried on a considerable traffic in gold, even before the days of Job, who thus speaks of it, “Then shall thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as stones of the brooks.” Gold is found in Peru, as well as in several other parts of the world. It generally occurs in a metallic state, and most commonly in the form of grains. It frequently is met with in the ores of other metals, but is chiefly found in the warmer regions of the earth. It abounds in the sands of many African rivers, in South America, and in India. Several rivers in France contain gold in their sands. It has also been discovered in Hungary, Sweden, Norway and Ireland. Near Pamplona, in South America, single laborers have collected upwards of £200 worth of wash-gold in a day. In the province of Sonora, the Spaniards discovered a plain, fourteen leagues in extent, in which they found wash-gold at the depth of only 16 inches; the grains were of such a size that some of them weighed 72 ounces, and in such quantities, that in a short time, with a few laborers, they collected 1,000 marks, (equal in value to £31,219 10_s._ sterling,) even without taking time to wash the earth which had been dug. They found one grain which weighed 132 ounces; this is deposited in the royal cabinet at Madrid, and is worth £500.[104] The native gold found in Ireland was in grains, from the smallest size to upwards of two ounces. Only two grains were found of greater weight, one of which weighed 5, and the other 22 ounces.[105] Gold mines were formerly worked in Scotland; and indeed now, grains of this metal are often found in brooks after a great flood. It has been said, that at the nuptials of James V, covered dishes filled with coins of _Scotch gold_ were presented to the guests by way of dessert. Standard gold of Great Britain is twenty-two parts pure gold, and two parts copper; it is therefore called gold of “twenty-two carots fine.” Some have thought that Moses made use of sulphuret of potass to render the calf of gold adored by the Israelites soluble in water. Stahl wrote a long dissertation to prove that this was the case.

_Silver_ is a heavy, sonorous, brilliant, white metal; exceedingly ductile, and of great malleability and tenacity. It possesses these latter properties in so great a decree, that it may be beaten into leaves much thinner than any paper, or drawn into wire as fine as a hair without breaking. Fifty square inches of silver leaf weigh not more than a grain. The specific gravity of silver is 10.500. When perfectly pure, it is a very soft metal. To know when it is pure, heat it in a common fire, or in the flame of a candle: if it be alloyed, it will become tarnished; but if it be pure, it will remain perfectly white. Our standard silver is formed with fifteen parts pure silver, and one part copper.

Silver is found in various parts of the world in a metallic state; also in the states of a sulphuret, a salt, and an oxide. Native silver is found chiefly in the mines of Potosi. Sulphuret of silver occurs in the silver mines of Germany, Hungary, Saxony and Siberia. Oxides of silver are also common in some of the silver mines in Germany. Silver has lately been found in a copper-mine in Cornwall.[106] Most of our lead mines also afford it, particularly some in Scotland. In the county of Antrim, in Ireland, there is a mine so rich, that every thirty pounds of lead ore is said to produce one pound of silver. By the silver which was produced from the lead mines in Cardiganshire, Sir Hugh Middleton is said to have cleared two thousand pounds a month, and that this enabled him to undertake the great work of bringing the New River from Ware to London.

Silver was used in commerce eleven hundred years before the foundation of Rome. Moses, says, “And Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.” At this period silver was not coined, but being only in bars, or ingots, in commerce was always weighed. In the museum of the Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburgh, is a piece of _native_ silver from China of such firmness, that coins have been struck from it without its having passed through the crucible.[107]

_Platina_, the heaviest of all metals, is nearly as white as silver, and difficultly fusible, though by great labor may be rendered malleable, so as to be wrought into utensils like other metals. It will resist the strongest heat of our fires without melting, and, like iron, is capable of being welded when properly heated. It is found in grains, in a metallic state, at St. Domingo: and also at Santa Fe, in Peru, in the language of whose inhabitants it means _little silver_. It has recently been discovered in an ore of silver found in Estremadura, existing in its metallic form. This metal was first introduced into England by Charles Wood, who brought it from Jamaica in the year 1741. It has been drawn into wire less than the two thousandth part of an inch in diameter. The specific gravity of hammered platina is 23.66, which is more than double that of lead.