G!FT OF 
 
01 
 
GEOLOGY; 
 
 FOR 
 
 , Classes, rah |)ntait Stohnts, 
 
 BY 
 
 SA1STBORN TENNEY, A.M., 
 
 LECTURER ON PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY, IN THE MASSACHUSETTS 
 TEACHERS' INSTITUTES. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH 
 
 SSfoob (Shtgrafrhtcjs. 
 
 " In onc.word, all these f^cts in their natural csnnei-tiou proclaim*loud the One God, 
 rhota man may know, adore, and UTve.'V &*ay on (HQ&U/jg*&^ bjr L. AOASSIZ. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 PUBLISHED BY E. H. BUTLER & CO. 
 
 1860. 
 

 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by 
 
 SANBORN TENNEY, 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 
 
THIS VOLUME 
 
 is 
 
 RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
 TO 
 
 BY 
 
 THEIR FRIEND AND FELLOW-LABORER, 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 339655 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THIS volume is designed to present, in a clear man- 
 ner, the leading facts and principles of Geology. As 
 its title indicates, it is not only intended to prepare 
 the Teacher to give oral instruction upon this impor- 
 tant subject, but is especially adapted for a Text- 
 Book in our -Common and High Schools, Normal 
 Schools, Academies, and other Seminaries: it is be- 
 lieved that it will also be useful to the general 
 reader. , 
 
 It will be found wider in its range than most works 
 bearing the title Geology; inasmuch as it describes 
 all the common Minerals, and puts the reader in 
 possession of the most important facts about the 
 Vegetable and the Animal Kingdom, yet all tribu- 
 tary to the general subject. 
 
 1* (5) 
 
Y i PKEFACE. 
 
 The book contains within itself all that is neces- 
 sary to make it entirely intelligible. It does not pre- 
 suppose a knowledge of any of the subjects of jwhich 
 it treats. 
 
 The facts have been drawn from, the whole domain 
 of science. Appropriate reference and due acknow- 
 ledgment, however, are made in the body of the work, 
 to those eminent authors whose writings have been 
 especially consulted. 
 
 A large number of the wood-cut illustrations have 
 been drawn from Nature ; the others have been copied 
 mainly from the Geological Eeports of the different 
 States. "With few exceptions, all the subjects repre- 
 sented are common in this country. 
 
 In the preparation of this volume, the author has 
 received great encouragement, both from his personal 
 friends, and from teachers generally; for which he 
 now returns his sincere thanks. 
 
 He wishes to express his particular obligations to 
 Professors Agassiz and Guyot, for the kind interest 
 they have manifested in this undertaking, and for the 
 great aid they have given by their valuable sug- 
 gestions. Nor would he forget the favors received 
 from Dr. D. F. Weinland, H. James Clark, Esq., and 
 F. W. Putnam, Esq. 
 
PREFACE. Vii' 
 
 lie desires also to return his thanks to the Hon. 
 George S. Boutwell, Professor William Russell, George 
 B. Emerson, LL.D., Professors Alpheus Crosby. 
 Marshall Conant, Hermann Kriisi, the Rev. B. G. 
 Northrop, Thomas D. Adams, Esq., Professors "VV. F. 
 Phelps, and A. J. Robinson, from all of whom he 
 has received special encouragement, and important 
 suggestions. 
 
 He would be wanting in proper gratitude, if he 
 failed to acknowledge his obligations to the Philadel- 
 phia Academy of Natural Sciences, and especially to 
 the accomplished and courteous Librarian, for free 
 access to the Library of that Institution while the 
 sheets were at press. 
 
 Nor ought these brief acknowledgments to close 
 without an expression of grateful remembrance to 
 the Rev. J. "W. Guernsey, who, many years ago, first 
 turned the attention of the author to those great 
 subjects which he has here endeavored to discuss. 
 
 It is but justice to state that the plan of this 
 volume was made, and the work commenced five 
 years ago ; that more than a year ago it was consid- 
 ered ready for the press, and notice given to that 
 effect. But unavoidable circumstances have pre- 
 vented its issue till now. Although in the mean- 
 
Vlll PEEFACE. 
 
 time every page lias been carefully revised, the plan, 
 which, so far as the writer is informed, is different 
 from that of any other work, remains the same as it 
 was at the outset. 
 
 That this volume may tend to promote the study 
 of Nature, in the right spirit, and thereby advance 
 the cause of popular education, is the sincere desire 
 of the author. 
 
 S. T. 
 OCTOBER, 1859. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 GENERAL STATEMENT OF THE SUBJECT .... 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 THE EARTH CONSIDERED AS A PLANET 16 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 CHEMICAL CONSTITUTION OF TIIE EARTH 20 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH 26 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 THE ROCKS WHICH COMPOSE THE EARTH 65 
 
CONTEXTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 SECTION I. Two GREAT CLASSES RECOGNISED .... 65 
 
 II. DESCRIPTION OF THE UNSTRATIFIED ROCKS . G8 
 
 III. DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATIFIED ROCKS 81 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 GENERAL VIEW OF THE VEGETABLE AND THE ANIMAL KING- 
 DOM, PREPARATORY TO THE STUDY OF THE REMAINS OF 
 
 PLANTS AND ANIMALS IN THE ROCKS 91 
 
 SECTION I. THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM 91 
 
 II. THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 102 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 FOSSILS, AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE ROCK FORMATIONS . . 132 
 
 SECTION I. FOSSILS 132 
 
 II. CLASSIFICATION OF THE ROCK FORMATIONS 139 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL SYSTEMS OF FOSSILIFER- 
 
 ous ROCKS .' 143 
 
 SECTION I. SILURIAN SYSTEM 143 
 
 II. OLD RED SANDSTONE SYSTEM 150 
 
 III. CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM 155 
 
 IV. NEW RED SANDSTONE SYSTEM . . . . 1G9 
 
 V. OOLITIC SYSTEM 175 
 
 VI. CRETACEOUS SYSTEM 181 
 
 VII. TERTIARY SYSTEM 185 
 
 VIII. DRIFT 192 
 
 IX. ALLUVIUM 02 
 
.-. CONTENTS. XI 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 GEOLOGICAL CHANGES NOW GOING ON, AND THE AGENCIES BY 
 
 WHICH THEY ARE PRODUCED 216 
 
 SECTION I. AQUEOUS AGENCIES 217 
 
 II. IGNEOUS AGENCIES 239 
 
 III. ORGANIC AGENCIES 258 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS 2G8 
 
 GLOSSARY 283 
 
 INDEX , 313 
 
GEOLOGY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 GENERAL STATEMENT OF THE SUBJECT. 
 
 GEOLOGY is the science which treats of the earth. 
 Everything which relates to the physical condition of 
 our planet, may come within its domain. Its special 
 province, however, is the investigation of the rock 
 formations of the earth, their constitution and arrange- 
 ment, and the changes they are undergoing, and have 
 undergone in past ages. 
 
 Geology does not attempt to explain the origin of 
 the earth, but, recognising it as the handiwork of a 
 Divine Creator, seeks only to investigate its present 
 condition and past history. 
 
 The facts of this science are obtained by a careful 
 examination of everything which forms a part of the 
 accessible matter of the globe, loam, clay, sand, 
 gravel, and boulders, as well as the solid rocks, and 
 their organic contents. 
 
 2 (13) 
 
14l ^V >?? GEXEKAL STATEMENT. 
 
 %">"- V"* < ** 3 "* 
 
 Chemistry treats of the elements of matter, tlieir 
 properties, and laws of combination. 
 
 Mineralogy describes the separate minerals which 
 compose the earth. 
 
 Botany is the scientilic examination of the various 
 forms of vegetable life. 
 
 Zoology treats of the animal kingdom. 
 
 In geological investigations it is necessary to refer 
 to all these branches of science. 
 
 Until a comparatively recent period, it was a very 
 common impression, that the rocky strata were created 
 in their present form and position ; but geology teaches 
 that they have undergone many changes, the proofs 
 of which exist in the rocks themselves. We find 
 abundant evidence that the physical condition of the 
 earth has been widely different at different epochs, and 
 that many successive races of animals and plants have 
 flourished on its surface, differing from one another, 
 and from those now living. 
 
 Geology not only teaches much that is instructive 
 and interesting, concerning the past history of the 
 earth, but it also gives important information in regard 
 to the rocks and minerals of practical use to man ; as 
 the experienced geologist can decide, with a good 
 degree of accuracy, whether certain substances may, 
 or may not, be found in a given region. 
 
 As an educational branch, Geology especially claims 
 our attention. Its study is calculated to enlarge and 
 
GENERAL STATEMENT. 15 
 
 ennoble all the faculties of the mind. Nature and 
 Revelation are man's great teachers both are indis- 
 pensable for his perfect mental and moral develop- 
 ment. 
 
 Therefore, whether we study geology for its practi- 
 cal advantages, or for the higher purpose of becoming 
 acquainted with the great plan which the Author of 
 Nature has made, and carried out, in regard to our 
 earth, the subject becomes one of the greatest impor- 
 tance and highest, interest. 
 
 '" 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 
 THE EARTH CONSIDERED AS A PLANET. 
 
 IT is an established fact that the earth is an oblate 
 spheroid, the polar diameter being twenty-six miles 
 less than the equatorial ; which gives a flattening of 
 thirteen miles at each pole. 
 
 If a ball of clay, or any yielding material, be re- 
 volved rapidly by means of a wire or rod, for an axis, 
 the revolutions will produce a difference between the 
 two diameters of the ball ; the diameter in the direc- 
 tion of the axis will diminish, while that at right 
 angles to the same will increase. This may serve to 
 explain the present figure of the earth, since it needs 
 only to have been in a soft, or yielding state, in order 
 to be affected by revolution, in the same manner as 
 the ball above mentioned. 
 
 Other planets besides the earth exhibit a flattening 
 at the poles, and it is greatest upon those which rotate 
 with the greatest velocity. The earth rotates on its 
 axis at the rate of about 1000 miles per hour, and 
 exhibits a difference between its equatorial and polar 
 diameters of a little more than 26 miles ; while Jupiter 
 
 (1C) 
 
THE EARTH CONSIDERED AS A PLANET. 17 
 
 rotates on its axis at the rate of 28,000 miles an hour, 
 and its equatorial diameter exceeds the polar by 6000 
 miles. 
 
 It is estimated that the density of the earth, taken 
 as a whole, is five times as great as that of water, and 
 about two and a half times as great as that of ordinary 
 rocks. In other words, five globes of water, of the 
 same size as the earth, would weigh no more than the 
 earth itself; and two and a half globes of ordinary 
 rock, of the same size as the earth, would only equal 
 the weight of the latter. The density of the earth, 
 then, must increase as we go towards the centre. If 
 this increase be regular, water, at the depth of 362 
 miles, would be as heavy as quicksilver, and air, at 34 
 miles, as heavy as water at the surface; and at the 
 centre, rocks would be compressed into one eighth of 
 their ordinary bulk. 
 
 Accustomed to regard the surface of the earth as 
 very irregular, unless our ideas in regard to this fact be 
 properly modified, we shall not so readily comprehend 
 the great movements which have taken place in times 
 past. Given irregularities on a globe one inch in di- 
 ameter, may make it appear exceedingly rough, while 
 the same irregularities would hardly be perceptible on 
 a globe one hundred feet in diameter. In proportion to 
 the size of the two bodies, an orange is much rougher 
 than the earth. Taking the diameter of the earth in 
 round numbers at 8000 miles, and the height of the 
 
18 THE EARTH CONSIDERED AS A PLANET. 
 
 highest mountain on its surface at 5 miles, then the 
 elevation of the highest mountain compared with the 
 diameter of the globe, is as 1 to 1600 ; or the thick- 
 ness of one sheet of paper holds the same relation to 
 the thickness of sixteen hundred sheets, as the highest 
 mountain to the diameter of the globe. Keeping 
 these facts in mind, the student will better understand 
 the elevations and depressions of continents, the up- 
 lifting of mountain ranges, and all the movements to 
 which the earth is subject. 
 
 The temperature of the surface of the earth depends 
 upon a variety of circumstances ; differing in different 
 places, according to distance from the equator, eleva- 
 tion, situation in respect to the ocean, oceanic currents, 
 and prevailing winds, and according to the radiating 
 power of the soil. 
 
 The sun does not affect the temperature of the earth 
 below the depth of 100 feet. But for every 45 or 50 
 feet of descent below that point, the temperature rises 
 about one degree Fahrenheit. If the increase go on 
 at that rate, a point would soon be reached where the 
 heat is sufficient to melt all known substances. 
 
 It is believed by most geologists, that the interior 
 of the earth is in a molten state ; that the whole earth 
 lias been in that condition ; and that the crust, or solid 
 portion, is not more than 50 or 100 miles thick. But 
 tli is theory will be further considered in a subsequent 
 chapter. At present, the rock formations, which may 
 
THE EARTH CONSIDERED AS A PLANET. 19 
 
 come under actual observation, will afford the beginner 
 in geological investigations, ample field for study. It 
 may be remarked here, however, that, in his exami- 
 nations of the solid rocks, the student will constantly 
 find the effects of heat. 
 
CHAPTEE III. 
 
 CHEMICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 CHEMISTKY informs us that the whole matter of our 
 globe is composed of 62 or 65 elements. The, follow- 
 ing list, divided into two principal groups, and the 
 first into three subordinate ones, contains the names 
 of 36 of those most abundant, and indicates their con- 
 dition when uncombined, and at ordinary temperatures. 
 
 NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS : Gases Oxygen, Hydro- 
 gen, Nitrogen, Chlorine, Fluorine. Liquid Bromine. 
 Solid Iodine, Carbon, Sulphur, Phosphorus, Silicon, 
 Boron. 
 
 METALS AND METALLOIDS : Potassium, Sodium, Cal- 
 cium, Barium, Strontium, Magnesium, Aluminium, 
 Iron, Manganese, Cobalt, Nickel, Copper, Cadmium, 
 Bismuth, Lead, Tin, Zinc, Chromium, Antimony, Ar- 
 senic, Mercury, Silver, Gold, Platinum. 
 
 Sixteen of the above, in various combinations and 
 proportions, compose the great bulk of the earth. 
 Part of the remainder form rare and valuable minerals, 
 and others are seldom found. The sixteen are as fol- 
 lows: Oxygen, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Fluorine, Chlo- 
 
 (20) 
 
CHEMICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EAETH. 21 
 
 rine, Carbon, Sulphur, Phosphorus, Silicon, Alumi- 
 nium, Potassium, Sodium, Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, 
 and Manganese. Each of these will now be briefly 
 noticed, and some of the most important of the others 
 will be described in a subsequent chapter. 
 
 OXYGEN is the most abundant, and most widely dif- 
 fused of all the elements. It constitutes from one- 
 third to one-half of the crust of the earth, forming a 
 portion of almost every substance. It forms, by 
 weight, one-fifth of the atmosphere, and eight-ninths 
 of water. 
 
 This gas is about one-tenth heavier than common 
 air. One hundred cubic inches weigh 34i grains. It 
 is tasteless, colorless, and inodorous. It is the great 
 supporter of animal life and combustion. 
 
 HYDRO GEN forms one-ninth part of water. This 
 gas is the lightest of all known substances, weighing 
 only about one-fourteenth as much as air. One hun- 
 dred cubic inches weigh 2.14 grains. It is never 
 found free in nature. Hydrogen is not a supporter 
 of combustion, but will itself burn freely. When 
 mixed with certain proportions of oxygen, or atmo- 
 sphere air, it forms a highly explosive and dangerous 
 compound. 
 
 How wonderful that the sparkling water is but a 
 combination of two colorless, invisible gases, one of 
 which will ignite and burn, and the other the great 
 supporter of combustion ! 
 
22 CHEMICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 NITROGEN constitutes 80 per cent, of the atmosphere, 
 and occurs in combinations, both in the animal and 
 in the vegetable kingdom. It is neither a supporter 
 of respiration nor combustion. It instantly extin- 
 guishes a lighted taper, and destroys animal life ; and 
 yet, properly mixed with oxygen, it forms the air we 
 breathe. 
 
 CHLORINE is a green gas about as heavy as air. 
 Combined with sodium, it forms chloride of sodium, 
 or common salt. Beds of rock-salt are common in 
 many parts of the world. The most extensive are in 
 Poland, Hungary, Austria, and the countries in that 
 quarter of the world. In the United States, salt is 
 obtained in immense quantities by evaporating the 
 water of salt springs. The springs of New York, 
 located mostly at Syracuse and vicinity, yield annually 
 about 6 millions of bushels, and those of Virginia 3J 
 millions. 
 
 FLUORINE occurs in combination with calcium, 
 forming the mineral known under the name of fluor 
 spar, which will be noticed hereafter. Fluorine, com- 
 bined with hydrogen, forms hydrofluoric acid, used 
 in etching upon glass. 
 
 CARBON, in its pure state, is a solid. It constitutes 
 the principal part of all the varieties of mineral coal, 
 which will be noticed hereafter. Plumbago, com- 
 monly but incorrectly called Black Lead, is mainly 
 carbon, containing, besides this element, only 5 or 6 
 
CHEMICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EAKTH. 23 
 
 per cent, of iron. Plumbago occurs in foliated masses 
 in the older rocks, such as mica-slate and gneiss. 
 Nelson and Washington, N. EL, and Sturbridge, 
 Mass., are among the important localities in the 
 United States. In England, the principal locality is 
 in Cumberland. Plumbago is used for the manufac- 
 ture of lead pencils, crucibles, and for diminishing 
 the friction of machinery. Bitumen, in all its varie- 
 ties, is mainly carbon. Charcoal is almost pure car- 
 bon, and the Diamond is pure crystallized carbon. 
 The principal diamond regions are India, the Ural 
 Mountains, and Brazil. The diamond has been found 
 in the United States in Virginia, North Carolina, and 
 Georgia. 
 
 Carbon constitutes from 25 to 50 per cent, of all 
 vegetable matter. In combination with oxygen, it 
 forms carbonic acid, a gas which instantly extinguishes 
 a lighted taper if immersed in it, and is fatal when 
 inhaled. This gas is formed by respiration, by com- 
 bustion, and by the decay of all animal and vegetable 
 substances. It is often found in old wells, and in 
 caves. It exists largely in the waters of many springs, 
 especially those of Saratoga. Carbonic acid combines 
 with numerous substances, forming a class of sub- 
 stances called carbonates. Chalk and limestone are 
 carbonates of lime. 
 
 SULPHUR is a yellow, brittle solid, occurring both 
 native and combined with other substances, It is 
 found most abundantly in volcanic districts. The 
 
24 CHEMICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 island of Sicily furnishes a large part of the native 
 sulphur of commerce. It is widely diffused in a state 
 of combination with the metals, forming the sulphurets 
 of iron, lead, copper, zinc, &c. It comprises half the 
 weight of gypsum, existing in that substance as sul- 
 phuric acid, the same being the result of the combi- 
 nation of sulphur and oxygen. 
 
 Sulphur occurs in many mineral waters, also in 
 plants, and sparingly in animal tissues. It occurs in 
 eggs, which, as is well known, tarnish silver. The 
 sulphur of the egg readily combines with that metal, 
 thus forming the black sulphuret of silver. 
 
 PHOSPHORUS never occurs free in nature, but is 
 quite abundant in combinations. "With lime it forms 
 the phosphate of lime, which occiirs quite abundantly 
 in the crust of the earth ; also in the seeds of plants, 
 and in bones. 
 
 Pure phosphorus is a transparent solid, easily cut 
 at ordinary temperature, and exhibiting a waxy ap- 
 pearance, unless exposed to the light, when it turns 
 yellow, then red. It possesses the property of giving 
 out light in the dark, and hence its name, which means 
 light-bearer. 
 
 Phosphorus is a violent poison and, except in very 
 small quantities, a dangerous substance to use ; for in 
 the air it takes fire with the slightest friction, and 
 burns with the greatest energy. It should be kept 
 and cut under water, and, when taken out for use, v 
 should not be touched with the naked hand. 
 
CHEMICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EAKTH. 25 
 
 SILICON is not found free, but always combined 
 with oxygen, forming silica or quartz, a mineral which 
 will be noticed in a subsequent chapter. 
 
 ALUMINIUM occurs only in combinations. With 
 oxygen it forms alumina, pure examples of which are 
 the gems known under the name of " ruby" and " sap- 
 phire." Alumina enters largely into the composition 
 of feldspar and clay. 
 
 Aluminium is now obtained in considerable quanti- 
 ties from cryolite, a mineral from Greenland, and from 
 clay. It is a white metal, resembling silver, is very 
 light, and is not tarnished by exposure. 
 
 POTASSIUM is one of the lightest of the metals. It 
 occurs only in combinations. With oxygen it forms 
 potassa, or potash, which is found in all fertile soils, 
 and in all hard- wood trees, from the ashes of which it 
 may be readily obtained. 
 
 SODIUM forms more than 40 parts in 100 of common 
 salt, and occurs in various other combinations in the 
 earth's crust. 
 
 CALCIUM, always combined with oxygen in nature, 
 occurs in every variety of limestone. , '* 
 
 MAGNESIUM combined with oxygen forms magne- 
 sia, which enters into the composition of many rocks 
 and minerals, as will be seen in the next chapter. 
 
 IKON and MANGANESE will be considered in the 
 next chapter. 
 3 
 
CHAPTER IY. 
 
 MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 A SIMPLE mineral is either an element, or a union 
 of two or more elements ; and minerals associated to- 
 gether so as to form a homogeneous mass, constitute 
 rocks. Thus, gold is an element, and at the same time 
 a simple mineral, while two elements are chemically 
 combined to form the simple mineral quartz, and 
 three minerals are mixed together in the rock called 
 granite. 
 
 There are about 600 simple minerals. To treat of 
 these in all their varied forms is the special province 
 of Mineralogy ; but a general knowledge of minerals 
 is necessary to the student of Geology ; therefore this 
 chapter is devoted to a description of those which are 
 most abundant. 
 
 Although the number of minerals is so large, eight 
 or nine constitute the great bulk of the earth. These 
 are Quartz, Feldspar, Mica, Limestone, Hornblende, 
 Serpentine, Gypsum, Talc, and Oxyd of Iron. 
 
 QUAETZ, Silica, or Silex, is the most abundant of all 
 minerals, constituting nearly half the crust of the earth. 
 
 (26) 
 
MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 27 
 
 It is one of the constituents of granite, and enters 
 largely into the composition of other rocks, and occurs 
 in abundance, in the form of sand, in nearly all soils. 
 
 Quartz is composed of silicon and oxygen a metal 
 loid and a gas. It is hard, scratches glass with facility, 
 cannot be cut with a knife, breaks into irregular frag- 
 ments under the hammer, and, with the exception of 
 the fluohydric, is unaffected by acids. 
 
 It is proper to observe here that the following 
 minerals constitute what is called the scale of hardness, 
 the number appended to each name indicating the rela- 
 tive hardness of that mineral. Talc 1, Rock Salt 2, 
 Calc Spar 3, Fluor Spar 4, Apatite 5. Feldspar 6, 
 Quartz 7, Topaz 8, Sapphire 9, Diamond 10. 
 
 With these minerals all others are compared. If a 
 mineral is no harder than talc, its hardness is said to 
 be 1 ; if as hard as calc spar, its hardness is said to be 
 3 ; if as hard as quartz, 7, and so on. If a mineral 
 can be scratched with quartz it is softer than the latter ; 
 if it is scratched with quartz, and will itself scratch 
 feldspar, it is evident that its hardness is between 6 
 and 7. And the same rule holds good in all cases. 
 In studying a mineral, the hardness is among the 
 first things to be determined ; it is therefore desirable 
 to possess the minerals enumerated above, in order 
 that we may use them in making comparisons. 
 
 Quartz is of every shade of color, owing to other 
 substances which are combined, or mixed with it. 
 
28 MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 Flint is compact quartz, often found in nodules in 
 chalk. 
 
 Rock crystal includes all tlie crystallized colorless 
 varieties. The ancients believed this to be congealed 
 water, and accordingly applied to it the term hrmtallos ; 
 hence our term crystal, now applied to all minerals 
 " bounded by plain surfaces symmetrically arranged." 
 
 Every substance that passes from a liquid to a solid 
 state crystallizes, and each species in a manner pecu- 
 liar to itself. In fact, crystallization and solidifica- 
 tion are one and the same; but those perfect forms 
 which delight the eye of the mineralogist, are pro- 
 duced only when the particles are free to arrange 
 themselves according to the law which governs them. 
 In the cooling of a mass, as a mass of melted iron, the 
 crystals intermingle in every possible manner, and 
 hence, under such circumstances, no perfect crystals 
 are formed. Ice is massive, but every snow-flake is a 
 cluster of crystals, perfect in form and finish. 
 
 Crystallography is the department of Mineralogy 
 which treats of crystals ; and a knowledge of this and 
 of Chemistry enables the patient learner to identify 
 every mineral substance. 
 
 The number of fundamental mineral forms, that is, 
 the forms from which all others are derived, is thirteen. 
 These are prisms, octohedrons, and dodecahedrons. 
 The number of derived forms is very great. 
 
 Quartz crystallizes in six-sided prisms, terminated 
 
MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 29 
 
 by six-sided pyramids. Figures 1 4 illustrate the 
 common forms of quartz crystals. 
 
 Fig. 1. 
 
 Fig. 2. 
 
 Fig. 3. 
 
 Fig. 4. 
 
 Some of the common forms of Quartz Crystals. 
 
 "While these forms appear different at first glance, a 
 closer inspection shows them to be alike in all essen- 
 tial particulars. Though the crystal be elongated, 
 contracted, or flattened, or if one side be enlarged at 
 the expense of another, the number of sides and the 
 value of the angles are constant. 
 
 When, as at Little Falls, N. Y., and at many other 
 localities, crystals occur loose in cavities, each end is 
 generally terminated with a pyramid. Quartz crys- 
 tals, however, are more frequently attached, as seen 
 in the beautiful group from Warwick, Mass., repre- 
 sented by the accompanying wood-cut. 
 3* 
 
30 MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 Fig. 5. 
 
 Group of Quartz Crystals, Warwick, Mass. 
 
 Geodes, or hollow pebbles, with the concave surface 
 thickly studded with quartz crystals, are abundant in 
 the limestone of many regions, and especially in the 
 limestone bluffs along the Mississippi river. Exter- 
 nally these geodes are mere pebbles, but a blow from 
 the hammer reveals great beauty within. 
 
 Pure crystals of quartz, and of every other mineral, 
 are generally small. Quartz crystals of inferior clear- 
 ness are sometimes found of enormous dimensions. A 
 group in the Cabinet of Dartmouth College weighs 147 
 pounds, and some of the crystals are five inches in 
 diameter. There is a group in the University of 
 Naples which weighs half a ton. At Milan there is a 
 crystal of quartz three feet and three inches in length, 
 six feet in circumference, and weighing 800 pounds. 
 
 "Rock crystals, in greater or less perfection, occur 
 
MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 31 
 
 almost everywhere. Canada Creek, St. Lawrence 
 county, 1ST. Y., Little Falls, in the same state, and 
 Smithfield, E. I., are among the noted localities in 
 the United States. The largest crystals in the world 
 come from the Alps. 
 
 The purest specimens of rock-crystal are often cut 
 and used in jewellery, optical instruments, and spec- 
 tacle-glasses. Cups and vases were formerly cut from 
 this substance. Quartz crystals containing rutile afford 
 beautiful gems. 
 
 Amethyst is a purple variety of crystallized quartz. 
 It is colored by the oxyd of manganese, or by iron 
 and soda. It was named by the ancients, who believed 
 that wine drunk from goblets made of this mineral 
 would not intoxicate ; and this idea is expressed in its 
 name. 
 
 Amethyst has always been esteemed as a gem, but is 
 more brilliant by sunlight than by gaslight. Fine 
 cabinet specimens are found in Lincoln county, North 
 Carolina. Small crystals are plentiful on Mount 
 Holyoke. The finest varieties used for jewellery are 
 brought from Brazil, Ceylon, India, Siberia, and from 
 various parts of Europe. 
 
 Rose quartz is a massive variety, of a rose or pink 
 color, which is probably due to manganese. Beautiful 
 specimens can be obtained in abundance at Acworth, 
 1ST. H., and at Paris, Me. 
 
 Prase is a leek-green, massive variety of quartz. 
 
32 MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 Smoky quartz occurs both crystallized and massive. 
 Large crystals have been found in the vicinity of the 
 "White Mountains, 1ST. H. 
 
 Ferruginous quartz is yellow, or brown red, the color 
 being due to the oxyd of iron. 
 
 Chalcedony is a gray or white variety of quartz, 
 with a lustre of wax, and often exhibiting a botryoidal 
 surface. It occurs in cavities of the rocks, where it 
 was probably formed by the infiltration of silicious 
 waters. 
 
 Carnelian is the same material as the last, with a 
 bright red color. It is much used for the more com- 
 mon jewellery. 
 
 Chrysoprase is a leek-green variety of chalcedony. 
 
 Sard is a deep brown red variety of chalcedony. 
 
 Agate is a variety of chalcedony, in which the colors 
 are arranged in clouds, spots, bands, and concentric 
 lines. When the lines are zigzag, it is called Fortifi- 
 cation agate. Sometimes moss-like delineations are 
 found in agate, then it is called Mocha-stone, or Moss- 
 agate. When the colors of the agate are arranged in 
 horizontal layers, or bands, it is called Onyx, and is 
 the stone used in making real cameos. When the 
 layers are sard and white chalcedony, it is called 
 Sardonyx. 
 
 Chalcedony, carnelian, and agate pebbles are abun- 
 dant on the shores of Lake Superior, and other lakes 
 of the West, also on the shores of Scotland. 
 
MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EAKTH. 33 
 
 Jasper is silica containing oxyd of iron and clay. 
 It occurs of various colors, though it is generally 
 red. Jasper is exceedingly abundant in Saugus, 
 Mass. 
 
 Bloodstone, or Heliotrope, is a deep green variety of 
 quartz, with blood-red spots. It contains some clay ; 
 and the spots are probably due to iron. It is much 
 used for ring-stones and seals. Fine specimens come 
 from India and Siberia. 
 
 Granular quartz is of a granular texture, resembling 
 loaf-sugar. 
 
 Quartz is an important mineral in the arts. Window- 
 glass is made of quartz, soda, and lime. Plate-glass 
 of quartz, potash, and lime. Flint-glass and crystal- 
 glass are made of quartz, potash, and soda. Green 
 bottle-glass of quartz, alumina, oxyds of iron and 
 manganese, and potash, or soda. 
 
 The great abundance of quartz is significant of its 
 importance in the economy of nature. It is essential 
 to the growth of vegetation. Many kinds of plants 
 cannot exist without it. This is especially true of 
 grasses and grain. It is this which gives firmness to 
 their stems. When there is a deficiency of available 
 silica, the grass or grain falls down. Some rushes 
 contain so much silica that they are used for polishing 
 purposes. 
 
 FELDSPAR enters largely into the composition of the 
 earth's crust. It differs from quartz in having a regu- 
 
MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 lar cleavage, a pearly lustre, and in being somewhat 
 softer than the latter. Its hardness is 6. Feldspar is 
 composed of silica 64.20, alumina 18.40, potash 16.95. 
 It is generally of a gray or whitish color ; though 
 flesh-red, green, and blue varieties are not uncommon 
 in some regions. It is one of the constituents of 
 granite. Feldspar is quarried at Acworth, Alstead, 
 and Grafton, N. H. 
 
 Fig. 6. 
 
 Fig. 7. 
 
 Common forms of Crystallized Feldspar. 
 
 Feldspar is extensively used in the manufacture of 
 mineral teeth and porcelain. When decomposed, it 
 forms a clay called Kaolin, used in the manufacture 
 of pottery. Common brick-clay is impure decomposed 
 feldspar, and the bricks owe their red color to the 
 presence of iron in the clay. 
 
 A variety of feldspar, containing a large proportion 
 of soda, is called Albite, and is easily distinguished 
 from the common variety by its invariable whiteness. 
 
MINERAL CONSTITUTION" OF THE EARTH. 35 
 
 Moonstone and Sunstone are varieties of feldspar some- 
 times used as gems. 
 
 MICA ; with quartz and feldspar ; constitutes granite. 
 When the constituents are coarse, we have coarse 
 granite, but when fine, they form the compact granite 
 suitable for building purposes. In the coarse granite 
 rocks of Alstead and Grafton, N". II., plates of mica are 
 sometimes obtained from one to two feet long, and a 
 foot wide. 
 
 The elasticity of mica, and the remarkable facility 
 with which it may be split into extremely thin leaves, 
 readily distinguish it from all other minerals. Its 
 colors are white, green, brown, yellow, and black. 
 Its hardness varies from 2 to 2.5. Sometimes, as at 
 Goshen, Mass., it is found of a beautiful rose or pink 
 color, and hence is called Rose Mica. A beautiful 
 variety found at Paris, Me., consisting of an aggre- 
 gation of crystals of a pink or purple color, is called 
 Lepidolite. A variety, consisting of black, globular, or 
 oval concretions, from a half inch to two inches in 
 diameter, is found at Kewfane, and at Craftsbury, Yt. 
 
 Fig. 8. Fig. 9. 
 
 Common forms of Mica Crystals. 
 
36 MINERAL CONSTITUTION" OF THE EARTH. 
 
 The plates of mica, which we observe more fre- 
 quently than crystals, are but parts of crystals more 
 or less regular. Mica has many important uses. Not 
 being easily injured by fire, it is used in the doors of 
 stoves, and in all places where a transparent or trans- 
 lucent substance is necessary, and at the same time 
 .where one is required that will not easily break. The 
 composition of common mica is silica 46.3, alumina 
 36.8, potash 9.2, oxyd of iron 4.5, fluoric acid 0.7, 
 water 1.8. 
 
 Fig. 8 is a perfect copy of a beautiful crystal with 
 its lower portion embedded in rock, from Gilsum, 
 N;H. 
 
 LIMESTONE, or Carbonate of Lime, although a simple 
 mineral, occurs in vast masses, forming the flanks of 
 mountains, and underlying extensive regions. It is 
 readily distinguished from quartz, by its inferior 
 hardness being easily cut with a knife and by 
 its effervescence with acids. Its hardness is 3. 
 Its composition is lime 56.3, and carbonic acid 
 43.7. Dolomite is a carbonate of lime, containing 
 magnesia. 
 
 Considered in regard to structure, limestones are 
 either compact or granular. The compact limestones 
 break with a smooth surface, often conchoidal. The 
 granular are crystalline, some varieties resembling 
 loaf sugar. 
 
 Limestones capable of taking a polish, are called 
 
MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 37 
 
 Marble, which is familiar to all in the form of table- 
 tops, floors, mantel-pieces, fire-jambs, &c. 
 
 The purest and best crystalline limestone is used 
 in sculpture, and is called statuary marble, the finest 
 qualities of which come from Carrara in Italy, and 
 from the island of Paros. The celebrated Parian 
 marble, used by the Grecian sculptors, came from the 
 latter place. 
 
 Marble has always been extensively used for 
 architectural purposes. Many of the ancient temples 
 were built of it. The Parthenon at Athens was built 
 of white marble. It occurs, suitable for building pur- 
 poses, abundantly in Yermont, Western Massachusetts, 
 Eastern New York, and Western Connecticut. 
 
 Many varieties of marble are beautifully shaded and 
 mottled. These markings are due to foreign matter, 
 and, in many instances, to the shells, corals, and 
 encrinites which are scattered through the rock, and 
 not unfrequently constitute its main bulk. 
 
 Chalk is a carbonate of lime. Calcareous Tufa is 
 vegetable matter incrusted or petrified by deposits 
 of carbonate of lime from lime springs. Such 
 springs are common. One in Williamstown, Yt. ; has 
 formed a deposit of calcareous tufa of considerable 
 extent. 
 
 , In caves, calcareous waters form Stalactites, which 
 hang from the roof like icicles ; and the water which 
 drips from a stalactite deposits a mass upon the floor 
 
38 MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 more or less conical, called Stalagmite. Not unfre- 
 quently beautiful columns are formed in this way. 
 
 Fig. 10. 
 
 Cave with Stalactites, Stalagmites, and Columns. 
 
 The crystallized varieties of limestone are all known 
 under the general name of Calc Spar. More than 
 seven hundred crystallized forms of this mineral 
 all modifications of the rhombohedron have been 
 described by mineralogists. The primary form, the 
 rhombohedron, and some of the most common modifi- 
 cations, are represented by the figures on the follow- 
 ing page. Fig. 14 is the form of the variety known 
 as Dog-tooth Spar, very abundant at Lockport, 1ST. Y. 
 
 All varieties of calc spar cleave into rhombohedrons, 
 transparent specimens of which have the property of 
 double refraction of making objects over which they 
 are placed appear double. Such specimens are fami- 
 liarly known under the name of Iceland Spar. 
 
MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 39 
 Fig. 11. Fig. 12. Fig. 13. Fig. 14. 
 
 Common forms of Calc Spar. 
 
 The crystallized varieties may be found in all 
 limestone regions. The finest specimens in the 
 United States occur in St. Lawrence county, N. Y. 
 Beautiful specimens may be obtained at every lime- 
 quarry. 
 
 When burnt, every variety of limestone yields 
 quick-lime. Heat drives off the carbonic acid, and 
 leaves the lime. 
 
 Besides the various uses of limestone for building 
 purposes, it performs important offices in the vegetable 
 and in the animal kingdom. It is indispensable to the 
 pod-bearing plants, and many others. It constitutes 
 the chief material of the hard parts of many of the 
 lower animals. 
 
 Coral reefs, composed of the skeletons of polyps 
 to be explained in a subsequent chapter are mostly 
 carbonate of lime. So also are the shells of the oyster, 
 clam, lobster, crabs, and all other so called shell-fish. 
 
4:0 
 
 MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 HORNBLENDE is a tough mineral, generally dark- 
 colored, though it is found of all shades, from white to 
 black. It occurs everywhere in the rocks of volcanic 
 origin, in some of the older slates, and in syenite, 
 which will be noticed hereafter. Its hardness varies 
 from 5 to 6. Tremolite, actynolite, atld asbestus, are 
 varieties of hornblende. Asbestus occurs both compact 
 and fibrous. It is often erroneously pronounced to be 
 petrified wood. Sometimes it is so fibrous that it can 
 be spun and woven like cotton. The ancients made 
 napkins of it, and, as it is incombustible, they cleansed 
 them by throwing them upon the fire. It was also 
 used for wicks in the lamps of the temples ; and be- 
 cause it was not consumed, the mineral was called 
 asbestus, which name expresses that fact. Asbestus is 
 abundant in Eichmond county, New York, and in 
 many other places in the United States. 
 
 Composition of hornblende: silica 48.8^ magnesia 
 
 Fig. 15. 
 
 Fig. 16. 
 
 Hornblende. Pyroxene. 
 
 Common form of Hornblende and of Pyroxene Crystals. 
 
MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 41 
 
 13. lime 10.2, alumina 7.5, protoxyd of iron 18.75, pro- 
 toxyd of manganese, hydrofluoric acid, and water, 1.24. 
 
 Pyroxene, under the various names of Diopside, 
 Sahlite, Augite, &c., closely resembles hornblende, but 
 differs from it in cleavage, and in the angles of its 
 crystals. 
 
 TALC sometimes resembles mica, from which it may 
 be readily distinguished by its inferior hardness, and by 
 its inelasticity. Talc is one of the softest minerals, has 
 a foliated structure, and feels very unctuous. Massive 
 talc is called Steatite, or Soapstone, and is in common 
 use for stoves, stove and fire-place linings, &c. It is 
 extensively quarried in New England. Groton, Mid- 
 dlefield, Windsor, Blanford, Chester, and Andover, 
 are the principal localities in Massachusetts; Orford 
 and Francestown in New Hampshire ; and Grafton and 
 Windham in Vermont. Talc and its varieties are 
 mostly silica and magnesia. 
 
 SERPENTINE occurs massive, often forming exten- 
 sive hills, as at Cavendish, Yt. Its colors are shades 
 of green. Frequently it is found beautifully clouded, 
 presenting a fine appearance when polished. It is 
 composed of silica 42.3, magnesia 44.2, protoxyd of 
 iron 0.2, carbonic acid 0.9, and water 12.4. Its hard- 
 ness varies from 2.5 to 4. 
 
 Precious Serpentine is of a rich oil green color, and 
 is a good material for inlaid work. This variety 
 occurs near Newburyport, Mass. 
 
 4* 
 
42 MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 The clouded varieties are well "known under the 
 name of Verd-antique, extensively used for tables, fire- 
 jambs, and various ornamental purposes. This vari- 
 ety is quarried of great beauty at Eoxbury, Vt. 
 
 GYPSUM, or Sulphate of Lime, constitutes extensive 
 formations in New York, the Western and South- 
 Western States, and in Nova Scotia. It is also abun- 
 dant in Europe. Its composition is lime 32.9, sul- 
 phuric acid 46.3, and water 20.8. It is readily dis- 
 tinguished from carbonate of lime by being softer, 
 and by not effervescing with acids. Its hardness is 
 about 2. When ground, it is used as a fertilizer. It 
 is also extensively employed in taking casts and 
 models, and for hard finish on the walls of houses. 
 For these purposes the gypsum is ground and heated, 
 to expel the water; then, by wetting it again, it is 
 made into paste, which hardens almot immediately. 
 Gypsum is often found in beautiful crystals. Some- 
 times the crystals are double, as in Fig. 18. 
 
 Fig. 17. Fig. 18. 
 
 Common form of Gypsum Crystals. 
 
 When found in foliated masses, it is called Selenite, 
 
MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 43 
 
 and can be readily split into plates like mica, but not 
 to the same extent. It is much softer than mica, and 
 inelastic. Compact gypsum of a fine grain, and of a 
 pure white, or light color, is called Alabaster, and is 
 much used for vases and various ornaments. Casta- 
 lino, Italy, furnishes the finest alabaster. In the 
 Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, it occurs in beautiful imi- 
 tations of vines, flowers, and fruits. 
 
 OXYD OF IRON is widely diffused, occurring in 
 nearly all soils, and disseminated among the solid 
 rocks, and often covering them in the form of rust. 
 It also occurs in veins and beds, and sometimes con- 
 stitutes the great bulk of mountains. More extended 
 remarks upon iron are made under the head of Metals 
 and Metallic Ores. 
 
 OTHER MINERALS OF IMPORTANCE TO THE GEOLOGIST. 
 
 Although the minerals noticed in the previous pages 
 are the most abundant, it is important that the student 
 become acquainted with others which he will fre- 
 quently meet with in his investigations, and which 
 are worthy of attention, both on account of their 
 intrinsic value and interest, and the aid they will 
 afford in the examination of the rocky formations of 
 our globe. 
 
 The additional minerals which will be briefly 
 noticed, are Heavy Spar, Celestine, Fluor Spar, Apa- 
 
44 MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 tite, Scapolite, Andalusite, Staurotide, Kyanite, Garnet, 
 Idocrase, Epidote, Chondrodite, Spinel, Corundum, the 
 Zeolite Family, Tourmaline, lolite, Beryl, and Zircon, 
 and the most common Metals and Metallic Ores. 
 
 HEAVY SPAR, or Sulphate of Baryta, is a white or 
 gray mineral, often associated with metallic ores. It 
 is readily distinguished from the minerals which it 
 resembles, by its greater weight. It occurs in lami- 
 nated masses and in crystals. Its hardness varies from 
 2.5 to 3.5. 
 
 Fig. 19. Fig. 20. 
 
 Common forms of crystallized Heavy Spar. 
 
 Heavy Spar is found in abundance at Hatfield, 
 Mass., and Cheshire, Conn. ; also in the Southern and 
 "Western States. Its composition is sulphuric acid 34, 
 and baryta 66. It is used as a pigment with white 
 lead. 
 
 CELESTINE, or the Sulphate of Strontia, occurs in 
 long, slender, and often flat crystals, generally of a 
 blue color, and readily distinguished from heavy spar 
 by being lighter than that mineral ; and from all the 
 carbonates by not effervescing with acids. Its hard- 
 
MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 45 
 
 ness is about 3.5. It is found on Strontian Island, 
 Lake Erie; at Lockport and Kossie, 1ST. Y. At 
 Lockport it is associated with dog-tooth spar. Com- 
 position, sulphuric acid 43.6, strontia 56.4. Celes- 
 tine is used for making the nitrate of strontia, the 
 substance which gives the red color in fireworks. 
 
 FLUOR SPAR, or Fluate of Lime, is found both mas- 
 sive and crystallized in cubes, which readily cleave so 
 as to form octahedrons. Its colors are dingy white, 
 purple, green, brown, yellow, rose, and slate; but 
 purple and green varieties are the most common. 
 The purple resembles a.methyst, but its inferior hard- 
 ness easily distinguishes it from that mineral. Its 
 composition is fluorine 47.7, calcium 52.3. 
 
 Fluor Spar occurs in large crystals at Muscalonge 
 Lake, St. Lawrence county, N. Y. It is very abun- 
 dant in Derbyshire, England, and hence is often called 
 Derbyshire Spar. It takes a good polish, and is much 
 used in England in the manufacture of vases, and 
 various kinds of ornamental work. Fluoric acid, used 
 in etching, is obtained from this mineral. 
 
 APATITE, or Phosphate of Lime, occurs both massive 
 and in six-sided prisms. It is found in granular lime- 
 stone, gneiss, and mica slate. Its softness will readily 
 distinguish it from beryl, which it often resembles. 
 It is easily scratched with a knife, dissolves in acids 
 without effervescence, and phosphoresces when heated. 
 Its colors are various, but the crystallized varieties are 
 
46 MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 generally some shade of green. Its composition is 
 phosphate of lime 92.1, fluorid of calcium 7.0, chlorid 
 of calcium 0.9. 
 
 This mineral is an important fertilizer, entering into 
 the composition of the kernel of the most important 
 grains. Bones contain more than 50 per cent, of 
 phosphate of lime. These facts show the important 
 relation this mineral sustains to the vegetable and the 
 animal kingdom. Beautiful crystals of apatite are 
 obtained in St. Lawrence county, N. Y. 
 
 SCAPOLITE occurs in the form of square prisms, in 
 granular limestone and in quartz. It also occurs 
 massive. Its hardness varies from 5 to 6. Scapolite 
 occurs in abundance at Governeur, N". Y v and at 
 Bolton, Mass. At the latter place a massive variety 
 is found of a beautiful lilac color, and hence is called 
 Lilac Scapolite. 
 
 ANDALUSITE, also called Chiastolite, and sometimes 
 Macle, usually occurs in clay slate, in four-sided 
 prisms, more or less modified. The hardness of this 
 mineral varies from 3 to 7.5. Cross sections of crystals 
 
 Fig. 21. Fig. 22. Fig. 23. 
 
 Perfect copy of cross sections of Andalusite Crystals, Lancaster, Mass. 
 
MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 47 
 
 exhibit something that reminds one of mosaic work, 
 as may be seen in the accompanying figures, copied 
 from nature. 
 
 STAUROTIDE occurs abundantly in the mica slate 
 rocks of New England. Perfect specimens may be 
 obtained in almost any quantity near Mink Pond, 
 Lisbon, K H. Staurotide is also abundant in Charles- 
 town in the same state. Its hardness varies from 7 
 to 7.5. 
 
 Fig. 24. Fig. 25. Fig. 26. 
 
 Several forms of Staurotide Crystals. 
 
 Crystals of this mineral are sometimes found, which 
 exhibit a tesselated appearance like andalusite. Ac- 
 cording to Dr. C. T. Jackson, such are found where 
 mica slate, containing them, passes into clay slate. 
 
 KYANITE occurs in long flat crystals, either single 
 or aggregated, penetrating quartz, gneiss, and mica 
 slate. Its color is sky blue, and when fresh from the 
 quarry, the specimens are remarkably beautiful. Hard- 
 ness 5 to 7. Kyanite occurs at Litchfield and Wash- 
 ington, Conn. ; Chesterfield, Mass. ; and Acworth, N". H. 
 
48 MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 GARNET occurs in dodecahedrons and doable dode- 
 cahedrons. It is found of almost every color. Hard- 
 ness from. 6.5 to 7.5. Precious Garnet is deep red, and 
 is transparent or translucent. Its composition is 
 silica 42.5, alumina 19.15, protoxyd of iron 33.6, 
 protoxyd of manganese 5.5. Common garnet is dingy 
 red. Cinnamon Garnet, or Cinnamon Stone, is cinna- 
 mon brown, and hence its name. The composition 
 of cinnamon garnet differs from the precious garnet, 
 in containing only 5 or 6 per cent, of iron and by 
 having 30 per cent, of lime, while the precious garnet 
 has no lime. Manganesian garnet is of a deep red 
 color, and very brittle. It contains 30 per cent, of the 
 protoxyd of manganese. 
 
 Fig. 27. Fig. 28. Fig. 29. 
 
 Common forms of Garnet. 
 
 Garnet occurs abundantly in mica slate, gneiss, and 
 in granite, especially in the coarse varieties of the latter. 
 Cinnamon garnet is generally found at the junction of 
 limestone with silicious rocks, This mineral is found 
 under such circumstances at Amherst, N. H.. and at 
 Carlisle, Mass. 
 
 IDOCRASE, or Egeran, resembles some varieties of 
 
MINEKAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EAETH. 
 
 cinnamon garnet, with which it is often found; but 
 differs in crystallizing in square prisms. Its color is 
 brown, and its composition silica 37.4, alumina 23.5, 
 protoxyd of iron 4.0, lime 29.7, magnesia and pro- 
 toxyd of manganese 5.2. Hardness 6.5. Fine spe- 
 
 Fig. 30. 
 
 Fig. 31. 
 
 Common forms of Idocrase. 
 
 cimens are found at Parsonsfield, Me., and at Am- 
 herst, K H. 
 
 EPIDOTE may be distinguished by its yellowish 
 green color. It often occurs in beautiful six-sided 
 prisms, but frequently it appears as a green coating 
 
 Fig. 32. 
 
 Fig. 33. 
 
 Common forms of Epidote. 
 
 D 
 
50 MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 upon the sides of fissures in the rocks, as at Nahant, 
 Mass. It is generally found in the greatest perfection 
 where dikes cut across rocks abounding in lime. 
 It is found in fine crystals at Franconia, N. H. Its 
 composition is silica 37.0, alumina 26.6, lime 20.0, 
 protoxyd of iron 13.0, protoxyd of manganese 0.6, 
 water, 1.8. Hardness from 6 to 7. 
 
 CHONDRODITE occurs in small brownish rounded 
 kernels in granular limestone. Its composition is 
 silica, magnesia, protoxyd of iron, and fluorine. Hard- 
 ness 6. 
 
 SPINEL occurs in octahedrons and dodecahedrons, 
 in limestone and gneiss. Its colors vary from red to 
 black ; blue and brown being common. Its composi- 
 tion is mainly alumina and magnesia. Hardness 8. 
 This mineral and the last are abundant in the lime- 
 stone from Amity, N. Y., to Andover, "N. J. Small 
 crystals of spinel are quite numerous in the limestone 
 at Bolton, Mass. Clear crystals of this mineral are 
 much used as gems. The red variety is the common 
 ruby of the shops. 
 
 CORUNDUM occurs in hexagonal prisms, and mas- 
 sive. It is readily distinguished by its hardness, 
 scratching all other minerals except the diamond. 
 Blue is the prevailing color, but red, green, and yel- 
 low are not uncommon. The pure varieties, when 
 blue, are called Sapphire, and when red, Oriental Ruby, 
 and are highly prized as gems. The granular varie- 
 
MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EAKTH. 51 
 
 ties, which generally contain some iron, are called 
 Emery. The emery of commerce comes mostly from 
 Turkey and the Grecian Islands. Corundum is found 
 in many places in the United States, especially in New 
 Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia. 
 The finest sapphires and oriental rubies come from 
 India, especially from Ceylon. 
 
 The Zeolite Family comprises a great number of 
 minerals, which are found mostly lining cavities and 
 seams in rocks of volcanic origin. They are called 
 zeolites, from the Greek zeo, to boil, because, when 
 heated before the blow-pipe, they swell or boil. They 
 are mostly composed of silica, alumina, and lime, or 
 soda. The best localities of this family in this coun- 
 try, are Bergen Hill, N. J., the Copper Kegion of 
 Lake Superior, and Peter's Point and Cape Blomidon, 
 Nova Scotia. 
 
 The principal zeolites common in this country, are 
 Heulandite a white or reddish mineral, in rhomboi- 
 dal prisms; Stilbite, generally white, in elongated 
 rectangular prisms ; Apophyllite, generally white or 
 grayish, in square prisms, with a sharp pyramidal 
 termination; Laumonite, generally massive, with a 
 radiating structure, and of a white or grayish color ; 
 Natrollte, in slender rhombic prisms ; Thomsonite, con- 
 sisting of masses of radiating fibres, or acicular crys- 
 tals of a snow-white color; Anakime, in trapezohe- 
 drons of a milky color ; Chabazite, in white or reddish 
 
52 
 
 MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 somewhat cubical crystals; and Prehnite, generally 
 found in reniform and botryoidal masses of a light 
 green color. This mineral takes a handsome polish, 
 and is used for various ornamental purposes. To this 
 list we may add Datholite, which is reckoned among 
 the zeolites by many writers. It occurs in rhombic 
 prisms, generally of a white color. It forms a jelly 
 with nitric acid. 
 
 TOURMALINE is a mineral of very common occur- 
 rence in granite, gneiss, mica slate, quartz, chlorite 
 slate, and steatite. It is also found in granular lime- 
 stone. Black and brown varieties are the most com- 
 mon. It also occurs blue, bright, and pale red, or 
 pink, green, cinnamon brown, yellow, gray, and white. 
 It crystallizes in 3, 6 ; 9, or 12 sided prisms. Hardness 
 about 7.5. 
 
 Fig. 34. 
 
 Fig. 35. 
 
 Fig. 36. 
 
 Common forms of Tourmaline. 
 
 The different colored tourmalines have received dif- 
 ferent names. Thus, Schorl was formerly applied to 
 
MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 53 
 
 the black variety, but now it is called Black Tourma- 
 line simply, while the term schorl is going out of use. 
 Black tourmaline is often very highly polished, and 
 beautifully striated. This is the case when it occurs 
 in quartz, and the crystal leaves its impress upon the 
 latter, even to the microscopic lines. The writer 
 has many such crystals of great beauty from Sulli- 
 van, K H. 
 
 The red varieties are called Rubellite, the blue and 
 blue black, Indicolite. Black tourmaline has yielded 
 silica 33.0, alumina 38.2, lime 0.8, protoxyd of iron, 
 23.8, soda 3.2, boracic acid 1.9. A specimen of ru- 
 bellite yielded silica 39.4, alumina 44.0, potash 1.3, 
 boracic acid 4.2, lithia 2.5, peroxyd of manganese 5.0. 
 
 Black tourmaline is found in all granite regions. 
 The pink, red, and blue varieties occur in remark- 
 able beauty at Paris, Me., and in less perfection 
 at Goshen and Chesterfield, Mass. The red, pink, 
 and green tourmalines of Paris, Me., when perfectly 
 free from flaws, afford gems of great brilliancy and 
 beauty. 
 
 IOLITE occurs mostly in hexagonal prisms, which 
 are separable into layers at right angles to the length 
 of the crystal. Its color is blue, of various shades. 
 It occurs mostly in granite, gneiss, and talcose rocks. 
 The principal localities in the United States are at 
 Haddam, Conn., Brimfield, Mass., and Kichmond, 
 
 N". H. Pure iolite is cut for gems. 
 5* 
 
54 MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 TOPAZ, one of the minerals mentioned in the scale 
 of hardness, is found at Trumbull, Conn., the principal 
 locality of this species in the United States. It is 
 readily distinguished by its brilliant transverse cleav- 
 age. Topaz is generally pale yellow; but green, blue, 
 and red shades are not uncommon. The finest speci- 
 mens used in jewellery come from Siberia and Brazil. 
 
 BERYL occurs in six-sided prisms in coarse granite. 
 Sometimes the crystal has flat terminations^ as repre- 
 sented by Fig. 37, drawn from a specimen in the 
 
 Fig. 37. 
 
 Fig. 38. 
 
 Common, forms of Beryl. 
 
 author's collection, from Sullivan, 1ST. H. More fre- 
 quently no regular termination is found. Again, the 
 crystal is terminated as in fig. 38, or in a modification 
 of that form. The color of beryl is green, passing 
 into blue, and sometimes into yellow. Clear beryl of 
 sea-green color is called aquamarine, and is much used 
 
MINERAL CONSTITUTION" OF THE EAKTH. 55 
 
 for gems. Beryl is composed of silica 66.5, alumina 
 16.8, glucina 15.5, peroxyd of iron 0.6. Hardness 
 from 7 to 8. 
 
 Emerald is a rich, green variety of beryl containing 
 the oxyd of chromium, which gives it its color. When 
 perfectly free from flaws, the emerald affords gems of 
 great value. The finest specimens come from New 
 Granada and Siberia. 
 
 The common beryl may be found in greater or less 
 perfection in nearly all the coarse granite rocks of New 
 England. Koyalston, Mass., and Alstead, N. II., have 
 furnished some of the purest specimens of any of our 
 localities, but Acworth and Grafton, N. II., have fur- 
 nished the largest. One crystal from Acworth is 4 
 feet long, and weighs 240 pounds. The writer has a 
 large crystal of beryl found loose in the soil, on a hill 
 in the south-west part of Marlow, N. H. The Eoyalston 
 and Alstead beryls afford gems of great beauty. 
 
 The largest beryl in the world is embedded in 
 quartz and feldspar on Mt. Alger, in Grafton, N. II. 
 It is owned by Francis Alger, Esq., of Boston, to 
 whom I am indebted for these facts about it. The 
 entire length of the crystal is 9 feet ; its circumference 
 at the largest part nearly 12 feet ; and its weight not 
 less than 5 tons. In Mr. Alger's splendid collection, 
 there is a crystal of beryl from this same locality, 
 weighing 2J tons, some portions of which are trans- 
 parent and very beautiful. 
 
56 MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EAKTH. 
 
 Chrysoberyl, found at Haddam, Conn., in tabular 
 crystals, is closely related to beryl. 
 
 ZIKCON occurs in square prisms, terminated with 
 four-sided pyramids. Its color is red, brown, or gray. 
 Its hardness is 7.5. It is found in granite, gneiss, 
 granular limestone, and volcanic rocks. Clear red 
 specimens are called Hyacinth. Zircon is found at 
 Litchfield, Me., Hammond, N. Y., Franklin, N. J., and 
 at Green Eiver, Henderson county, N. C. At the 
 latter place the crystals occur loose in the soil, and in 
 the greatest abundance. Clear specimens of this 
 mineral are used for gems, and for jewelling watches. 
 
 METALS AND METALLIC ORES. 
 
 Metals are found either native or in the state of ores. 
 A native metal is pure, or simply mixed with other sub- 
 stances, but not chemically combined with them. An 
 ore is a metal chemically combined with one or more 
 substances, such as oxygen, sulphur, carbonic acid, 
 arsenic, silica, &c. 
 
 Metals occur in layers or beds ; in veins intersecting 
 the rocks; and disseminated through the rocks in 
 grains and crystals. 
 
 The metals which will here be briefly noticed, are 
 Iron, Manganese, Lead, Zinc, Copper, Eutile, Molybde- 
 num, Tin, Silver, and Grold. 
 
 IRON is found native only in meteorites, those 
 
MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 57 
 
 wonderful bodies wliicli occasionally fall to our earth. 
 In combinations it is abundant, and widely diffused 
 among the rock formations of our globe. 
 
 Oxyd of Iron, already noticed, is the most abundant 
 and most important ore of this metal. There are three 
 prominent varieties of oxyd of iron the Magnetic, 
 the Specular, and the Brown Iron Ore. 
 
 Magnetic Iron Ore occurs both in beds, and in 
 octahedral and dodecahedral crystals. Vast beds of 
 this ore occur in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New 
 York, New Hampshire, and in many other parts of 
 the United States. The crystals are very common 
 among the older rocks. At Amherst, N. H., the 
 granite rocks abound with crystals of this mineral, 
 which combine both the octahedron and the dodecahe- 
 dron. This ore is extensively worked for the manu- 
 facture of iron. Its composition is iron 71.8, and 
 oxygen 28.2. Hardness from 3.5 to 4.5. Lodestone 
 is magnetic iron, which exhibits magnetic polarity. 
 Such specimens are not unfrequently found in the 
 iron regions. 
 
 Specular Iron Ore is so called from the high lustre 
 of some of its varieties. Micaceous iron is a foliated 
 variety of this ore. Some of the varieties do not 
 exhibit lustre. Such are red hematite, red ochre, reel 
 chalk, and clay iron. Specular iron may be dis- 
 tinguished by its red color when pulverized. It 
 occurs in great abundance in the rocks of all ages. 
 
58 MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 It abounds in Pennsylvania ; and Pilot Knob and Iron 
 Mountain, in Missouri, are mainly specular iron. At 
 the island of Elba it is obtained in the most splendid 
 crystals. The crystals have a hardness from 5.5 to 6.5. 
 
 This ore is extensively mined for the production of 
 iron, but is less easily worked than the magnetic. 
 
 Brown Iron Ore is one of the most abundant and 
 one of the most valuable iron ores in this country. 
 It occurs both massive, and in nodular, botryoidal, 
 and stalactitic forms; and is generally called Brown 
 Hematite. Specimens often exhibit a beautiful irides- 
 cence. Brown and yellow ochre, and bog iron ore, 
 are varieties of this mineral. Brown iron ore is 
 abundant in Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, 
 and Connecticut ; also in the Carolinas, and other 
 states South and West. 
 
 There are many interesting iron ores besides the 
 oxyds. 
 
 Spathic Iron, or Carbonate of Iron, is another im- 
 portant ore for the manufacture of both iron and steel. 
 It often resembles calc spar, but may be distinguished 
 from the latter by its greater weight. Its color is 
 light brown. The composition of spathic iron is 
 protoxyd of iron 61.37, and carbonic acid 38.63. 
 Hardness from 3 to 4.5. Spathic iron abounds in the 
 coal regions of Pennsylvania, and also occurs in New 
 York, Vermont, and Connecticut. Specimens of this 
 ore are readily obtained at Sterling, Mass. 
 
MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 59 
 
 Some idea of the vast amount of iron in the United 
 States may be formed from the fact that the 1200 iron 
 works in our country produce an aggregate of 850,000 
 tons annually. 
 
 Iron Pyrites, or Sulphuret of Iron, is disseminated 
 in grains and crystals through the rocks of almost 
 every region. It also occurs in extended masses, as 
 at Str afford, Yt., where there is a veiA four rods wide. 
 It crystallizes in cubes and in modifications of the cube. 
 This mineral somewhat resembles gold, for which it 
 has been so often mistaken that it is familiarly known 
 under the name FooTs Gold. It may be readily dis- 
 tinguished from gold by its greater hardness and 
 brittleness, and by the sulphur odor which it gives 
 off when heated. Hardness from 6 to .6.5. The com- 
 position of iron pyrites is iron 45.74, sulphur 54.26. 
 
 .This species of iron ore js not worked for iron, on 
 account of the difficulty of separating the iron from 
 the sulphur; but it /is extensively used for the manu- 
 facture of green vitriol, or copperas, sulphuric acid, 
 and alum. Sulphur is also sometimes obtained from it 
 
 Arsenical Iron Pyrites differs from the last in being of 
 a silvery white color, crystallizing in prisms though 
 mostly found massive and in giving off arsenical 
 fumes when heated, f It is composed of iron 36.0, 
 arsenic 42.9, sulphur 21.1. Hardness from 5.5 to 6. 
 
 Chrmate of Iron is an ore of a dark brown color, 
 usually found in serpentine, and used in the manu- 
 facture of paint. 
 
60 MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EAKTH. 
 
 GALENA, or Sulphuret of Lead, occurs in granite, 
 limestone, clay slates, and sandstones. It crystallizes 
 in the form of cubes, and readily breaks into the same 
 forms. The composition of galena is lead 86.55, sul- 
 phur 13.45. Hardness 2.5. This mineral generally 
 contains more or less silver. The most extensive 
 mines of this mineral in this country are at Galena, 111., 
 and the portions of Iowa and Wisconsin adjoining. 
 
 Phosphate of Lead is a variety crystallizing in six- 
 sided prisms, or occurring in botryoidal masses. Its 
 color is green, and the composition differs from galena 
 in comprising phosphoric acid instead of sulphur. 
 
 Carbonate of Lead occurs both massive and crystal- 
 lized. Its colors are brown and white. Both this 
 mineral and the last are found in great perfection at 
 the "Wheatly mines, Phoenixville, Pa. 
 
 ZINC is never found in a native state, but combined 
 with sulphur, oxygen, carbonic acid, or silica. Sul- 
 phuret of Zinc, or Blende, is of a wax yellow color, 
 sometimes brown, and occurs with galena. By the 
 miners it is called Black Jack. Hardness from 3.5 
 to 4. 
 
 Red Oxyd of Zinc occurs in foliated masses, of a 
 bright red color. It is abundant at Franklin and 
 -Sterling, K. J., associated with calc spar. It is exten- 
 sively mined for the manufacture of zinc and paint. 
 
 The silicate and carbonates of zinc are important 
 ores for the production of the zinc of commerce. 
 
MINEKAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 61 
 
 COFFEE occurs both native and as an ore. Native 
 copper is found mostly near rocks of igneous origin. 
 It occurs both in octahedral crystals and in irregular 
 masses. Hardness from 2.5 to 3. Native copper 
 occurs more abundantly in the vicinity of Lake Supe- 
 rior than in any other portion of the world. One mass 
 discovered there was 50 feet long, 6 feet deep, and 6 
 inches thick. . I 
 
 Yitreous copper, gray copper, red copper, and 
 malachite, are ores of this mineral. 
 
 COFFER PYRITES, or sulphuret of copper and iron, 
 occurs both massive and in crystals. This ore resem- 
 bles iron pyrites, with which it is generally associated, 
 and, like the latter, it also resembles gold. It is, 
 however, of a deeper yellow than iron pyrites, and 
 much softer. The readiness with which it crumbles, 
 and the sulphur fumes it gives off when heated, distin- 
 guish it from gold. Its composition is sulphur 34.9, 
 copper 34.6, iron 30.5. 
 
 Sulphuret of copper is common in the United States, 
 and is extensively mined in England and on the Con- 
 tinent. In Cornwall 12,000 tons of pure copper are 
 obtained from this ore annually. Besides yielding 
 copper, it is extensively employed for the manufacture 
 -of blue vitriol, or sulphate of copper. 
 
 Green Malachite, a green carbonate of copper, is a 
 variety of great beauty and interest. It generally 
 occurs in botryoidal masses sometimes fibrous in 
 the copper regions, and is readily distinguished by its 
 
62 MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 
 
 green color, and its perfect solution and effervescence 
 with nitric acid. 
 
 Malachite originates from the decomposition of other 
 ores of copper. It is slightly soluble in water, and has 
 evidently been deposited as stalactites and stalagmites. 
 Its composition is oxyd of copper 70.5, carbonic acid 
 18.0, water 11. 
 
 Malachite is found at Morgantown, Berks county, 
 Pa., and in the copper-mines of the West. The finest 
 specimens come from the Ural Mountains. A mass 
 was found there 18 feet long and 9 feet wide, and 
 estimated to weigh a half million of pounds. Mala- 
 chite is much used for inlaid work and for jewellery. 
 
 EUTILE, or the Oxyd of Titanium, is a reddish 
 brown mineral, with a metallic lustre, and usually in 
 striated crystals, embedded in granite, gneiss, or mica 
 slate. It is employed in coloring mineral teeth, and 
 in painting upon porcelain. 
 
 Sometimes specimens of limpid quartz are found 
 penetrated in every direction by long needle-like 
 crystals of this mineral. Such stones, when polished, 
 are very beautiful. 
 
 MOLYBDENUM occurs combined with sulphur, and 
 deserves notice here, as it closely resembles some 
 varieties of plumbago, but may be distinguished from 
 the latter by its paler color, and by its sulphur fumes 
 when heated. It occurs at Westmoreland, N". H., and 
 in many other places. 
 
 TIN ORE, or Oxyd of Tin, occurs in veins in the 
 
MINERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EAETH. 63 
 
 older rocks. It is found both massive and in crystals, 
 which resemble those of black garnet. Except in 
 Jackson, N. H., where there is reason to believe it 
 occurs to a considerable extent, it is found only 
 sparingly in the United States. Cornwall, England, 
 Saxony, Austria, China, and the East Indies, comprise 
 the great tin localities of the world. 
 
 SILVER occurs both native and in numerous com- 
 binations. Native silver is often found forming an 
 alloy with gold ; and is also frequently disseminated 
 among native copper, especially that of the Lake 
 Superior region. Native silver crystallizes in octahe- 
 drons. 
 
 Sulphuret of Silver, Sulphuret of Silver and Anti- 
 mony, and Chlorid of Silver, are the principal ores 
 worked for this metal in South America, Mexico, and 
 Europe, whence most of the silver is obtained. 
 
 GOLD is always found native with the single ex- 
 ception that it sometimes occurs combined with a rare 
 substance, called Tellurium. Though forming no 
 chemical combinations, it often occurs alloyed with 
 silver, or copper, or both together. 
 
 Gold is found in grains, flakes, and masses, in the 
 sands which the rivers bring down from the moun- 
 tains ; it is also disseminated in quartz veins. 
 
 Gold is readily distinguished from pyrites, with 
 which it is often associated, by the facility with which 
 it may be cut into slices, and flattened under the 
 
64 MINEEAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EAKTH, 
 
 hammer. Its hardness is only 2.5 or 3. Pyrites, on 
 the contrary, cannot be cut, and it crumbles under the 
 hammer, and gives off sulphur fumes when heated. 
 Gold crystallizes in octahedrons, and occasionally 
 beautiful specimens are found. 
 
 Our limited space has allowed the statement of only 
 some of the most important facts about the minerals 
 noticed in the previous pages. For further informa- 
 tion concerning them, and for a full description of 
 others which are not mentioned in this treatise, the 
 student is referred to Dana's works on Mineralogy, 
 also to those of Shepard on the same subject. 
 
 In concluding this chapter, let me urge the import- 
 ance of collecting specimens of all the minerals which 
 can be found. For after all, it is only by collecting 
 and studying the objects themselves that the student 
 will make any considerable progress in becoming 
 acquainted with the minerals of our globe. Although 
 books may aid, the best descriptions fall far short of 
 the reality. Let us go to the fields, to the mountains, 
 to the quarry, to the canal and railway excavation, 
 and there examine carefully every mineral substance, 
 and secure a specimen of each for future study. 
 
 What a pleasure it is to bring to light those shining 
 crystals which lie hidden in the earth upon which we 
 tread ! How full of instruction they are to him who 
 studies them in the right spirit I 
 
CHAPTER Y. 
 
 THE ROCKS WHICH COMPOSE THE EAKTH. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 TWO GKEAT CLASSES RECOGNISED. 
 
 THE last chapter was devoted to a brief description 
 of the most common minerals. This chapter describes 
 the rocks of our globe. 
 
 The rocks which compose the earth may be divided 
 into two classes. the Stratified, and the Unstratified. 
 
 Fig. 39. 
 
 Unstratified. Stratified. 
 
 Stratified and Unstratified Rocks. 
 
 STRATIFIED ROCKS are those which occur in layers 
 
 6* E (65) 
 
66 TWO CLASSES KECOGNISED. 
 
 or strata ; parallel to one another, whether horizontal, 
 inclined, or tortuous. 
 
 UNSTRATIFIED ROCKS do not exhibit layers, but are 
 massive. 
 
 These two classes of rocks evidently had a different 
 origin ; or, at least, they have been subject to differ- 
 ent influences. If we examine the loose materials, 
 such as sand, clay, and gravel, that have accumulated 
 at the bottom of a pool, pond, or lake, we find them 
 arranged in beds or layers. The streams carry down 
 the loose materials from the highlands, and deposit 
 them in the water basins. Thus layer after layer is 
 spread out, on the shores and bottoms of ponds, lakes, 
 and oceans. Such deposits only need hardening to 
 form stratified rocks. The ancient lakes and oceans 
 were filled with layers of loose material, just as those 
 of the present day are filling up. From these facts, 
 and many others which will appear in subsequent 
 pages, we may safely conclude that the stratified rocks 
 have been formed in water basins, in the form of mud, 
 sand, gravel, &c., and have been hardened by heat 
 and other agencies. The stratified rocks are thus of 
 aqueous origin. 
 
 On the other hand, examinations have shown con- 
 clusively that all the unstratified rocks have been 
 melted, and therefore are said to be of igneous origin. 
 Some of them are the result of the cooling of the 
 original igneous mass; for it is believed that the 
 
TWO CLASSES KECOGNISED. 67 
 
 whole earth was once in a melted state, and that its 
 interior is now in that condition; others have been 
 produced by the remelting of aqueous rocks; and 
 others still have been poured out from the heated 
 interior of the earth. 
 
 All the unstratified rocks which have resulted from 
 the remelting of aqueous rocks, as well as those 
 aqueous rocks which still retain their stratification, 
 but have become crystalline, or otherwise much 
 changed by heat, are called Metamorphic Eocks. 
 
 Undoubtedly the first solid rocks formed were 
 unstratified, and resulted from the cooling of molten 
 matter. But ever since water has occupied the sur- 
 face of the earth for the water must have been held 
 in a state of vapor while the earth was in a molten 
 condition both stratified and unstratified rocks have 
 been formed in every geological period. While water 
 has been producing one class, heat has been producing 
 the other. Hence, we not only find unstratified rocks 
 beneath the stratified, but also cutting across both 
 the stratified and the unstratified rocks, and some- 
 times in vast masses overlying the stratified rocks. 
 The illustration at the close of the Seventh Chapter, 
 shows the relative position of the two great classes 
 of rocks mentioned above. 
 
68 UNSTRATIFIED KOCKS. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE UNSTRATIFIED ROCKS. 
 
 The principal unstratified rocks are Granite, Sye- 
 nite, Porphyry, Greenstone, Basalt, Trachyte, Amyg- 
 daloid, and Modern Lavas. The varieties of each are 
 very numerous. 
 
 GRANITE is composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica, 
 promiscuously mixed together. It is coarse or fine, 
 according to the state of its constituent minerals, 
 which in some cases are so fine, that the different 
 kinds are scarcely distinguishable ; in others, the 
 several constituents are in large irregular crystals or 
 masses, a foot or more in diameter. Between these 
 extremes, every possible grade may be found. 
 
 Granite is of every shade of color, but most com- 
 monly gray. When it contains distinct crystals of 
 feldspar, no matter how irregular, it is called Porphy- 
 ritic Granite, which is very abundant in many parts 
 of New England. 
 
 Graphic Granite consists of quartz and feldspar, 
 the former being generally dark-colored or smoky, 
 and penetrating the feldspar in long irregular crystals 
 or masses, mostly parallel to one another. When the 
 specimen is broken at right angles to the direction in 
 
UNSTRATIFIED KOCKS. 
 
 69 
 
 which tlie quartz penetrates, it gives a surface some- 
 what resembling a page of written characters. 
 
 Fig. 40. 
 
 Perfect copy of a fragment of Graphic Granite, Alstead, N. H. 
 
 Granite is very abundant. It is one of the lowest 
 rocks with which we are acquainted, and it also 
 appears at the surface in mountain masses, and in 
 veins traversing other rocks. 
 
 From the crystalline structure of granite, and the 
 position in which it is found, there is no doubt but it 
 has been melted. It is doubtful whether any of the 
 granites which we are permitted to observe, are the 
 direct result of the cooling of the original melted 
 
70 UNSTRATIFIED EOCKS. 
 
 matter of our globe. On the other hand, it is quite 
 certain that many of the granites have resulted from 
 the remelting, and reconsolidation of stratified rocks. 
 Therefore, while some granites may be the oldest 
 rocks, others are more recent than some of the 
 stratified rocks. 
 
 The relative age of granite, as well as that of all 
 unstratified rocks, is to be determined by its position 
 in respect to stratified deposits. Veins or dikes of 
 granite, varying from an inch to many yards in width, 
 are abundant, intersecting all kinds of rocks, and in 
 all directions. Some of these undoubtedly are veins 
 of segregation, that is, accumulations of matter de- 
 rived from the containing rock. Other veins have 
 probably resulted from aqueous infiltration of the 
 matter into an open fissure. Other veins still are 
 fissures which have been filled with melted matter 
 injected from the depths below, or furnished by some 
 adjacent igneous mass. These last are called veins 
 of injection, and are generally the best defined ; but 
 only extensive study in the field will enable the stu- 
 dent to distinguish with certainty one kind from 
 another. 
 
 Fig. 41 represents two granite veins in gneiss, Fair- 
 haven, Mass. Here we have the record of at least 
 three events. First, the formation of the gneiss; 
 secondly, the injection of the small vein ; and thirdly, 
 the injection of the large vein right across the small 
 
UNSTKATIFIED BOCKS. 
 
 71 
 
 one. It is plain that the vein which is cut off is older 
 than the one which cuts it. Keeping these facts in 
 mind, the relative ages of veins may be determined, 
 no matter how numerous they are, or how much they 
 intersect one another. 
 
 Fig. 41. 
 
 Two Granite Veins in Gneiss, Fairhaven, Mass. 
 
 The accompanying cut shows a vein or dike of 
 injected granite, in hornblende slate, at Williams 
 Hill, South Acworth, N. H. Near the road this vein 
 is 15 or 20 feet wide, but towards the summit of 
 the hill it widens, attaining a width of 90 or 100 feet. 
 A little distance above, where the two persons are 
 represented as standing, there is a large mass of the 
 hornblende slate imbedded in the granite. This is 
 indicated in the cut. The disturbance of the horn- 
 blende slate, which is considerably bent on both sides 
 
72 
 
 UN3TRATIFIED ROCKS. 
 
 of the vein, and the position of the imbedded mass, 
 leave little room to doubt that this hill was formed 
 by the protrusion of the granite vein in a melted 
 state. Similar cases are common in many parts of 
 New England, especially in New Hampshire. 
 
 Fig. 42. 
 
 Granite Vein, Williams Hill, Acworth, N. H. 
 
 On the other side of this hill, just opposite where 
 the horse and carriage are standing, is the celebrated 
 beryl locality. The beryls occur in this vein of 
 granite, but mostly beneath a vast mass of quartz. 
 
 Many interesting minerals are found in granite, as 
 
UNSTKATIFIED BOOKS. 73 
 
 the student lias already noticed in our remarks on 
 minerals in the previous chapter. Coarse granite 
 almost everywhere yields beryl, tourmaline, and 
 garnet in greater or less perfection. 
 
 Granite is extensively quarried for building pur- 
 poses. It is very abundant, and of fine quality, in 
 Massachusetts and New Hampshire. 
 
 SYENITE is composed of quartz, feldspar, and horn- 
 blende the latter, however, being sometimes want- 
 ing. The term granite is often applied indiscrimi- 
 nately to this and the preceding rock. The celebrated 
 Quincy Granite, so called, is syenite. Sometimes 
 hornblende, as it occurs in syenite, resembles black 
 mica, but may be distinguished from the latter by its 
 brittleness, and by not separating into plates like 
 mica. 
 
 The remarks made about the origin of granite are 
 for the most part applicable to syenite. While some 
 of the syenites may belong to the oldest rocks, others 
 have resulted from the remelting of stratified deposits, 
 and are thus true metamorphic rocks. Throughout 
 the rocky portions of Eastern Massachusetts, the 
 stratified rocks are found passing, by insensible grada- 
 tions, into syenite, showing conclusively the meta- 
 morphic origin of the latter. 
 
 Syenite is very extensively employed for building 
 purposes. The syenite of Quincy, Mass., may be 
 found in the structures of almost every city in the 
 
74 UNSTEATIFIED EOCKS. 
 
 Union. The Custom House at Boston, and Bunker 
 Hill Monument, are built of this rock. 
 
 POKPHYKY is a compact feldspathic rock, with 
 crystals of feldspar disseminated through it. Por- 
 phyry occurs of various colors, but purple, brown, 
 and green are the most common. The porphyry used 
 by the ancients was purple. This rock takes a good 
 polish, and is much used in some parts of the world 
 for ornamental and architectural purposes. It is- 
 abundant on the coast of Massachusetts. The ac- 
 companying cut represents a fragment broken from 
 a dike, near the Black Eock House, Cohasset, where 
 good specimens are easily obtained. 
 
 Fig. 43. 
 
 Fragment 01 Porphyry, Cohasset, Mass. 
 
 Porphyry pebbles of various color may be obtained 
 in any quantity on the beach at Nahant. 
 
 GEEENSTONE is a compact rock, composed mostly 
 of hornblende and feldspar. Its color varies from 
 dark green to brown or black. When hornblende 
 
UNSTKATIFIED KOCKS. 75 
 
 predominates, it is sometimes called hornblende rock. 
 It is found penetrating rocks of different ages, and in 
 some cases it has flowed out over the surface. This, 
 and the three following Basalt, Trachyte, and 
 Amygdaloid in all their varieties are called Trap 
 JRocks. Greenstone and basalt often assume a columnar 
 structure, and they give rise to some of the most 
 interesting scenery. Mt. Tom and Mt. Holyoke in 
 Massachusetts, and the Palisades along the Hudson 
 River, are greenstone. 
 
 Fig. 44 shows the columnar appearance on the side 
 of Holyoke, where it slopes beneath the waters of the 
 Connecticut. Professor Hitchcock long ago named 
 this interesting place Titan's Pier. 
 
 Fig. 44. 
 
 Titan's Pier, Mt. Holyoke, Mass. 
 
 BASALT consists of augite and feldspar, and closely 
 
76 
 
 UNSTRATIFIED ROCKS. 
 
 resembles greenstone. It is compact, and of a dark 
 color. It often exhibits a columnar structure. Fine 
 examples occur along the Columbia river, in Oregon, 
 and on the north shore of Lake Superior. Fingal's 
 Cave, on the island of Staffa, and the Giant's Causeway, 
 Ireland, afford wonderful exhibitions of columnar 
 basalt. 
 
 Fingal's Cave, Island of Staffa. 
 
 In many cases the columns of basalt are jointed or 
 divided into sections, usually with the upper part 
 concave, and the lower convex, and fitting exactly 
 together. 
 
UNSTRATTFIED ROCKS. 77 
 
 The columnar structure of the trap rocks is be- 
 lieved to be due to the tendency of the matter, when 
 cooling, to assume the globular form. These globes 
 press against one another, and the columnar structure 
 is the result. The experiment of Watt, who melted 
 700 pounds of basalt, and allowed the same to cool 
 slowly, seems to confirm this view of the case. 
 
 TRACHYTE is a gray, rough mineral, of volcanic 
 origin. It is mainly composed of feldspar, with 
 crystals of the same scattered through it. Sometimes 
 it contains hornblende and mica. 
 
 AMYGDALOID is a term applied to any of the trap 
 rocks, filled with cavities, either empty or containing 
 quartz, spar, epidote, or other minerals. 
 
 Modern Lavas will be described in a subsequent 
 chapter, when speaking of volcanoes. 
 
 All the trap rocks, and much of the porphyry, 
 have been forced up, while in a melted state, from 
 the heated interior of our globe. Veins or dikes of 
 these rocks are abundant in many parts of the world. 
 They occur from a fraction of an inch in width, to 
 those which form mountain masses like Mt. Tom, and 
 Holyoke, the Palisades, and the Island of Staffa, 
 alluded to above. Trap and porphyry dikes are 
 abundant on the coast of New England, especially in 
 Massachusetts. They traverse the rocks in every 
 direction at Cohasset, Nahant, Lynn, Salem, 'Beverly, 
 MarbleheacL and in many other places. One dike, 
 
78 
 
 UNSTRATIFIED KOCKS. 
 
 near Pulpit Rock, at Nahant, is 34 feet wide. The 
 following cut represents some very interesting exam- 
 ples in the metamorphic rocks at Cohasset. 
 
 Fig. 46. 
 
 Dikes in Syenite, Cohasset, Mass. 
 
 The largest dike is 20 feet wide ; the others vary 
 from 5 feet to 10. The one on the extreme left is 
 porphyry ; the others are greenstone ; the three 
 smaller ones being very dark -colored on their 
 weathered surfaces. A mass of the syenite is im- 
 bedded in the right-hand dike, as is indicated in the 
 cut. Cases of this kind are not uncommon ; and such 
 a mass shows that it became imbedded while the dike 
 was in a state of fusion. The mass itself generally 
 gives evidence of having been fused upon its edges, 
 thus, often passing into the matter of the dike by an 
 insensible gradation. 
 
UNSTRATIFIED BOOKS. 79 
 
 In the case represented by Fig. 46, above, we 
 have the record of several events. First, the forma- 
 tion of the syenite; secondly, the syenite was rent, 
 and the fissure filled with the porphyry dike ; thirdly, 
 the syenite was rent across the porphyry, and melted 
 rock flowed up forming a dike 20 feet wide ; and 
 fourthly, three fissures opened across the large dike, 
 and melted rock flowed in and filled the rents. 
 
 These injections of melted matter change, more 
 or less, the rocks through which they pass. It is 
 probable that the metamorphic state of the rocks at 
 Nahant, Cohasset, and many other places, is due in 
 part, if not wholly, to the heating which they expe- 
 rienced during the formation of the dikes. 
 
 At the lime quarry in Rockland, Maine, a trap dike 
 has changed the gray, coarse limestone near it, into 
 white compact marble. Any number of similar facts 
 might be cited; but, now that the attention of the 
 student is turned to the subject, many cases will come 
 under his own observation. 
 
 The attention has already been called to the rela- 
 tive ages of veins or dikes, and in closing this section, 
 it is only necessary to explain one case, a little more 
 complicated than those referred to in the previous 
 pages, in order to prepare the student to begin suc- 
 cessfully the study of this part of the subject in the 
 field. Take the case illustrated by Fig. 47. The 
 
80 
 
 UNSTKATIFIED BOCKS. 
 
 vein or dike e cuts off all the others, and is therefore 
 the newest. The vein d cuts off c, and the latter cuts 
 off a and b, and b cuts off a therefore, d is the next 
 older than e, c the next older than d, b the next older 
 than c, and a is the oldest of the five veins. Thus, 
 the relative ages of veins may be determined ; but 
 the length of time between the formation of the differ- 
 ent ones cannot be found out. 
 
 Fig. 47. 
 
 d 
 
 Relative Age of Veins or Dikes. 
 
STRATIFIED ROCKS. 81 
 
 SECTION III. 
 DESCRIPTION" OF THE STRATIFIED ROCKS. 
 
 . After a brief description of the most common 
 stratified rocks, some additional remarks will be made 
 about the whole class. The most common stratified 
 rocks are Gneiss, Mica Slate, Clay Slate, Hornblende 
 Slate, Talcose Slate, Quartz Kock, Sandstones, Con- 
 glomerates, and Limestones. 
 
 GNEISS is often called stratified granite, because it 
 appears like the latter, and is composed of the same 
 minerals. Gneiss is very abundant in all parts of 
 New England. It splits readily into slabs, and is 
 much used for a building material, and for flagging- 
 stones. 
 
 MICA SLATE resembles gneiss ; the two being com- 
 posed of the same minerals ; and they often pass into 
 each other by insensible gradations. Mica slate, how- 
 ever, has a more slaty appearance than gneiss, and 
 generally has more mica, which often gives the rock 
 a very glistening appearance when a fresh surface is 
 exposed. It appears in numerous varieties, coarse, 
 fine, loose, and compact. It is readily distinguished 
 by its slaty structure, and by the scales of mica which 
 abound in it. 
 
82 STKATIFIED KOCKS. 
 
 Tourmaline, garnet, and staurotide, are common in 
 this rock. At Warwick, Mass., a mica slate is filled 
 with, crystals of tourmaline, of great beauty. The 
 crystals occur in stellate clusters. At Lisbon, 1ST. H., 
 the mica slate abounds with perfect crystals of garnet, 
 and staurotide. 
 
 The firm varieties of mica slate are used for- flag- 
 ging-stones; and some of the fine varieties, which 
 contain considerable sand, for scythe-stones. 
 
 HOKKBLENDE SLATE differs from mica slate in 
 containing hornblende instead of mica. In general 
 appearance, it often resembles mica slate. 
 
 TALCOSE SLATE, in external appearance, resembles 
 mica slate, but contains talc, instead of mica, which 
 makes it feel soapy. When chlorite takes the place 
 of talc, the rock is called chlorite slate, which is of a 
 dark green color. Talcose rock is quartz containing 
 talc, and constitutes the gold-bearing rock in many 
 parts of the world. 
 
 CLAY SLATE, or argillaceous slate, is a stratified 
 rock in which clay predominates, and which often 
 composes almost the entire rock. The color is like 
 common clay, or darker. Roofing slate is a variety, 
 and is extensively quarried in Maine, V ermont, Massa- 
 chusetts, and in various parts of Great Britain. 
 
 QUAKTZ EOCK includes those stratified deposits 
 which consist mainly of quartz, but which often 
 contain more or less mica. The prevailing colors are 
 
STRATIFIED ROCKS. 
 
 83 
 
 gray, brown, and blue. Quartz rock and sandstones 
 pass into each other by insensible gradations. 
 
 SANDSTONE is composed of grains of sand more or 
 less firmly united. The great bulk of sandstone is 
 quartz. The colors are various. A dark red sand- 
 stone, often called Freestone, is extensively used for 
 building purposes. When firm sandstone splits 
 readily, it is used for flagging. 
 
 CONGLOMERATE, or Puddingstone, consists of water- 
 worn pebbles cemented together, thus forming a com- 
 pact rock. Many kinds of pebbles are often asso- 
 ciated in the same mass. In some cases they are 
 small ; in others, a yard in diameter, as at Newport, 
 E.I. 
 
 LIMESTONES constitute extensive formations in all 
 countries. All the varieties may be distinguished by 
 their effervescence with acids. The important uses 
 of limestone have already been pointed out. 
 
 As remarked on a previous page, the stratified 
 rocks occur in layers or beds, more or less distinctly 
 
 Fig. 48. 
 
 Horizontal Strata. 
 
84 STKATIFIED BOOKS. 
 
 marked. These layers are called strata, and occur 
 horizontal, inclined at all angles, and vertical; also, 
 bent, folded, and contorted in every possible manner. 
 
 The exceedingly thin layers which stratified rocks 
 often exhibit, are called laminae. Sometimes they 
 are easily separated ; in other cases, they adhere with 
 great firmness. 
 
 It is common to find both the stratified and the 
 unstratified rocks traversed by divisional planes called 
 joints. In stratified rocks, these planes are either 
 vertical, or oblique to the planes of stratification. 
 There are generally two sets crossing each other at 
 angles more or less oblique, thus dividing the strata 
 into blocks of considerable regularity. Examples of 
 this structure are so numerous in all parts of our 
 country, that it will not be necessary to illustrate it 
 by a cut. These joints are of the highest importance 
 to the quarryman, for they enable him to work a 
 ledge to almost any extent desirable, without blasting; 
 and the blocks, when taken from the quarry, are sure 
 to have one or more smooth faces. 
 
 Joints traverse conglomerates just as well as other 
 rocks, cutting right through the hardest quartz 
 pebbles, as smoothly as through the softer portions. 
 
 When strata are inclined, the angle which they 
 
 "r> 
 
 make with the plane of the horizon is called the dip 
 of the strata. Thus the strata represented by Fig. 49 
 dip towards the north at an angle of 45 degrees. 
 
STRATIFIED KOCKS. 
 Fig. 49. 
 
 85 
 
 Strata dipping towards the North at an angle of 45O. 
 
 The direction of the upturned edges of strata, on a 
 line at right angles to the direction towards which the 
 strata dip, is called the strike. That is, if strata dip 
 towards the north or the south, the strike is east and 
 west. When perfect accuracy is required, geologists 
 determine the dip by an instrument called the cli- 
 nometer, and the strike by means of a compass. The 
 dip may be determined near enough for all ordinary 
 purposes by standing opposite the cliff, and placing 
 the hands before the eyes in the position represented 
 by Fig. 50, and observing whether the planes of the 
 
 Fig. 50. 
 
 Position of hands so as to form right angles. 
 
86 STKATIFIED ROCKS. 
 
 inclined beds bisect the right angle so as to give an 
 angle of 45 , or whether the inclination be greater or 
 less than that amount, and how much. 
 
 When strata dip in opposite directions, they form 
 an anticlinal axis, as at A, Fig. 51 ; and when strata 
 dip towards a given line, from opposite directions, 
 they are said to form a synclinal axis, as at B, Fig. 51. 
 
 Fig. 51. 
 
 Showing Anticlinal and Synclinal Axis. 
 
 Strata sometimes appear horizontal, when highly 
 inclined. This is possible when a vertical wall of the 
 edges of inclined strata is presented, as is often the 
 case on the sea-coast. Instances of this kind may be 
 observed in deep gorges in the mountains. An ex- 
 amination of the strata at several points in the imme- 
 diate neighborhood will prevent deception. 
 
 The outcrop of strata is their appearance at the 
 surface of the earth. 
 
 Strata are conformable when the planes of stratifi- 
 cation are parallel, no matter how much inclined or 
 bent. Thus the .strata represented by Figs. 48, 49, 
 and 51 are conformable. Unconformable strata are 
 those whose planes of stratification do not conform 
 
STKATIFIED KOCKS. 
 
 87 
 
 to the planes of those strata upon which they rest. 
 In Fig. 52, the horizontal strata are unconformable to 
 the inclined strata upon which they rest. 
 
 Fig. 52. 
 
 Showing Unconformable Strata. 
 
 Faults^ are produced by the breaking of the beds 
 across their planes of stratification, and thus permit- 
 ting the strata to slide up or down, so that the two 
 parts of a given bed are no longer on the same level. 
 
 Fig. 53. 
 
 
 Showing a Fault. 
 
 Faults seriously retard mining operations ; for 
 suddenly the end of the bed of coal, or other sub- 
 stance, is reached, and the workmen know not whether 
 its counterpart is above or below the level upon which 
 they have been operating. 
 
 Strata which are really lowest or oldest may appear 
 
88 STKATIFIED BOCKS. 
 
 highest. In ascending a mountain, we may con- 
 stantly be reaching lower and lower strata. By 
 examining the stratified rocks represented in Fig. 39, 
 it will be seen that all the inclined beds were formed 
 and elevated before the horizontal ones could accumu- 
 late upon them. It will also be seen that the lowest 
 of the inclined beds do not make their appearance at 
 the surface till near the summit of the mountain. 
 
 The same strata may be observed in many places, 
 and be mistaken for others. Such a mistake is the 
 more likely to be made, because the same beds often 
 dip in opposite directions in the different places where 
 observations are made. Fig. 54 illustrates a case of 
 this kind. 
 
 Fig. 54. 
 
 Showing the same beds dipping in opposite directions. 
 
 Vertical and highly inclined strata are often, and 
 perhaps always, parts of vast folds, whose upper por- 
 tions have been removed. Thus the strata whose up- 
 turned edges are exhibited in Fig. 55, were once 
 extended, as indicated by the dotted lines. 
 
 Strata are sometimes folded so as to bring the upper 
 or newer beneath the lower or older, as illustrated in 
 
STBATIFIED ROCKS. 
 Fig. 55. 
 
 89 
 
 Showing that vertical and highly inclined strata are parts of great folds. 
 
 Fig 56, where the corresponding parts of a given bed 
 are designated by the same letter. 
 
 Fig. 56. 
 
 Strata folded so as to bring the newest beneath the oldest. 
 
 The various positions of the stratified rocks have 
 resulted mainly, if not wholly, from the vertical move- 
 ments which the crust of the earth has undergone from 
 time to time. The great cause of all these movements 
 is the molten condition of the interior of the globe. 
 In some cases the strata have been uplifted by the 
 force of the internal fires ; but it is probable that the 
 cooling of the heated nucleus, and the consequent 
 
 contractions, have in a great measure produced the 
 8* 
 
90 STKATIFIED EOCKS. 
 
 vast folds of strata which form the hills and moun- 
 tains. 
 
 The disturbances of the strata pointed out in the 
 previous pages, show how we are able to know the 
 condition of the rocks to a great depth ; for we be- 
 come as well acquainted with a series of strata by 
 examining their upturned edges, as we should by 
 penetrating them, were they in a horizontal position. 
 
 We are permitted to examine strata in every 
 country, which, had they remained as originally de- 
 posited, would be miles beneath the surface. Thus 
 the crust of the earth is laid op on to actual observa- 
 tion to the depth of many miles. 
 
 As remarked on a previous page in regard to 
 minerals, the student of Geology should early collect 
 specimens of all the most common rocks, and, as far 
 as possible, observe the various positions in which 
 they occur. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 GENERAL VIEW OF THE VEGETABLE AND THE ANIMAL 
 KINGDOM, PREPARATORY TO THE STUDY OF THE RE- 
 MAINS OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS IN THE ROCKS. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 
 
 THE Vegetable Kingdom comprises two great 
 Brandies, Phsenogamous or Flowering Plants, and 
 CryptogamoTis or Flowerless Plants. 
 
 PELENOGAMOUS PLANTS bear true flowers, 
 and produce seeds having a seed-leaf or seed-leaves, 
 called cotyledon or cotyledons, in which is enveloped 
 a ready-formed embryo, the germ of a new plant. 
 This branch embraces all the higher forms of vegeta- 
 tion, and naturally divides into two Classes, Exo- 
 gens and Endogens. 
 
 EXOGENS, or Outside Growers, comprise all plants 
 whose stems are composed of three distinct parts, 
 pith in the centre, bark outside, and wood, or woody 
 
 (91) 
 
92 
 
 THE VEGETABLE KINGDO^. 
 
 substance between the two. Although these parts 
 are the most plainly exhibited in trees and shrubs, 
 they are more or less distinctly indicated in many of 
 the herbs, or soft- stemmed plants. 
 
 Plants of this class have net-veined leaves, and bear 
 seeds with two or more seed-leaves, and are often 
 called Dicotyledons. The two parts into which a bean, 
 a pumpkin seed, or an apple seed readily divides, are 
 the cotyledons, and they form the first two leaves of 
 the young plant. 
 
 Exogens all grow by additions to the outside, a 
 new layer being added just beneath the bark each 
 year ; and thus the age of the shrub or tree is indi- 
 cated by the number of concentric rings exhibited by 
 a cross section of its stem or trunk. 
 
 Fig. 57. 
 
 Fig. 58. 
 
 Exogenous Leaf. 
 
 Cross section of an Exogenous Stem. 
 
 As stems with concentric layers, leaves with net- 
 like veins, and seeds with two or more cotyledons, 
 
THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 
 
 93 
 
 belong exclusively to Exogens, it is plain that a stem, 
 or a leaf, or a seed, shows at once whether it repre- 
 sents a plant of this class. 
 
 Exogens naturally divide into two sub-classes 
 Angiosperms and Gymnosperms. 
 
 Angiosperms comprise all the Exogens which bear 
 their seeds in an ovary or seed-vessel. This is the 
 
 Fig. 59. 
 
 Cycas. 
 
94 
 
 THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 
 
 case with the great body of exogenous plants, with 
 all except those enumerated in the following sub- 
 class : 
 
 Gymnosperms comprise those which bear their seeds 
 attached to the inner surface of a scale. Such are the 
 cone-bearing trees, as Pines, Spruces, Hemlocks, Ce- 
 dars, Balsams, Larches, Yews, &c., and a family of 
 tropical plants known under the name of Cycas, one 
 species of which is represented by Fig. 59. 
 
 ENDOGENS embrace all flowering plants whose 
 
 Fig. 60. 
 
 Fig. 61. 
 
 Endogenous Leaf. Sections of Endogenous Stems. 
 
THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 95 
 
 stems are not composed of concentric layers, "but 
 whose woody substance is distributed through the 
 stems in threads and bundles. Plants of this class 
 have parallel- veined leaves, which sheathe the stem, 
 and decay without falling off. They bear seeds with 
 only one seed-leaf or cotyledon. Such are the Grasses 
 and Grains, the Field Lilies, Solomon's Seal, Lily of 
 the Valley, &c. ; also the Palm, Sugar-Cane, Bamboo, 
 and the like. Figs. 60 and 61 represent a leaf 
 of the large Solomon's Seal, a cross and vertical 
 section of a corn-stalk, and a cross section of the 
 Palm stem. 
 
 CKYPTOGAMOUS PLANTS do not bear real 
 flowers, nor produce seeds with a cotyledon, or cotyle- 
 dons ; but they bear something analogous to flowers, 
 and produce spores instead of seeds. This branch com- 
 prises all the lowest forms of vegetation on the globe. 
 
 Cryptogamous Plants naturally divide into three 
 Classes Acrogens, Anophytes, and Thallophytes, 
 ranking in the order in which they are named, the 
 first being highest. 
 
 ACROGENS comprise those plants whose growth is 
 wholly or mainly at their summit. This class em- 
 braces Ferns, Club-Mosses, and Equisetaceae, or Horse- 
 tails. 
 
 Ferns are familiar to every one under the popular 
 name of Brakes. There are about 50 species in the 
 Northern States. A very common form is repre- 
 
96 
 
 THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 
 
 sented by Fig 62. In most cases the spores are "borne 
 
 in little capsules on the 
 Fig. 62. back of the leaf, giving it 
 
 a very beautiful appearance. 
 In the tropics, some spe- 
 cies of ferns grow to the 
 proportions of trees, as in 
 Fig. 63. In some instances 
 they are 30 or 40 feet, or 
 more, in height. 
 
 Club-Mosses are familiar 
 to every one, as the leafy, 
 evergreen, trailing plants, 
 common in pastures and 
 woodlands, and often gath- 
 ered for festoons to adorn 
 our houses, school-rooms, 
 and churches. Some spe- 
 cies send up little branches 
 from the creeping stem, 
 which expand into minia- 
 ture trees. One species 
 appears precisely like a 
 little tree, and hence is 
 called the Tree Club-Moss. 
 
 Equisetacese, or Horsetails, 
 are familiar as they appear 
 . in those brown, leafless, 
 
 striated, jointed stems, 6 or 8 inches long, which are 
 
 Poly podium. 
 
Fig. 64. 
 
 THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 
 Fig. 63. 
 
 97 
 
 Tree Ferns. 
 
 found everywhere in 
 early Spring; and in 
 those similar stems, 2 
 or 3 feet high, which 
 grow near streams, and 
 contain so much silica, 
 that they are used for 
 scouring, and hence 
 called Scouring Kush- 
 es. Fig. 64 gives a 
 good idea of the plants 
 of this group. 
 ANOPHYTES comprise 
 all the true mosses. 
 
 G 
 
 Fig. 65. 
 
 Polytrichiura. 
 
98 THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 
 
 Mosses are small plants with leafy stems, and simple 
 narrow leaves. Fig. 65 shows one of the most com- 
 mon forms. The soft mosses which are so common 
 in wet meadows, are known under the name of 
 Sphagnum. 
 
 THALLOPHYTES comprise the Algae, such as sea- 
 weeds and the like, Lichens, and Fungi. The Algse 
 exhibit a great variety of interesting forms and 'colors ; 
 and are very beautiful. Lichens occur in the form of 
 incrustations and foliaceous expansions on rocks, 
 trees, and fences, and, in many places, they cover the 
 trees, in long, hanging masses, composed of innumer- 
 able threads. This last form of the lichen is most 
 commonly found on trees growing in low lands. 
 
 Fungi are the toadstools, and the like. The 
 leathery forms of vegetation which grow upon dead 
 trees, and upon old logs, belong to this group. 
 
 The classification of plants may be presented in 
 one view as seen below. 
 
 PH^ENOGAMOUS, 
 
 OB 
 
 FLOWERING PLANTS. 
 
 EXOGENS, f Angiosperms. 
 
 or 
 DICOTYLEDONS. [ Gymnosperms. 
 
 ENDOGENS, 
 
 or 
 MONOCOTYLEDONS. 
 
 CRYPTOGAMOUS, f ACKOGFNS. 
 
 OB ( ANOPHYTES. 
 
 FLOWERLESS PLANTS. THALLOPHYTES. 
 
THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 
 
 A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS. 
 
 The distribution of plants is in accordance with 
 climate ; each climatic zone being characterized by a 
 peculiar flora. But while each climate has a flora, 
 which, for the most part, presents the same general 
 characteristics in different countries, it is also true, 
 that, excepting the frozen regions, the species of 
 plants differ widely in different countries, even in the 
 same climatic zone. 
 
 It is in the Torrid Zone that vegetation reaches its 
 highest expression, both in number of species, and in 
 luxuriance of growth. 
 
 From the tropics to the poles, vegetation gradually 
 diminishes, both in species and in luxuriance ; and in 
 the frozen regions, the whole flora is composed of 
 'dwarfed shrubs, mosses, and lichens. 
 
 Yegetation changes with the increase of altitude, 
 in the same manner as with the increase of latitude. 
 The highest mountains in the tropics exhibit the 
 zones of vegetation in the same order as they occur 
 in passing from the equator to the polar regions. At 
 the base of the mountains we find tropical luxuri- 
 ance, but soon the Palm, the Bamboo, and Tree Fern, 
 give way to the Oak and the Chestnut, and these in 
 turn to the Pine and other Conifers ; and then comes 
 the region of dwarf Birches, and Alpine Shrubs, and 
 
100 THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 
 
 higher still, are only the Mosses and Lichens of the 
 Arctic regions. 
 
 In the Arctic Zone the same species of plants are 
 found in North America, Greenland, Europe, and 
 Asia ; but, passing from this zone towards the south, 
 we find the plants of the two hemispheres more and 
 more unlike, even in similar climates, till there is 
 the greatest diversity between the floras of South 
 America, Africa, and Australia. 
 
 The resemblance between the flora of Europe and 
 that of North America, leads the superficial observer 
 to suppose them identical, which is not the case. 
 We have but few plants identical with those of 
 Europe. 
 
 In North America, there are at least 150 species 
 of Forest Trees, while in Europe there are less than 
 40 species. Moreover, the Pines, Elms, Oaks, Chest- 
 nuts, and Lindens of Europe, are specifically differ- 
 ent from the trees bearing the same names in North 
 America. 
 
 There are probably 150,000 species of plants now 
 upon the earth. It is worthy of note, that no country, 
 however diversified, nor hemisphere even, can furnish 
 them all. Nothing short of the whole earth can 
 present us all the species of the Vegetable Kingdom. 
 This great number of species is distributed among 
 many botanical provinces, each of which has a flora 
 found nowhere else. 
 
THE VEGETABLE J3H1GHK&* 101 
 
 Plants are distributed through, the agency of man 
 and animals, especially of birds ; and through the 
 agency of winds, rivers, waves, and currents. By 
 these means the species of the different regions, to a 
 
 x 
 
 limited extent, have been interchanged. But the 
 distribution of the plants into great botanical pro- 
 vinces, resulted from no such accidental causes ; nor 
 is this distribution the result of the influence of 
 climate, though in accordance with it. 
 
 The above and similar facts show that the vegeta- 
 tion of the globe has not been distributed from any 
 one country. On the contrary, the species, for the 
 most part, have originated near those great centres 
 around which we now find them clustered. As fast 
 as the lands rose from the water, they were clothed 
 with such vegetation as they were adapted to support ; 
 but all done according to a Great Plan made by 
 "Him who ruleth over all." 
 
 9* 
 
"'* **^ f f **"* * * \ 
 
 THE* ANIMA*!/ KINGDOM. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 There are not less than 250,000 species of animals 
 living on the earth. To study these in all their 
 various forms and relations, is the delightful task of 
 the zoologist. But it is absolutely necessary that the 
 student who would investigate the history of our 
 globe, should become acquainted with the leading 
 facts of the Animal Kingdom ; for it is only by know- 
 ing something of animal life, as it now appears on 
 the earth, that he can have any true understanding 
 of the remains of animals found in the rocks. 
 
 Our brief limits allow only the most general state- 
 ment of results which have been reached, after long 
 years of toil, by such men as Cuvier, Agassiz, and 
 other great and noble minds. I would invite the 
 attention of the student to their works, and would 
 especially urge the study of animals, so far as circum-, 
 stances will permit. 
 
 The natural divisions of the Animal Kingdom, are 
 Branches, or Types, Classes, Orders, Families, Genera, 
 and Species. That is, the animal kingdom is divided 
 into branches ; each branch into classes ; each class 
 into orders ; each order into families ; each family into 
 
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 103 
 
 genera; and each genus into species composed of 
 individuals which are essentially alike. 
 
 Agassiz has shown that these divisions are not the 
 invention of man for his own convenience, but that 
 they exist in nature. He has also shown that 
 
 " Branches, or Types, are characterized by the pldii 
 of structure. 
 
 Classes, by the manner in which that plan is exe- 
 cuted, as far as ways and means are concerned. 
 
 Orders, by the degrees of complication of that 
 structure. 
 
 Families, by form. 
 
 Genera, by the details of execution in special parts. 
 
 Species, by the relations of individuals to one an- 
 other, and to the world in which they live, as well as 
 by the proportion of their parts, their ornamenta- 
 tion, &c." 
 
 The Animal Kingdom consists of four great 
 branches, or types Kadiates, Molluscs, Articulates, 
 and Vertebrates. All the animals in any one of 
 these branches are built upon the same plan, or, in 
 other words, after the same type. 
 
 EADIATES comprise all animals whose organs 
 radiate from a common point or centre. There are 
 probably 10,000 living species. This branch contains 
 three Classes Polyps, Acalephs, and Echinoderms. 
 
 POLYPS comprise animals with a fleshy, tubular, or 
 sack-like body, having a circular summit or disk, in 
 
104 THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 tlie centre of which is the mouth, surrounded by one 
 or more rows of tentacles. They are all marine, and 
 are attached, by their lower extremity, to submarine 
 bodies, and to the sea bottom. They abound on the 
 coasts in shallow water, and, with few exceptions, do 
 not live deeper than 20 or 30 fathoms. Within these 
 limits different species flourish at different depths. 
 
 From their resemblance to plants, they are often 
 called Zoophytes. They vary in size, from a micro- 
 scopic point to eighteen inches in diameter. They 
 increase by eggs, by budding similarly to plants, and 
 by divisions and subdivisions. The polyps known as 
 Sea- Anemone, or Actinia, so common on our own 
 coast, give the student a perfect idea of the animals 
 of this class. 
 
 Polyps are both solitary and associated, frequently 
 in the most astonishing numbers. The largest com- 
 munity, however, is only the increase of a single 
 individual. 
 
 Some polyps secrete calcareous matter. In this 
 respect, there is a gradual passage from the actinias, 
 all of which are fleshy, to those polyps which secrete 
 a solid framework, or Coral. Yet there is no essential 
 difference in external appearance, or structure, be- 
 tween the actinias and the coral-producing polyps, 
 excepting only the fact that the former are generally 
 larger than the latter. 
 
 The too common impression that polyps build 
 
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 Fig. GO. 
 
 105 
 
 c 
 
 Expanded. 
 
 Fig. 67. 
 
 Fig. 68. 
 
 "X, 
 
 The same closed. The same opening. 
 
 Sea- Anemone, or Actinia, Coast of Massachusetts. 
 
 coral at will, as the bee builds comb, or as workmen 
 masonry, is entirely erroneous. Coral is simply the 
 skeleton or aggregate skeletons of polyps, and is a 
 necessary result of their existence. In fact, the 
 
106 
 
 THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 polyps form coral in the same manner as the higher 
 animals form bones. 
 
 Every part of live coral is wholly enveloped by the 
 polyps that produced it, and in no sense are the 
 polyps within the coral, though when disturbed they 
 contract, and thus give the appearance of retreating 
 within it. 
 
 Coral animals are not always minute, but on the 
 contrary often a quarter or half an inch, and some- 
 times several inches, in diameter. 
 
 Each of the cells on a piece of coral shows the 
 position occupied by the coral animal ; and hence by 
 counting the cells, we learn the number of polyps 
 engaged in secreting a particular mass. The size of 
 the depression also shows the size of the animal. 
 
 Fig. 69. 
 
 Coral. 
 
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 107 
 
 Fig. 69 represents one of the common forms of 
 coral, called Madrepore. The branch on the right is 
 represented as alive, the other as dead. 
 
 The forms and hues of live coral are almost end- 
 less. Some parts of the tropical seas, where polyps 
 especially flourish, rival in graceful and varied forms, 
 and in splendor of colors, the most beautiful flower- 
 gardens of the lands. There is scarcely a form of 
 vegetation, either trunk or branch, leaf or flower, 
 fern, moss, lichen or fungus, that is not imitated to 
 the life by these wonderful animals of the sea, whose 
 united skeletons at length form islands which in due 
 time become the home of man. 
 
 Polyps may be divided into two Orders Actinoids, 
 embracing all the Actinias, and allied coral polyps ; 
 and Alcyonoids, embracing polyps having only eight 
 tentacles 
 
 For a perfect exposition of the whole subject of 
 Polyps, the student is referred to Professor J. D. 
 Dana's splendid work on Zoophytes. 
 
 Sponges, formerly regarded as Zoophytes, are now 
 by many eminent naturalists, considered as belonging 
 to the vegetable kingdom. 
 
 ACALEPHS, so called on account of their irritating 
 properties, embrace all the Jelly-fishes, or Medusae, 
 and their allies. 
 
 Scientifically considered, Acalephs comprise three 
 Orders Hydroids, formerly regarded as polyps, Dis- 
 cophorse, and Ctenophorse. 
 
108 
 
 THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 Hydroids comprise little plant-like marine animals, 
 and the so called fresh-water polyps. Fig. 70 repre- 
 sents the Hydra, the well known fresh-water polyp, 
 found in brooks and ponds. It is attached at base, 
 and its long tentacles are spread to entrap some little 
 animal for food. Fig. 71 shows a marine hydroid 
 magnified, called Coryne. 
 
 Fig. 70. 
 
 Fig. 71. 
 
 Hydra. 
 
 Coryne. 
 
 Discophorse comprise the disc, and bell-shaped Me- 
 dusae. In fact, marine Hydroids and the Discophorae 
 are the same in different stages of development ; or, 
 in other words, the Medusas of this order are born 
 of marine hydroids; and hence, Agassiz, I believe, 
 groups them both under the term Hydro-Medusas. 
 Fig. 71, copied by permission from the splendid 
 
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 109 
 
 plates for the forthcoming volume on this subject, by 
 Agassiz, shows the buds a, b, of the hydroid just 
 swelling into free jelly-fishes, like that represented by 
 Fig. 72. Another, in a less advanced stage, is seen 
 at c. The hydro-medusae are at present attracting 
 much attention from the ablest naturalists. 
 
 ' Fig. 72. 
 
 Fig. 73. 
 
 Sarsia. 
 
 Pleurobrachia. 
 
 In one of his papers, Agassiz has remarked as fol- 
 io 
 
110 THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 lows, about these curious animals of the sea: "It is 
 in reality one of the most wonderful sights which the 
 philosophic naturalist can behold, to see animals 
 scarcely more dense than the water in which they 
 play, and almost as limpid, perform, in that medium, 
 movements as varied as those of the eagle which 
 soars in the air, or the butterfly dancing from flower 
 to flower, testifying, by their activity, their sensitive- 
 ness and their volition." 
 
 The Jelly-fishes here alluded to are small. Some 
 other species grow to a great size, weighing, some- 
 times, 30 or 40 pounds ; and these, too, are born of 
 hydroids of different kinds. One of the most com- 
 mon species is the umbrella- shaped one, seen every- 
 where along our coast, popularly known as the Sun- 
 fish. 
 
 Ctenophorse are better represented by Fig. 73, than 
 by any description that I can give. 
 
 ECHINODERMS comprise marine animals which 
 mostly have a calcareous covering bearing spines, 
 though one order is made up of animals which have 
 a thick tough skin. 
 
 This class embraces four Orders, Crinoids, Aste- 
 roids, Echinoids, and Holothurioids. 
 
 Crinoids are lily-shaped animals, which are attached 
 by a sort of stem to the sea bottom. They resemble 
 some forms of vegetation, but are, nevertheless, real 
 animals, and are closely related to the Asteroids 
 
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. Ill 
 
 spoken of on the next page. In fact, they appear like 
 a sort of Star-fish with a stem ; yet it must be borne 
 in mind that there is no such relationship as parent 
 and offspring between crinoids and star-fishes. There 
 is only one species of pedunculated crinoid now 
 
 Fig. 74. 
 
 Pentacrinus Caput-Medusae, West Indies. 
 
 living, the Pentacrinus Caput-Medusse of the West 
 Indies, represented by Fig. 74. We shall find that 
 they are very abundant in the rocks. 
 
 Asteroids comprise the Star-fishes, which are com- 
 
112 
 
 THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 mon everywhere on our rocky coasts. They are 
 readily found at low tide, by turning up the sea-weed 
 and looking in the clefts of the rocks. 
 
 Fig. 75. 
 
 Star-fish, Nahant, Mass. 
 
 Echinoids include Sea-urchins, Spatangoids, and the 
 like. Figs. 76 and 77 give the student a good idea of 
 the animals of this order. Though at first view, Echi- 
 noids appear very different from Star-fishes, a little 
 patient study will show that all the parts of the one, 
 correspond to those of the other, in a word, that 
 
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 113 
 
 both are built upon the same plan. It will afford the 
 student one of the most pleasant and profitable ex- 
 ercises to trace out the homology of the star-fish and 
 sea-urchins. 
 
 Fig. 76. 
 
 Fig. 77. 
 
 Echinus. , Same seen from above, with spines removed. 
 
 Holothurioids include animals with an elongated, 
 worm-like body, and a leathery skin. Such are the 
 Sea-Slugs. 
 
 MOLLUSCS are built upon a plan entirely different 
 from the Kadiates. They are all soft-bodied animals. 
 The shell found as a covering in many species, may be 
 compared to an external skeleton They are terres- 
 trial, fresh-water, and marine. Number of living 
 species 16,000. This branch comprises three Classes 
 Acephals, Gasteropods, and Cephalopods. 
 
 ACEPHALS embrace four Orders Bryozoa, Brachi- 
 opods, Tunicata, and Lamellibranchiates. 
 
 Bryozoa, also called Moss Animalcules, are small 
 
 10* 
 
 H 
 
114 
 
 THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 molluscs growing in clusters, forming incrustations 
 on rocks, and other submarine bodies. They re- 
 semble corals. 
 
 Brachiopods comprise those bivalve molluscs whose 
 two valves are never equal, but are always equal- 
 sided. From the position which the animal occupies, 
 the two valves of the shell are called respectively 
 dorsal and ventral. The ventral valve is largest, and 
 has a prominent beak through which the organ of 
 adhesion passes; for brachiopods grow attached to 
 submarine bodies. The dorsal valve is always free 
 and imperforate. 
 
 Fig. 78. 
 
 Fig. 79. Fig. 80. 
 
 Ventral view. Side view, Dorsal view. 
 
 Terebratula, a Brachiopod, Coast of Maine. 
 
 Tunicata are those molluscs that are protected by 
 an elastic covering or tunic instead of a shell. 
 
 Lamellibranchiates are those molluscs which have 
 their gills in lamellas. Such are the oyster, marine 
 and fresh- water clams, and the like. 
 
 GASTEKOPODS embrace three Orders Pteropods, 
 Heteropods, and Gasteropods proper. 
 
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 115 
 
 Pteropods are small oceanic snails with wing-like 
 appendages. They are the food of the right whale. 
 
 Heteropods comprise oceanic snails with a very 
 tender shell. 
 
 Gasteropods proper are such as effect locomotion on 
 a fleshy foot. Such are our common land-snails, also 
 the Natica, and the like on our coasts. 
 
 A group of small animals, mostly microscopic, 
 called Foraminifera, is placed under this order by 
 some modern writers, though by others not considered 
 as strictly belonging to any of the four great branches 
 established by Cuvier. These animals have a calcare- 
 ous shell, often in the form of a snail shell, with many 
 holes through which they extend feelers, with which 
 they catch their prey. "We shall learn hereafter that 
 these animals are abundant in the rocks. 
 
 CEPHALOPODS comprise marine molluscs, whose 
 principal appendages are attached to the head. Some 
 of them have fins, and all can propel themselves by 
 the forcible expulsion of water from a cavity, or 
 chamber, with which they are provided. This class 
 is divided into two Orders Tetrabranchiates and 
 Dibranchiates. 
 
 Tetrabranchiates are cephalopods which breathe by 
 four gills. They have an external shell, divided into 
 partitions or chambers, which are connected by a 
 tube or siphuncle. They are often called chambered- 
 shelled molluscs. Although more than 1400 species 
 
116 THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 Fig. 81. 
 
 Nautilus. 
 
 have been found in the rocks, the Nautilus is the only 
 living representative. Fig. 81 represents the Nauti- 
 lus cut open, showing the animal lying in the shell ; 
 also the position of the chambers and siphuncle. 
 The chambers are formed as the animal grows, and 
 moves forward, leaving one partition after another. 
 
 Dibranchiates are those cephalopods which breathe 
 by two gills. The common Cuttle-fish and Squids are 
 familiar examples. "With the exception of a single 
 genus they are naked having their solid portion, a 
 sort of rudimentary shell, inside. They have eight or 
 ten muscular arms and powerful jaws. They are pro- 
 vided with a sack or ink-bag, from which, when pur- 
 sued, they discharge an inky fluid, rendering the 
 water turbid, and thereby escape. 
 
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 117 
 
 Fig. 82 gives a good idea of the animals of this 
 order. The Argonauta, or Paper Sailor, is a repre- 
 sentative of the only genus which has an external shell. 
 
 Fig. 82. 
 
 Loligo, or Squid, Coast of United States. 
 
 ARTICULATES comprise those animals which 
 have the body more or less divided into lobes, rings, 
 or joints, often movable upon one another. Their 
 hard skin forms a sort of external skeleton, the 
 muscles being attached to the inside. Estimated 
 number of living species 200,000. This branch may 
 be divided into three natural Classes Worms, Crus- 
 taceans, and Insects. 
 
 WORMS comprehend Helminths, or Intestinal 
 Worms, Earthworms, Leeches, &c. 
 
 CRUSTACEANS are divided into four Orders Roti- 
 fera, Entomostraca, Tetradecapods, and Decapods. 
 
 Rotifera are all microscopic animals. 
 
 Entomostraca include the Limulus, or Horse-shoe 
 Crab, and the Cirripeds, that is the Barnacles. 
 Besides the barnacles, represented by Fig. 84, there 
 are a great many species with a sub-conical shell, 
 
118 
 
 THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 which everywhere cover the rocks that are daily 
 washed by the tide. 
 
 Fig. 83. Fig. 84. 
 
 Limulus, or Horse-shoe Crab. 
 
 Barnacles. 
 
 Tetradecapods are the Sand-fleas and the like. 
 Decapods comprise Lobsters, Crabs, Shrimps, and 
 their allies. 
 
 Fig. 85. 
 
 Common Shrimp. 
 
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. . 119 
 
 INSECTS contain three Orders, according to Agassiz 
 Myriopods, Arachnids, and Insects proper. 
 
 Myriopods comprise the Millipedes and Centipedes. 
 
 Arachnids comprise the Spiders and Scorpions. 
 
 Insects proper comprise Beetles, Bugs, Grasshoppers, 
 Darning-needles, Bees and "Wasps, Aphides or Plant- 
 lice, Harvest-fly, Butterflies, House-flies, and Musqui- 
 toes, represented by thousands of species. This order 
 contains more species than any other in the animal 
 kingdom. 
 
 VERTEBRATES embrace all animals which have 
 two cavities, more or less elongated, one above, and 
 the other below a bony or cartilaginous axis called 
 the back bone. The upper cavity contains the spinal 
 cord, which, at one extremity, is enlarged into a lobe, 
 or lobes called the brain. The lower cavity contains 
 the organs of respiration, digestion, and reproduction. 
 
 In all vertebrates the skeleton is internal, and con- 
 stitutes the frame upon which the muscles are placed; 
 the skin, with its appendages, surrounding the whole. 
 In most of the vertebrates, the axis of the skeleton is 
 made up of parts, called vertebras ; which are more 
 or less movable one upon another. 
 
 This branch contains five natural Classes, Fishes, 
 Batrachians, Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals. 
 
 That the animals in all these classes are built upon 
 the same plan, may be seen by a little careful study. 
 They all exhibit the two cavities, before mentioned, 
 
120 
 
 THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 one above and the other below the main axis of the 
 body. They all have an internal skeleton. The 
 unity of the plan upon which all vertebrates are built, 
 
 Fig. 80. 
 
 Fig. 89. 
 
 Arm of a Man. 
 
 Leg- of a Deer. Leg of a Lion. Paddle of a Whale. 
 
 Fig. 90. Fig. 91. . Fig. 92. Fig 93. 
 
 Wing of a Bat. Wing of a Bird. Leg of a Turtle. Fin of a Fish. 
 
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 121 
 
 is strikingly brought out by a comparison of their 
 skeletons, or even of their anterior members of loco- 
 motion. The foregoing representations of the forward 
 locomotive members of vertebrates, in which corre- 
 sponding parts are designated by the same letter, 
 show that they are all one and the same thing, 
 expressed in different ways. 
 
 FISHES may be divided into four Orders, if we 
 adopt the earlier writings of Agassiz Placoids, 
 Ganoids, Ctenoids, and Cycloids ; this classification 
 being based upon the shape of the scale, which is 
 entirely different in the different orders. The accom- 
 panying figures give a general idea of the shape of 
 the scales in each order. The number of species of 
 living fishes amounts to about 10,000. 
 
 Fig. 04. 
 
 Placoid Settle. Ganoid Scale. Ctenoid Scale. Cycloid Scale. 
 
 Form of the Scales in the different Orders of Fishes. 
 
 Placoids comprise fishes with flat scales and a carti- 
 laginous skeleton. Such are the Sharks, and the 
 Scates. The scales of the latter are armed with a 
 
 sharp curved spine. 
 
 11 
 
122 THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 Ganoids comprise fishes which, have enamelled 
 scales. Such are the Gar-pike, and Sturgeon. 
 
 Placoids and Ganoids are characterized by unequal 
 lobed or heterocercal tails, the spinal column being 
 prolonged into the upper lobe. These are the two 
 lowest orders of fishes. The two following orders 
 have a single tail fin, or the tail is equally bilobate 
 or homocercal. 
 
 Fig. 98. Fig. 99. 
 
 Heterocercal Tail. Ilomocercal Tail. 
 
 Otenoids embrace all fishes which have scales toothed 
 on the edge. Such are the Perch, Bream, Bass, 
 Flounder, &c. 
 
 Cycloids are those fishes whose scales are rounded 
 and entire. Such are the Salmon, Cod, Mackerel, 
 Pickerel, Sucker, Trout, &c. 
 
 The last two orders comprise all those fishes which 
 are the most useful for the food of man. 
 
 BATKACHIANS embrace three Orders Frogs, Sala- 
 manders, and Caecilians, or Snake-like Batrachians. 
 
 REPTILES comprise four Orders Rhizodonts, Sau- 
 rians, Chelonians, and Ophidians. The animals of this 
 class, as well as those of the two preceding ones, are 
 
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 123 
 
 cold-blooded, or rather the temperature of their blood 
 changes with that of the medium in which they live. 
 Keptiles and Batrachians are represented by about 
 2000 living species. 
 
 Ehizodonts are large reptiles with hollow teeth. 
 This order has but few living representatives. 
 
 Saurians embrace the Crocodile, Alligator, Lizards, 
 and Glass-snakes. 
 
 Chelonians embrace all Turtles or Tortoises, whether 
 land, fresh-water, or marine. 
 
 Ophidians comprehend all the snake families. 
 
 BIRDS may be divided into seven Orders Nata- 
 tores, Grallse, Cursores, Easores, Scansores, Insessores, 
 Kaptores. The first two orders embrace all the 
 aquatic birds. Birds have warm blood. Between 
 6000 and 7000 species are known. 
 
 Natatores, or Swimming Birds, are those which 
 have rather short legs, webbed feet, and other pecu- 
 liar adaptations to the water, which is their principal 
 place of resort. Such are Ducks, Mergansers, Loons, 
 Petrels, Gulls, Pelicans, &c. 
 
 Q-r alias, or Waders, embrace those birds which fre- 
 quent the water, wading in the shallows in search of 
 food. They are characterized by having legs, neck, 
 and bill* all very long. Such are Herons, Plovers, 
 Snipes, Rails ; also the Flamingo, which, however, by 
 its bill and webbed feet, seems to form a transition 
 between this order and the last. 
 
124 THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 Cursores, or Kunners, are the Ostriches. There are 
 only five species now living one in Africa, one in 
 India, one in Australia, and two in South America. 
 
 Rasores, or Scratchers, comprise the Turkey, Hen, 
 Grouse, Quails, and their allies. They are all well 
 adapted to live principally on the ground. Doves, 
 the young of which hatch in a very feeble condition, 
 form a sort of transition between the Insessores and 
 Easores. 
 
 Scansores, or Climbers, comprise the Woodpeckers 
 and Parrots. Having two toes turned forward, and 
 two behind, they are particularly adapted to climbing 
 along the trees in search of food. 
 
 Insessores, or Perchers, often called Oscines, com- 
 prise our most common birds, such as Crows, Jays, 
 Thrushes, Finches, Warblers, and their hundreds of 
 allies. 
 
 Raptores, or Eaveners, comprise the Eagles, Hawks, 
 Owls, Vultures, and the like. The birds of this 
 order are characterized by powerful muscles, sharp 
 claws, and strong hooked bills, all of which, together 
 with their great extent of wing, aid them in capturing 
 birds and other animals for food. With the excep- 
 tion of Vultures, that live on dead animals which 
 they chance to find, all the birds of this order catch 
 their own prey. 
 
 MAMMALS comprise all those animals which bring 
 forth their young alive, and nourish them from their 
 
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 125 
 
 own bodies. They all have warm blood. Mammals 
 are represented by about 2000 living species. In- 
 cluding Man, the highest representative of this class, 
 Mammals comprise 10 Orders Marsupials, Pachy- 
 derms, Cetaceans, Edentata, Insectivora, Eodents, 
 Euminants, Garni vora, Quadrumana, and Bimana. 
 - Marsupials, or Pouched animals, comprise the Opos- 
 sum, Kangaroo, &c. All the mammals of Australia 
 belong to this order. 
 
 Pachyderms, or Thick-skinned animals, include the 
 Horse, Hippopotamus, Ehinoceros, Elephant, Hog, 
 Tapir, &c. 
 
 Cetaceans comprise the Whales, Porpoises, Dolphins, 
 and the Narwhal. 
 
 Edentata are Toothless animals; such as Sloths, 
 Ant-eater, and Armadillo. 
 
 Insectivora, or Insect- eating animals, include the 
 Bat, Mole, Hedgehog, &c. 
 
 Rodents, or Gnawers, include the Hare, Squirrel, 
 Beaver, &c. 
 
 Ruminants include the Ox, Sheep, Goat, Giraffe 
 Deer, Moose, &c. 
 
 Carnivora, or Flesh-eaters, include the Cat tribe, 
 Dog, Otter, Mink, Seal, Bear, Badger, &c. 
 
 Quadrumana, or Four-handed, comprise all Monkeys. 
 
 Bimana, or Man. 
 
 The Classification of the Animal Kingdom, as far 
 as Orders, may be presented in one view, as seen on 
 
 the next page. 
 11* 
 
126 
 
 THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 
 
 " 
 
 Bimana. 
 
 
 05 
 
 
 
 
 
 Quadrumana. 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Carnivora. 
 
 
 
 
 Dibranchiales. 
 
 
 
 no 
 
 Ruminants. 
 
 
 3-; 
 
 Tetrabranchiates. 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Rodents. 
 
 
 g 
 
 
 
 
 g 
 
 Insectivora. 
 
 
 
 . . ~ 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 Edentata. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 Cetaceans. 
 
 02 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 Pachyderms. 
 Marsupials. 
 
 1- 
 
 1 
 
 
 (4 " 
 
 Gasteropods proper. 
 Heteropods. 
 
 
 
 
 Raptores. 3 
 
 
 
 55 
 
 H 
 oc 
 
 Pteropods. 
 
 
 
 
 Insessorcs. -^ 
 
 
 O 
 
 
 
 O2 
 
 DO 
 
 Scansores. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 O 
 
 Rasores. O 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 pq 
 
 Cursores. "T' 
 
 
 . 1 
 
 s 
 
 Lamellibranchiales. 
 
 
 05 
 
 
 Grallcc. ' 
 
 
 Jj.l 
 
 Tunicata. 
 
 
 PQ 
 
 
 Natatores. - ^ 
 
 
 
 Brachiopods. 
 
 
 H 
 
 g . 
 
 
 S 
 
 Bryozoa. 
 
 g 
 
 PH 
 g 
 
 g f Ophidians. g 
 
 
 
 
 s 
 
 
 ) Chelonians. HH 
 j Saurians. ^ 
 p3 [&2odbf*f, H? 
 
 
 DERMS. 
 
 Holothurioids. 
 Echinoids. 
 
 S- 
 
 
 r i 
 
 
 \ 
 
 Asteroids. 
 Crinoids. 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 1 r^ 
 jz; I Frogs. <5 
 
 02 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 ^ < Salamanders. 
 
 
 HM V 
 
 
 h- 1 
 
 
 ^ ! Ccecilians. 
 
 <j i _ r 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 P4 I. 
 
 3- 
 
 i 
 
 rCtenophorcB. 
 
 
 
 w - f Cycloids. 
 
 S 
 
 I 
 
 Discophorce. 
 Hydroids. 
 
 
 
 I Ctenoids. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <n 1 Ganoids. 
 
 
 ^s \ 
 
 
 
 
 PH Placoids 
 
 
 oo f 
 
 
 
 
 
 & j Actinoids. 
 
 \ 
 
 1 
 
 g J Insects proper. 
 j Arachnids. 
 
 11 
 
 Alcyonoids. 
 
 
 
 g Myriopods. 
 
 
 
 DO 
 
 HH V 
 
 
 
 w 
 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 Decapods. 
 
 
 
 i-5 
 
 "< \ Tetradecapods. 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 g j Entomostraca. 
 
 
 
 H- 1 
 
 EH 
 
 rt Rotifers. 
 
 
 
 P5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 J Anellides. 
 
 
 
 
 & J Nematoids. 
 
 
 
 
 . Trematods. 
 
 
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 127 
 
 Note. Besides the animals already noticed, there are 
 innumerable microscopic organisms in all kinds of 
 water, which Ehrenberg considered as animals, and 
 which he grouped under the general term Infusoria. 
 Later researches have shown that many of these are 
 algae; and now all these lowest forms of life are 
 described by many writers under the name Protozoa. 
 Many of these organisms have a silicious shell, and 
 they form extensive layers on the bottom of our ponds, 
 consisting wholly of their silicious skeletons, which, 
 under the microscope, appear like small glass boxes. 
 
 A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. 
 
 We have seen in the last section that vegetation 
 differs in different climatic zones, and in different 
 geographical regions. The same is true of animals. 
 Each climatic zone, and each grand division of the 
 earth's surface, has animals that are peculiar to itself. 
 Not only do the same climates have different animals 
 in the different continents, but often in different parts 
 of the same continent. 
 
 As in the case of plants, it is in the torrid zone that 
 animal life reaches its highest expression ; excepting 
 only the marine mammals, which exhibit their highest 
 forms in the Whale, the Walrus, and the Seal of the 
 frigid regions. 
 
 In the Arctic zone the same species inhabit all the 
 
128 THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 countries within its borders. But, as remarked in 
 regard to plants, the animals of the two hemispheres 
 have less and less of specific identity, as we pass from 
 this zone towards the south, until we find not even a 
 family resemblance between the animals of Australia, 
 Southern Africa, and the southern part of South 
 America. 
 
 It is true that the animals of different continents, 
 in the same climates, generally resemble each other ; 
 but in nearly all cases, except in the frigid zone as 
 mentioned above, it is mere resemblance, and not 
 specific identity. A few facts will illustrate these 
 statements. 
 
 The animals of Europe and the United States 
 resemble each other so closely that the early settlers 
 of this country applied the names of the species they 
 had known in Europe to the similar American species 
 an oversight which has caused confusion in names 
 ever since; for we have but few species of animals 
 identical with those of Europe. The Bears, the 
 Wolves, the Foxes, the Wild-cats, the Deer, the 
 Beaver, the Squirrels, the Hares, and the Birds of 
 America, though resembling those of Europe and 
 Asia, are not the same species; and the marks by 
 which they can be distinguished from one another are 
 readily found by the experienced naturalist. 
 
 Again, there are 91 species of Monkeys in America, 
 and 79 species in the Old World ; yet there is not one 
 
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 129 
 
 species, nor genus, nor family even, common to the two 
 hemispheres. The monkeys of the New World are 
 characterized from those of the Old by their nostrils 
 being wide apart ; by having three false grinders on 
 each side of both jaws; by having cheek pouches; 
 and by the prehensile tail of many species all of 
 which characteristics are entirely wanting in the mon- 
 keys of the Old World. The monkeys of America 
 are smaller and less ferocious than those of the Eastern 
 Hemisphere. Monkeys are found in nearly all the 
 countries of the tropics, except New Guinea and 
 Australia, and the Pacific Islands between these and 
 the west coast of America. In the New World only 
 one species exists on the west side of the Andes, 90 
 being found east of the same range. This fact shows 
 how faunas are limited by mountain ranges. 
 
 In the tropics of the Old World the Carnivorous 
 animals are represented by the Lion, Leopard, Tiger, 
 &c., while in tropical America we find only the Puma, 
 Jaguar, and the like. The tropics of the Old World 
 furnish those huge Pachyderms, the Elephant, Rhino- 
 ceros, and Hippopotamus; while these are wanting 
 in America, and their places are supplied with much 
 feebler animals, the Tapir and the Peccary. But even 
 in the Old World, the Elephant is not the same in 
 Africa as it is in Asia ; but each of these countries, 
 and its immediate dependencies, has a species of ele- 
 phant peculiar to itself. The same is true of the 
 
130 THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 Rhinoceros. This animal is not of the same species 
 in Africa as it is in Asia; and the East Indies furnish 
 several species different from both the African and 
 the Asiatic. As a matter of fact, there are six distinct 
 species of rhinoceros probably seven and these 
 inhabit countries whose climates are not materially 
 unlike. 
 
 Australia presents us with some striking facts 
 which deserve mention here. This vast island, though 
 lying with a large part of its northern half within the 
 tropics, has no Monkeys, no Pachyderms, no Edentata, 
 and no Ruminants. The mammals of this island are 
 all Marsupials ; and it is a remarkable fact, that except 
 in Australia and vicinity, no marsupials exist in the 
 Old World, and only one family the Opossum is 
 found in America. 
 
 The Galapagos Islands exhibit facts no less striking. 
 These islands not only differ in their flora and fauna 
 from every other portion of the world, but each island 
 of the group has its peculiar plants and animals such 
 as are not found in any of the others. 
 
 In tropical America there are 300 species of Hum- 
 ming-birds, while not a single species is known in 
 any part of the Old World. A volume of similar 
 facts might easily be recorded, but these will give a 
 general idea of this part of our subject. 
 
 The same principles, which are indicated by the 
 above facts, apply to the distribution of marine ani- 
 
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 131 
 
 mals. The ocean, no less than the land, is divided 
 into zoological provinces, each with its own pecu- 
 liar species of animals. Each coast has animals which 
 are found nowhere else. Of the two hundred species 
 of molluscs living on the coast of New England, fifty 
 are never found north of Cape Cod, and over eighty 
 species are never found south of that Cape. 
 
 From the facts stated above, we learn that climate 
 has no power to mould or shape the species of ani- 
 mals and the same is true in regard to plants or to 
 change one species into another. Were it so, any 
 given climate would produce, in the course of time, 
 the same species of animals in all the countries within 
 its limits. But so far from this being the case, we find, 
 that, in spite of the influence of climate, animals of the 
 different countries of the same climatic zone are speci- 
 fically if not generically distinct, and in many cases 
 even family resemblance is wanting. 
 
 Although through the agency of man, and in many 
 other ways, animals of one region or country have been 
 introduced into another, we are not to look to any such 
 accidental operations for an explanation of the distribu- 
 tion of animals into many well-marked zoological pro- 
 vinces. On the contrary, the careful observer is led 
 to believe that animals as well as plants, have been 
 created by an Omniscient Being, in the places, and 
 for the places, which they now occupy. 
 
CHAPTEK VII. 
 
 FOSSILS, AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE ROCK 
 FORMATIONS. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 FOSSILS. 
 
 EEMAINS of plants and animals are imbedded in 
 many of the stratified rocks of every country. These 
 remains are called Fossils, and are among the most 
 important aids in making out a history of our earth. 
 The department of Geology which treats specially 
 of fossils, is called Paleontology. 
 
 In general, only the hard parts of animals are 
 preserved, the soft parts having disappeared. Corals, 
 shells, and Crinoids, are found as perfect in form as 
 those in our present seas. The beautiful Crinoid 
 represented on the next page, was dug out of the lime- 
 stone near St. Louis, Mo. Leaves and stems of plants 
 often show the most delicate markings; and ferns 
 especially are found imbedded in the slates, as perfect 
 
 in outline as though preserved in an herbarium. 
 
 (132) 
 
FOSSILS. 
 
 133 
 
 Wood completely changed to silica shows the vege- 
 table structure so plainly that the family of plants to 
 which it belongs can readily be determined. 
 
 Fig. 100. 
 
 Crinoid, from the Limestone near St. Louis, Mo. 
 
 In some cases the organic body disappears, leaving 
 an exact mould of itself impressed in the rock, and 
 this becoming filled with mineral matter, a perfect 
 cast of the organic body is formed. This very often 
 
 12 
 
134 FOSSILS. 
 
 happens in the case of shells, which sometimes leave 
 a cast of the form of the outside, and sometimes of the 
 inside. A cast of the inside is exhibited whenever 
 the shell itself disappears after it has been filled with 
 consolidated mineral matter. 
 
 As the organic bodies in the rocks have lost more 
 or less of their vegetable or animal matter, and, in 
 many cases, are entirely changed to stone, they are 
 often called Petrifactions a term frequently used as 
 synonymous with fossils ; the latter term is preferable., 
 however, because it includes all remains dug from the 
 rocks, whether they have undergone complete petri- 
 faction or not. 
 
 Precisely how petrifaction goes on, cannot well be 
 explained. It consists in the substitution of mineral 
 for animal or vegetable matter. But so perfectly are 
 the form and structure of the organisms preserved, it 
 is probable there is a constant interchange of particles 
 between the organism and the adjacent mineral sub- 
 stance. That is, as fast as a particle of the organic 
 body disappears, a particle of mineral matter takes its 
 place. Whatever the process may be, the fact is 
 established that petrifactions have taken place ex- 
 tensively in past times, and that they take place at the 
 present day. The organic body is converted into 
 lime, silica, pyrites, or other substance, according to 
 the material in which the organism is imbedded, or 
 which is disseminated in the surrounding rock. 
 
FOSSILS. 135 
 
 Some fossils, though buried for ages, have not lost 
 all tlieir animal matter, as can be shown by chemical 
 analysis. 
 
 The amount of organisms in the rocks is truly 
 astonishing. In many parts of the state of New York, 
 and throughout a large part of the Great Basin of the 
 Mississippi, the rocks are filled with corals, crinoids, 
 shells, and the remains of other marine animals. In 
 fact, there are but few parts of the United States and. 
 the same is true of other countries where these fossils 
 may not be found. In thousands of places in New 
 York, and the states farther west and south, the great 
 bulk of the rocks is composed of animal remains. 
 
 rig. 101. 
 
 Perfect copy of Limestone, filled with Steins of Oinoids, near Lockport, N. Y. 
 
 In these regions, every blow of the geologist's ham- 
 mer is sure to reveal a shell, a stem pf a crinoid, 
 
136 FOSSILS. 
 
 a branch or mass of coral, or perhaps a crustacean, so 
 strange in form that the observer at once refers it to 
 an age long since gone by. 
 
 In many countries, and in some parts of our own 
 as at Sunderland, Mass. the rocks are filled with 
 fishes, so perfect in outline that they can readily be 
 referred to their true place in the zoological scale. 
 The rocks of Great Britain, and those of the continent 
 of Europe, contain bones of gigantic reptiles, and 
 bones of birds ; and every country on the globe has 
 its fossil mammals. 
 
 Beds of great thickness are not unfrequently found 
 composed wholly of the remains of microscopic organ- 
 isms. Richmond, Va.., stands upon a bed of this kind, 
 which is fifteen or twenty feet thick. The well-known 
 polishing slate of Bilin, Germany, is composed of the 
 shields of organisms so small that the remains of forty- 
 one thousand millions are contained in a cubic inch 
 
 .* 
 
 of the stone. 
 
 Fossils occur in the rocks of the deepest valleys, 
 and in those of the highest mountains. A large part 
 of the Jura Mountains is composed of coral; and fossils 
 occur in the Alps at the height of 8000 feet, and in 
 the Andes and Himalayas at the height of 16,000. As 
 a matter of fact, they abound in the rocks to the depth 
 of eight or ten miles. 
 
 "We may safely say, that, in many districts where 
 fossils occur, there are more individuals, and some- 
 
FOSSILS. 137 
 
 times more species in the rocks than living species 
 upon the surface of the same territory ; and all, except 
 the more recent fossils, represent plants and animals 
 which are specifically different from those of the 
 present day. 
 
 Although fossils, as the Trilobites of Quincy and 
 Braintree, Mass., and various organic remains found 
 at the White Mountains, N. H., occur in rocks more 
 or less metamorphic, they are not found in true 
 granite, or other unstratified formations. 
 
 Dendrite, delicate expansions of mineral matter, 
 closely resembling plants, is often found on break- 
 ing open all kinds of rocks, stratified as well as 
 unstratified. These imitations of vegetable forms 
 result from the infiltration of mineral matter into 
 minute fissures, and must not be confounded with 
 organic remains. 
 
 Representatives of all the great Branches and 
 Classes of the Vegetable, and of the Animal Kingdom, 
 have been found in the rocks. Thirty thousand or 
 more species have been noticed, and thousands have 
 been carefully examined, and their characters mi- 
 nutely recorded. But the work has only begun. 
 
 At the death of Cuvier, less than one hundred 
 species of fossil fishes had been described ; through 
 the labors of Agassiz, mainly, the number soon 
 reached 1600 or 1700. Similar progress has been 
 
 made in the examination of other classes of the Ani- 
 12* 
 
138 FOSSILS. 
 
 mal Kingdom ; and the rapid discovery of new spe- 
 cies leaves little room to doubt that the fossil species 
 of animals equal the living. 
 
 What an interesting fact, that Nature has em- 
 balmed her subjects, and handed them down to us so 
 perfectly preserved that we are able to get a glimpse, 
 at least, of the phases of life during all the past ages 
 of the world ! 
 
 These fossils show that all the rocks in which they 
 occur were once in a soft state, like the sand and 
 mud at the bottom of our present waters ; and occur- 
 ring in successive layers, they teach us that each 
 layer once constituted the upper surface, no matter 
 to what depth it may now be below it. They show 
 that the highest mountains have once bjsen the ocean's 
 bottom, and that, too, for a long time, since their 
 sides are filled with corals, crinoids, shells, and other 
 organisms, that could have grown only in the sea. 
 
 Animals and plants of the present time have well- 
 marked characteristics, according as they are terres- 
 trial, fresh-water, or marine. So it was in past times, 
 and hence a careful study of fossils gives much infor- 
 mation in regard to the early physical geography of 
 our planet. We may learn what parts were under 
 the ocean at a given time, what parts were estuaries, 
 and what fresh water. 
 
FOSSILS. 139 
 
 SECTION II. 
 CLASSIFICATION OF THE ROCK FORMATIONS. 
 
 IN a previous chapter it was stated that rocks are 
 of two classes, Stratified and Unstratified a classifi- 
 cation based on the structure of the rocks. Consid- 
 ered in respect to fossils, rocks may also be divided 
 into two classes Fossiliferous, and Non-Fossiliferous. 
 This classification corresponds somewhat, but not 
 wholly, to the last. 
 
 The FOSSILIFEROUS comprise all the rocks that 
 contain fossils that is, all the stratified rocks, except 
 gneiss, mica slate, hornblende, slate, &c. The NON- 
 FOSSILIFEROUS comprise all the unstratified rocks, 
 and such of the stratified as were formed before life 
 was introduced upon our planet. 
 
 All the rocks formed while the conditions of the 
 earth were essentially the same, constitute one great 
 System. Every system is a record of the age in 
 which that system or group of rocks was formed, and 
 all the rock systems studied in their chronological 
 order, reveal a history of our globe from earliest 
 time. So true it is that Nature is her own historian. 
 
 The systems of fossiliferous strata, very gene- 
 rally acknowledged, named from the newest to the 
 
140 CLASSIFICATION OF THE BOCK FORMATIONS. 
 
 oldest inclusive, are the following: Alluvium and 
 Drift, Tertiary, Cretaceous, Oolitic or Jurassic, New 
 Ked Sandstone, Carboniferous, Old Red Sandstone 
 or Devonian, and Silurian. These are subdivided 
 into many formations. 
 
 Each of the above systems is characterized by 
 peculiar fossils, the same species being rarely common 
 to any two of them ; but the same orders, and some- 
 times the same genera, are found in two contiguous 
 systems. 
 
 These groups of rocks, then, with their imbedded 
 fossils, represent the great Life Periods of the globe. 
 One race of plants and animals has occupied the 
 surface of the earth, for long ages, and then passed 
 away ; and another race, different and higher in rank 
 than the one before it, has taken its place ; rand this 
 has been repeated as many times, at least, as there 
 are groups indicated above, and probably many more. 
 
 Below the Fossiliferous Rocks are the Non-fossil- 
 iferous, embracing the oldest slates, gneiss, granites, 
 &c., as specified above. 
 
 The following table shows the Classification of the 
 Rock Formations, as adopted in this treatise, and also 
 the divisions and groups which have been made of 
 the same formations, by some other writers. 
 
CLASSIFICATION OF THE ROCK FORMATIONS. 141 
 
 TABULAR VIEW OF THE CLASSIFICATION OF BOTH 
 STRATIFIED AND UNSTRATIFIED ROCKS. 
 
 
 w 
 
 
 
 
 go 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 - ALLUVIUM AND DRIFT. 
 
 Post- Pliocene. 
 
 
 o 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 vj CQ 1 
 
 "*^ W 
 
 Pliocene. 
 
 
 o { TERTIARY. 
 
 Miocene. 
 
 GO 
 
 i* 
 
 1 I 
 
 Eocene. 
 
 g 
 
 
 CRETACEOUS. 
 
 Greensand. 
 
 GQ ^H 
 
 P> 
 
 | Wealden. 
 
 CO 
 
 <1 OJ 
 
 
 H 
 
 O 
 
 Q Uj 
 
 
 
 m 
 
 ^ o 
 
 00 
 
 OOLITIC OR JURASSIC. 
 
 Oolite. 
 Lias. 
 
 
 S^ 
 
 
 
 
 02 
 
 NEW RED SANDSTONE. 
 
 Trias. 
 k Permian. 
 
 
 
 T Coal Formation. 
 
 
 O 
 
 CARBONIFEROUS. -| Conglomerate. 
 
 
 N^ 
 
 
 Mountain Limestone. 
 
 
 P 
 
 OLD RED SANDSTONE, f 
 OR DEVONIAN. { 
 
 Upper Old Red. 
 Lower " " 
 
 
 
 SILURIAN. J 
 " f 
 
 Upper Silurian. 
 Lower " 
 
 NON-FOSSILIFE- 
 ROUS ROCKS. 
 
 AZOIC ROCKS. 
 
 OLDEST METAMORPHIC, | 
 
 AND FIRST- FORMED \ 
 
 ROCKS. 
 
 Quartz Rock, Mica 
 Slate, Hornblende 
 Slate, Gneiss, and 
 the oldest Granites. 
 
CLASSIFICATION" OF THE ROCK FORMATIONS. 
 
 fc/B 
 
 
 
 C3M 
 
 X / 
 
 / 
 
 ^'IV^^^V 
 
 V (J- - - ' 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL SYSTEMS OF 
 FOSSILIFEROUS ROCKS. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 SILURIAN SYSTEM. 
 
 THE Silurian is the lowest system of rocks in 
 which fossils are positively known to occur. Its 
 name is derived from the ancient Roman designation 
 of the part of England, where it was first scientifically 
 observed and studied. It consists of two great divi- 
 sions, the Upper and the Lower Silurian ; but it will 
 be sufficient for our purpose to consider both together. 
 For the most part our remarks will be of a general 
 nature, applicable to the whole system, modified, 
 however, by such specific statements as the case 
 demands. 
 
 The Silurian is represented in every country on the 
 globe. In North America, it abounds in the Hudson's 
 Bay basin, in the north-eastern parts of New England, 
 
 (143) 
 
144 SILURIAN SYSTEM. 
 
 in the valley of the St. Lawrence, in the central, 
 south-eastern, and western portions of New York, 
 and thence southward along the Alleghany Mountains. 
 Bocks of this system appear in Ohio, at Cincinnati 
 and its vicinity, and at Nashville, Tennessee. The 
 Silurian is also extensively represented in England, 
 Norway and Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Kussia, and 
 Australia. 
 
 Like every other system, the Silurian embraces a 
 great variety of rocks. The student must not expect 
 always to find the rocks in any system agreeing in 
 mineralogical composition, throughout considerable 
 depths, and over wide areas. 
 
 The prevailing rocks of the Silurian are sandstones, 
 slates, conglomerates, and limestones. 
 
 The rocks of this system are not only of great 
 geographical extent, but also of immense thickness ; 
 the aggregate of the several stages being not less 
 than 30,000 feet. 
 
 The Silurian system abounds with fossils. Besides 
 plants belonging to the Algae tribe, more than one 
 thousand species of animals have been discovered, 
 and the number of individuals is immense. 
 
 This system contains representatives of the four 
 great Branches of the Animal Kingdom Radiates, 
 Molluscs, Articulates, and Vertebrates. 
 
 RADIATES are represented by two Classes 
 Polyps and Echinoderms and by the lowest orders 
 of these classes. 
 
SILURIAN SYSTEM. 
 
 145 
 
 POLYPS are represented of course only by their 
 hard parts, to which the name Coral is applied. In 
 many stages of the Silurian, this occurs in the greatest 
 abundance, and in a great number of species. More 
 species of coral occur in the rooks of this system in 
 the state of New York, than are now living on the 
 coast of Florida. 
 
 Fig. 103. 
 
 Silurian Coral. Catenipora escharoides. 
 
 ECHINODEBMS are abundant, but the representatives 
 
 Fig 104. Fig 105. 
 
 Ichthyocrinus Iceois. 
 
 13 
 
 Caryocrinus ornatw. 
 Some of the forms of Silurian Crinoids. 
 
 K 
 
146 
 
 SILUKIAN SYSTEM. 
 
 of this class belong almost wholly to the Order of 
 Crinoids. 
 
 MOLLUSCS appear in abundance in all their 
 Classes Acephals, Gasteropods, and Cephalopods. 
 
 The ACEPHALS are abundant in the form of BracJiio- 
 
 Fig. 106. 
 
 Fig. 107. 
 
 Leptena altemata. Pentamerus oblongus. 
 
 Some of the common Silurian Acephals, or Bivalves. 
 
 pods, the only fossils yet found in the Potsdam sand- 
 stone, the oldest member of the Silurian in this 
 country. 
 
SILURIAN SYSTEM. 147 
 
 GASTEROEODS are represented by many species. 
 
 Fig. 110. Fig. 111. 
 
 uilubatus. Murchisonia bellacincta. 
 
 Some of the common forms of Silurian Gasteropods. 
 
 CEPHAL-OPODS are represented by "both straight and 
 coiled chambered shells. The straight shells are 
 
 Fig. 112. 
 
 Portion of an Orthoceratite imbedded in Limestone. 
 Silurian Cephalopod. 
 
 called Orthoceratites, and are so abundant in some 
 parts of the system as to touch and overlie each other 
 
148 
 
 SILUKIAN SYSTEM. 
 
 rendering it almost impossible to secure a perfect 
 specimen. They occur of all sizes, from a few inches 
 in length to ten feet long, and a foot in diameter, as 
 in the Black Kiver Limestone, N. Y. The Cephalo- 
 pods of this, and the three succeeding periods, are all 
 of the Order of Tetrabranchiates. 
 
 AKTICULATES appear mainly in the form of 
 Crustaceans, which occur in great numbers. Because 
 none or but very few worms are found, we must not 
 infer that they did not exist j for the softness of their 
 bodies would render them less likely to be preserved 
 than animals with harder parts. 
 
 CEUSTACEANS are represented by a very interesting 
 
 Fig. 114. 
 
 Fig. 115. 
 
 Isatelun gigas. Trinudeus concentricm. Ceraurus pleurexanthemus. 
 
 Some of the forms of Silurian Trilobitcs. 
 
 race of animals called Trilobites. Their remains occur 
 
SILUKIAN SYSTEM. 149 
 
 in the greatest abundance, and they have the widest 
 possible geographical distribution. In many cases 
 the same species are found in North America, Europe, 
 and Australia. 
 
 ' These ancient crustaceans remind us of the Limulus, 
 or Horse-shoe Crab, to which they are more nearly 
 allied than to any other living species, excepting, 
 perhaps, a group of crustaceans known to naturalists 
 under the name of Phyllopoda. Trilobites had the 
 power of rolling themselves into a ball, and many of 
 them are found in that position. 
 
 In the Trenton Limestone, at Trenton Falls, N. Y., 
 they occur in the greatest profusion, mixed with shells, 
 crinoids, and corals. In some cases the eyes of 
 trilobites are preserved, and this fact shows that there 
 was light during the Silurian period, and that it 
 sustained the same relation to animal life then as 
 now. 
 
 VERTEBRATES are represented in the Silurian 
 only by FISHES. No batrachians, reptiles, birds, or 
 mammals have left their remains in this system of 
 rocks ; which is conclusive evidence that they had not 
 as yet appeared upon the earth. Nor have we yet 
 authentic evidence that fishes occur in the lower 
 portions of the Silurian ; but it is well established that 
 their remains occur in some of the higher beds. So 
 the proof is positive, that the four great Branches, or 
 
 Types, of the Animal Kingdom, began their existence 
 13* 
 
150 OLD EED SANDSTONE SYSTEM. 
 
 in the same great geological period, if not simultane- 
 ously, which is highly probable. 
 
 The fishes of this period are widely different from 
 those of the present day. They were of the lowest 
 order, having cartilaginous skeletons, and other marks 
 of an inferior rank. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 OLD RED SANDSTONE, OR DEVONIAN SYSTEM. 
 
 This is the next great system, in the ascending 
 order, above the Silurian, and, like it, of immense 
 thickness. The term "Old Eed Sandstone," was first 
 given to the strata of this era, from the red color of 
 the prevailing rocks where it was first studied. Later, 
 " Devonian" was applied, from Devonshire, where this 
 system is rich in fossils. Both terms are now used 
 indiscriminately. 
 
 In this country, the Devonian has its greatest 
 development in New York and Pennsylvania, and 
 thence, on a less extensive scale, it extends south and 
 west. 
 
 In Europe, it is largely represented in Eussia, in 
 Western Europe, and especially in England and Scot- 
 land, being 10,000 feet thick in the latter country. 
 
 The rocks of this system are of various kinds; 
 
OLD BED SANDSTONE SYSTEM. 151 
 
 they are mainly, however, dark red sandstones, and 
 conglomerates, in the upper part, and slates, sand- 
 stones, and limestones, in the lower. In the state of 
 New York the Old Eed Sandstone is 14,000 feet thick, 
 but is much thinner in the states farther west and south. 
 
 The fossils which fill some of the stages of this 
 system, show that the ancient oceans in which these 
 rocks were formed, swarmed with life. Many of the 
 organic forms of this period bear a great resemblance to 
 those of the Silurian, but differ specifically from them. 
 
 The number of fossils already noticed in the Devo- 
 nian is about one thousand species. Plants are nume- 
 rous, but not well preserved. Hugh Miller has detected 
 Gymnosperms in the rocks of this era. 
 
 All the four Branches of the Animal Kingdom are 
 represented. 
 
 KADIATES, as in the Silurian, appear in the form 
 
 Fig. 116. Fig. 117. 
 
 CyafhopJiyllum dianthus. Favosites Gothlandica. 
 
 Devonian Corals. 
 
152 
 
 OLD BED SANDSTONE SYSTEM. 
 
 of Corals and Crinoids. Some of the beautiful speci- 
 mens of the former are represented by figs. 116 
 and 117. 
 
 MOLLUSCS are found in all their Classes ; and 
 present many unique forms. 
 
 Fig. 118. 
 
 Fig. 119. 
 
 Fig. 120. 
 
 Terebratu 1 a concentr 
 
 Fig. 121. 
 
 Spirifer mucronatus Spirifer heteroditus. 
 
 Devonian Acephals. 
 
 Fig. 122. 
 
 Lexonima ne.cilis. 
 
 Devonian Gasteropoda. 
 
 ARTICULATES are represented by WOKMS and 
 
OLD BED SANDSTONE SYSTEM. 153 
 
 CRUSTACEANS. Trilobites, as in the last system, are 
 the only representatives of the latter, and they are 
 less abundant than in the previous period. Fig. 123 
 shows a species of Trilobite found in all places where 
 the Devonian occurs. 
 
 Fig. 123. Fig. 124. 
 
 Calymene bu/o. Phacops calliteles. 
 
 Devonian Trilobites. 
 
 VERTEBRATES are represented by Fishes and 
 by Batrachians ; though but few species of the latter 
 have been found. FISHES abound in this system. 
 Introduced by the single order of Placoids, during 
 the Silurian, they appear in this period in the addi- 
 tional order of Ganoids ; and the two expand so that, 
 notwithstanding the numerous corals, bivalves, and 
 trilobites, Fishes constitute the leading feature in the 
 Devonian fauna. 
 
 These two orders the Placoids and the Ganoids 
 
154 
 
 OLD KED SANDSTONE SYSTEM. 
 
 not only comprise all the Fishes of this and the pre- 
 ceding period, but also those of the Carboniferous, the 
 
 Fig. 125. 
 
 Cephalaspis. 
 
 Fig. 126. 
 
 Osteolopis. 
 Devonian Fishes. 
 
 New Eed Sandstone, and the Oolitic. Not till the 
 Cretaceous do the two highest orders of this Class 
 make their appearance upon earth. 
 
CAKBONIFEKOUS SYSTEM. 155 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 CAKBOXIFEKOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 This system is next in the ascending order above 
 the Old Eed Sandstone. Its geographical area is 
 very wide, being found in almost every country on 
 the globe. It is very extensively represented in the 
 United States, and in the British Provinces of North 
 America. In Europe it is largely developed in Great 
 Britain and on the Continent. 
 
 The rocks of this system are limestones, sand- 
 stones, conglomerates, and shales, among which, in 
 many regions, are seams or beds of mineral coal, 
 from a fraction of an inch to 40 or 50 feet in thick- 
 ness. The lower part of this system is occupied by 
 an extensive formation, called the Carboniferous or 
 Mountain Limestone. Above the Mountain Lime- 
 stone, we find the true Coal Formation, in most places 
 resting on Conglomerate. The Mammoth Cave, and 
 many other great caves of the Western States, occur 
 in Mountain Limestone. This rock also forms the 
 high bluffs along many of our Western rivers. 
 
 Both fossil plants and animals are abundant in the 
 Carboniferous. The plants, however, are mostly con- 
 fined to the Coal Formation, while the animal re- 
 mains are most abundant in the Mountain Limestone. 
 
156 
 
 CAKBONIFEKOUS SYSTEM. 
 Fig. 127. 
 
 Neuropteria hirsuta. 
 A Fern of the Coal Period. 
 
 Fig. 128. 
 
 Neuropteris Loshii. 
 A Fern of the Coal Period. 
 
 The Carboniferous was the great plant period of 
 ancient times. The flora of this era was composed 
 
CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM. 
 
 157 
 
 mainly of Cryptogamous plants; although Conifers, 
 or those allied to the Coniferae, were also abundant. 
 From 250 to 300 species of Ferns have been obtained 
 from the Coal Formation. There are only 50 living 
 species of Ferns indigenous to the Northern United 
 States, and only 60 species in all Europe. Yet the 
 great number specified above, has already been dis- 
 covered in the rocks of the same countries. 
 
 Fig. 129. 
 
 Pecopteris distans. 
 A Fern of the Coal Period. 
 
 Aster ophyllites, a family of plants of doubtful affin- 
 ity, are common in the coal formation. Figs. 130 
 
 14 
 
158 
 
 CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM. 
 
 and 131 show two of the common species of this 
 family. 
 
 Fig. 130. Fijr. 131. 
 
 Sphenophyllum Schlotheimii. 
 
 Asterophyllites Equisetiformis. 
 
 Calamites resembling gigantic Equisetaceae, but also 
 of doubtful affinity, are abundant. 
 
 Fig. 132. 
 
 Stem of Calamites imbedded in shale. 
 
 Lepidodendra, gigantic Club-Mosses, or closely allied 
 to them, are common in the rocks of the coal period. 
 The bark of two species is represented by Figs. 133 
 
CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM. 
 Fig. 133. 
 
 159 
 
 Lepidodendron obovatum. 
 
 Lepidodendron obtusum. 
 
160 
 
 CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM. 
 
 and 134. It is common to find Lepidodendra 20 or 
 30 feet high, and the remains of one in the rocks 
 at Carbondale, Pa., show that it was at least 75 feet 
 high, and two feet in diameter. 
 
 The living Club Mosses, in the temperate zones, 
 are trailing plants, or rise to the height of only a few 
 inches ; and even in the torrid zone, the largest are 
 not above three feet high. 
 
 Trees, called Sigillaria from their peculiarly marked 
 stems, are very abundant in the rocks of this era. 
 A portion of the stem of one of the most common 
 species is represented by the following cut. 
 
 Fig. 135. 
 
 Sigillaria reniformis. 
 
 They grew from 30 to 70 feet high. The woody 
 portion, in many cases, has decayed, leaving the bark, 
 which is often found pressed together, forming two 
 
CAKBONIFEEOUS SYSTEM. 161 
 
 thin layers of pure coal. Wherever the trees remain 
 upright, that is, at right angles to the planes of strati- 
 fication, as they do in great numbers in the coal fields 
 of Nova Scotia, the trunk preserves the cylindrical 
 form. 
 
 Between thirty and forty species of Sigillaria have 
 already been discovered, and they seem to be the most 
 numerous of all the trees of the coal period. It is 
 difficult to refer them to their true place in the 
 botanical scale. Though having some characters 
 which connect them with ferns, they are probably as 
 nearly related to Cycads as to any living family. 
 
 The root of these trees was for a long time described 
 under the name of Stigmaria, from the impression 
 that it was a distinct plant. But in many instances, 
 within a few years, the root and stem have been found 
 in contact, thus proving Sigillaria and Stigmaria parts 
 of one plant. 
 
 Fifteen hundred or more species of animals have 
 been found in the Carboniferous system. The Moun- 
 tain Limestone is especially rich in fossils, represent- 
 ing the Animal Kingdom in all its branches. Many 
 species unknown in the previous systems are abun- 
 dant in this. 
 
 EADIATES appear in numerous species of Corals 
 and Grinoids. 
 
 Both are very abundant in the Mountain Limestone 
 of the Western States. Some of the beautiful speci- 
 mens of crinoids are represented by Figs. 136, 137, 138. 
 14* L 
 
162 
 
 CAKBONIFEKOUS SYSTEM. 
 Fig. 136. 
 
 Plvttycrinus. 
 
 Fig. 137. 
 
 Fig. 138. 
 
 Fentremites ccrvinus. Pentremites pyrtformis. 
 
 Carboniferous Crinoids. 
 
CAKBONIFEKOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 163 
 
 Corals occur in great perfection. A characteristic 
 species is represented by Fig. 139. 
 
 Fig. 139. 
 
 A Carboniferous Coral. Lithoslrotion basalt if or me. 
 
 MOLLUSCS are represented in all their Classes. 
 The family called Productidse reaches its highest ex- 
 pression in this era. 
 
 Fig. 140. 
 
 A Carboniferous Mollusc. Product semireticulatus. 
 
164 CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM. 
 
 CEPHALOPODS, represented by both straight and 
 coiled chambered shells, are abundant in the Moun- 
 tain Limestone. 
 
 AKTTCULATES are represented by Trilobites and 
 INSECTS ; the latter being, so far as we know, the first 
 land inhabitants of our earth. Trilobites, so abundant 
 in the Silurian and Devonian, appear here in only a 
 few species ; and above this system not one is found. 
 The race of Trilobites ended with the Carboniferous 
 period. 
 
 YEKTEBEATES appear in the form of Fishes 
 and Batrachians. 
 
 FISHES, as in the rocks of the previous period, are 
 exceedingly abundant. 
 
 Fig. 141. 
 
 Amblypterus. 
 Carboniferous Fish. 
 
 BATRACHIANS have left their foot-prints on the 
 carboniferous rocks in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, 
 and Pennsylvania. 
 
CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM. 
 
 165 
 
 MORE SPECIFIC REMARKS ON THE COAL FORMATION. 
 
 In most regions where the coal formation occurs, 
 there are several beds or seams of coal with layers 
 of shales, sandstones, conglomerates, and sometimes 
 limestone, intervening. In some cases, the coal-beds 
 are separated by only a few feet ; in others, several 
 hundred feet of rocks intervene. In the district 
 called the Joggins, in Nova Scotia, the coal forma- 
 tion is 14,000 feet thick, and contains seventy-six 
 beds or seams of coal ; only part of these, however, 
 are of workable thickness. In the basin of the 
 Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, there are about fifty seams, 
 twenty-five of which exceed three feet each in thick- 
 ness. One bed, at Mauch Chunk, is from forty to 
 fifty feet thick. 
 
 The way in which coal occurs interstratified with 
 conglomerates, sandstones, and shales, may be readily 
 
 Fig. 142. 
 
 Showing the position of Coal-beds near Tamaqua, Pa. 
 
 understood from the accompanying cut, where the 
 black layers represent the coal-beds. 
 
 There are two principal kinds of mineral coal 
 Anthracite and Bituminous. 
 
1G6 CAKBONIFEKOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 Anthracite is mostly without bitumen, very hard, 
 with, a high lustre, often iridescent, and burns with a 
 pale blue flame. 
 
 Bituminous coal abounds with bitumen, is softer 
 than anthracite, with little lustre, and burns with a 
 bright flame. It appears in many varieties, one of 
 which is the well-known cannel coal. 
 
 There is every possible grade between the true 
 anthracite and that which may be properly called 
 bituminous coal. 
 
 Mineral coal has been found in nearly all parts 
 of the world, but more has been discovered in North 
 America than in all other countries. 
 
 Great Britain has 12,000 square miles of coal-field, 
 and the continent of Europe about 10,000 square 
 miles; while the area of coal-fields in Nova Scotia, 
 New Brunswick, and vicinity, is 8000 square miles, 
 and the area of those in the United States more than 
 200,000. 
 
 The eastern half of North America contains five 
 great coal-fields ; that of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, 
 &c., embracing, as stated above, 8000 square miles; 
 the Great Appalachian coal field, extending from 
 Ohio and northern Pennsylvania to Alabama, em- 
 bracing 80,000 square miles ; the Michigan coal-field, 
 15,000 square miles ; the Indiana, Illinois, and Ken- 
 tucky coal-field, 50,000 square miles ; and the Iowa 
 and Missouri coal-field about 60,000 square miles. 
 
CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM. 1G7 
 
 Professor H. D. Kogers, in his recent able Keport 
 on the Geology of Pennsylvania, states the approxi- 
 mate amount of coal in each of the great coal-fields 
 of the world. I give his figures below. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Belgium, . . . 36,000,000,000 
 
 France, .... 59,000,000,000 
 
 British Isles, . . . 190,000,000,000 
 
 Pennsylvania, . . 316,400,000,000 
 
 Great Appalachian Coal-Field, 1,387,500,000,000 
 
 Ind., 111., and Ky., " " 1,277,500,000,000 
 
 la., Mo., and Ark., " " 739,000,000,000 
 All the coal-fields of North 
 
 America, . . . 4,000,000,000,000 
 
 It will be observed that the amount of coal in 
 North America is twenty-one times as much as that 
 of Great Britain. 
 
 It is well established that the coal-beds are of vege- 
 table origin. This might be inferred from the fact that 
 coal is mainly Carbon, which substance forms from 
 one-fourth to one-half of all the vegetation on the 
 globe. But, prepared in very thin slices, coal shows 
 its vegetable structure under the microscope, and 
 often even to the naked eye. 
 
 The vegetation which formed the coal-beds, accu- 
 mulated, by the slow growth of plants, just as peat 
 
168 CAEBONIFEKOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 is now forming in peat-bogs. Our peat-bogs are 
 only incipient coal-beds ; and need only to be sub- 
 merged, and covered with great depths of strata, in 
 order to become genuine coal. The varieties of coal 
 offer no objection to this statement ; all being alike 
 in their essential element, carbon, and differing only 
 as they have been subject to different influences. 
 Anthracite is only bituminous coal, which, by heat 
 and pressure, has been deprived of its' volatile mat- 
 ter; and the varieties between the true bituminous 
 coal and the true anthracite, have resulted from dif- 
 ferent degrees of heat and pressure to which the 
 vegetation that formed them has been subjected. An- 
 thracite is found only in situations where the strata 
 have been heated and disturbed since the coal was 
 formed, and the coal becomes more and more bitu- 
 minous as we recede from such regions. The coal in 
 Massachusetts and Ehode Island, and in the eastern 
 part of Pennsylvania, is anthracite ; but in the Great 
 Mississippi Basin, where the strata are little disturbed, 
 only bituminous varieties are found. 
 
 The succession of coal-beds, with beds of rock 
 intervening, which is found in most coal-fields, im- 
 plies that the lands have undergone successive eleva- 
 tions and depressions, during vast periods of time. 
 Such vertical movements, we shall learn in a subse- 
 quent chapter, are still going on in various parts of 
 the world. 
 
NEW BED SANDSTONE SYSTEM. 169 
 
 Iron, though common in other rocks, abounds in 
 the Carboniferous System, and frequently occurs in 
 close proximity to the coal. This is the case in 
 England. In the United States there is iron enough 
 to supply the world. Coal, iron, and limestone are all 
 abundant in the same geological system ; and in 
 smelting iron both the others are required. Such 
 sources of national prosperity cannot be the result 
 of accident. Are they not proofs of Design and 
 Divine Benevolence? 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 NEW RED SANDSTONE SYSTEM. 
 
 This system is next, in the ascending order, above 
 the Carboniferous. It consists of two formations or 
 stages, the Upper, and the Lower New Eed. The 
 former is often called the Trias, from the three divi- 
 sions which it exhibits in Germany, where it was first 
 studied; and the latter, the Permian, from the pro- 
 vince of Perm, where this stage is largely developed. 
 
 This system is composed of red sandstones and 
 shales in the upper part, and magnesian limestones in 
 the lower part. 
 
 The sandstones and shales of Connecticut River 
 15 
 
170 NEW BED SANDSTONE SYSTEM. 
 
 valley, New Jersey, Virginia, and North Carolina, 
 and the Permian limestones and shales of Kansas, 
 represent the New Eed in this country. 
 
 This system is well represented in Europe; and 
 both in Great Britain and on the Continent, its upper 
 portions contain extensive deposits of gypsum and 
 rock-salt. 
 
 The New Bed Sandstone is almost everywhere 
 penetrated by, and interstratified with igneous rocks ; 
 and in many cases they overlie the strata in immense 
 masses of greenstone and basalt. 
 
 In many places in the Connecticut Kiver valley, 
 the layers of rocks of this period are covered with 
 ripple-marks, as distinct as those upon the shores and 
 shallow estuaries of to-day. 
 
 Though plants and all the Branches of the animal 
 kingdom are represented in the New Eed Sandstone, 
 the fossils which represent the YEKTEBKATES of 
 this period are of special interest. 
 
 Besides FISHES, which are abundant, evidences of 
 other Vertebrates are found in the foot-prints which 
 occur in the rocks of this era, both in this country 
 and in Europe. But no other place on the globe is 
 so much noted for fossil foot-prints as the valley of 
 the Connecticut. Thanks to Professor Hitchcock, 
 Dr. Deane, and others, we are pretty well acquainted 
 with the paleontology of this beautiful valley. 
 
 From the northern part of Massachusetts to New 
 
NEW KED SANDSTONE SYSTEM. 
 
 171 
 
 Haven, Ct., a distance 
 of 90 miles, the sand- 
 stone of this valley 
 reveals foot-prints in 
 the greatest abundance. 
 They occur in great 
 numbers, on successive 
 layers, to the depth of 
 many feet. Professor 
 Hitchcock, who, for 
 nearly a quarter of a 
 century, has studied, 
 with untiring zeal, the 
 Connecticut river sand- 
 stone, finds that it con- 
 tains the tracks of more 
 than 100 species of ani- 
 mals, of which number 
 Batrachians, Eeptiles, 
 Birds, and Marsupial- 
 oids constitute the prin- 
 cipal part. 
 
 Some of the tracks 
 are very small, while 
 others are of enormous 
 dimensions. Slabs of 
 sandstone, containing 
 nearly all the species of 
 
 Fig. 143. 
 
 Tracks of Brontozoum giganteum. 
 
172 NEW BED SANDSTONE SYSTEM. 
 
 Fig. 144. 
 
 Tracks of Otozoum Moodii. 
 
NEW BED SANDSTONE SYSTEM. 173 
 
 tracks, are deposited in the Ichnological Cabinet of 
 Amherst College. Slabs from Northampton show 
 foot-prints 18 inches long, and the stride from 3 to 
 5 feet ! These, it is supposed, were made by a 
 gigantic bird, which Professor Hitchcock has named 
 Brontozoum giganteum. 
 
 Fig. 144 represents tracks found at South Hadley, 
 and several other places in the valley of the Con- 
 necticut. These tracks are 20 inches long, and 15 
 inches wide ! According to the distinguished geolo- 
 gist mentioned above, they were made by a huge 
 Batrachian, which he has named Otozoum Moodii. 
 
 What a strange contrast between the present fauna 
 of this valley, and that which held sway during the 
 Ked Sandstone period ! 
 
 In many cases, the same foot-print extends through 
 several layers; and thus a given specimen may be 
 multiplied by splitting the layers apart. The upper 
 surface shows the imprint, and the under surface the 
 same track in relief. Professor Hitchcock has found 
 many such specimens, and secured the layers by 
 hinges so as to form a real "Stone Book," Nature's 
 own Record of Sandstone days. 
 
 One of these specimens is represented by Fig. 145. 
 
 In numerous instances, impressions of rain-drops 
 are found on the Connecticut river sandstone, and not 
 unfrequently on the same slabs with the foot-marks. 
 The meteorological phenomena of that distant age 
 
 are thus registered with unerring certainty. 
 15* 
 
174 
 
 NEW KED SANDSTONE SYSTEM 
 
 Fig. 145. 
 
 1 
 
 The same Tracks impressed, and in relief. 
 
 "We learn from these tracks of the Connecticut 
 valley, that the rocks upon which they occur ; were 
 formed in an estuary along the shores and in the 
 shallows of which the inhabitants of ancient times 
 congregated. 
 
 In closing this section, I ought to say, that eminent 
 geologists believe that the rocks of this country 
 which are here described under the head of New Eed 
 Sandstone, belong to the Oolitic, or at least to the 
 Lias, the lowest formation of the Oolitic System. 
 But perhaps this point is not yet fully established. 
 
OOLITIC SYSTEM. 175 
 
 SECTION V. 
 OOLITIC SYSTEM. 
 
 This system, embracing the Lias, succeeds, in the 
 ascending order, the New Red Sandstone. In this 
 country it has been carefully studied only in Virginia, 
 but it occurs also in the region of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains. In England, it extends in a belt thirty miles 
 broad, from Yorkshire to Dorsetshire. It is also 
 extensively developed in the Jura Mountains, and 
 hence is often called the Jurassic System. 
 
 The rocks of this period are limestones, clays, 
 shales, and sandstones ; and occasionally beds of coal. 
 The well known lithographic stone of Solenhofen, 
 Bavaria, belongs to the Oolitic. 
 
 The name Oolitic was given to the system from the 
 egg-shaped nodules which abound in some of its 
 limestones. 
 
 Plants were abundant in this era. They were 
 mainly Ferns, Cycads, and true Conifers. 
 
 RADIATES are represented in all their Classes. 
 Whole reefs of coral are found in the position where 
 they grew. The formation in England called the 
 Coral Rag, is mostly composed of coral, and hence its 
 name. 
 
 ACALEPHS, or Jelly-fishes, are found for the first 
 
176 OOLITIC SYSTEM. 
 
 time, in the rocks of this period. They occur at 
 Solenhofen, Bavaria. This may or may not have 
 been the time in geologic history, when they were 
 introduced upon earth ; for their perishable nature 
 would render their preservation quite uncertain. 
 
 ECHINO DEEMS are abundant 
 in the rocks of this era, and 
 are represented by beautiful 
 Crinoids, Star-fishes, and a 
 great variety of Echinoids. 
 
 MOLLUSCS appear in all 
 their Classes. The forms of 
 
 ^BSS* 
 
 the previous ages, however, 
 
 i i Echinus of the Oolitic, with spines 
 
 have given place to a great removed.' 
 
 number of new ones. Brachiopods, which have been 
 very numerous in the preceding periods, are abun- 
 dant here in only one family, the Terebratula3. 
 
 CEPHALOPODS. It is in this period and the next, that 
 this interesting class reaches its highest expression. 
 The Orthoceras, so abundant in the earliest systems, 
 have wholly died out ; but Ammonites and Nautili, 
 which occupied a comparatively subordinate place in 
 the paleozoic fauna, appear here and in the next sys- 
 tem, in the greatest abundance; and their highly 
 varied and ornamented shells are not without great 
 interest even to the casual observer. 
 
 The Ammonite differs from the Nautilus in having 
 folded partitions, while those of the latter are simply 
 curved, as seen in Fig. 81 on the 116th page. 
 
OOLITIC SYSTEM. 177 
 
 Dibranchiates first make their appearance in this 
 period. They are represented by a family called 
 Belemnites, animals much resembling modern Cuttle- 
 fishes. 
 
 Fig. 147. Fig. 148. 
 
 Ammonites Jason. Ammonites llumphresianus. 
 
 Oolitic Cephalopoda. 
 
 AETICULATES are represented by several fami- 
 lies of INSECTS. 
 
 YEETEBEATES appear in the form of Fishes, 
 and Eeptiles ; and traces of the lowest order of 
 Mammals occur in some of the upper stages of the 
 system. But the true Mammals do not make their 
 appearance till the Tertiary. 
 
 FISHES. Agassiz has described sixty species from 
 the Lias of Lyme Eegis, in England, not one species 
 of which exists in our present waters. 
 
 EEPTILES of this period, and the next, appear in 
 M 
 
178 
 
 OOLITIC SYSTEM. 
 
OOLITIC SYSTEM. 179 
 
 forms more strange and monstrous than those of any 
 other age of the world. Some of the most extraordi- 
 nary are known among naturalists, under the generic 
 names of Icthyosaurus, Plesiosaurus, Megalosaurus, 
 and Pterodactyl. 
 
 The Icthyosaurus was, in some instances, nearly 
 30 feet long. The skeleton of one in the British 
 Museum, shows that the animal must have been 25 
 feet in length. In some specimens, the jaws are 6 feet 
 long; the cavity for the eye 14 inches; the teeth 180 
 in number; and the vertebrae more than 100. The 
 locomotive organs of this animal were paddles each 
 composed of more than 100 bones. Its skin was 
 naked, as shown by a portion found fossil. Its food 
 consisted of fishes and reptiles, as shown by their half- 
 digested remains found with the skeleton. 
 
 This animal is found both in England and on the 
 Continent. 
 
 The Plesiosaurus was 11 feet long, as shown by a 
 specimen in the British Museum. Its most remark- 
 able peculiarity is its long neck, which contains 30 
 vertebrae. Twenty species have been found. 
 
 The Pterodactyl is the most wonderful reptile of 
 this period, or any other. Its body was like that of 
 a mammal, its wings like those of a bat, and its jaws 
 and teeth like those of a crocodile. Probably this 
 animal could walk, fly, or swim, as necessity re- 
 
180 OOLITIC SYSTEM. 
 
 quired. Seven species "have been found at Solen- 
 hofen, Bavaria. 
 
 Fig. 161. 
 
 Pterodactyl. 
 
 It is in this period and the next that we find the 
 first remains of genuine Chelonians. 
 
CRETACEOUS SYSTEM. 181 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 CRETACEOUS, OR CHALK SYSTEM. 
 
 Tliis system is extensively developed both in 
 Europe and in North America, though in the latter 
 the pure chalk beds are wanting. 
 
 It occupies a considerable portion of New Jersey, 
 and thence appears at intervals as far south as Ala- 
 bama ; from the latter state it extends, in a widening 
 belt, to the Rocky Mountains. In Europe, it extends 
 from Great Britain, with some interruptions, across 
 the continent to the southern part of Russia, and 
 from Sweden to Bordeaux in France. 
 
 The rocks of this system are chalk and other cal 
 careous deposits, sands, sandstones, and marls. The 
 pure chalk strata are confined to the upper part of the 
 system. Many of the beds of argillaceous and silicious 
 limestones, also sands and sandstones, are of a green 
 color ; hence the term Greensand is often applied to a 
 portion of the Cretaceous. Below the Greensand in 
 the south-eastern part of England, there is a fresh- 
 water deposit, called the Wealden, which we may 
 class with the rocks of this period, though generally 
 described as a distinct formation. 
 
 Fossil plants of the Cretaceous period are not very 
 16 
 
182 
 
 CEETACEOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 abundant. Sponges and other low forms of vegeta- 
 tion are however often found in the flint nodules. 
 But the rocks of this group abound with animal 
 remains. In fact, the chalk-beds are almost wholly 
 of animal origin. 
 
 E ADI ATE S are numerous in the form of Corals 
 and Echinoderms. 
 
 Fig. 152. 
 
 Fig. 153. 
 
 Spatangus parastatus. Cidarites armiffer. 
 
 Cretaceous Echinoderms. 
 
 MOLLUSCS are abundant, and appear in many 
 new species. 
 
 The CEPHALOPODS are especially rich in variety of 
 form. Fig. 154 represents a species of Belemnite 
 common to the Cretaceous strata of the United States, 
 Europe, and Asia. Fig. 156 reminds us of the Ortho- 
 ceratites of the previous periods, but differs essen- 
 tially from them in having dentated partitions, as 
 
CRETACEOUS SYSTEM. 183 
 
 seen in the figure before us. This species is common 
 in New Jersey, Alabama, and Texas. 
 
 Fig. 154. 
 
 Belemititella. mucronata. 
 
 Fig. 155. Fig. 156. 
 
 Ammonites Nebrascensis. Bzculttuu ovatus, 
 
 Cretaceous Cephalopoda. 
 
 AETICULATES are not numerous ; but CRUSTA- 
 CEANS are found in the chalk of Europe. 
 
 VERTEBRATES are represented by numerous 
 Fishes and Reptiles . Birds have also been found in 
 the Wealden. 
 
 FISHES are abundantly represented by teeth, jaws, 
 and vertebrae; whole specimens being more rarely 
 found than in rocks of a more compact nature. In 
 
184 CKETACEOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 this period Ctenoids and Cycloids first make their 
 appearance upon the earth. Up to this era all the 
 fishes, though exceedingly numerous, belong to the 
 Placoids and Ganoids. 
 
 The EEPTILES of this era, although of gigantic 
 dimensions, seem more nearly related to those of the 
 present day than any of those belonging to the pre- 
 ceding periods. 
 
 The Mososaurus, found at Masstricht, and now in 
 the Museum at Paris, was a reptile 25 feet long. 
 
 The Iguanodon, whose remains have been found in 
 the "Wealden, was a reptile 30 feet long, 14 feet in 
 girth, and with a foot 6 feet in length. In the form 
 of its teeth, this reptile resembled the modern Iguana 
 of the tropical regions of America. Dr. Mantell, 
 who has examined the bones of more than seventy 
 individuals, estimates the length of a full-grown 
 Iguanodon at 50 or 60 feet. 
 
 Such were the Eeptiles that have left their skeletons 
 to give us some idea of reptilian life during this and 
 the preceding era. 
 
 The reign of gigantic reptiles terminated with the 
 Cretaceous period. 
 
TEETIAKY SYSTEM. 185 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 TERTIARY SYSTEM. 
 
 This system consists of three distinct stages the 
 Lower, Middle, and Upper, or the Eocene, Miocene, 
 and Pliocene. 
 
 The Tertiary system covers a large portion of the 
 sea-board States, from New Jersey to Texas inclusive. 
 It also occupies wide areas west of the Kocky Moun- 
 tains. Tertiary deposits cover a large portion of 
 Western, Central, and Southern Europe. London, 
 Paris, and Yienna stand upon the Tertiary. It is 
 also largely represented in South America and in 
 Asia. 
 
 The rocks of this period are limestones, sandstones, 
 gypsum, marls, and clays. Yolcanic rocks also pene- 
 trate, and are interstratified with the rocks of this era. 
 This is especially the case in Auvergne, France, where 
 there are numerous craters of extinct volcanoes of 
 Tertiary age. The inter stratification of volcanic pro- 
 ducts with the sedimentary deposits, shows us that, 
 in the districts above mentioned, volcanoes were very 
 active during this period. * 
 
 Beds of brown coal, of Tertiary age, are numerous 
 both in this country and in Europe. 
 
186 
 
 TERTIARY SYSTEM. 
 
 The Tertiary marks a new and important era in the 
 earth's history. The existence of the present races 
 of plants and animals is strikingly foreshadowed in 
 its fossil organisms. 
 
 Plants are very abundant, especially in connection 
 with the beds of brown coal and lignite. 
 
 Fig. 157. 
 
 Fig. 158. 
 
 Fig. 159. 
 
 Fossil Fruit, Brandon, Vt. HITCHCOCK. 
 
 Animals of this period are land, fresh-water, and 
 marine, and are closely allied to those of the present 
 day ; belonging in most cases to the same families, and 
 often to the same genera, and in some instances, in 
 the case of shells, to the same species. 
 
 Species are also more limited in their geographical 
 range than at any previous period, which further 
 indicates an approach to the existing state of things 
 on our globe'. 
 
 KADIATES are abundant, but many of the forms 
 common in the past ages are unknown in this. Corals 
 
TERTIARY SYSTEM. 
 
 187 
 
 are numerous, and are closely allied to those of the 
 present day. Figs. 160 and 161 represent two species 
 from the Tertiary of the Middle and Southern States. 
 
 Fig. 160. 
 
 Fig. 161. 
 
 Madrepora palmata. 
 
 Tertiary Corals. 
 
 Oculina. 
 
 Crinoids, which were exceedingly numerous in the 
 paleozoic period, and even in the secondary, are here 
 represented by only a few species. But Asteroids and 
 Echinoids appear in great numbers, and in new forms. 
 
 MOLLUSCS. The absence of certain representa- 
 tives of this branch is a striking evidence of a new 
 geological era. The Ammonites and the Belemnites, 
 which were so abundant in the last two systems, are 
 not found in this. They ceased to exist at the close 
 of the Cretaceous. Molluscs, however, are very 
 abundantly represented, and by new species. 
 
188 TERTIARY SYSTEM. 
 
 Fig. 162. Fig. 163. 
 
 Cardita planicostata. Pecten eboreus. 
 
 Tertiary Acephala. 
 
 Fig. 164. Fig. 165. 
 
 Turritella Mortoni. Fusus quadricostatus. 
 
 Tertiary Gasteropods. 
 
TEKTIAKY SYSTEM. 189 
 
 Extensive beds of this era are mainly composed of 
 small shells, many of which are microscopic. They 
 are known under the name of Foraminifera. One 
 
 Fig. 166. 
 
 Nummulitic Limestone. 
 
 group of these animals has been called Nummulites, 
 from their resemblance to a coin. Nummulitic rocks 
 occur in Alabama, and they abound in the Alps and 
 Pyrenees, also in Egypt, and in the Himalaya Moun- 
 tains. Some of the pyramids of Egypt are built of 
 Nummulitic limestone. 
 
 ARTICULATES are not abundantly preserved, 
 but INSECTS and CRUSTACEANS are found to some 
 extent. 
 
 VERTEBRATES. It is in this branch that the 
 fauna of the Tertiary receives its most marked charac- 
 teristics. In this system we find animals higher in 
 rank than are found in any of the previous ones. 
 
 FISHES are numerous in the Tertiary. In the 
 earlier periods, they were covered with a sort of 
 enamel, but in this we find them covered with horny 
 
190 TEKTIAKY SYSTEM. 
 
 scales like the fishes of the present day. In the 
 United States the teeth of sharks are abundant in the 
 beds of this era. 
 
 Fig. 167. 
 
 Platax altissimux. 
 Tertiary Fish. 
 
 REPTILES, which especially characterize the Oolitic 
 and Cretaceous systems, no longer stand in the first 
 
TERTIARY SYSTEM. 191 
 
 rank. Although, numerous, they are not on that 
 gigantic scale exhibited in the preceding periods, 
 
 BIRDS are found in the Tertiary beds around the 
 city of Paris. 
 
 MAMMALS. In the Eocene of Clarke county, Ala., 
 the remains of a gigantic Cetacean have been dis- 
 covered. The bones occur in great numbers. 
 
 But the important fact to be here observed is this 
 the Tertiary marks the introduction of the true 
 placental mammals. The sea and the estuaries, though 
 rich in animal life, no longer furnish the highest 
 representatives of the Animal Kingdom ; but, in this 
 period, land animals assume the first rank, which 
 they ever afterwards maintain. 
 
 Fossil mammals are numerous in the Tertiary 
 deposits of Nebraska. Twenty species of mammals 
 have been found in the Eocene rocks of the Paris basin. 
 These, as well as those of Nebraska, belong mostly 
 to the order of Pachyderms. The careful researches 
 of Cuvier enabled him to restore, to a great extent, 
 the fauna of the earliest days of the Tertiary, as it 
 existed in the vicinity of the present city of Paris ; 
 and he showed that it was composed of animals not 
 only specifically but generically distinct from any of 
 those now living. 
 
 One gigantic mammal of the Tertiary, Middle por- 
 tion, has been named Dinotherium Its remains occur 
 in Bavaria, Austria, and France. This animal was 
 
192 DRIFT, OK BOULDER PERIOD. 
 
 about 18 feet in length, and particularly remarkable 
 on account of two tusks which turned downwards, 
 and which were undoubtedly used in tearing up the 
 roots of aquatic plants. It probably lived about the 
 water, like the hippopotamus of the present time. 
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 DRIFT, OR BOULDER PERIOD. 
 
 The records of this era are spread out before us, 
 over North America, north of parallel 40, and over 
 all the northern countries of Europe. 
 
 The Drift consists of materials derived from all 
 the previous formations. These materials are in all 
 stages, from the finest sand to boulders and fragments 
 of rock of enormous dimensions, and, in many cases, 
 all mixed together in confusion. 
 
 In some places the Drift material forms only a slight 
 covering over the solid rocks ; in some others it is 
 piled up in ridges, and hills of great height, which 
 may be found in all the northern parts of our country. 
 
 The boulders which fill and cover the soil, and 
 those scattered upon the hills and mountains, belong 
 to this formation, and, with the grooved and polished 
 
DRIFT, OR BOULDER PERIOD. 193 
 
 rocks, to be noticed hereafter, form its chief charac- 
 teristics. 
 
 By examination, these boulders are found to be 
 entirely different in structure and mineral composi- 
 tion from the rocks upon which they rest, and there- 
 fore are not in the places where they were formed, but 
 have been transported to their present position by 
 some powerful agency. 
 
 Everywhere in North America, within the limits 
 above pointed out, the loose rocks have been moved 
 from the north towards the south; and the ledge 
 whence a boulder was derived, can, in most cases, be 
 found to the north of the present position of the 
 boulder, but never south of it. In some cases they 
 have been carried only a few rods from the parent 
 ledge, in others, many miles. 
 
 Long Island, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and 
 other islands on our coast, are covered with boulders 
 derived from the ledges of the continent. Many 
 parts of Cape Cod, where there are no ledges, are 
 covered with boulders of all sizes, and those widely 
 different from one another in mineral composition. 
 
 Boulders of porphyritic iron ore, from Iron Hill, 
 Cumberland, R. L, are scattered over all the regions of 
 the state south of that locality. This is a very marked 
 case; as the iron ore is so well characterized, that 
 there is no difficulty in identifying the boulders with 
 
 the ore in place at Iron Hill. Boulders derived from 
 17 N 
 
194 DKIFT, OK BOULDER PEKIOD. 
 
 the country north of the Great Lakes are scattered 
 over the Western States. 
 
 In numerous instances the rocks from one range 
 of hills or mountains, have been carried across deep 
 valleys, and scattered upon opposite mountains, and 
 the country beyond. On Hoosac Mountain, Mass., 
 there is a boulder one thousand feet above the valley 
 across which it has been transported. 
 
 It is common to find boulders having the outside 
 covered with grooves, parallel to one another. The 
 writer has noticed many perfect examples of this kind 
 in Lancaster, Mass. These grooves have undoubtedly 
 resulted from the grating of the boulders over ledges, 
 while the former were fixed in the ice, which, as will 
 be shown hereafter, was concerned in their transport. 
 Boulders are often found so nicely poised on other 
 
 Fig. 168. 
 
 Rocking Stone, South Acworth, N. II. 
 
 rocks, and on the mountain sides, or summits, that they 
 may be moved with the hand, though it would require 
 
DKIFT, OR BOULDER PERIOD. 195 
 
 immense power to dislodge them. These are called 
 Rocking Stones. 
 
 Throughout the regions already pointed out as 
 occupied by the Drift materials, the rocks in place are 
 more or less polished, striated, or grooved. These 
 marks are found on all the consolidated formations 
 that appear at the surface, and they constitute an 
 essential part of the records of the Drift period. 
 
 Wherever the rocks have not suffered decomposi- 
 tion or disintegration, these markings are conspicuous 
 in the valleys, on the hills, and on the mountains. 
 The grooves are generally a fraction of an inch in 
 depth, and from a quarter of an inch to three or four 
 inches in width. Rarely, the grooves or furrows 
 occur a foot or more wide, and several inches deep. 
 Again, the markings are so finely cut as to be scarcely 
 visible ; and sometimes, as on quartz and other hard 
 rocks, a lens reveals the most definitely-cut striae 
 where none were to be seen with the naked eye. 
 Sometimes the rocks are completely polished. There 
 is every grade of these phenomena to be seen in the 
 Drift regions, and not unfrequently all the varieties 
 mentioned above are found at one locality. 
 
 The general direction of the striae, or grooves, is 
 the same as that in which the boulders have been 
 transported ; that is, from north to south, varying 
 from a few degrees west of north, and east of south, to 
 a few degrees east of north, and west of south. 
 
196 DRIFT, OR BOULDER PERIOD. 
 
 The markings are more numerous on the northern 
 flanks of the mountains than on the southern ; and 
 the northern portions of mountains everywhere in the 
 Drift regions of North America, are rounded, while 
 the southern portions are more angular. 
 
 These facts, as well as those before noticed, show 
 that the agency which transported the boulders and 
 other drift material, and which furrowed, rounded, 
 and polished the rocks, operated from the north 
 towards the south. 
 
 As these phenomena of the grooved and polished 
 rocks may be seen everywhere within the regions 
 named above, we need point out only a few cases. 
 
 There are good examples near the city of Portland, 
 Me., especially on the rocks near the sea-side, where 
 the striaB are distinctly cut, running parallel and for 
 great distances, and disappearing beneath the sea. 
 The writer has also noticed fine examples throughout 
 almost the entire width of the same state. 
 
 The mica slate, gneissoid, and other hard rocks, 
 everywhere furnish good examples. Fig. 169 repre- 
 sents a fragment of striated and polished quartz 
 from Williams Hill, the celebrated beryl locality in 
 Acworth, N. H. The whole top of the hill is rounded 
 and smoothed a result of the Drift action. The 
 White Mountain range, in all favorable places, 
 exhibits scratched and furrowed rocks. Mt. Chocorua 
 
DRIFT, OR BOULDER PERIOD. 
 
 197 
 
 is furrowed from the base to the summit, and in many 
 instances the grooves are very deep. 
 
 Fig. 169. 
 
 Fragment of Striated Quartz, Williams Hill, Acworth, N. II. 
 
 Fig. 170 represents a polished and finely striated 
 fragment of quartz, broken from a vein of that 
 material on the summit of Mt. Clinton, one of the 
 White Mountains. The portion left white in the 
 figure, is higher than the other parts of the speci- 
 men, and is polished as smooth as a pane of window- 
 glass. 
 
 This smooth quartz shows that the ice which passed 
 over this point, and thus polished it, rested imme- 
 17* 
 
198 
 
 DKIFT ; OK BOULDER PERIOD. 
 
 diately upon it, with only sand, ground as fine as dust, 
 between. 
 
 Fig. 170. 
 
 Polished Quartz, Mt. Clinton, N. II. 
 
 The writer thinks he has detected distinct grooves 
 on Mt. Washington, some distance above the Lake of 
 the Clouds. These grooves are near the bridle path 
 which is followed in ascending this mountain from the 
 "Notch," and probably are at the highest point east 
 of the Eocky Mountains, where evidences of the Drift 
 period have been observed. It is probable that the 
 Drift agency did not extend to the summit of Mt. 
 Washington, as that is at present covered with angular 
 fragments and blocks of the peculiar mica slate of 
 
DRIFT, OR BOULDER PERIOD. 199 
 
 which that mountain is mainly composed. Had this 
 agency swept over the summit, it is believed we 
 should find evidences of the fact in grooves, and in 
 the absence of angular blocks, which are now so 
 abundant. But we must not forget that time enough 
 has elapsed, since the period of the Drift, to allow the 
 frost to break up the summit into fragments, so as to 
 give it the present appearance, though it may have 
 been swept over in the same manner as other parts of 
 the Drift region. 
 
 The rocks of Massachusetts are covered with well- 
 defined strios. Professor Hitchcock, who has studied 
 this subject very extensively, has pointed out, and 
 mapped out, the grooves and their directions through- 
 out the entire state. 
 
 A perfect example of polished and grooved rocks, 
 may be seen a few rods from the Kailroad Station in 
 Greenfield, Mass. The rocks on the coast of this state 
 are covered with striae. Visitors to Nahant can see 
 beautiful examples near the summer residence of 
 Agassiz. 
 
 The lamented and learned naturalist, Professor C. 
 B. Adams, observed more than three hundred distinct 
 cases in Yermont. He mentions the Valley of 
 "Winooski, as especially interesting on account of its 
 numerous polished and grooved rocks ; some of them 
 exhibiting furrows three or four inches deep, and 
 twelve to thirty inches wide. 
 
200 DRIFT, OR BOULDER PERIOD. 
 
 At Rochester, New York, the limestone, over a 
 wide area, is polished and striated in the most perfect 
 manner. 
 
 I have specified only a few localities. Want of 
 room forbids me to mention more. The student must 
 not regard these as the most interesting, or important. 
 Undoubtedly there are hundreds, and probably thou- 
 sands, of cases in every state occupied by the Drift, as 
 interesting, and as prominently marked as those 
 pointed out above. 
 
 The remark made in the outset is perfectly true, 
 that these markings, and other Drift phenomena, are 
 found in every part of the northern portion of our 
 country, at all levels, to the height of 5000 or 6000 
 feet above the sea. 
 
 An explanation of the Drift phenomena is not an 
 easy task, and probably will not be fully accomplished, 
 until there shall be a more complete survey of all the 
 facts which are within our reach. Some points, how- 
 ever, are well settled. The straight and parallel striae, 
 or furrows on the rocks, could not have been produced 
 by mere currents of water, which are deflected from 
 their course by every obstacle ; while these markings 
 show that the agency moved equally well over all 
 kinds of surface, ploughing through, and grinding 
 down whatever impeded its progress, and turned aside 
 only by the most formidable obstruction, such as a 
 lofty mountain. 
 
DRIFT, OB BOULDER PERIOD. 201 
 
 Mere currents of water never could have lifted 
 boulders from lower to higher levels, or transported 
 them from one range of mountains, across deep valleys, 
 to another range, and to the country beyond. 
 
 Ice must have been concerned in producing these 
 phenomena. It has moved over the whole Drift 
 region, either in the form of Glaciers, or Icebergs, and 
 perhaps both and with rocks and pebbles frozen into 
 the lower surface, has acted like a huge rasp to wear 
 away, furrow, and polish the hardest rocks, and, at the 
 same time, to bear forward boulders, fragments of 
 rock, and other material, and leave them far from 
 their original places. 
 
 Further evidence that the Drift phenomena were 
 produced by Icebergs, Glaciers, or both, will be intro- 
 duced in a subsequent chapter, where geological 
 changes will be noticed at some length. 
 
202 ALLUVIUM. 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 ALLUVIUM. 
 
 Under this head we may include all the accumula- 
 tions newer than the Drift, described in the last section. 
 Alluvium and Drift so blend that it is almost impos- 
 sible to draw a line of distinction between them ; and 
 Professor Hitchcock, and some other eminent geolo- 
 gists, comprise under Alluvium all accumulations 
 newer than the Tertiary, considering Drift only as the 
 first part of one great geological system ; and it will 
 be recollected that the two are grouped together in 
 our table showing the classification of rocks. 
 
 There is, however, one general distinction which 
 may be made between Drift proper and Alluvium, 
 according to our limitation ; Drift is not stratified ; 
 th'e sand, gravel, and boulders, are all piled together 
 in confusion, while accumulations newer than the Drift 
 are stratified, or exhibit more or less of a sorting of 
 the materials. 
 
 Under Alluvium we include, then, ancient sea 
 beaches, rounded hills of pebbles, lake and river 
 terraces, deltas, deposits of sands and clays ; also, 
 accumulations of marls, peat, calcareous tufa, bog iron 
 
ALLUVIUM. 203 
 
 ore, &c. ; embracing all the progressive accumula- 
 tions. 
 
 At the close of the Drift Period proper ; or the 
 period described in the last section, the Drift regions 
 were covered with a mass of sand, gravel, rounded 
 and angular boulders confusedly mixed together the 
 result of the Drift operations. These materials have 
 been more or less worked over and modified by the 
 ocean, lakes, and rivers, giving rise to the varied 
 forms of Alluvium enumerated above, excepting 
 only the peat, marls, tufa, &c., which are formed by 
 processes to be explained hereafter. 
 
 Professor Hitchcock, whose researches in the Surface 
 Geology of this country have probably been more 
 extensive than those of any other man, and whose 
 interesting published results may be found in the 9th 
 volume of the " Smithsonian Contributions to Know- 
 ledge," finds ancient sea beaches in many parts of 
 New England, and at all levels to the height of 2000 
 or 3000 feet. 
 
 The rounded hills of pebbles that border many of 
 our mountains are but drift material worked over by 
 the waves of an ancient sea. Such modified materials, 
 and in fact all the altered Drift, are called Modified 
 Drift. 
 
 All are familiar with the fact that along our rivers 
 there are generally several terraces, one above the 
 other, each higher one being farther back from the 
 
204 
 
 ALLUVIUM. 
 Fig. 171. 
 
 Hills of Modified Drift. 
 
 river than the one below it. Sometimes these terraces 
 appear on both sides of the stream, and sometimes only 
 on one side. The number varies from two or three 
 to ten. The highest or first-formed, is often at a great 
 height above the present channel ; but at whatever 
 height we find the terrace, we may be sure that it was 
 once the bank of the river. 
 
 These terraces are the result of the natural drainage 
 of the continents. At the last emergence of the lands 
 from the ocean, the rivers all ran over the surface of 
 the loose material through which they have ever since 
 been cutting down their channels, and leaving terrace 
 after terrace, as evidences of their operations. 
 
 Fine examples of river terraces may be seen in 
 nearly all parts of the United States, and especially 
 along the rivers of New England. In many cases 
 they may readily be traced as one rides in the rail-car. 
 This is especially true of those along the Merrimac 
 
ALLUVIUM. 
 
 205 
 
 river, which are very conspicuous between Lowell 
 and Concord. 
 
 But the localities where good terraces may be seen 
 are so numerous that it is not necessary to point out 
 particular cases. Fig. 172, reduced from Professor 
 Hitchcock's paper in the Smithsonian Contributions, 
 gives a good idea of the form and position of river 
 terraces. 
 
 Fig. 172. 
 
 Section across Dcerfield Meadows, Deerfield, Mass. 
 
 The deltas, marls, peat, &c., of this period will be 
 sufficiently noticed in a subsequent chapter, and there- 
 fore need not be spoken of here. 
 
 In the clay deposits of this era it is common to find 
 nodules, or concretions of argillaceous matter, called 
 Clay-stones. They are probably formed by the affinity 
 that particles have for one another. Not unfrequently 
 the nucleus is a scale of a fish, or a shell, or some 
 other organic substance. 
 
 Clay-stones occur of almost every variety of form, 
 sometimes taking shapes which, with the aid of a little 
 imagination, appear to be those of familiar animals, 
 18 
 
206 
 
 ALLUVIUM. 
 
 as a cat, dog, hare, butterfly, &c. Professor Hitchcock 
 has figured one in his Elementary Geology, which 
 bears a striking resemblance to the human head. The 
 accompanying figures are exact representations of two 
 specimens from East Windsor, Conn., presented to the 
 writer by Kev. E. H. Pratt. 
 
 Fig. 173. 
 
 Fig. 174. 
 
 Clay-stones, East Windsor, Conn. 
 
 In the Drift proper there are few or no fossils, but 
 in the deposits newer than the Drift they are very 
 
ALLUVIUM. 207 
 
 abundant and full of interest. The BIRDS and MAM- 
 MALS of this era especially claim our attention. 
 
 In New Zealand, bones of a bird, called Dinornis, 
 have been found which exceed in bulk those of the 
 largest horse. The thigh bone of this bird is sixteen 
 inches in length, and nine inches in circumference 
 in the middle part ; and the upper part of the tibia 
 measures twenty-one inches in circumference. This 
 bird, when alive, was eleven or twelve feet high ; as 
 tall as the largest elephant. These bones are now in 
 the Museum of the College of Surgeons, London. 
 
 In Siberia the unconsolidated deposits so abound 
 with elephant's tusks, that for years the ivory secured 
 there, has constituted a regular article of commerce. 
 This fact shows us that Siberia was once a land of 
 elephants. 
 
 Near the close of the last century, an elephant was 
 found on the northern coast of Siberia, imbedded in 
 the ice. It was in such a perfect state of preservation, 
 that the people of the vicinity fed their dogs upon its 
 flesh. This animal was covered with hair between 
 one and two inches long, and was evidently adapted 
 to live in a cool climate. How this elephant became 
 imbedded there, in so perfect a state of preservation, 
 is, perhaps, a question yet to be solved. 
 
 In Great Britain, and other parts of Europe, the 
 caves and the superficial deposits contain remains of 
 forms that are no longer represented in that quarter 
 
208 ALLUVIUM. 
 
 of the globe. These remains show us that Great 
 Britain was once inhabited by at least two species of 
 elephant, two species of rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, 
 tiger, three species of bears, hyenas, and a gigantic 
 elk, all of which have passed away. 
 
 The great Irish Elk was found in the shell marl 
 below the peat, and is ten feet high to the top of its 
 horns, whose tips are ten feet apart. Our American 
 Elk appears small beside this gigantic Euminant of 
 other days. The skeleton of this animal is in the 
 Museum of the College of Surgeons, mentioned above. 
 
 But in no country are the remains of this era more 
 interesting than in the United States , where, besides 
 the remains of a great number of smaller Mammals, 
 we find those of the Mylodon, Megatherium, and 
 Mastodon, huge animals that no longer live on the 
 globe. And the researches of Professor Holmes, in 
 the superficial deposits of South Carolina, whence 
 he is revealing wonders, have brought to light the 
 remains of an extinct horse. It is highly probable 
 that this noble animal was indigenous to this country, 
 and became extinct before the arrival of the white 
 man. Our present horses are descendants of those 
 introduced from abroad. 
 
 The Megatherium was at least twelve feet long, and 
 eight feet high. Its thigh bone is three times as thick 
 as that of the elephant, and the spinal cavity indicates 
 a spinal cord a foot in diameter f The remains of 
 
ALLUVIUM. 209 
 
 this animal have been found in South Carolina and 
 Georgia; also abundantly in South America. 
 
 Fie. 175. 
 
 Skeleton of the Megatherium. 
 
 The remains of the Mastodon have been found in 
 great abundance in the United States, occurring 
 almost everywhere west of the Connecticut river. 
 This animal resembles the elephant, but is entirely 
 distinct from the latter. Merely a tooth is enough to 
 distinguish these animals from one another, as the 
 grinding surface of the tooth of the Mastodon is com- 
 posed of conical projections, and that of the elephant 
 is flat, as may be seen by the figures on the next 
 page. 
 
 The most perfect skeleton of the Mastodon in the 
 United States, is now in the private Museum of the 
 
 late Dr. John C. Warren of Boston, who published a 
 18* 
 
210 
 
 ALLUVIUM. 
 
 Fig 176. 
 
 Fig. 177. 
 
 Molar of the Mastodon side view. Molar of the Elephant grinding surface 
 
 inclined towards the observer. 
 
 large volume wholly devoted to a description of this 
 ancient Pachyderm of our country. 
 
 Fig. 178. - 
 
 Skeleton of the Mastodon. 
 
 This skeleton was discovered in 1845, in marl 
 
ALLUVIUM. 211 
 
 below a peat bog, in Newburgh, N. Y., 70 miles from 
 New York city. The height of the skeleton is 11 
 feet. The length from the anterior extremity of 
 the face to the beginning of the tail 17 feet, and the 
 length of the tail 6 feet. The tusks are each 10 feet 
 11 inches long. 
 
 Such was one of the animals once common in a 
 large part of the United States. 
 
 Neither the remains of man, nor any of his works, 
 have been found in any formation below Alluvium, 
 nor are they found in the lowest portions of this. 
 Geology, as well as Revelation, thus shows that of 
 all the Animal Kingdom, Man was the last to make 
 his appearance upon the earth. 
 
 I have thus endeavored to present the leading facts 
 revealed by the study of each geological system. It 
 is now important that the student be able to survey 
 the ground over which he has passed, and to retain 
 in memory the results which he has reached ; there- 
 fore the following Tables, showing the Geological 
 Periods when the different Branches and Classes of 
 the Vegetable and of the Animal Kingdom appeared 
 upon the earth, will be of service to the beginner in 
 geological science. 
 
 These tables represent the several periods in their 
 chronological order, the lowest being oldest. The 
 
212 
 
 ALLUVIUM. 
 
 first Table relates to the introduction of Plants, and 
 the second to that of Animals. 
 
 The dotted lines show when each Branch or Class 
 was introduced, and the periods through which the 
 same lived. 
 
 VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 
 
 Alluvium and Drift . . . 
 
 ,2 % 
 
 3% 
 
 H ft 
 
 Acrogens. 
 
 
 
 s 
 M 
 
 p, 
 
 Monocotyle- 
 dons. 
 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 Tertiary 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Cretaceous 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Oolitic . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 New Red Sandstone . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Carboniferous .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Old Red Sandstone . . t 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Silurian 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 No separate column is made for Anophytes, which 
 are here included with the two lowest groups. 
 
ALLUVIUM. 
 
 213 
 
 Thallophytes were introduced at the beginning of 
 the Silurian ; Acrogens later in the same period ; 
 Gymnosperms during the Old Eed Sandstone ; Mono- 
 cotyledons in the Carboniferous ; and true Dicotyle- 
 dons at the beginning of the Cretaceous. 
 
 ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 Alluvium and 1 
 Drift / 
 
 RADIATES. 
 
 DO 
 
 ,j| 
 
 ao p. O 
 
 P* g 4 a 
 & 13 
 
 o w w 
 
 PW <! W 
 
 M 
 
 r~ 
 
 r* 
 
 
 01, 
 
 . 
 
 a 
 
 ^ 
 
 5, . 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 i) C 
 
 .us 
 . 
 
 - 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 ^ J 
 5 C 
 
 cs. 
 
 V 
 
 * 
 
 2n 
 
 3 
 =M 
 
 9 
 ^ 
 
 ARTICULATES. 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 ill 
 
 ^ 2 o> 
 
 t2 S 
 ^ o w 
 
 VERTEBRATES. 
 
 i 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 *1 
 
 ': 
 
 2^ 
 =n P 
 
 c 
 3 
 I 
 
 - : 
 
 ! 
 
 ! I 
 
 2 P 
 
 o 
 > 
 
 b 
 
 Mammals. 
 - - Man. 
 
 Tertiary . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Cretaceous . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Oolitic . . . 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 New Red Sand. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Carboniferous . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Old Red Sand. . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Silurian . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
214 ALLUVIUM. 
 
 It may be doubtful whether Eeptiles and Birds 
 appear quite as early as here indicated. 
 
 The student will please bear in mind that although 
 each Class lived through all the periods after its intro- 
 duction, it is represented in the successive periods by 
 new Species, often by new Genera, and in many cases 
 by new Orders. 
 
 By way of recapitulation, we may add, that the 
 Paleozoic Period is especially characterized by its 
 beautiful Crinoids, numerous and unique Brachio- 
 pods, its Orthoceratites, Trilobites, and Fishes; the 
 Secondary, by its Ammonites, Belemnites, Nautili, 
 and enormous and strange-formed Eeptiles ; the Ter- 
 tiary and Modern, by numerous Bivalves, and Graste- 
 ropods, and gigantic Mammals. 
 
 In concluding this chapter, we may add, that the 
 geological systems afford data by which the relative 
 ages of mountain ranges and continents may be de- 
 termined. 
 
 If Silurian strata form the flanks of a mountain 
 chain, we know that these mountains were uplifted 
 after the formation of the Silurian rocks, else these 
 rocks would not have been upheaved. 
 
 If Tertiary rocks constitute the flanks, then the 
 mountains were uplifted after the Tertiary period. 
 
 If Silurian beds flank a mountain range, and undis- 
 turbed Tertiary strata occur in connection with these 
 
ALLUVIUM. 215 
 
 beds, we know that the range of mountains was up- 
 lifted after the Silurian, but before the Tertiary; 
 for had the Tertiary beds been formed before the 
 upheaval, they too would have been uplifted. 
 
 By the application of such principles, geologists 
 have found out, that not only the continents, but dif- 
 ferent parts of the same continent, differ greatly in 
 
 Geologically considered, America is the Old "World. 
 A large part of North America was dry land, while 
 yet a large portion of Europe formed the bottom of 
 the ocean. 
 
 Geologists have also found out that the highest 
 mountains of every country are the newest or last 
 elevated. The Alps are younger than the mountains 
 of Scandinavia ; the Rocky Mountains younger than 
 the Alleghanies, and the latter younger than the White 
 Hills of New Hampshire. 
 
CHAPTEK IX. 
 
 THE GEOLOGICAL CHANGES NOW GOING ON, AND THE 
 AGENCIES BY WHICH THEY ARE PRODUCED. 
 
 , IN our previous investigations, we have learned 
 that the earth has undergone great changes ; and if 
 we look at the earth now, we find nothing stationary. 
 Probably our planet does not present a single feature 
 that it possessed when spoken into existence by its 
 Great Author. 
 
 "We are accustomed to look upon the continents, 
 the mountains, and the hills as fixed ; the courses of 
 rivers, the barriers of lakes, seas, and oceans, as per- 
 manent; but all these are modified every century, 
 every year, and every hour. 
 
 The agencies that are producing geological changes, 
 are mainly Chemical, Aqueous, Igneous, and Organic. 
 
 Besides these" agencies, the winds also produce 
 great changes in many parts of the world, by drifting 
 the sands. 
 
 On account of the affinity one element has for 
 another, bodies are constantly decomposing, and their 
 elements enter into new relations, and appear in new 
 
 (216) 
 
AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 217 
 
 forms. Chemical agencies are slow in their operations ; 
 but their results are great. The operations of the 
 other three classes of agencies are more open to view, 
 and will be spoken of somewhat at length, in the 
 three following sections. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 Aqueous agencies operate in the form of Rains, 
 Frost, Springs, Kivers, Waves, Currents, Glaciers, and 
 Icebergs. 
 
 RAINS are both chemical and mechanical in their 
 operations. In falling through the atmosphere, water 
 absorbs more or less of carbonic acid, by the aid of 
 which it decomposes all rocks containing lime, and 
 causes many other chemical changes, by bringing in 
 contact substances of different kinds. There is no 
 shower that does not wash some of the loose material 
 from the hills and mountains, into the valleys. 
 
 FKOST is a powerful modifying agent. Water finds 
 its way into the fissures of the rocks, where it freezes, 
 and rends the rocks asunder, and the sides of the 
 mountains are covered with fragments of all sizes 
 
 19 
 
218 AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 thus produced. Immense boulders are often rent by 
 frost, and cause much curious speculation by those 
 ignorant of this fact. 
 
 SPRINGS produce changes by depositing substances 
 which they hold in solution, such as lime, and iron ; 
 thus forming beds of calcareous tufa, and bog iron ore. 
 
 EIVEKS cut channels in the superficial accumula- 
 tions, and through the solid rocks, and transport loose 
 material into the water basins. 
 
 Kivers have excavated deep channels in the rocks 
 in every part of our country, giving rise to varied 
 and beautiful scenery. These excavations afford the 
 geologist an opportunity of studying the strata, and 
 their contents, to the best advantage. 
 
 At Trenton Falls, N. Y., Canada Creek has cut its 
 way in the Trenton limestone to a depth of 100 to 200 
 feet, revealing the strata that accumulated on the 
 bottom of an ancient ocean, and which are now filled 
 with the remains of life. 
 
 This is one of the most interesting places which 
 the tourist and geologist can visit in our country. 
 The deep ravines, the numerous waterfalls and cas- 
 cades, the perfectly defined strata filled with trilobites 
 and other fossils, richly reward the visitor. 
 
 The Genesee river, 1ST. Y., has cut a channel in some 
 parts of its course, 300 feet deep, the depth varying 
 with the nature of the rocks. This river shows well 
 how the different kinds of strata cause a series of falls. 
 
AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 219 
 
 The hardest rock is at the fall marked 1, the next 
 in hardness at the one marked 2, and the softest at 3. 
 
 Fig. 179. 
 
 Section on Genesec River from the upper to the lower fall at Rochester. 
 
 Niagara river has cut a channel through the solid 
 rocks, 200 feet deep, 1200 to 2000 feet wide, and 
 7 miles long. The evidence is conclusive that the 
 Falls were formerly at Queenstown, seven miles below 
 their present situation. 
 
 The high bluff at Queenstown, and the sides of the 
 deep chasm, afford a fine exhibition of the different 
 kinds of rocks in this region, and enable us to under- 
 stand the present operations at the Falls, and the 
 prospective results of these operations. 
 
 The lower rock is a soft shale, which rapidly wastes 
 by the action of the water, while the overlying rock 
 is a compact limestone. The result of this arrange- 
 ment is, that the lower rock wears away, leaving the 
 vast thickness of limestone overhanging, which is 
 soon broken down by the 600,000 tons of water which 
 pass over it each minute. 
 
 The "Table Kock," parts of which have fallen 
 within a few years, is the upper limestone, and the 
 
220 AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 cause of its falling is the destruction of the shales 
 beneath, as before remarked 
 
 The opinion was formerly popular that the Falls 
 would ultimately recede to Lake Erie, when that lake 
 would be suddenly drained, and inundate the whole 
 country below. But the dip of the rocks soon carries 
 the shales so far below the bed of the river, that they 
 will cease to be acted upon, while the hard limestone 
 will occupy the whole height of the Falls. Then the 
 rock being throughout of the same hardness, the 
 abrupt fall will disappear, and a gradual descent take 
 its place. So that, in process of time, there will be a 
 gentle slope from Lake Erie to Ontario ; and though 
 the former be drained, it will be done gradually. 
 
 For the last fifty years, the Falls of Niagara have 
 attracted the attention of the lover of sublime scenery, 
 and the man of science. While both have feasted 
 their souls on the grandeur and sublimity there exhi- 
 bited, and which no pen or pencil can shadow forth, 
 the latter especially has looked upon Niagara as one 
 of nature's grand chronometers, registering the ages 
 as they pass. 
 
 The rate at which the Falls recede cannot be defi- 
 nitely stated, but from the most reliable data that can 
 be obtained, it has been shown that they have not 
 receded more than one foot a year for the last half 
 century. If this has been the rate of retrocession for 
 the whole distance, and on account of the nature of 
 
AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 221 
 
 the rocks there is no reason for supposing it greater, 
 it has required 36,000 years for that great excavation. 
 And that this work did not begin till after the Drift 
 period, is proved by the remains of the Drift material 
 which constituted the banks of the river before it 
 began to operate on the solid rocks beneath. 
 
 Examples of river action are common where no 
 river now exists. There is one case which the writer 
 has recently examined with some care, and may be 
 mentioned in this connection. In Bedford, Hillsboro' 
 county, 1ST. II., there are extensive excavations in the 
 mica slate, where now, except in freshets, there is only 
 a rill. At one place the channel, which has been cut 
 in the solid rock, is 70 or 80 feet deep, and from 20 
 to 30 wide. The sides are water worn, and one side, 
 by its numerous broad grooves, shows very plainly 
 the varying direction of the main force of the current 
 in the successive steps of the process of excavation. 
 At the head of the channel there is a large pool of 
 water. In other parts the bottom is filled with 
 rubbish through which, in one place, a pole maybe 
 passed down 20 or 30 feet. The cut on the next 
 page, drawn from a sketch macTe on the spot by 
 Professor Kriisi, gives a good idea of this place, which 
 is one peculiarly interesting, and is much visited. 
 It is known in the neighborhood as the "Devil's 
 Pulpit." And here I wish to protest against the 
 
 habit of dedicating to His Satanic Majesty some of 
 19* 
 
222 
 
 AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 the most interesting places in every region; and 
 would suggest that this locality be hereafter called 
 the Bedford Ravine. 
 
 Fig. 180. 
 
 Upper extremity of Bedford Ravine, Bedford, N. H. 
 
 A place called " Purgatory," in or near Mt. Vernon, 
 N. H v presents us with results scarcely less interest- 
 ing than those of the " Bedford Kavine;" and they 
 show that ages must have elapsed since the pro- 
 cess of excavation began, and that a much larger 
 stream than the present, once flowed through that 
 channel. 
 
AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 223 
 
 Old river channels of great depth are found in the 
 western and south-western parts of North America. 
 
 Deep wells or "Pot-holes" are everywhere common 
 along rapid brooks and rivers. Fine examples may 
 be seen at Bellows Falls on the Connecticut, and at 
 Amoskeag Falls on the Merrimac. Undoubtedly 
 there are hundreds of places in our country that 
 exhibit examples just as interesting. 
 
 Fig. 181. 
 
 The " Basin," Franconia Notch. 
 
 The celebrated " Basin" at Franconia Notch is one 
 
224 AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 of these wells, 40 feet in diameter, and 28 feet deep. 
 It is filled to the deptli of 8 or 10 feet with pure 
 water, which revolves with such a force that it is con- 
 sidered a dangerous place for even an expert swimmer. 
 No one can doubt for a moment that the entire basin 
 has been made by the same process which is now 
 going on there. How long the waters of the Pemige- 
 wasset have been revolving in this basin we may 
 never know, but undoubtedly for ages. 
 
 But these pot-holes are abundant far above, and far 
 distant from the present river channels, indicating, as 
 well as the terraces before noticed, that the rivers 
 have run at much higher levels. If the student 
 examine carefully the ledges which form the sides 
 of the valleys, he will find many of these wells at 
 heights and distances from the present river bed that 
 will astonish him. 
 
 On Union river, in Maine, the writer has noticed 
 pot-holes 8 or 10 feet deep, and 50 to 100 feet above 
 the present bed of the river ; and what is seen on 
 this stream may be observed on many others in the 
 rocky portions of our country. Deep pot-holes occur 
 both at Bedford Eavine and the place called Purga- 
 tory, noticed above. 
 
 But the most interesting case of this kind is found 
 in Orange, N. H. Here, at an elevation of 1000 feet 
 above the waters of the Connecticut and Merrimac, 
 and 1200 feet above the ocean, there are several of 
 
AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 225 
 
 these pot-holes in hard granite. One is 11 feet deep, 
 and 4 feet in diameter. They were unquestionably 
 produced by a waterfall by the whirling of pebbles 
 by the water ; but when, it is not easy to say. 
 
 The rivers are carrying the lands into the sea ; and 
 the amount of material that has been transported by 
 them, since the present order of things commenced, is 
 truly wonderful. 
 
 A large part of Louisiana has been formed by mate- 
 rial brought down by the Mississippi, and the land is 
 still advancing into the Gulf of Mexico from the 
 same cause. It is estimated that 28,000,000,000 cubic 
 feet of sediment are annually carried down by this 
 river, and deposited at its mouth, or swept away by 
 the waves and currents. 
 
 The Amazon is so charged with sediment that its 
 waters can be detected, by their discoloration, three 
 hundred miles from its mouth. A part of the sediment 
 brought down by this river is carried by the current 
 of that region, and deposited on the coast of Guiana, 
 which is thereby advancing upon the sea. 
 
 If we pass to the Eastern Continent, we find remark- 
 able changes which have been produced by rivers. 
 The Nile has formed a vast delta at its mouth. There 
 is good evidence that nearly all Egypt is the gift of 
 this river. The sediment brought down by the Nile, 
 and deposited on the adjacent country, when the river 
 overflows its banks, renders the soil productive. 
 
226 AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 Many of our valleys owe their fertility, as well as 
 their gradual elevation, to their being annually inun- 
 dated. 
 
 The amount of sediment carried down by the 
 Ganges and Brahmapootra shows us how fast the 
 rivers, in some parts of the world, are transporting 
 the lands into the ocean. Sir Charles Lyell says that 
 " if a fleet of eighty vessels, each freighted with 1400 
 tons weight of mud, were to sail down that river every 
 hour of every day and night, for four months con- 
 tinuously, it would only transport from the higher 
 regions to the sea, a quantity of matter equal to that 
 carried by the Ganges in the four months of the flood 
 season." 
 
 The Brahmapootra transports about the same quan- 
 tity as the Ganges ; and both these rivers, according 
 to the distinguished author just mentioned, annually 
 carry down to their delta forty thousand millions of 
 cubic feet of sediment. 
 
 WAVES are producing geological changes. In one 
 place they wear away coasts; in another, they pile 
 hills of sand and pebbles as monuments of their 
 power. They round the pebbles upon the shore, and 
 their continued action reduces them to sand. 
 
 "Waves produce rapid changes when they have 
 access to a coast of loose materials, such as sand and 
 gravel. Boston harbor undoubtedly was once filled 
 with loose material, which has been removed by the 
 
AQUEOUS AGENCIES.- 227 
 
 waves ; and the islands there and in the vicinity, are 
 only remnants of a mass of land which has been sepa- 
 rated from the continent. Nantucket and Martha's 
 Vineyard have also been separated from, the main 
 land by the same agency. 
 
 The results of wave action, upon a given coast- 
 vary according to the nature of the rocks. Here the 
 rocks yield quickly ; there they are firm and compact, 
 and stand out as bold headlands. Trap dikes are 
 often removed by the waves ; and thus long narrow 
 channels are formed, extending far inland. 
 
 OCEAN CURRENTS are continually producing geo- 
 logical changes. Sweeping past every coast, they 
 take a portion of the loose material brought down by 
 the rivers, and bear it away, some of it hundreds 
 of miles, and spread it out upon the floor of the 
 ocean. 
 
 TIDES conspire with the waves and currents to 
 modify the coasts, and transport loose material. Lakes 
 and inland seas have no tides, or those only a few 
 inches in height. The tides of the ocean vary accord- 
 ing to the nature of the coast, from a few feet to 30 
 or 40 feet. In the Bay of Fundy the tide rises 70 
 feet. 
 
 In some situations a layer of sand or mud is 
 deposited at each flow of the tide, and thus the 
 successive layers retain, more or less perfectly, the 
 
228 AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 impression made upon each, while it lay drying, 
 during the time the tide was out. 
 
 We thus see processes going on in our bays and 
 estuaries, which explain how the foot-prints and rain- 
 drops of Connecticut valley were preserved. The 
 unconsolidated deposits in the Bay of Fundy retain 
 tracks and other impressions on the successive layers. 
 
 GLACIERS are vast masses of ice, of a peculiar 
 structure, encased in high mountain valleys. They 
 are, in fact, the transformed snow which falls upon 
 the mountains above the snow line. This snow is 
 gradually transformed into the glacier just as the 
 snow upon the roof is transformed into icicles. 
 
 The student will bear in mind that in ascending 
 mountains in the torrid zone, we enter upon regions 
 of perpetual snow at a height of 16,000 or 18,000 
 feet. The snow line that is, where snow is found 
 throughout the year is reached at a less and less 
 height, as we recede towards the poles; and, in the 
 polar regions, snow is constant at ordinary levels. 
 
 Other circumstances being favorable, we may find 
 glaciers in those valleys which lead up into the regions 
 of perpetual snow. 
 
 The glaciers of the Swiss Alps have been studied 
 with great care by De Saussure, Venetz, Charpentier, 
 Agassiz and Gruyot, and Forbes. 
 
 The writings of these eminent men upon this sub- 
 ject are full of interest and instruction. 
 
AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 229 
 
 Agassiz and Guyot devoted eight or ten years to 
 the study of the Swiss Glaciers. While the former 
 gave his attention more especially to their present 
 condition, carrying on the most extensive and accurate 
 surveys, particularly upon the Glacier of the Aar, 
 which resulted in making known to the world the 
 laws which govern glacier motion, the latter spent 
 seven years in tracing out, for the first time, the 
 position of the boulders, and marking the extent of 
 the glaciers in past times. 
 
 All the high valleys of the Alps contain glaciers 
 which vary, according to local circumstances, in 
 length, breadth, and thickness, and in respect to the 
 height at which they terminate. In some cases they 
 are only a few miles long ; in others, fifteen or twenty 
 miles. They vary in width from 500 or 600 feet to 
 two or three miles. In thickness, they vary from 100 
 to 200 feet ; in some cases, however, they are 500 or 
 600, and even 1000 feet thick. They terminate at a 
 height of 4000 to 6000 or 7000 feet, and sometimes 
 descend as low as 3000 feet above the level of the sea. 
 
 A glacier descends towards the plain till heat melts 
 it away. The mass being so enormous, the glacier 
 often extends into the regions of cultivation, and 
 sometimes destroys the labors of the husbandman. 
 
 The rate of movement differs in different glaciers, 
 and in different parts of the same glacier. It may be 
 stated, in general, that glaciers move down the valley 
 
 20 
 
230 AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 from 3 or 4 inches to 3 feet a day ; the former being 
 the more common rate. 
 
 There are two prominent theories about the cause 
 of glacier motion. One theory regards the glacier as 
 a plastic body whose particles move over one another 
 like those of fluids ; and hence the mass moves onward 
 by the force of gravity. The other theory finds the 
 main cause of motion in the freezing and consequent 
 expansion of water in the capillary tubes and fissures 
 which permeate the whole mass. This expansion at 
 innumerable points causes the whole glacier to dilate, 
 thus producing an onward movement. 
 
 The geological changes which glaciers produce will 
 be readily understood. Encased as they are in the 
 mountain valleys, they receive the rocks and earth 
 that are detached by the frosts from the steep flanks 
 and peaks of the adjacent mountains. The result is, 
 that all along the glacier, on both sides, we find an 
 accumulation of loose material. These accumulations 
 are called Lateral Moraines. 
 
 When two glaciers unite, the lateral moraines on 
 each outer side continue on as before, but the lateral 
 moraines on each inner side unite in one ridge along 
 the middle of the newly-formed glacier. This accu- 
 mulation is called the Medial Moraine, and always 
 indicates a compound glacier. 
 
 The accompanying cut gives the student a good 
 
AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 231 
 
 Upper part of the Glacier of Viesch. 
 
232 
 
 AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 idea of a glacier with, both lateral and medial mo- 
 raines. 
 
 The glacier pushes before it the loose materials 
 which it meets in its course, and this accumulation is 
 called the Terminal Moraine. The accompanying cut 
 gives a good idea of the termination of a glacier, and 
 its terminal moraine. 
 
 Fig. 183. 
 
 Lower part of the Glacier of Viesch. 
 
 A stream of water, as is indicated in the cut, always 
 issues from beneath the lower end of the glacier. 
 Most of the rivers of Central Europe have their origin 
 beneath these ice masses. 
 
 The medial moraine is borne onward without essen- 
 
AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 233 
 
 tial alteration of its materials ; but the rocks of the 
 lateral moraines are more or less rounded, smoothed, 
 and often polished against the rocky sides of the val- 
 ley, which are also farrowed and smoothed by the 
 same process. Eocks from the lateral moraines often 
 get between the glaciers and the walls of the valley, 
 and are there rolled over and rounded; or getting 
 beneath the glacier, are ground to sand and mud. 
 The lower surface being thickly set with pebbles and 
 fragments of rock, the glacier acts like a mighty rasp, 
 as it drags its icy bulk along its course. 
 
 As the circumstances which produce glaciers are 
 constant, or nearly so, the result is an unceasing 
 transport of the rocks and other loose materials of 
 the higher regions to lower levels; and as the glacier 
 is continually melting away at its lower extremity, 
 the moraines are dropped in the same- relative posi- 
 tions which they held when connected with the glacier 
 itself. 
 
 The position of the lower extremity of a glacier 
 varies from year to year. In cold summers, the 
 glacier advances farther towards the plain ; and in a 
 hot summer, this extension is melted away. Then 
 the effects it has produced can be observed. Besides 
 the moraines which it leaves, the rocks on the bottom 
 and sides of the valley, which have been grooved and 
 polished by it, are open to view. Thus we learn the 
 
 effects that glaciers are now producing. 
 20* 
 
234 AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 Fig. 184. 
 
 Rock striated by the action, of a Glacier, Alps. 
 
 The moraines, the furrowed and polished rocks 
 which we find above, and beyond the present limits 
 of glaciers, show their extent in past times. The 
 sides of the valleys of the Alps, from 1000 to 2500 
 feet above the present surface of the glacier, are 
 scratched and furrowed, and moraines are found at 
 that great height. 
 
 The evidence is conclusive that the Great Valley 
 of Switzerland, between the Alps and the Jura Moun- 
 tains, was once filled with glaciers, which transported 
 the boulders that now lie scattered on the sides and 
 summits of the Jura. These mountains are limestone ; 
 but their sides, towards the Alps, are covered with 
 blocks of granite, identical with that of Mont Blanc 
 and vicinity, whence there is no doubt they were 
 transported. One of these blocks, called Pierre a Bot, 
 resting on the Jura, 800 feet above Lake ISTeufchatel, 
 contains 40,000 cubic feet. 
 
 ICEBERGS. In the polar regions glaciers descend to 
 the sea, and, becoming detached from the land, drift 
 
AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 235 
 
 away as icebergs. Icebergs also form by the freezing 
 of the water near the shore, and by additions of snow 
 blown from the land. Situated often near high cliffs, 
 they constantly receive blocks and fragments of stone, 
 and are thus filled from the bottom to the top with 
 loose material. At length the whole is undermined 
 by the waves, and drifts away. 
 
 Icebergs are often of enormous size, fully justifying 
 the appellation of iceberg or ice-mountain. Scoresby 
 saw five hundred in latitude 70 north ; some of the 
 largest were a mile in circumference, and 100 or 200 
 feet above the surface of the water, and loaded with 
 earth and rocks. Some of these bergs, according to 
 his estimate, contained 50,000 to 100,000 tons of 
 loose material. 
 
 As ice floats with eight-ninths of its bulk below the 
 surface, the true thickness of the berg is nine times 
 its height above the surface of the water. 
 
 In Baffin's Bay, Sir John Eoss found many icebergs 
 stranded in 1500 feet of water. In 1839, an iceberg 
 about 300 feet high was seen in latitude 61 south, 
 and 1400 miles from any known land. This contained 
 a large mass of rock. The British steamer Acadia 
 observed one in May, 1842, which was 400 or 500 feet 
 high. 
 
 At some seasons of the year, scarcely a voyage is 
 made between America and Europe without meeting 
 with these floating ice-mountains. 
 
236 AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 Icebergs drift towards the equatorial regions, lower- 
 ing the temperature of the waters through which, and 
 that of the countries near which, they pass. They 
 scatter along their course the earth and fragments of 
 rock which are continually falling out of the melting 
 mass ; they plough along when they strike a bottom 
 of loose material, crush submarine hills of slate rocks, 
 and break off and furrow the summits of submarine 
 mountains. 
 
 We find in the study of glaciers and icebergs, an 
 explanation, more or less complete, of the Drift 
 phenomena, described in the 8th Section of the" 8th 
 Chapter. 
 
 The results which glaciers are now producing, 
 such as transporting rocks and other loose materials, 
 furrowing and polishing the rocks over which they 
 pass, and piling up moraines are analogous to, and 
 mostly identical with the phenomena of the Drift. 
 But whether the transported boulders, and the fur- 
 rowed and polished rocks of North America, are the 
 result of ice moving over the surface as the glaciers 
 now move in the valleys of the Alps, or whether 
 these results were produced by icebergs drifted over 
 the continent when submerged, is still a question 
 upon which geologists are divided. 
 
 It may be regarded, however, as perfectly estab- 
 lished, that ice, in some form, has done the work. 
 Mere currents of water could never have transported 
 
AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 237 
 
 boulders across deep valleys, nor could they have 
 produced the perfectly straight and parallel grooves 
 upon the rocks in place. The action of running 
 water can always be readily distinguished from glacial 
 action, because the former has a sinuous course, 
 while the latter moves in straight lines. 
 
 As there is no longer a doubt that the Drift phe- 
 nomena were produced by ice, it only remains to be 
 decided whether the ice moved over the surface of the 
 country while it was above the water, or drifted in 
 the form of icebergs over the country submerged. 
 This question can never be settled by speculation, but 
 only by the most careful deductions from facts, some 
 of which, there is reason to believe, are yet to be col- 
 lected. 
 
 It should be borne in mind that the agency which 
 furrowed and polished the rocks of this country^ 
 accommodated itself to the highest elevations, within 
 the limits before specified, and to the deepest depres- 
 sions, and moved over great distances with an unde- 
 viating course. Now the bottom of a floating iceberg 
 strikes only those points that lie in or near a given 
 plane. That is, if a berg strike the high summits, it 
 does not touch the deep valleys; and if it moves 
 through the deep valleys, it does not strike the sum- 
 mits. 
 
 Again, icebergs are more or less influenced in their 
 course by the winds ; and instead of moving straight 
 
238 AQUEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 onward when they strike a submarine ridge, they 
 turn around in the direction of the greatest freedom 
 of motion 
 
 The above facts seem to indicate that floating ice- 
 bergs were not the chief agents which furrowed and 
 polished the rocks of North America. On the con- 
 trary, the facts seem to favor the theory, that the 
 Drift phenomena were mainly produced by ice, some- 
 what analogous to glaciers, moving from north to 
 south over the whole Drift region. 
 
 Without doubt the continent has been submerged 
 since that great ice period; and during its gradual 
 elevation, waves, currents, and icebergs have con- 
 tributed largely to the appearance which the Drift 
 regions now present. 
 
 It will be seen from our brief examination of 
 aqueous agencies, that they all tend to degrade the 
 continents, and fill up the sea ; and if there were no 
 other agencies at work, those already specified would, 
 in the course of time, reduce the highest lands to a 
 level with the ocean : for if any part of such a work 
 be accomplished in one year, time only would be re- 
 quisite to accomplish the whole. But there are other 
 agencies in operation, whose results are often opposite 
 to those specified as produced by water, under its 
 different forms and conditions. These will be spoken 
 of in the next section. 
 
IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 239 
 
 SECTION II. 
 IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 Igneous agencies, and their results, may be treated 
 of under the following heads, Yolcanoes, Earth- 
 quakes, and Thermal Springs. 
 
 A VOLCANO is a mountain from whose sides or 
 summit, either lava, cinders, stones, and hot vapors, or 
 all of these, have been ejected. The opening whence 
 these are thrown out is called a crater. 
 
 In America volcanoes occur on a grand scale, along 
 the western coast, from Southern Chili to the 20th 
 parallel in Mexico. Volcanoes also occur in Califor- 
 nia and Oregon. In the West Indies, a line of vol- 
 canoes extends from the island of St. Vincent to the 
 island of Guadaloupe. 
 
 A line of volcanoes extends from Alaska along the 
 Aleutian Islands to Kamtschatka, thence south, 
 through all the islands along the eastern coast of 
 Asia, to the East Indies, where they reach their most 
 wonderful development, about forty occurring in 
 Java. 
 
 A line of volcanoes extends from the eastern part 
 of New Guinea, through the New Hebrides and 
 Friendly Islands, to Central New Zealand. Southern 
 
240 IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 Europe and the adjacent islands constitute another 
 volcanic region. Iceland is noted as a region of vol- 
 canoes. The Azores the Cape Yerde, and the Sand- 
 wich Islands, are volcanic. The last-jiamed islands 
 have furnished some of the most interesting examples 
 of eruptions in modern times. 
 
 Over the regions specified above, are volcanoes 
 either constantly or occasionally active. Of such 
 volcanoes there are 24 in Europe, 11 in Africa, 46 in 
 Asia, 114 in America, and 108 in Oceanica. About 
 two-thirds of these are situated upon islands. 
 
 The indications of an approaching eruption, are 
 rumbling sounds, trembling of the earth, increase of 
 smoke from the crater, and explosions. At length 
 cinders and fragments of rock are ejected, and some- 
 times molten rock pours over the edge of the crater, 
 and descends the mountain to the plain. 
 
 A volume might be occupied in descriptions of 
 those eruptions of which we have authentic accounts ; 
 but there is room to notice only a few. We will 
 select from those that have taken place within the 
 Christian Era. 
 
 Previous to A. D. 63, Vesuvius was regarded only 
 as an ordinary mountain. None, except students of 
 nature, suspected that it was a slumbering volcano, 
 that had in past times devastated the region around, 
 and that it might again send forth showers of ashes, 
 stones, and molten floods. Its sides were adorned 
 
IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 241 
 
 with, fertile fields, and cities flourished at its base, 
 where a numerous population engaged in all the 
 vocations of life, participated in its joys and hopes, 
 untroubled with one thought of the destruction then 
 slumbering beneath the mountain. But this'year the 
 inhabitants were startled by an earthquake, and the 
 shocks were continued till the year 79 following, when 
 a dark cloud of vapor, pierced now and then by vivid 
 flashes of light, appeared rising from the summit, and 
 soon the volcano broke forth in all its awful power, 
 laying waste the fair fields upon its flanks, and over- 
 whelming, and burying from human view, Hercula- 
 neum, Pompeii, and Stabiae. 
 
 Examinations have shown that these cities were 
 not destroyed by lava, but by other volcanic products, 
 such as sand, ashes, cinders, and fragments of rock, 
 though Herculaneum has subsequently been repeat- 
 edly overflowed with lava. 
 
 Not only were the cities buried in this loose mate- 
 rial, but the buildings, cellars, and vaults, were filled 
 by currents of mud produced by the copious show- 
 ers which probably ensued from the condensation of 
 the vapors. 
 
 Thus these cities were blotted out, and forgotten 
 for almost seventeen centuries; and had they not 
 been discovered by excavation, their existence might 
 have been denied, -so meagre and indefinite are the 
 accounts in history concerning them. But all ques- 
 21 Q 
 
242 IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 tions in regard to their existence and fate have been 
 settled, by the restoration of the cities themselves to 
 the light of day. 
 
 In 1713, the workmen in sinking a well, were 
 arrested in their progress, by striking upon the 
 theatre of Herculaneum. This city was buried to 
 the depth of about 100 feet. 
 
 Pompeii was not discovered till 1750, although 
 covered above the houses less than 20 feet deep. 
 
 Extensive examinations have now been made in 
 both cities. It appears that most of the inhabitants 
 escaped, and with a considerable portion of their 
 movable property. But some were left behind. At 
 Pompeii, the skeletons of two victims were found in 
 the stocks ; and, in a vault, whither they had probably 
 fled for safety, were the skeletons of seventeen more. 
 One of these, a woman with an infant in her arms, 
 has left her impress upon the rock, and her bones are 
 encircled by rings and chains of gold that adorned 
 her in life ! 
 
 The streets, the houses, and the shops, are just as 
 the inhabitants left them in their haste, almost 1700 
 years before ; the pavements of lava, with deep ruts 
 worn by the ancient carriage wheels ; the names of 
 the owners over the doors of the houses ; the writings 
 on the walls of the soldiers' barracks, the frescoed 
 paintings, as bright as though put on but yesterday ; 
 fabrics in the shops still showing their texture and 
 
IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 243 
 
 vessels of fruit so well preserved as to be easily 
 recognised ; bread retaining the stamp of the baker, 
 and medicine on the apothecary's counter, still show- 
 ing its real nature. 
 
 Since the year 79, there have been many eruptions 
 of Vesuvius, sometimes with centuries intervening. 
 In 1631, an eruption from this mountain destroyed 
 Eesina, a town that had been built over Herculaneum. 
 In 179-i, the lava from this volcano overflowed Torre 
 del Greco, filling the streets, and destroying more than 
 four hundred persons. It is estimated that twenty -two 
 million cubic yards of lava were thrown out at this 
 eruption. The principal street of the town is now 
 cut through this consolidated matter, and the rock 
 which in its molten state destroyed the former houses, 
 was quarried to build new ones. 
 
 During the eruption of 1822, the crater of Vesuvius, 
 which had for many years been filling up, was cleared 
 of the accumulated material, and a gulf was formed 
 more than 1000 feet deep, and three-fourths of a mile 
 in diameter ; and 800 feet of the top of the mountain 
 was carried away. 
 
 There was a violent eruption from this mountain in 
 1850, and eruptions of greater or less extent have 
 taken place almost every year since. 
 
 Etna, on the island of Sicily, has been more or less 
 active from the earliest times of which we have any 
 account. This mountain is 11,000 feet high, and 
 
244: IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 90 miles in circumference. The lower portions are 
 covered with fertile fields, and are thickly settled; 
 the higher portions are covered with forests of oak, 
 chestnut, and pine ; and the highest regions are barren 
 lava, and other volcanic products. More than eighty 
 minor volcanic cones arc scattered over its flanks, 
 some of them 700 feet high. 
 
 In 1669, the lava from Etna overran fourteen towns 
 and villages, before it reached Catania, whose walls 
 had been raised to the height of sixty feet, as a pro- 
 tection against the molten floods from this mountain. 
 Here the lava collected till it rose above the high 
 wall, and poured in a fiery flood upon the city. 
 "The traveller may now see the solid lava curling 
 over the top of the rampart, as if still in the very act 
 of falling." After destroying a part of the town, it 
 still flowed on, and in a stream 40 feet deep, and 
 1800 feet broad, entered the sea. 
 
 During this eruption a fissure, six feet wide, and 
 of unknown depth, opened upon the mountain, for 
 the distance of twelve miles. The filling of this 
 fissure with melted lava would produce a genuine 
 dike, such as has been described in the first part of 
 this work, and such as now occur in great numbers, 
 in Etna, and in other volcanoes. 
 
 In 1750-60, Jorullo, in Mexico, experienced a 
 violent eruption. Six volcanic cones were formed in 
 the very district where before were fields of sugar- 
 
IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 245 
 
 cane and indigo. Forty years afterwards, Humboldt 
 found the mass of matter produced at this eruption, 
 still hot. 
 
 In 1783, Skapter Jokul, in Iceland, sent forth two 
 streams of lava which flowed in opposite directions. 
 One of these streams was 50 miles long and 12 broad, 
 and the other 40 miles long and 7 broad; each 
 averaging 100 feet deep, and when pressed into gorges, 
 as was the case in some parts of the course, 600 feet 
 deep. The eruption continued for two years, and 
 destroyed twenty villages, and 9000 inhabitants. 
 
 Imagine a river of molten rock, 90 miles long, 7 to 
 12 miles broad, and 100 feet deep, and you have some 
 idea of the amount of matter poured out of Skapter 
 Jokul in the eruption which commenced in 1783. 
 
 In 1815, a violent eruption took place on the island 
 of Sumbawa. The explosions were heard at the 
 distance of nearly a thousand miles. The falling 
 ashes crushed houses 40 miles distant from the place 
 of the eruption, and they so filled the air in Java as 
 to cause total darkness in the daytime. Floating 
 cinders so covered the sea west of Sumatra, that ships 
 made their way through them with difficulty. 
 
 The lava flowed over the land, and entered the sea. 
 Whirlwinds swept over the island, tearing up trees, 
 and bearing off men, horses, .and cattle. Of 12,000 
 inhabitants, only twenty-six survived the awful catas- 
 trophe. 
 
246 
 
 IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 The most remarkable eruptions of the present 
 century have taken place upon Hawaii, from Mauna 
 Loa and the craters upon its sides. 
 
 Mauna Loa is 13,760 feet high. Kilauea, 9790 feet 
 below the summit of the former, is a crater 16,000 
 feet long, 7500 feet wide, and 1000 feet deep. From 
 
 Fig. 185. 
 
 Crater of Kilauua. 
 
 this crater there was a great eruption in 1823, which 
 overflowed extensive regions in the south-west part 
 of Hawaii, and at last the lava entered the sea in a 
 stream four or five miles wide. The amount of 
 
IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 247 
 
 lava thrown out at this eruption is estimated at 
 27,000,000,000 cubic feet. 
 
 Another eruption from this crater occurred in 1832, 
 and another still in 1840. Of the latter we have very 
 definite accounts from Rev. Mr. Coan, whom I quote 
 below. Since 1832 the crater had been gradually 
 filling up until the lava was 400 or 500 feet above its 
 ordinary level, and for some time before the eruption, 
 this molten mass was "raging like the ocean when 
 lashed into fury by a tempest." At length, on the 
 1st of June, 1840, the lava, having made its way 
 through subterranean fissures, began its flow through 
 outlets several miles below the true crater, and "sweep- 
 ing forest, hamlet, plantation, and everything before 
 it, rolled down with resistless energy to the sea, where, 
 leaping a precipice of forty or fifty feet, it poured in 
 one vast cataract of fire into the deep below, with 
 loud detonations, fearful hissings, and a thousand 
 unearthly and indescribable sounds. 
 
 " Imagine to yourself a river of fused minerals, of 
 the breadth and depth of Niagara, and of a gory red, 
 falling in one emblazoned sheet, one raging torrent, 
 into the ocean ! 
 
 " The atmosphere in all directions was filled with 
 ashes, spray, and gases ; while the burning lava, as it 
 fell into the water, was shivered into millions of minute 
 particles, and, being thrown back into the air. fell in 
 showers of sand on all the surrounding country. 
 
24:8 IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 " The coast was extended into the sea a quarter of a 
 mile. Three hills of scoria and sand were also formed 
 in the sea, the lowest about two hundred, and the 
 highest about three hundred feet high. 
 
 " For three weeks this terrific river disgorged itself 
 into the sea, with little abatement. The waters were 
 heated for twenty miles along the coast, and multitudes 
 of fishes were killed. 
 
 " The breadth of the stream, where it fell into the 
 sea, is about half a mile; but inland it varies from 
 one to four or five miles in width, conforming, like a 
 river, to the face of the country over which it flowed. 
 The depth varies from 10 feet to 200, according to the 
 inequalities over which it passed. The whole course 
 of the stream, from Kilauea to the sea, is about 40 
 miles. 
 
 " During the flow, night was converted into day in 
 all eastern Hawaii. The light rose and spread like 
 the morning upon the mountains ; and its glare was 
 seen on the opposite side of the island. It was also 
 distinctly visible for more than one hundred miles at 
 sea ; and at the distance of forty miles fine print could 
 be read at midnight." 
 
 According to Professor J. D. Dana, 15,400,000,000 
 cubic feet of matter flowed from Kilauea at this erup- 
 tion a mass equal to a triangular ridge 800 feet high, 
 two miles long, and a mile wide at base. 
 
 Mauna Loa, the great central crater, had an erup- 
 
IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 249 
 
 tion in 1843, sending forth two streams of lava, one 
 of which was 25 miles long, and a mile and a half 
 wide. During this eruption, the mountain was rent 
 for the distance of 25 miles. This mountain had 
 another eruption in 1852, during which it sent forth 
 a jet of liquid matter 1000 feet in diameter, and 700 
 feet high. Another eruption commenced in August 
 1855, and for a long time threatened the destruction 
 of Hilo. For seven or eight months, a torrent of 
 molten rocks flowed forth from the crater, forming a 
 stream 65 or 70 miles long, and 3 to 5 miles wide. 
 
 This year, 1859, has witnessed another great erup- 
 tion from Mauna Loa. It commenced suddenly on 
 the 23d of January, and, in a single night, the molten 
 flood ran 25 miles. Jets of liquid rock were thrown 
 to the height of 1500 feet. Eight days after the com- 
 mencement the lava reached the sea, 40 miles from 
 the crater. Here it destroyed cocoa-nut groves, and 
 a little village, and extended for two miles into the 
 water. 
 
 But volcanoes are not confined to the land. We 
 have authentic accounts of eruptions in the sea, 
 although it is probable that only a few, among the 
 many that have taken place, have been observed. 
 
 In 1783 a volcano broke forth in the sea off the 
 coast of Iceland, covering the water with pumice to 
 the distance of 150 miles. An island was formed 
 which the Danish government called Nyoe; but it 
 
250 IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 disappeared in less than a year, leaving a reef of 
 rocks beneath the surface of the water. 
 
 In 1811, an island, called Sabrina, was formed by 
 a volcanic eruption, near the Azores. Its cone was 
 GOO feet above the water. It was soon levelled down 
 by the action of the sea. 
 
 In 1831, a volcanic island appeared off the south- 
 cast coast of Sicily, where a few years before there 
 was a depth of 600 feet of water. It is known under 
 the name of Graham Island. It ejected volcanic pro- 
 ducts, and covered the sea with cinders. Its greatest 
 dimensions were 200 feet in height, and 3 miles in 
 circumference. But this also disappeared in a few 
 months. 
 
 It will be seen by the statements already made that 
 the force exerted in a volcanic eruption is immense. 
 To raise lava to the summit of Mauna Loa, Dana 
 shows that the pressure at the sea level must be 
 17,200 pounds to the square inch, or 2,500,000 pounds 
 per square foot! Yet Cotopaxi, 3000 or 4000 feet 
 higher than Mauna Loa, has ejected matter 6000 feet 
 above its summit. 
 
 From the few examples of volcanic action here 
 enumerated, the student may get some idea of the 
 mighty changes volcanoes are producing. 
 
 A single eruption like that of Skapter Jokul, pours 
 out melted rock enough to cover a township 30 miles 
 square to the depth of 100 feet. 
 
IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 251 
 
 Dana has shown that the Sandwich Islands, and 
 many other islands of the Pacific, have been built up 
 by successive volcanic eruptions ; each eruption 
 adding a new layer to some part of the accumulating 
 mountain. Hence the stratification which volcanic 
 rocks sometimes exhibit. Still, there is no difficulty 
 in distinguishing volcanic productions from aqueous 
 deposits ; the former always indicating their fiery 
 origin. 
 
 In the numerous and extended fissures, formed and 
 filled with lava during an eruption, we have a fall 
 explanation of the dikes which we find in other places 
 where the volcanic fires have long since ceased to act. 
 
 In the vast amount of matter thrown out by volca- 
 noes, we find positive proof that the mountain itself 
 does not furnish the material which thus flows out 
 like a mighty torrent ; for the amount of a single 
 eruption is sometimes greater than the whole mass of 
 the mountain. Hence, we are compelled to look to a 
 vast reservoir of melted matter for this great supply. 
 In a word, the volcano is but the outlet to the channel 
 or channels connecting with the molten interior of our 
 globe. . ^ 
 
 The immediate cause of an eruption is undoubtedly 
 the force produced by the expansion of steam and 
 gases in contact with the molten mass beneath the 
 mountain. 
 
252 IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 In closing the remarks on volcanoes a word may 
 be added about lava itself. 
 
 Lava varies greatly in composition, structure, and 
 color. In some cases it is very compact ; in others, 
 so porous and sponge-like that it will readily float 
 upon the water. The varieties in structure result 
 mainly from the different circumstances under which 
 the molten matter cools. When cooled under the 
 pressure of a superincumbent mass, it generally forms 
 compact lava. The porous varieties are called scoria 
 and pumice, and result from the cooling of matter 
 while expanded with the contained vapors and gases. 
 In fact, scoria and pumice are often but the froth or 
 foam of the volcano. 
 
 As the lava is thrown into the air, the wind often 
 spins it into fine threads of great length. Great 
 quantities of this are found at Kilauea, where it is 
 called " Pele's hair." 
 
 THERMAL SPRINGS are intimately connected with 
 volcanic phenomena, and deserve notice in this place. 
 They occur in almost every country, and remote from 
 volcanoes, as well as near them. There are thermal 
 springs in Virginia, Arkansas, Oregon, the Utah 
 Basin, and in other parts of North America. 
 
 The Geysers, in the south-western part of Iceland, 
 have long been noted. The Great Geyser issues from 
 an elevated basin, fifty feet in diameter, which gradu- 
 ally contracts into a pipe or tube, eight or ten feet in 
 
IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 253 
 
 diameter, witli a perpendicular depth of about eighty 
 feet. The basin is sometimes empty, but is generally 
 filled with boiling water. 
 
 Sometimes a column of water is thrown up 100 or 
 200 fee^t. This violent action lasts only a few minutes. 
 After the water is thrown out of the pipe, an immense 
 quantity of steam rushes up with a deafening roar ; 
 then all is quiet for a time. The principal changes 
 produced by thermal springs is the deposition of 
 silicious matter. 
 
 EARTHQUAKES. Some of the phenomena of earth- 
 quakes are rumbling sounds, undulatory movements 
 of the ground, the opening of vast fissures in the 
 earth, the drying up of fountains, the elevation and 
 depression of whole districts or countries. A few 
 examples, selected from the many which are recorded, 
 will serve our present purpose. 
 
 In November, 1755, an earthquake occurred at 
 Lisbon, which in six minutes destroyed a large part 
 of the city, and 60,000 inhabitants. The loftiest 
 mountains of Portugal were rent, and huge fragments 
 were thrown down into the valleys. Near Lisbon, 
 the waters of the ocean rolled back, then rose again 
 fifty feet above their ordinary level. The land in all 
 the adjacent countries was convulsed, and in the north 
 of Africa, near Morocco, a town with 8000 inhabit- 
 ants was swallowod up. 
 
 22 
 
254 IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 Humboldt states that this earthquake was felt over 
 an extent greater than four times the area of Europe. 
 
 In 1783 ; a great earthquake occurred in Calabria, 
 entirely changing the face of the country, and destroy- 
 ing 100,000 inhabitants. The centre of greatest 
 motion was near the town of Oppido. Yast fissures 
 opened and closed, swallowing up the inhabitants, 
 cattle, trees, and houses. Many of the fissures re- 
 mained open after the earthquake was over. 
 
 In 1811-12, an earthquake at New Madrid, Missouri, 
 caused the sinking of the country over an extent of 
 75 miles by 30, to the depth of several feet. Lakes, 
 twenty miles in extent, were formed in the course of 
 an hour. The earth rose in great undulations ; fissures 
 opened, and vast columns of water, sand, and other 
 material, were thrown out to great heights. 
 
 Near New Madrid, the ground rose so as to cause a 
 temporary reflow of the waters of the Mississippi. 
 In some cases, the inhabitants felled trees- over the 
 opening fissures, and getting upon them escaped being 
 swallowed up. The evidences of this earthquake are 
 still visible. 
 
 In 1812, the city of Caraccas was reduced to ruins 
 in a moment, by an earthquake. 
 
 In 1822, an earthquake elevated the coast of Chili 
 from two to four feet, over an area of 100,000 square 
 miles. 
 
 At 9 o'clock, on the 4th of January, 1843, earth- 
 
IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 255 
 
 quake shocks were felt throughout most of the United 
 States, from the Mississippi to the Atlantic coast. 
 
 On February 8, 1843, the earthquake of Gruada- 
 loupe was felt from New York to the Amazon river ; 
 but the greatest intensity was at Guadaloupe. Here 
 the earth opened, ejecting columns of water, and, 
 closing again, engulphed men and animals. 
 
 Earthquakes are undoubtedly caused by the action 
 of the heated interior of the globe upon its crust or 
 outside part ; but precisely how this molten matter 
 operates to produce the earthquake, is not fully 
 understood. 
 
 VERTICAL MOVEMENTS WITHOUT APPARENT EARTH- 
 QUAKES. 
 
 Scandinavia has been, and is now, undergoing 
 quiet vertical movements. 
 
 The observations in respect to these movements, 
 have been more particularly made in Sweden. That 
 country is gradually rising ; the more rapidly as we 
 go toward the north. In fact, the extreme southern 
 portion is gradually sinking. 
 
 That elevation has been going on, is proved by the 
 fact, that beds of shells, of the same species as those 
 now inhabiting the adjacent waters, are found from 
 100 to 200 feet above the present water level, and 
 barnacles are attached to the rocks at that height. 
 
256 IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 
 
 These proofs exist from Gottenburg and Udde valla 
 to Torneo, and even to the North Cape. Similar 
 proofs of elevation, within a comparatively recent 
 period, exist in Norway. 
 
 That the most southern portion of Sweden is sink- 
 ing gradually, is shown by the streets of the ancient 
 seaport towns, which are now below the water level. 
 Another proof is the fact that the sea is 100 feet 
 nearer a large rock at Trelleborg than it was in the 
 time of Linnaeus, as shown by the record of that 
 naturalist. 
 
 The west coast of Greenland is gradually sinking. 
 
 Since the Christian era, parts of the coast of Italy, 
 in the region of Naples, have undergone vertical 
 movements, amounting to 20 or 30 feet in each 
 direction. The record of these changes is not only 
 left on the coast itself, but also on the columns of 
 the temple of Jupiter Serapis, at Puzzuoli. 
 
 The remains of this temple had not been noticed till 
 1749, at which time three pillars were found project- 
 ing several feet above a marine deposit in which they 
 stood. Their tops were surrounded with bushes, 
 which had prevented their previous discovery. 
 
 The position of the columns in the marine strata, 
 furnishes xis with the proof that the land had been 
 depressed, and again elevated. 
 
 That the sea stood around these columns for a con- 
 siderable length of time, is shown not only by the 
 
IGNEOUS AGENCIES. 257 
 
 depth of marine strata found surrounding them, but 
 by the fact that the columns themselves are perforated 
 extensively by lithodomous molluscs whose shells still 
 remain in the cavities. 
 
 Similar records found in connection with this 
 temple, inform us that elevations and depressions, 
 previous to those now described, have also occurred 
 in this region. 
 
 Large regions in the southern portion of South 
 America have been undergoing gradual elevation. 
 
 The cause of these quiet vertical movements pro- 
 bably lies in the fact of the gradual cooling and con- 
 sequent contraction of the molten matter within. The 
 crust of the globe, in accommodating itself to the con- 
 tracting nucleus, must of necessity rise in some places 
 and fall in others. 
 
 22* R 
 
258 ORGANIC AGENCIES. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 OEGANIC AGENCIES. 
 
 Organic agencies, though silent in their operations, 
 are none the less surely producing important geologi- 
 cal changes. 
 
 We have already seen that the strata in many 
 districts are mainly composed of the remains of plants 
 and animals, and that the beds of mineral coal are 
 wholly of vegetable origin. Plants and animals are 
 still contributing to the formation of strata upon our 
 globe. 
 
 The great bulk of vegetation, as remarked in 
 another place, is carbon. Plants receive all their 
 food through the leaves, and through the roots ; the 
 former receiving the gaseous, and the latter the liquid 
 nourishment. There is about one gallon of carbonic 
 acid in twenty-five hundred gallons of pure atmo- 
 spheric air. Decay, combustion, and respiration, all 
 tend to make the amount of carbonic acid greater; 
 and the whole atmosphere would become unfit for 
 respiration, were it not for the fact that plants receive 
 their carbon mainly from the air. Every tree hangs 
 out its thousands, and often its millions of leaves. 
 Each leaf is covered with almost an innumerable 
 
ORGANIC AGENCIES. 259 
 
 number of mouths. Through these the carbonic acid 
 of the atmosphere is taken into the leaf, where it is 
 decomposed, the carbon retained for the growth of the 
 plant, and the oxygen given back to the atmosphere. 
 
 In this connection I ought to notice the fact, that 
 every branch upon the tree, every twig upon the 
 branch, every leaf upon the twig, and the sepals, 
 petals, and stamens of every flower, are arranged 
 with mathematical relations to another ; which not 
 only contributes to the growth of the plant, but 
 reveals that perfection which is found everywhere 
 in Nature. On most plants the leaves, and conse- 
 quently the branches, are arranged so that a thread 
 drawn from one to the next above it, and from 'this to 
 a third, and so on, will pass spirally around the stem; 
 and a little careful study will show that leaves upon 
 plants are either ], -J-, f, f, -* s , 5 8 f , ||, or f^, of the 
 circumference of the stem apart, disregarding only 
 the vertical distance which separates them. This 
 secures the greatest possible space to each leaf, whose 
 function it is to secure the poisonous gas of the 
 atmosphere, and extract from it the material with 
 which to form the woody fibre. 
 
 The forests and the little plants, then, are every- 
 where gathering in the carbon from the atmosphere, 
 which they sooner or later add to the ground upon 
 which they stand. Plants are forming peat in all the 
 swamps of the cool countries. It is rarely formed in 
 
260 ORGANIC AGENCIES. 
 
 the hot regions, on account of the rapidity with which 
 vegetation decays there. The amount of carbon in 
 the peat bogs of the United States and Europe is 
 immense, and shows us what changes are going on 
 through the silent growth of plants. 
 
 At certain seasons of the year, drift-wood covers 
 our large rivers that flow through timbered regions. 
 This collects in rafts covering the river for long 
 distances, or it becomes water-logged and sinks, and 
 is covered by the sands. Large accumulations of 
 vegetation are found along the Mississippi and its 
 tributaries. Near * the mouth of that river, sand, 
 gravel, and vegetable matter, in alternate layers, have 
 accumulated to a great depth. 
 
 In thirty -five years, a raft of drift-wood, 10 miles 
 long, 600 feet wide, accumulated on the Atchafalaya. 
 Over this a soil formed, giving support to a luxuriant 
 growth of plants. A raft on the "Washita concealed 
 the surface of the river for 50 miles. Similar cases, 
 though less extensive, are common. 
 
 The various vegetable accumulations described 
 above, may form the coal-beds of a coming age. 
 
 Animals are constantly producing changes ; and it 
 is a remarkable fact that those which are producing 
 the greatest changes are among the smallest in the 
 Animal Kingdom. Silicious and calcareous deposits 
 are constantly forming from the shields of infusorial 
 animals. The marl which is found beneath peat in 
 
ORGANIC AGENCIES. 261 
 
 peat bogs, is wholly composed of the shields or 
 skeletons of Infusoria. Such deposits are found at 
 the bottoms of many of the ponds in New England. 
 Calcareous marls are also forming in many parts of 
 our country. In Williamstown, Yt., the bottom of a 
 pond or lake, which was drained some years ago, is 
 covered with calcareous marl from two to twenty feet 
 deep. 
 
 Coral polyps especially claim our attention. These 
 have already been described in our remarks on the 
 Animal Kingdom. It only remains to give here some 
 idea of the extent of the changes coral animals are 
 producing. 
 
 Wherever circumstances favor its growth, accumu- 
 lations of coral border all the islands and shores 
 within the tropics. These accumulations are called 
 Coral Eeefs. 
 
 When a reef stands close to the shore, it is called 
 a Fringing Reef; and when at a distance from the 
 shore, a Barrier Reef. Both fringing and barrier 
 reefs are often found around the same island. 
 
 Coral reefs vary in width, from a few hundred feet 
 to a mile. The barrier reef sometimes stands 10 or 
 15 miles from the shore, leaving a wide channel, and 
 often fine harbors, between itself and the land. Some- 
 times the barrier reef nearly encircles the island, 
 leaving only here and there an opening; in other 
 cases, it appears only on one or two sides. 
 
262 
 
 ORGANIC AGENCIES. 
 
 A barrier reef sometimes surrounds several, and 
 
 not unfrequently very many islands. Between a 
 
 barrier reef and the island, the water is generally 
 shallow ; but, at -a little distance outside the reef, it is 
 often unfathomable. 
 
 A Coral Island or Atoll is simply a barrier reef 
 
 Fig. 18G. 
 
 HE* 
 
 Coral Island with a Lagoon, South Pacific. 
 
 surrounding a body of water or lagoon, as represented 
 in Fig. 186. Sometimes, however, the lagoon is 
 wanting. 
 
ORGANIC AGENCIES. 263 
 
 Coral islands seldom rise more than 8 or 10 feet 
 above the water, being so low that the waves often 
 dash over into the lagoon. 
 
 Both in the lagoons, and in the channels between 
 the barrier reefs and the island, corals grow in great 
 perfection. 
 
 It was formerly supposed that coral reefs and coral 
 islands were built up from the great depths of the 
 sea; but it is now known that most reef-producing 
 polyps do not flourish in water that is more than 20 
 or 30 fathoms in depth. It was also formerly sup- 
 posed that the annular form of coral islands was due 
 to their having been built on the edges of submarine 
 craters ; but this is no longer believed. 
 
 The explanation of coral reefs and coral islands is 
 one and the same. They grow on the flanks of 
 mountains whose summits are high islands. Such 
 islands are numerous in the Pacific ; and it is well 
 known that many of them are gradually sinking. 
 
 The upward growth of coral thus tends to counter- 
 balance the loss of land occasioned by subsidence in 
 those regions. 
 
 Through the influence of coral polyps, there are 
 now two hundred islands in the Pacific, where, but for 
 the growth of corals, there would be less than twenty. 
 
 The following ideal sections of a gradually sinking- 
 island illustrate the growth of coral reefs and the 
 formation of Atolls. 
 
264: 
 
 ORGANIC AGENCIES. 
 
 Fig. 187 represents an island with its shores fringed 
 with coral, constituting a Fringing Eeef. 
 
 Fig. 187. 
 
 Section of an Island with Fringing Reef. 
 
 Fig. 188 shows the same island after further sub- 
 sidence, and a great increase of the reef, which has 
 now become a Barrier -Keef. 
 
 Fig 188. 
 
 Section of an Island with Barrier Keef. 
 
 At length the island is completely submerged ; the 
 Barrier Eeef becomes a Coral Island, or Atoll. 
 
 Fig. 189. 
 
 Section of a Coral Island or Atoll. 
 
 Other things being favorable, reef-growing polyps 
 flourish wherever the winter temperature is not below 
 66 F. 
 
ORGANIC AGENCIES. 265 
 
 The greatest reef region in the world extends from 
 New Caledonia to the northeast coast of Australia. 
 A reef 400 miles long skirts the western shore of the 
 first-named island; and a reef extends along the 
 north-east coast of Australia from East Cape to Torres 
 Strait, a distance of 1000 miles. All the islands be- 
 tween New Caledonia and Australia are of coral 
 growth. 
 
 The Feejee, Tonga, Navigator, Society, and Gam- 
 bier Islands abound with coral reefs. 
 
 The Pamotus embrace eighty coral islands, most of 
 them with lagoons. The Hapai group is composed 
 wholly of coral islands. The islands of Central 
 Archipelago, north of the Feejees, are all of coral 
 formation, as are nearly all of the Caroline Islands. 
 
 The Sooloo Sea is a coral reef region ; and coral 
 abounds in many other* parts of the East Indies. The 
 islands of the Indian Ocean are of coral growth, or 
 bordered by coral reefs. The Ked Sea and Persian 
 Gulf are coral regions. 
 
 Florida, south of St. Augustine, is wholly of coral 
 formation ; and extensive reefs are still growing on 
 the coast of that peninsula. The Bermudas are of 
 coral growth ; and coral abounds in the West Indies. 
 
 Some of the coral reefs of the Pacific are from 1000 
 to 2000 feet thick, so great has been the subsidence, 
 and yet so slow, that the growing reef has kept pace 
 with the sinking land. 
 
 23 
 
266 ORGANIC AGENCIES. 
 
 Did not subsidence take place, no reef could become 
 thicker than 20 or 30 fathoms the maximum depth 
 at which coral polyps flourish. 
 
 The rate at which coral reefs grow has not been 
 satisfactorily determined ; but probably it is not more 
 than one foot in a century. According to recent 
 investigations of Agassiz, in Florida, the rate does 
 not exceed half a foot a century. Taking the highest 
 of these estimates, we see what an amount of time is 
 indicated by a reef 1000 or 2000 feet thick. 
 
 From these facts about coral polyps, we get some 
 idea of the extent of the geological changes these 
 little animals are producing, Wa also learn how the 
 limestones of our present continents were formed ; for 
 it is settled by the most careful investigations that 
 they are all of animal origin, and that the coral 
 polyps have been among the 'most prominent agents 
 in their production. 
 
 The common reef corals are composed mainly of 
 carbonate of lime, 90 to 96 parts in 100 being of this 
 substance. The remaining parts are organic matter, 
 phosphates, fluorids, magnesia, silica, and oxyd of 
 iron. 
 
 Therefore we find in the coral reef the materials 
 necessary to form the limestones, and the minerals 
 which accompany them, such as fluor spar, apatite, 
 chondrodite, &c. 
 
 Though coral polyps have undoubtedly been the 
 
ORGANIC AGENCIES. 267 
 
 most prominent agents in the production of the lime- 
 stones, all other animals which have calcareous skele- 
 tons or shields have contributed to the same result. 
 The shells of molluscs and other testaceous animals 
 are contributing largely to the formation of strata in 
 many parts of the world. It is common to find im- 
 mense accumulations composed wholly of cemented 
 shells, constituting what is called shell limestone. 
 
 Man is producing geological changes. He aids in 
 the distribution of animals from their original centre, 
 and causes the extinction of species. He changes the 
 courses of rivers, rescues land from the sea ; and the 
 products of his industry go to make up a part of the 
 strata now forming Nature's record of the present 
 age. 
 
CHAPTEE X. 
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 WE are now prepared to take a somewhat more 
 enlarged view of our subject; and to understand better 
 the true relations and significance of those facts which 
 have been pointed out in the previous* pages. I pro- 
 pose, therefore, to devote this chapter to a statement 
 of some of those great truths and principles which 
 naturally flow from the facts with which the student 
 has now been made acquainted; at the same time 
 recalling the facts themselves ; so far as necessary to 
 bring the subject clearly before the mind. 
 
 The high antiquity of the earth is one of the great 
 truths which geological investigations reveal. 
 
 This truth is forced upon the mind by the careful 
 study of a single geological formation ; but when we 
 connect all the great formations- and systems in their 
 chronological order, the human mind is unable to 
 comprehend the vast duration which opens before it. 
 
 Until a comparatively recent period, the opinion 
 was popular that the earth is only about 6000 years 
 old ; but the records in the rocks compel us to believe 
 
 (268) 
 
CONCLUDING EEMAKKS. 269 
 
 that this is no more than the measure of time since 
 the present order of things commenced. 
 
 We have looked upon the Pyramids, and the 
 buried cities of the East, as monuments of great 
 antiquity ; and compared with the life of man, they 
 may be so considered ; but the rocks in the founda- 
 tions of Nineveh, and the blocks which compose the 
 Pyramids, were filled and covered all over with hiero- 
 glyphs when taken from the quarry; and they tell 
 us of ages a thousand times more remote from the 
 builders of those massive structures, than is the 
 amount of time which separates us from them. 
 
 We shall never be able to number the centuries our 
 planet has been in existence; we must measure its 
 history by epochs, and not by years. But we shall 
 gain a truer idea of the age of the earth, if we 
 trace back the stream of time through the several 
 geological periods, beginning with the most recent, 
 and going back to the oldest. Let us endeavor, 
 briefly, to do this. 
 
 By an examination of the deltas, and other super- 
 ficial deposits which are comprised under Alluvium, 
 as limited in our classification, we are carried back to 
 a period long anterior to the creation of man. 
 
 The deep gorge at Niagara, and the deltas of the 
 Mississippi, the Ganges, and the Nile, point us to 
 changes that must have occupied tens of thousands 
 of years; yet these have all taken place since the 
 
270 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 continents assumed essentially their present position, 
 and are therefore among the modern changes that 
 have passed upon the earth. 
 
 The changes indicated by the Drift have also oc- 
 curred since the present great outlines were stamped 
 upon the continents ; but before those just specified, 
 as is proved by the fact that the rivers have been cut- 
 ting down their channels through the accumulated 
 material of the Drift Period, and leaving terrace after 
 terrace as if for way-marks in the march of ages. 
 
 We observe the boulder poised upon the hill, or 
 mountain side. Could we but read its history aright, 
 it would doubtless reveal a fund of information con 
 cerning our earth, greater than that now possessed by 
 any human mind. The storms have beaten upon it for 
 ages where it now stands, and the hand of time has 
 broken many a fragment, and piled them at its base, 
 as if to number the centuries of its age. 
 
 But the boulder has not always rested in its present 
 position. By examination we find it entirely different 
 from the rock upon which it rests, and is therefore 
 not a part of that. It has journeyed far. ~No human 
 eye beheld its wanderings, or saw it, at the close of its 
 journey, rest upon the mountain. Yet its history is 
 written. From the time it was broken from the parent 
 ledge, till it stopped in its present place, it wrote its 
 own story, which can be read upon the rocks to-day. 
 There is its path in the solid rock. The rains have 
 
CONCLUDING KEMAKKS. 271 
 
 beaten upon that path for long years, but have not 
 washed it away. Old Ocean has rolled his waves 
 over it, but there it is. See what heights this boulder 
 has travelled over what valleys it has crossed ! The 
 Glacier, or the Iceberg, has borne it over all these, 
 and lifted it high above the valley and poised it upon 
 the mountain side. 
 
 Who shall number the centuries that have rolled 
 away since it paused there in its course, or measure 
 the time of its journey ? Nay, who shall tell the ages 
 that it occupied its place in the parent ledge, before 
 the glacier or the iceberg wrenched it from the mass, 
 and bore it away ? 
 
 But look closer. This boulder itself, perchance is 
 made up of pebbles, each of which was once a part 
 of a solid rock, whose fragments, worn and polished 
 by the lapse of centuries, are again cemented to form 
 the rocky strata, which, after being undisturbed for 
 ages, are broken up, and the masses borne away by 
 the ice, and scattered upon distant mountains, where 
 they have been so long, that Time has written anti- 
 quity on their decaying fronts. 
 
 Such are some of the evidences of antiquity, which 
 the phenomena of the Drift unfold to us. 
 
 But, before the Drift, were produced all those de- 
 posits, embracing several extensive formations, which 
 constitute the Tertiary System. It was during the 
 Tertiary period that the strata were formed which fill 
 
272 CONCLUDING KEMAKKS. 
 
 the basins of London, Paris, and Vienna, to a depth 
 several times greater than that which has accumulated 
 since the creation of man. During this period, large 
 tracts of America, along the Atlantic coast, were 
 beneath the waters; and Europe was so penetrated 
 and covered by the ocean that it presented a widely 
 different aspect from what it presents to-day. 
 
 Yet the Tertiary period was one of life. Fishes 
 swam those ancient waters, and molluscs 'crept along 
 the bottoms. In the shallow coves where the waters 
 of the land mingled with those of the ocean, reptiles, 
 both large and small, basked in the sunshine, and 
 dragged their bodies among the reeds and rushes, as 
 they do now. 
 
 The rivers now and then are flooded, and sweep 
 onward to the sea the foliage and trunks of palms, and 
 cone-bearing trees, land and river shells, and the 
 bodies of Anoplotheria, and Paleotheria, and other 
 animals that cannot escape the descending flood ; and 
 reptiles too, that make their haunts near the rivers 7 
 mouths, are borne out, and mingled with the remains 
 of the life of the sea. 
 
 Thus the strata accumulate, and the continents at 
 length are lifted higher above the waters, and assume 
 more nearly their present outlines, the Tertiary 
 Period is ended, yet its records of life, and death, and 
 change remain. 
 
 But the Cretaceous System points us to a period, as 
 
CONCLUDING REMARKS. 273 
 
 long probably as the Tertiary, which closed ere the 
 latter began. 
 
 And before the Cretaceous, was the Oolitic Period, 
 during which reptilian life reached its culmination. 
 In this era, no true placental mammals lived. For 
 thousands of years, the Plesiosaurians, Ichthyosau- 
 rians, and Pterodactyls, could well be styled the lords 
 of creation. 
 
 Before the Oolitic, came the New Eed Sandstone 
 Period, at the commencement of which reptilian life 
 had scarcely begun on our planet. In this period, the 
 sandstone of Connecticut River Valley was formed, 
 upon successive layers of which are impressed the 
 foot-prints of animals so far removed from our time, 
 that the naturalist hesitates, in many cases, whether 
 to refer them to Bird or Eeptile. 
 
 But the Carboniferous Period was before the New 
 Red Sandstone, and how shall we adequately express 
 its great duration ? 
 
 The united thickness of the coal-beds in some 
 regions is from 100 to 200 feet, and these beds are 
 distributed throughout ten to twenty times the thick- 
 ness of strata which have accumulated since the crea- 
 tion of man. 
 
 When we consider the thickness of the coal-beds, 
 and the thickness of the strata which contain them, 
 and are interstratified with them, and when we re- 
 member that this carbon has been taken from the 
 
274 CONCLUDING EEMAEKS. 
 
 atmosphere by vegetation, and that the containing 
 rocks have accumulated through the agency of water, 
 and indicate successive vertical movements during 
 their formation, which also implies time, when these 
 facts are properly collated, and their true import 
 understood, we have an argument for antiquity which 
 is irresistible. 
 
 Yet, the Carboniferous, embracing such a great 
 thickness of strata, implying an immensity of time of 
 which we can scarcely form any conception, is but a 
 single one. of those grand periods which measure off 
 the mighty cycles of the past. 
 
 But before this period began, the Old Eed Sand- 
 stone Period was past, leaving, as a faithful record of 
 the time of its duration, stratified rocks thousands of 
 feet in thickness, and replete with the remains of life. 
 
 But ere any, and all these named above, came the 
 long Silurian. In this period life dawned upon our 
 planet marine life, yet it foreshadowed that of to-day. 
 
 "Who can follow the centuries, and faithfully register 
 their number, while the twenty or thirty thousand 
 feet of Silurian rocks accumulated on the bottom of 
 those ancient oceans? So slowly did the work of 
 deposition go on in many places, that the bottom of 
 the ocean was elevated more rapidly by the additions 
 from the remains of animal life, than from the sedi- 
 ment thrown down by the waters. So stands the 
 record to-day. Strata, ten, twenty, fifty, or a hundred 
 
CONCLUDING REMARKS. 275 
 
 or more feet in thickness, composed almost wholly of 
 animal remains, prove this statement beyond the least 
 shadow of a doubt. 
 
 For a period beyond the grasp of human conception, 
 the Silurian ocean covered the greater part of the sur- 
 face of the earth. Then were only scattered islands, 
 where are now broad continents. The range of animal 
 species was wide ; the same living in various parts of 
 the world. This period ended, but its stupendous 
 monuments still remain, upon which we may read the 
 story of its great duration. 
 
 Thus we have threaded our way back through the 
 life periods of our globe, but we have not reached the 
 source of the " Stream of Time." 
 
 Before any and all these, the solid rocks tell us of 
 time probably as extended as the aggregate of those 
 periods through which we have in imagination now 
 passed, during which our earth was an uninhabited 
 cheerless world. Nay, what ages must have rolled 
 away, during which the earth's crust became cooled, 
 and the waters gathered upon it ; which took place 
 before the stratified rocks even began to form. 
 
 Now, when we connect all these periods, what an 
 ocean of time rolls up from the mighty past ! We 
 are then ready to exclaim with the Psalmist, " OF OLD 
 
 HAST THOU LAID THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH." 
 
 This truth, the great antiquity of the earth, so 
 plainly taught in nature's own records, is one which 
 
276 CONCLUDING EEMAEKS. 
 
 has caused the science of Geology to be looked upon 
 with suspicion, by those who believe the Sacred 
 Scriptures limit the age of the world to 6000 years. 
 And this truth is often assailed as though it were the 
 peculiar property of the geologist, while it is a truth 
 which belongs to all mankind. It had not its origin 
 with man ; but with God. It was registered in endur- 
 ing characters ere man was created. And I will not 
 attempt to say whether it be worse to deny the truths 
 which He has revealed in His Word, or those which 
 He has revealed in His works. 
 
 As truly as the earth exists, so true is it that the 
 rocks are filled with different races of animals that 
 have successively inhabited the surface of the earth. 
 "We may argue as much as we please to show that the 
 "plastic forces of nature" have moulded all these 
 plants and animals in the rocks, or to show that they 
 are not real, or that they were created in the rocks 
 where we now find them ; but let us remember one 
 thing that argument can never controvert facts. 
 Galileo was compelled by arguments of force to recant 
 his theory of the universe, but the facts remained the 
 same; and each rising sun reiterates the same truth, 
 which some of his time would fain have argued out 
 of existence. 
 
 It matters not what our mere opinions are about 
 the records in the rocks, so far as regards their 
 truthfulness, miles of strata filled from the bottom to 
 
CONCLUDING EEMAEKS. 277 
 
 the top with, animals of different races, that crawled 
 on the bottom of ancient oceans, or darted through 
 their waters, or flew above them, or basked on the 
 shores of estuaries, or swam the rivers, or roamed 
 over the land, or winged their way through the air, 
 exist as an incontrovertible fact. 
 
 If such be the testimony of the rocks, we may safely 
 aver that it is not contradicted by the Bible ; for have 
 not the volume of Nature and the volume of Inspira- 
 tion the same Great Author ? The greatest scholars 
 of the present time are fully satisfied that the Bible 
 does not fix the age of the earth ; and that the word 
 which is translated day does not always mean a period 
 of twenty-four hours, nor always even the same 
 amount of time, as may be readily proved by referring 
 to the different places where it is used. 
 
 We may then regard the word day as used in the 
 first chapter of Genesis as representing a period of 
 time of great length ; this interpretation is demanded 
 by the records which God has given us in the volume 
 of Nature, in the rocks ; and there is nothing in the 
 Bible to forbid it. 
 
 If we regard the six days mentioned in Genesis as 
 representing successive long periods of time, the 
 apparent difficulty disappears, and the records agree 
 in all their essential features. How preposterous the 
 
 idea that there is any conflict between the two 
 24 
 
278 CONCLUDING EEMAEKS. 
 
 records ! Not less so is the attempt to set either aside, 
 by denying its true interpretation. 
 
 Another great truth which geology and connected 
 sciences clearly reveal, is, that everything in nature 
 is built upon a plan. 
 
 This truth is the more plainly seen and felt, the 
 more the facts of nature are studied in their natural 
 relations. There is no such thing as an isolated fact 
 in the physical world. Each connects itself with 
 another, and all are necessary to a perfect whole. 
 To study facts of nature separately is one thing ; to 
 study them in their true relations is quite another. 
 In one case, we are learning the alphabet ; in the 
 other, we are reading the sublimest truths which that 
 alphabet can be used to express. 
 
 So far as we study the facts of nature in their 
 natural relations, and understand their true signifi- 
 cance, so far do we become acquainted with the 
 thoughts of the Author of Nature ere creation began ; 
 for nature is but a full and tangible expression of 
 those thoughts which were matured in the Divine 
 Mind before the foundation of the world. 
 
 The beautiful chemical combinations of elements, 
 the mathematical exactness of crystallized mineral 
 forms, the structure and growth of plants, the animal 
 kingdom as it now appears on the earth, exhibit 
 forethought, they reveal a plan. And in the suc- 
 cession of animal life upon our globe, a plan is 
 
CONCLUDING REMARKS. 279 
 
 revealed, " grand in its outlines, and beautiful in its 
 execution." 
 
 Geology shows that the earth, during those long 
 periods that rolled away, while it was passing from a 
 state of chaos to the delightful garden we now find it, 
 was inhabited by races of animals exactly suited to 
 its condition. 
 
 No fact in geology is better established than that 
 there has been a succession of races of animal life 
 upon the earth, each higher in rank than the pre- 
 ceding. We find higher orders, and in some of the 
 branches higher classes, as we pass from the earliest 
 to the latest life-periods of the globe. 
 
 We find that all these races have been built upon 
 certain plans. Kadiates, Molluscs, Articulates, and 
 Vertebrates, are the four Types after which all the 
 animals, both of the present and the past, have been 
 built. 
 
 Geology, then, shows that there is no such thing as 
 the development of lower species into higher. It has 
 been a favorite notion with many people, and some 
 philosophers, that the higher animals are only the 
 results of continued improvements on the lowest form 
 of life. Our science shows this notion to be entirely 
 false. Animals of the four great Types appeared 
 upon the earth in profusion simultaneously. Hence 
 neither branch, nor type, could be developed from 
 another. 
 
280 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 Upon the great plan wrought out in the Divine 
 Mind the successive races have appeared. Each 
 succeeding race bears the impress of the original idea, 
 yet it is an entirely new creation. Nature has not 
 repeated herself, but everywhere is the greatest diver- 
 sity consistent with unity. 
 
 If we look at the Branch of Vertebrates, the highest 
 of the animal kingdom, we find it represented in the 
 earliest ages, by the lowest class, Fishes. Ages later, 
 Keptiles are introduced; later still, Birds are added; 
 and in the Tertiary the true Mammals make their 
 appearance; and, last of all, Man appears upon the 
 earth ; yet the plan was unaltered during all these 
 changes, and remains the same to-day, as when Grod 
 spoke life into existence. The great idea which found 
 its highest expression in Man, was shadowed forth in 
 the earliest paleozoic fishes. 
 
 How significant these facts! The race of Verte- 
 brates did not end with fishes, nor reptiles, nor birds, 
 nor mere mammals, but with Man. The highest ex- 
 pression possible upon the Vertebral plan had not 
 been made till the introduction of him whom God 
 created in His own image ! 
 
 The great plan of the Creator is still farther re- 
 vealed, when we consider the wonderful provisions 
 He has made for the benefit of His creatures; and 
 especially for man, His last creation ; and not a plan 
 only, but Divine Benevolence is strikingly exhibited, 
 
CONCLUDING REMAKES. 281 
 
 and to a degree excelled only by that presented in the 
 GIFT which was made as a provision for man's imma- 
 terial and higher nature. 
 
 Who reflects upon the wonderful supply of all 
 those materials so useful and necessary in the various 
 pursuits of life, and is not fully convinced that the 
 earth has been going through a long series of changes, 
 preparatory to the reception of man ? 
 
 The earth was filled with rocks, and metals, and 
 treasures necessary for man's use, ages before he 
 was created. The vast storehouse of fuel, in the form 
 of coal, which is now locked up in the earth, subject 
 to the demands of human labor, floated in the atmo- 
 sphere of an age long since past. At that age, neither 
 man nor any land animal could exist, as the air was 
 charged with a deadly gas. 
 
 The carbonic acid might have been swept away by 
 a single stroke of the Divine Hand, but a great plan 
 was to be fulfilled ; the earth was to become the home 
 of man, and this carbon was to be preserved for his 
 use. The vegetation secured the carbon; and thus 
 the air was purified. The vegetation became entombed 
 in the bosom of the earth, and after slumbering there 
 for untold centuries, comes to-day to benefit and bless 
 mankind. 
 
 This carbon was buried far beneath the rocky 
 strata ; but the rocky covering of the earth has been 
 broken, and its treasures brought within the reach of 
 
282 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 human industry. Every page of geologic history 
 unfolds the wonderful provision which the Author of 
 Nature made for the advent of His last creation. 
 
 In a proper contemplation of the facts registered in 
 the crust of the earth, what a field opens before us ! 
 We begin to see how vast are the works of God. The 
 mind seems to run back through the long-slumbering 
 ages, and note the changes our planet has undergone. 
 It gets a glimpse of the scenes as they passed in the 
 slow, yet ever revolving centuries. We get a faint 
 view of the Great Plan the Author of Nature has 
 made and carried out. A world of disorder is trans- 
 formed into one of life and beauty ; peopled at differ- 
 ent stages of its existence with beings suited to its 
 condition; improved with each successive change, 
 until it is as a delightful garden, where the fragrance 
 of flowers sweetens every breeze, and crystal streams 
 flow, whose ascending vapors make green the over- 
 hanging branches, where sweet warblers sing from 
 fullness of joy ; when Man is created, endowed with 
 those god-like powers and faculties which enable 
 him to fathom the past to some extent, to comprehend 
 and enjoy the present, and to look forward with bright 
 anticipations to the GEEAT FUTURE. 
 
GLOSSARY. 
 
GLOSSARY 
 
 OF SCIENTIFIC TERMS OCCURRING IN THE TEXT OF THIS 
 WORK. 
 
 [It will be observed that the arrangement adopted in the Glossary pre- 
 sents, first, after the word itself, its pronunciation; secondly, its etymo- 
 logy ; thirdly, its signification.] 
 
 A. 
 
 AcALEPHSj ac'-d-leefs etym., axaA^iy, ac-a-lee' '-fee, nettle 
 marine animals which cause a stinging sensation when 
 touched by the hand. 
 
 ACEPHALS, a-sef'-als etym., a, without, and xsyafy, kef'-a-lee, 
 head headless molluscs, as the clam and oyster. 
 
 ACICULAR, a-sic'-u-lar etym., acus (a'-cws), needle needle- 
 shaped. 
 
 ACROGENS, ac'-ro-jens etym., ax/?o<j, ac'-ros, top, and Y SV S) 
 gen'-osj growth growing at the extremity. 
 
 ACTINIA, ac-tin'-e-a, etym., axrtv, ac'-tin, ray animals hav- 
 ing a circle of tentacles, like rays, around the mouth, 
 as the sea-anemone (a-nem'-o-ne). 
 
 ACTINOID, ac' -tin-oid etym., dxrw, ac'-tin, ray, and stdos, 
 f-dosy form like an Actinia. 
 
 ACTINOLITE, ac-tin' -o-lite etym., axrtv, ac-tin, ray, and hOos, 
 li'-thosj stone green hornblende. 
 
 AGATE, acj' -ate etym., ^a^a-ny?, ga-ga'-tees a semi-pellucid, 
 uncrystallized variety of quartz, of varied tints arranged 
 in stripes or clouds. It is used for seals, cups, &c., 
 
286 GLOSSARY. 
 
 and is named, according to some, from the stream in 
 Sicily on whose banks it was found. 
 
 ALABASTER, al-a-bas'-ter etym., akafiaa-cpov, al-a-bas'-tron, 
 a variety of gypsum. 
 
 ALBITE, al'-blte etym., albus, white a variety of feldspar. 
 
 ALCYONOIDS, al'-se-o-noids etym., afc, hats, the sea, xuw, ku'-o, 
 to breed, and etdoz, form an order of polyps. 
 
 ALGJE, aljee plural of alga, sea-weed marine plants. 
 
 ALLUVIUM, al-lu'-ve-um compounded of ad, to or on, and 
 luo, to wash sandy, earthy, or stony matter, washed 
 away from its original place, and deposited on the sur- 
 face elsewhere. 
 
 ALUMINA, al-u'-me-na etym., al-u'-men, clay oxyd of alu- 
 minium. 
 
 ALUMINIUM, al-u-min r -e-um etym., as above the metallic 
 base of clay. 
 
 AMETHYST, am'-e-thyst etym., a/x9y<rro<?, a-me-ihus'-tos, not 
 inebriating a species of quartz, valued for jewellery, 
 and, in ancient times, used for drinking cups, as a 
 supposed protection against intoxication. 
 
 AMMONITE named from its resemblance to the horns on the 
 statue of Jupiter Ammon, resembling those of a ram 
 a genus of molluscous animals resembling the nau- 
 tilus. 
 
 AMYGDALOID, a-mig'-dal-oid etym., a/wyda^a, a-mug' -da-la, 
 an almond, and etdos, i'-dos, form minerals imbedded 
 in trap rock, like almonds in a cake. 
 
 ANALCIME, an-al'-sim etym., avaXxie;, an-al'-kis, weak a 
 zeolite, giving by friction, a weak electricity. See 
 ZEOLITE. 
 
 ANDALUS^TE, an-da-lu'-site, a silicious mineral, found in thick 
 lamellar forms, or in rhombic prisms. The name is 
 derived from Andalusia, in Spain, where it was first 
 observed. 
 
 ANELLIDES, an-ef-e-deez etym., annellus (an-neC-us), a little 
 
GLOSSARY. 287 
 
 ring worms whose body seems to be composed of a 
 succession of little rings. 
 
 ANGIOSPERMS, an 1 ' -je-o-sperms etym., ay-ystov, ang-gi'-on, ves- 
 sel, and ff7rspfj.a, sper-ma, seed plants having seed 
 enclosed in a pericarp. See PERICARP. 
 
 ANOPHYTES, an'-o-fites etym., avw, a'-no, upward, and (puto, 
 fu'-o, to grow shooting upward, erect. 
 
 ANOPLOTHERIUM, an-o-plo-tlie'-re-um etym., avoxhos, an-op'- 
 los, unarmed, and Oyptov, the'-ri-on, wild beast a fossil 
 extinct quadruped, resembling a pig, and deficient in 
 claws, hoofs, horns, or other means of defence. 
 
 ANTENNAE, an-ten'-nee etym., antenna, a sailyard the horns 
 of insects, resembling somewhat, in form, the yards of 
 an ancient ship. 
 
 ANTHRACITE etym., a0pa, an'-thrax, coal a species of 
 mineral coal. 
 
 ANTIMONY, an'-te-mo-ny (etym., uncertain) an ore, con- 
 sisting of sulphur and a metallic base. 
 
 APATITE, ap'-a-tite etym., anaraaf, ap-a-ta'-o, to deceive 
 native phosphate of lime, whose deceptive appearance 
 has often caused it to be taken for other minerals. 
 
 APHIDES, af'-e-deez etym., aphis, a'-fis, plant-louse minute 
 insects infesting plants. 
 
 APOPHYLLITE, a-pof -fil-ite etym., axta, a'-po, from, and 
 <puXXov, ful'-lon, leaf a mineral occurring in pearly, 
 laminated masses, or in square .prisms, and easily 
 broken into plates or leaves. 
 
 AQUEOUS, a'-que-us etym., aqua, water pertaining to or 
 caused by the action of water. 
 
 ARACHNIDS, ar-ac'-nids etym., dpa/vy, ar-ac'-ne, spider an 
 order of insects. 
 
 ARENACEOUS, a-re-na!-shus etym., arena (a-ree'na), sand 
 
 ARGILLACEOUS, ar-jil-a'-shus etym., argilla (ar-jil'la), clay 
 
 clayey. 
 ARGONAUT A, ar-go-naw'-taetym., Apyw, ar'-go, the name 
 
288 GLOSSARY. 
 
 of an ancient mythological ship, and VOLUT^, naw-teez, 
 
 sailor a cephalopod to which the name Nautilus has 
 
 been incorrectly applied. 
 ARRAGONITE, ar'-ra-gon-ite, a variety of carbonate of lime, 
 
 first found in Arragon, in Spain. 
 ARSENIC, ar'-sen-ic etym., apffevtxov, ar-sen r -e-con a grayish 
 
 lustrous metal, whose oxyd is the well-known poisonous 
 
 substance. 
 
 ASBESTUS, as-bes'-tus etym., a<r/50ro<r, as-best-os, inconsuma- 
 ble fibrous hornblende, which resists combustion. 
 ASTEROID, as'-ter-oid etym., ^o-n^, as'-teer, star, and e:<5o<r, 
 
 i'-dos, form a star-shaped polyp. 
 ASTEROPHYLLITES, as-ter-off '-e-lites etym., dffryp, as'-teer, 
 
 star, puMov, ful'-lon, leaf fossils resembling, in form, 
 
 a star-shaped blossom. 
 AUGITE, aw'-jite etym., tioyy, aw-ge, lustre a lustrous 
 
 mineral, found in volcanic rocks. 
 
 B. 
 
 BARIUM, bd'-re-um, the metallic base of Baryta. See 
 BARYTA. 
 
 BARNACLE, bar-na-cle. See CIRRIPEDS. 
 
 BARYTA, bd-ri'-ta etym., Papvq, ba'-ruse, heavy the heaviest 
 of the earths. 
 
 BASALT, ba-saicU, a variety of trap rock. 
 
 BATRACHIANS, ba-trd'-ke-ans etym., ^arpa^oq, bat' -ra-kos, 
 frog a class of vertebrates, including the frog, &c. 
 
 BELEMNITE, be-lem'-nite- etym., fietejjLvov, be-lem'-non, arrow 
 or dart an extinct molluscous animal, having a long 
 conical bone, resembling somewhat the head of an 
 arrow or dart. 
 
 BERYL, berr'-il etym., fiypMos, be-rul'-os, a mineral occur- 
 ring in bluish green six-sided prisms. 
 
 BlMANA, bi-md'-na etym., bis, twice or double, and manus, 
 hand two-handed animals. 
 
GLOSSARY. 289 
 
 BISMUTH, a metal of a yellowish white color. 
 
 BITUMEN, bl-tu'-men etym., bitumen, pitch mineral pitch. 
 
 BIVALVES, bi'-valves etym., bis, twice or double, and valva, 
 shell molluscs having shells which are composed of 
 two pieces, as the clam and oyster. 
 
 BLENDE, blend etym., blenden (German), to dazzle a 
 metallic ore often found in brown shining crystals. 
 
 BORACIC, bo-rass'ic, containing borax, the substance used for 
 soldering. 
 
 BORON, bo'-ron, the base of boracic acid. See BORACIC. 
 
 BOTRYOIDAL, bot' -re-oid-al etym., ftorpus, bot'-ruse, grape- 
 cluster, and etdoq, i'-dos, form shaped like a bunch of 
 grapes. 
 
 BOULDER, bol'-der etym., bowl, to roll a mass of rock 
 moved from its original place by a natural process. 
 
 BRACHIOPODS, brack' -e-o-pods etym., Ppa%wv, bra'-ke-on, arm, 
 and Truda, poda, feet molluscs with members serving 
 the double office of prehension and motion. 
 
 BROMINE, bro'-min etym., p pathos, bro'-mos, fetid a marine 
 element having a fetid odor. 
 
 BRYOZOA, bri'-o-zo-a etym., ftpuov, bru'-on, a sea-moss, and 
 toov, zo'-on, animal molluscous animals of a low grade, 
 named from the resemblance indicated in the term. 
 
 C. 
 
 CADMIUM, cad'-me-um, a metal found in carbonate of zinc. 
 C^ECILIANS, se-sil' '-e-ans etym., ccecus, blind snake-like 
 
 batrachians with very small eyes. 
 CALC etym., calx, chalk, lime carbonate of lime. 
 CALCAREOUS, cal-ca' -re-om etym., as above earth or stone 
 
 containing lime. 
 
 CALCIUM, caT-ce-um, the metallic basis of lime. See CALC. 
 CAMEO, cam'-e-o etym., cammeo, originally, camaieu (ca- 
 
 ma-yod), shield a gem or shell cut in relief, named 
 
 from its resemblance, in form, to a shield. 
 CAPSULE, cap'-sule etym., capsula, cap'-su-la, a box the 
 
 seed vessel of a plant. 
 
290 GLOSSARY. 
 
 CARBON etym., carbo, coal the principal element in char- 
 coal. 
 
 CARBONIFEROUS etym., carbo, and fero, to bear strata or 
 rocks abounding in coal. 
 
 CARNELIAN, car-ne' -li-an etym., caro, camis, flesh a sili- 
 cious stone of a flesh-red tint, used for seals. 
 
 CARNIVORA, car-niv'o-ra etym., caro, flesh, and voro, to de- 
 vour flesh-eating animals. 
 
 CELESTINE, se-les'-teen etym., ccelestis, se-Ies'-tiss, heavenly, 
 or pertaining to the sky a mineral so named from its 
 peculiar tint. 
 
 CENTIPEDES, sent'-e-pedes etym., centum (sentum), hundred, 
 and pedes, pe'-dees, feet insects with many feet, but 
 of various sizes. 
 
 CEPHALOPODS, sef'-al-o-pods etym , zs^a/hy, 7cef-al-ee, head, 
 and KoSa,pod f a, feet molluscous animals whose organs 
 of motion are attached to the head. 
 
 CETACEA, se-ta' '-she-a etym., cete (see'tee~), whale mammals 
 including and resembling the whale. 
 
 CHABAZITE, chab'-a-zite etym., %aftaZioq (meaning uncer- 
 tain) a zeolite occurring in oblique glassy crystals. 
 
 CHALCEDONY, cal-sed'-o-ny etym., Chalcedon, cal'-se-don 
 an uncrystallized, translucent, lustrous species of quartz, 
 of whitish color, named from a town opposite to By- 
 zantium, where it was anciently found. 
 
 CHELONIAN, ke-lo'-ne-an etym v xelajvy, ke-lo'-nee, tortoise or 
 turtle. 
 
 CHIASTOLITE, ki-as' -to-lite, /taffros, ki-as'-tos, decussated or 
 crossed a beautiful variety of andalusite, presenting, 
 when cut, the form of a Greek cross. 
 
 CHLORATE, do' -rate etym., %Xwpos, do'ros, green a com- 
 pound of chloric acid and a base. Its gas is of a 
 greenish color. 
 
 CHLORINE, do'rinc, chloric gas. See CHLORATE. 
 
 CHONDRODITE, con'-dro-dite etym , %ovdpoq, con'-dros, a 
 grain a brittle mineral, found in primary limestone. 
 
GLOSSAKY. 291 
 
 CHROMATE, cro'-mate etym., ^pw;j.a, cro'-ma, color a salt 
 formed by chloric acid and a base. See CHROME. 
 
 CHROME, or CHROMIUM, cro'-me-um etym., %pwfj.a, cro'-ma. 
 color a metal so called from the beautiful colors which 
 its oxyd imparts. 
 
 CHRYSOBERYL, cris'-o-ber-il etym., xpuffoq, cru'-sos, gold, 
 and ftrjpu/Mov, be-rul' -e-on, beryl a yellowish green 
 gem. 
 
 CHRYSOPRASE, kris'-o-prase etym., %puffoz, cru'sos, gold, 
 and xpaffov, pra'-son, leek a variety of quartz of 
 golden green or leek tint. 
 
 CILIA, sil'-e-a etym., cilia (sil'-e-a), eye-lids or eye-lashes 
 the hairy filaments on vegetable surfaces, or the fila- 
 ments projecting from animal membranes. 
 
 ClRRlPEDS, sir'-rc-peds etym., cirrus (sir'-rus}, a lock of 
 hair, and pecZes, feet animals of the barnacle kincl, 
 with long, slender, curling, clasping feet. 
 
 CLINOMETER, cli r nom' -e-ter etym., xAcv/o>, d-i'-no, to lean, and 
 jjLsrpov, met'-ron, measure an instrument for measuring 
 the inclination of strata. 
 
 COBALT, co'bawlt etym., Cobold, the name of a fancied 
 demon of the mines the metal of this name is used 
 for giving a permanent deep blue color to glass. 
 
 COLEOPTERA, kol-e-op' -ter-a etym., xoAeo?, col'eos, sheath, 
 and xrspov, ter^on, wing insects with sheathed or 
 shielded wings. 
 
 CONCHOIDAL, cong-coi' -dal etym., concha, concf-ca, shell ; 
 and etdoq, f-dos, form shell-shaped. 
 
 CONGLOMERATE, con-glom' -er-ate etym., con, together, and 
 glomero, to heap rock formed of fragments or peb- 
 bles conglomerated and cemented by other rocky mat- 
 ter. 
 
 CONIFER, cdn'-i-fer etym., conus, cone, and fero, to bear 
 cone-bearing, as the fir and pine. 
 
 CORAL, corr'-al etym., xo/>^, cor'-ee, maiden, and aXq, hah, 
 
292 GLOSSARY. 
 
 the sea the substance secreted within the tissues of 
 polyps, and constituting their skeletons. 
 
 CORUNDUM, co-run 1 -dum, a Hindoo word adamantine spar. 
 
 CORYNE, cor'-e-ne etym., xopuvy, cor'-u-ne, club a genus of 
 jelly-fishes. 
 
 CRETACEOUS, cre-ta'-she-us etym., creta, chalk chalk-like. 
 
 CRINOIDS, cri'-noids etym., xpwov, cri f -non, lily, and etdos, 
 i'-dos, form polyps having, on a jointed stem, a head 
 resembling in form that of the lily. 
 
 CRUSTACEAN, crus-ta' '-she-an etym., crusta, crust or shell 
 articulates with a shelly covering, as the crab, &c. 
 
 CRYOLITE, cry'-o-lite etym., xpooq, cru-os, cold, and hOo^, 
 li'-thos, stone a whitish or brownish mineral occurring 
 in foliated masses, and obtained in Greenland. 
 
 CRYPTOGAMIC, crip-to-gam'-ic etym., xponroz, criip'-tos, con- 
 cealed, and ya/j-os, ga'-mos, fructification flowerless 
 plants whose fructification is concealed, not apparent. 
 
 CTENOPHOR/E, ten-of'-o-rce etym., xrevos, ten'-os, from xrecc, 
 ticc, comb an order of jelly-fishes. 
 
 CuRSORES, cur-so'-reez etym., cur so t to run up and down 
 an order of birds, including the ostrich and the like. 
 
 CYCADS, si'-cads etym., xuxsw, ku'-ke-o, to mix, to inter- 
 mingle fossil plants intermediate between palms, 
 ferns, and pines. 
 
 CYCLOIDS, si'-doids etym., xoxAos, cu'-dos, circle, and eidos, 
 i'-dosj form fishes with roundish scales. 
 
 D. 
 
 DATHOLITE, datU'-o-Ute, a silicious mineral, occurring in 
 
 small complex glassy crystals. 
 DECAPODS, deck-'a-pods etym., dexa, deck'-a, ten, and noda, 
 
 pod' -a, feet an order of crustaceans. 
 DEVONIAN, de-vo'-ne-an, the system of rocks named from 
 
 Devonshire, England, where they were first observed. 
 
GLOSSARY. 293 
 
 DIBRANCHIATES, di-brank' -e-ates etym., dis, dis, double, 
 and 0par%tovj gill cephalopods which have two gills. 
 
 DICOTYLEDONS, di-cot-e-U'-dons etym., dis, dis, double, and 
 zo-utydov, cot-u-U'-don, seed-lobe plants having two 
 seed-lobes. 
 
 DlNORNlS, di-nor'-nis etyni., deivoq, di'-nos, terrible, huge, 
 and dpvts, or'-nis, bird an extinct bird of gigantic 
 dimensions. 
 
 DINOTHERIUM, di-no-the' -re-um etym., Seivoz, di'-nos, terri- 
 ble, and (hjptovj tlie'-re-on, wild beast a fossil pachy- 
 derm of gigantic size, armed with enormous tusks. 
 
 DIOPSIDE, di-op'-sid. See AUGITE, of which it is a variety. 
 
 DISCOPHOR^B, dis-cof '-o-re etym., diffxos, dis 1 -cos, disk or 
 coit, and <pepa>, fer'-o, to bear animals having the form 
 of a disk or plate. 
 
 DODECAHEDRON, dd-dec-a-ht'-dron etym., Stodexa, do'-de-cd, 
 twelve, and idpa, Jied'-rd, base or side twelve-sided. 
 
 DOLOMITE, doH-o-mite, a granular magnesian carbonate of 
 lime, exemplified in many species of white marble. 
 The name is derived from the eminent French geologist 
 Dolomieu (do-lo-myoo). 
 
 E. 
 
 ECHINODERMS, e-kt-no-derms etym., e/cvo?, e-ki'nos, hedge- 
 hog, and depict, der'ma, skin radiate animals with 
 an integument covered with spines or with tubercles, 
 as the sea-urchin, or the star-fish. 
 
 ECHINOIDS, e-ki'-noids etym., e/ivos, e-Tci'-nos, hedgehog, 
 and eidos, form polyps with a spiny coat. 
 
 EDENTATA, e-den-ta'-td etym., e, from, and dens, tooth 
 animals destitute of front teeth. 
 
 EMERALD etym., (modern) esmeralda, and (ancient) snia- 
 ragdus (meaning uncertain) a green-colored precious 
 stone. 
 25* 
 
294 GLOSSARY. 
 
 ENCRINITE, en'-cre-nite etym., ev, in, and x/xvov, 7cri f -non, 
 
 lily a fossil bearing some resemblance, in form, to a 
 
 lily. 
 ENDOGEN, en'-do-jen etym., ivdov, end'on, within or inside, 
 
 and 7"vo<r, gen'-os, growth growing on the inside of 
 
 the stem. 
 
 ENDOGENOUS, en-doj'-e-nus. See ENDOGEN. 
 ENTOMOSTRACA, en-to-mos' -trd-cd etym., vro/j.a, en'-to-md, 
 
 insects, and offrpaxov, os'-trd-con, shell crustaceous 
 
 animals related to insects. 
 EOCENE, e'-o-seen etym., r/wz, e'-ose, dawn, and zatvoq, Jci'-nos, 
 
 recent strata whose fossils foreshow the existing state 
 
 of the animal kingdom. 
 EPIDOTE, ep'-e-dote etym., e7ridi8a>/j.t, to enlarge a silicious 
 
 mineral, occurring in lustrous rhomboidal prisms of a 
 
 greenish tint. The name applies to the enlargement 
 
 of the base of the primary in some of the secondary 
 
 forms. 
 EQUISETACE^, e-que-se-td'-she-ce etym., e'-quus, horse, and 
 
 stfta, hair resembling horse-hair. 
 EQUISETUM, e-que-se'-tum etym., e'-quus, horse, and se'ta, 
 
 hair the rush called " horse-tail." 
 EXOGEN, ex'-o-jen etym., ew, ex'-o, without or outside, and 
 
 T'cvos, gen'-os, growth growing on the outside of the 
 
 stem. 
 EXOGENOUS, ex-oj '-e-nous. See EXOGEN. 
 
 F. 
 
 FAHRENHEIT, the name of the inventor of the thermometer 
 in common use, and applied in honor of him to that 
 instrument. 
 
 FAJJNA, fawn' -a etym., fauni, ancient rural deities, resem- 
 bling, in part, the lower animals the animal kingdom 
 of a given portion of the globe. 
 
GLOSSARY. 295 
 
 FLAMINGO, flam-in '-<jo etym., flamma, flame a tropical 
 
 bird of a fiery red color. 
 FELDSPAR, or FELSPAR etym., fdd, field, or fels, rock, and 
 
 spar, rafter the mineral which, along with quartz 
 
 and mica, composes granite rock. 
 FLORA etym., flora, the mythological goddess of flowers 
 
 the vegetable kingdom of a given portion of the 
 
 globe. 
 FLUOHYDRIC, or HYDROFLUORIC, flu-o-lil'-dric, hi-dro-flu-or'- 
 
 ic etym., udwp, hu'-dore, water, and fluor (flu'-or^ 
 
 an acid obtained from fluor-spar. 
 FLUOR-SPAR, flu'-or-spar etym., fluo, to flow, and spar, 
 
 rafter fluorid of calcium, a beautiful mineral, used 
 
 for ornamental vessels, &c. 
 FLUORID, flu!-or-id etym. as above a compound of fluorine, 
 
 with a metallic base. 
 
 FLUORINE, flu'-or-in etym. as above a gaseous element. 
 FOLIATED, fo'-le-a-ted etym., folium, leaf in leaves, leaved. 
 FORAMINIFERA, for-am-in-if'-er-a etym., foramen (fdr-af- 
 
 meii), opening, and fero, to bear shells whose cham- 
 bers are united by a small opening or perforation. 
 FOSSIL etym., fossilis (fos'-sil-is), that which may be dug 
 
 up remains of plants or animals, buried in earth or 
 
 rock, and found by digging. 
 FOSSILIFEROUS, fos-sil-if'-er-ous etym., fossilis (see above), 
 
 and fero (fe'-ro), to bear applied to rocks which 
 
 contain fossils. 
 FUNGUS plural, fungi; adjective, fungous mushroom, 
 
 mushroom-like. 
 
 G-. 
 
 GALENA, ga-lee'-na etym., yalsco, ga'-le-o, to shine lead. 
 GANQIDS, gan'oids etym., ^avo<r, gan'-os, brightness, and 
 , i'-dos, form fishes with bright angular scales. 
 
296 GLOSSAKY. 
 
 GARNET etym., granatus (gran-a'-tus}, granular, resembling 
 
 the pomegranate a silicious mineral, found in beauti- 
 ful, variously-colored twelve-sided crystals. 
 GASTEROPODS, gas'-ter-o-pods etym., ^aer-ny/?, gas'-teer, belly, 
 
 Tzoda, pod' -a, feet animals which creep on the lower 
 
 surface of the body, as the snail. 
 GEOV~E,jee'-ode etym., ^eto^s, ge'-o-des, resembling the earth 
 
 in form a nodule of stone containing crystals in its 
 
 cavity. 
 GEOLOGY, je-ol'-o-jy etym., -p) } ge, or ^ea, ge'-a, earth, Aoyos, 
 
 log' -os, discourse or science science of the earth. 
 GLACIER, glace' -yer, gla! -slier, gld'-ceer, glass' -yer, or glass'-yay, 
 
 but never properly gld-ceer 1 , or glazier (the latter a 
 
 very common error) etym., glace (glass), ice Alpine 
 
 accumulations of ice and snow. 
 GLUCINA, glu-sl'-na etym., ^Ayxt><?, glu'-kus, sweet oxyd of 
 
 glucinum, the salts of which have a sweet taste. 
 GNEISS, gnice German word a rock resembling granite 
 
 in its composition, but differing in being stratified. 
 GRALL^E, gral'-lee etym., grallce, stilts waders, long-legged 
 
 fowls which wade ; and pick up their prey, in shallow 
 
 water. 
 GRANITE, gran'-it etym., granum (gra'-num*), grain rock 
 
 composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica, and having a 
 
 granular or grainy appearance. 
 GYMNOSPERMj/iW-wo-sperm etym., yu/j.vos, gum'-nos, naked, 
 
 and <T7T/?/jtoc, sper'-ma, seed not having the seed 
 
 enveloped. 
 GYPSUM, jip'-sum etym., yo(J>os,guj} f -sos, chalk sulphate of 
 
 lime. 
 
 H. 
 
 HELIOTROPE, lie' -le-o-trope etym., yfaoq, the sun, and rpor^, 
 tro'-pee, turning a variety of rhomboidal quartz. 
 
 HELMINTH, hel'-minth etym., H^ivs, hel'-mins, worm an 
 intestinal worm. 
 
 HEMATITE, licm'-a-tite etym., dt/j.a, M-ma, blood a reddish 
 
GLOSSARY. 297 
 
 mineral, specular iron ore, or the brownish hydrated 
 
 oxyd of iron. 
 
 HETEROCERCAL, het'-cr-o-serc-al etym., irepo~, het'-er-os, dif- 
 ferent, and xepxos, kerk-os, tail applied to fishes with 
 
 unequal lobed tails. 
 HETEROPODS, hef-er-o-pods etym., Irspoz, het'-er-os, other, 
 
 and xoda, pod' -a, feet molluscs whose foot serves as 
 
 a fin. 
 HEULANDITE, hu'-land-ite, a silicious mineral, named in 
 
 .. honor of Heuland, a European savant. 
 HEXAGONAL, hex-ay' -o-nal etym., *, hex, six, and fwia, 
 
 go'-ne-a, angle six-sided and six-angled. 
 HIPPOPOTAMUS, hip-po-pot' -d-mus etym., fr-oc, hip'-pos, 
 
 horse, and nora/uos, pot'-a-mos, river a huge animal 
 
 frequenting rivers and their margins. 
 HOLOTHURIOIDS, lwl-o-thu f -re-ouh etym., tiXoOoupioy, Jiol-o- 
 
 thou'-rl-on an order of echinoderms. 
 HOMOOERCAL, ho' -mo-serc' -al etym., <fyto$, hom'-os, the same, 
 
 and xspxoz, Jeertf-os, tail applied to fishes with equal 
 
 lobed tails. 
 HOMOLOGY, ho-mol'-o-jy etym., J/aoc, hom'-os, the sanie ; and 
 
 Aoyozj fay* -os, proportion affinity of structure. 
 HORNBLENDE, horn' -blend etym., horn, horn, and blenden, 
 
 to dazzle or shine a mineral in the form of crystals 
 
 or masses, of all colors, but more frequently black. 
 HYACINTH, hi'-a-sinth, a variety of zircon, of a reddish or 
 
 hyacinthine tint. 
 HYDRA, hi'-dra etym., vdwp, hu'-dore, water a genus of 
 
 freshwater polyps. 
 HYDROGEN, hi'-dro-jen etym., v8ajp, hu'-dore, water, and 
 
 Y^vaco, gcn'-a-o, to produce the gaseous element 
 
 which, united with oxygen, forms water. 
 
298 GLOSSARY. 
 
 HYDROIDS, Uf-droid& etym., bdtop, liu'-dore, water, and 
 i'-dos, form an order of Acalephs. 
 
 I. 
 
 ICHNOLOGICAL, ic-no-lqf -ic-al 9fV6><r, ic'-nuse, footstep, and 
 kayos, log'-os, discourse pertaining to the science 
 which treats of fossil foot-prints. 
 
 ICHTHYOSAURUS, ic-the-o-saur'-us etym., 9f0o<?, ic'-thuse, fish, 
 and ffaupa, saw'-ra, lizard a gigantic marine fossil 
 animal, intermediate between a crocodile and a fish. 
 
 IDOCRASE, id'-o-crase etym., idea, id'-e-a, form, and xpa<n$, 
 cra'-sis, mixture a silicious mineral, occurring in 
 square, yellowish, or brownish prisms. 
 
 IGNEOUS, ig'-ne-us etym., ignis, fire caused by the action 
 of fire". 
 
 IGUANODON, ig-wan'-o-don, a huge fossil saurian, resembling 
 the iguana (^ig-wa'-na), of the existing race. 
 
 INDICOLITE, in' -di-co-lite etym., indicum (in' -die-urn), 
 indigo, and XtOoq, H'-thos, stone a variety of tourma- 
 line, of an indigo tint. 
 
 INFUSORIA, in-fu-zo'-re-a microscopic animals, inhabiting 
 liquids. 
 
 IODINE, i'-o-din etym., twdyq, i'-o-dees, resembling a violet 
 a substance obtained from marine plants. Its vapor is 
 of a beautiful violet color. 
 
 IOLITE, i'-o-lite etym., tov, i-on, violet, and hOoq, li'-thos, 
 stone a glassy-looking mineral, showing in one direc- 
 tion a brownish, in another, a violet tint. 
 
 INSECTIVORA, in-sect-iv'-o-ra etym., in, into, scco, to cut or 
 divide, and voro, to devour animals that prey on 
 insects. 
 
 IRIDESCENCE, ir-e-des'-cence etym. ; Iris, rainbow coloring 
 like the rainbow. 
 
GLOSSARY. 299 
 
 K. 
 
 KAOLINE, ca'-o-lin the Chinese term for potter's clay. 
 KYANITE, ki'-an-ite etyni., xuavog, ku'-an-os, azure a sili- 
 cious mineral; found in thin crystals of a bluish tint. 
 
 L. 
 
 LAMELLA (plural ; lamella;') etym v la-mel'-la, a thin plate or 
 scale. 
 
 LAMELLIBRANCHIATES, la-mel-e-brank'-e-ates etym. , lamel- 
 la, plate, and fipay%tov, brank'-e-on } gill having the 
 gills in lamellae. 
 
 LAMINATED, lam'-in-a-ted etym., lamf-in-a, plate consist- 
 ing of plates, or very thin layers. 
 
 LAUMONITE, efflorescent Zeolite, a mineral named from its 
 - discoverer. 
 
 LEPIDODENDRON, lep-e-do-den'-dron etym., As-^, lrp f -is, 
 scale, and dsvdpov, den'-dron, tree a scaly-barked 
 fossil plant found in coal-beds. 
 
 LEPIDOLITE, lep-id? -o-lite etym., h-iq, lep'-is, scale, and 
 hO as, li-thos } stone a scaly species of mica of lilac 
 tint. 
 
 LIAS, ll'-as etym., li'-as, a provincial English word for layer. 
 
 LICHEN, I? -ken etym., Aez/ijv, li'-keen, rock-moss, or tree- 
 moss. 
 
 LIGNITE etym., lignum, wood mineral coal, of woody tex- 
 ture. 
 
 LIMULIS, lim'-u-lus etym., limus, sideways a genus of crus- 
 taceans including the horse-shoe crab. 
 
 LITHIA, lith'-e-a etym., faOoq, li'-tlios, stone an alkali found 
 in petalite, &c. 
 
 LITHODOMOUS, le-thod' -o-mus etym., hOoq, li'-tlios, stone, 
 and ds/j.0), dem'-o, to build applied to molluscs which 
 form holes in solid rocks. 
 
300 GLOSSAKY 
 
 LODESTONE, lode' -stone etym., Iced, to lead, and " stone" an 
 oxyd of iron possessing polarity. 
 
 M. 
 
 MADREPORE, mad' -re-pore etym., madre, ma-dray, spotted, 
 
 and pore branching coral. 
 MAGNESIUM, mag-ne' -zlie-um etym., Magnesia, the name of 
 
 the city whence, in ancient times, that substance was 
 
 obtained the metallic base of magnesia. 
 MALACHITE, mal'-a-kite etym., /j.cda%i], mal'-a-kee, mallows 
 
 carbonate of copper, in color like the leaf of mallows. 
 MAMMAL etym., mamma, breast animals which suckle 
 
 their young. 
 
 MANGANESE, man'-gan-eez, a metallic substance. 
 MARSUPIALOIDS, mar-sup' -e-al-oids. See MARSUPIALS. 
 MARSUPIALS, mar-sup' -e-ah etym. , fj.apffu-tovy.mar-sup'-e-on^ 
 
 purse or pouch animals having, like the kangaroo 
 
 and opossum, a pouch in which they carry their young. 
 MASTODON, mas'-to-don etym., //a<rroc, mad-tos, nipple, and 
 
 ddous, od'-ous, tooth a huge fossil animal resembling 
 
 the elephant, and named from the conical protuberances 
 
 on the surface of its grinders. 
 MEDUSA, me~du r -za t an acaleph, commonly called l( sea-nettle," 
 
 a gelatinous radiate of circular form, resembling the 
 
 figure of the ancient mythic shield embossed with the 
 
 head of Medusa. 
 MEGALOSAURUS, meg-a-lo-saur' -us etym., iJ-^aq, rneg'-as, 
 
 great, and aaopa, saw'-ra, lizard a gigantic fossil 
 
 amphibious animal, of the saurian tribe. 
 MEGATHERIUM, meg-a-the' -re-um etym., fj.yas, meg' -as, 
 
 great, huge, and Oyptov, tlie'-re-on, wild beast a 
 
 gigantic fossil animal. 
 MERGANSER, mer-gans'-er etym., mergo, to dive, and anser, 
 
 goose a water-fowl which dives for its prey. 
 
GLOSSARY. 301 
 
 METAMORPHIC, met-a-morf r -ic etym., juera, met?-a, trans, 
 
 and popyr), morph'-ce, form rocks transformed or 
 
 changed by heat from their original form or character. 
 METEORITE, me* -te-o-rite etym., nsrewpog, met-e^o'-ros, lofty 
 
 a metallic or earthy body falling from the atmosphere. 
 MICA, mi'-ca etym., mico, to shine the thin shining mineral 
 
 miscalled " isinglass." 
 
 MICACEOUS, mi-ca'-she-us, containing mica. See MICA. 
 MILLIPEDES, mil '-le-pedes etym., miUe (jnil'lce) thousand, 
 
 andpcdes (ptfdeez), feet many-footed insects, as the 
 
 wood-louse. 
 MIOCENE, mi'-o-seen etym., ^ascov, mi'-on, less, and xatvoq, 
 
 ki'-nos, recent rocky strata, a minority of whose fossil 
 
 shells are referable to living species. 
 MOLLUSCA, mol-lus'-ca etym., mollis, soft animals with 
 
 soft bodies. 
 MOLYBDENUM, mo-lib-dd-num etym., jj.oXv/38awa } mo-lub- 
 
 dl'-na, a mass of lead a metal. 
 MONOCOTYLEDONOUS, mon-o-cot-e-le' -do-nus etym., /JLOVOS, 
 
 mon'-os, single, and zoroArjdov, cot-u-le' -don, seed-lobe 
 
 plants having but .one cotyledon, or seed-lobe. 
 MORAINE, mo-rain', the loose material along the sides and 
 
 middle of glaciers. 
 MOSASAURUS, mo' -sa-saw-rus etym., Mosa, ancient Latin 
 
 name of the town of Maestricht, and ffaupos, saw'-ros, 
 
 lizard a fossil animal named from the place where it 
 
 was first observed. 
 MYRIOPODS, mir' -e-o-pods etym., ;j.opia, mu'-re-a, myriad, 
 
 and Tioda, pod! -a, feet many-footed. 
 
 N. 
 
 NATATORES, nat-a-tc?-recz etym., natator, na-ta'-tor, swim- 
 mer water-fowl. 
 26 
 
302 GLOSSARY. 
 
 NATROLITE, na'-tro-lite etym., natron (iia-trori} y soda, and 
 
 hOosj li'-thos, stone a zeolite containing soda. 
 NAUTILUS, naw'-te-lus etym., vaurdoq, naw'-te-los (from 
 
 vauryq, naw-teez, sailor, and vau?, naws, ship) a 
 
 cephalopodous mollusc. 
 NEMATOIDS, nem'-a-toids ctym,, v^ ( aa, ne'-ma, thread, and 
 
 e:floc, i'-doSj form long, slender, thread-like intestinal 
 
 worms. 
 
 NICKEL, a magnetic metal of a reddish white color. 
 NITROGEN, ni'-trd-jen ^etym., vtrpov, nl'-tron, nitre, and 
 
 Ywaw, gen*-a-o, to produce the principal gaseous 
 
 element of atmospheric air. 
 NITRATE, n?-trate-^Qtym., vtrpov, ni'-tron, salt a salt formed 
 
 by the union of nitric acid with a base. 
 NODULE, worf'-wfc etym., nodus, knot, lump a roundish 
 
 mass or knob. 
 NUMMULITES, num'^-u-Utes etym., nummus, money, and 
 
 hOoq, li'-tlios, stone fossil molluscs, shaped like coins. 
 
 0. 
 
 OCHRE, o'-ker -etym., w^/>o?, o'-cros, pale colored clay, com- 
 monly of a yellowish tint. 
 
 OCTAHEDRON, oc' -td-he-dron etym., oxrw, oc'-to, eight, and 
 dpa, lied' -raj base or side eight-sided. 
 
 ONYX, o'-nix etym., o'vuc, o'-nukes, nail or claw a variety 
 of chalcedony, named from its fancied resemblance, in 
 tint and surface, to the nail or claw of an animal. 
 
 OOLITE, O'-o-lite etym., wov, o'-on, egg, and hOoq, li'-tlios, 
 stone limestone in rounded particles like the roe or 
 eggs of a fish. 
 
 OOLITIC, o'-o-lit-ic. See OOLITE. 
 
 OPHIDIAN, o-fid'-e-an etym., ofpis, ff'-is, snake an animal 
 of the snake order. 
 
GLOSSARY. 303 
 
 ORTHOCERA, orth-oss'-e-ra etym., opOoq, orth'-os, straight, 
 and xepas, horn fossil cephalopods with straight 
 shells. 
 
 OXYD, ox-id etym., ofvc, ox'-use, sharp, acid the combina- 
 tion of a metal with oxygen. 
 
 OXYGEN, ox'-e-jen etym. as above, and ^ciwaoj, gen'-a-o y to 
 generate the atmospheric element which supports life, 
 named from its property of generating acids. 
 
 P. 
 
 PACHYDERMS, pack 1 '-e-derms etym., xa%os, pa'-cusc, thick, 
 and dspp.a y der-ma, skin animals distinguished by the 
 thickness of their skin, as the elephant, &c. 
 
 PALEONTOLOGY, pal-e-on-tol' -o-(jy etym., /ra/la:o?, pal-ay' -os, 
 ancient, ovra, ont'-a, beings, and Aoyos, discourse or 
 science the science of organic remains. 
 
 PALEOTHERIUM, pal-e-o-the'-ri-um etym., xaAatoz, pal-ay' - 
 os, ancient, and 6r t piov, tlie'-re-on, wild beast a 
 gigantic fossil quadruped, resembling a tapir or pig. 
 
 PALEOZOIC, pal' -e-o-zo-ic etym., xaAatos, pal-ay* '-os, ancient, 
 and a>ov, zo'-on, animal relating to fossil remains of 
 animals of former periods of the earth's history. 
 
 PEDUNCLE, pe-duncle' etym , pedunculus (pe-dunc-u-lus) y 
 foot or stem flower-stalk. 
 
 PEDUNCULATED, having a stem. 
 
 PENTACRINUS, pentf-d-cri-nus etym., rrevre, pen'te, five, and 
 xpwov, kri'-non, lily a fossil named from its penta- 
 gonal (five-sided) jointed stem. 
 
 PERICARP, per'-e-carp etym.,xept,per f -ri, round, and xap-o$ 
 kar'-pos, fruit applied to that which surrounds the 
 fruit or seeds. 
 
 PERMIAN, per'-me-an, named from Perm, in Russia. 
 
 PEROXYD, per-ox'-id, abounding in oxygen. 
 
304 GLOSSARY. 
 
 PH.ENOGAMOUS, fe-nog'-a-mous etym., (paww,fi'-no, to shine 
 
 or show, and ya/j.oz, ga f -mos y fructification flowering 
 
 plants, whose fructification is apparent, not concealed. 
 PHOSPHATE, fos'-fate etym., quas, .fos, light a salt formed 
 
 by a combination of phosphoric acid with a base. 
 PHOSPHORUS, fos'-fo-rus etym. as above, and <ppu>,fer'-o, 
 
 to bring a combustible elementary substance, burning 
 
 with a highly luminous appearance. 
 PHYLLOPOD, fiV-lo-pod, or PHYLLOPODA, fil-op'-o-da etym , 
 
 ^y/Uov, ful' -Ion, leaf, and ~oda, pod'-a, feet a tribe 
 
 of crustaceans whose foot has the flat form of a 
 
 leaf. 
 PLACOIDS, plac&f-oid* etym., xXa.%, plax, plate, and stdoq, 
 
 f-dos, form fishes whose covering resembles ena- 
 melled plates. 
 PLATINUM, pldt'-e-num, the heaviest of metals, and of a 
 
 silvery color. 
 PLESIOSAURUS, ples-e-o-sau'-rus etym , xhjffcoy, ple'-si-dn, 
 
 near, and ffaupa, saw'-ra, lizard a fossil amphibian, 
 
 resembling the saurian or lizard tribe. 
 PLIOCENE, pli'-o-seen etym., -lecov, pli'-on, more, and xarvo?, 
 
 ki'-nos, recent rocks of the tertiary period, the largest 
 
 part of whose fossil shells are of recent species. 
 PLUMBAGO, phun-ba'-go etym., plum-bum, lead improperly 
 
 called " black lead." 
 POLYPS, pol'-ips etym., xoXos,pol f -use, many, and nous, pous, 
 
 foot radiates having many feet or tentacles. 
 POLYTRICHIUM, poZ-e-^ri/s'-e-z/m etym , 7toXuq,poH-use } many, 
 
 and rpixosj tri'-kos, hair a genus of mosses. 
 PORPHYRY, por'-fe-ry etym., Kopyupa, porf-u-ra, purple 
 
 unstratified rock, containing crystals of feldspar or 
 
 other minerals. The term was originally applied to a 
 
 reddish rock, found in Egypt. 
 POTASSIUM, po-tas'-se-um etym , po'asse, po-tass', potash 
 
 the metallic base of pure potash. 
 
GLOSSARY. S05 
 
 PRASE etym., ~/>a<roy, pra'-son, leek a silicious mineral, of 
 a leek-green color. 
 
 PREHNITE, pren f -ite, a pale green, lustrous mineral, of singu- 
 larly diversified form ; named from its first importer 
 from Africa. 
 
 PRISMATIC, having the form of a prism. 
 
 PROTOXYD, prot-ox'-id etym., xpajroq, pro'-tos, first, and 
 o^us, ox'-use, sharp, acid a combination of one equi- 
 valent of oxygen with one of a base. 
 
 PROTOZOA, pro' -to~zo-a etym., -rrpioroq, prtf-tos, first or ele- 
 mentary, and C^oy, animal or living being a name 
 sometimes applied to the infusoria. 
 
 PTERODACTYL, terr' -o-dac-tyl etym., icrepav, terr'-on, wing, 
 and daxrulos, dac'-tu-los, finger a fossil reptile, some- 
 what resembling the bat in form. 
 
 PTEROPODS, ter'-ro-pods etym., r.rspov, terr'-on, wing, and 
 r.oda, pod'-a, feet molluscs with organs of motion 
 like wings. 
 
 PYRITES, pe-ri'-teez etym., TTW/J, pur, fire a metallic ore, 
 combining sulphur and iron or other metals. The 
 name was originally given from its emitting sparks, 
 when struck against steel. 
 
 PYROXENE, pir'-ox-een etym., ;ry/?, pur, fire, and C^vo?-, 
 zen-os, stranger. See AUGITE, of which it is a variety. 
 
 Q. 
 
 QuADRUMANA, quawd-ru' -ma-na etym., qnatuor (quat?-u- 
 
 or), four, and manus (ma'-nus), hand animals having 
 
 four hands. 
 QUARTZ, quawrts, pure silex, occurring in glassy, six-sided, 
 
 prismatic crystals; an essential constituent of granite. 
 
 26* U 
 
306 GLOSSAEY. 
 
 K. 
 
 RAPTORES, rap-to'-reez etym., rapio (ra'-peo), to seize 
 
 raveners, birds of prey. 
 RASORES, ra-zo'-reez etym., rado (m-cfo), to scratch 
 
 scratchers, birds which find their food by scratching. 
 RENIFORM, ren'-e-form^etym., renes (re'-neez), kidneys, and 
 
 forma, form shaped like the kidneys. 
 RHIZODONTS, ri'-zo-donts etym., pcZa, ri'-za, root, and odous, 
 
 od'-ous, odovroq, o-dont'-os, tooth. 
 RHOMBOHEDRON, rom'-bo-he-dron etym., ponftoq, rom'-bos, 
 
 rhomb, and idpa, he'-dra, side a solid contained by 
 
 six equal rhombic planes. 
 RODENTS, ro'-dents etym., rodo, to gnaw animals, like the 
 
 rat or squirrel, whose teeth are adapted to gnawing. 
 ROTIFERA, ro-tif'-er-a etym., rota (ro'-to), wheel, and/ero, 
 
 to bear infusorial animals whose cilia move in a 
 
 rotary manner. 
 RUBELLITE, ru'-bel-ite etym,, rubrum, red a red species 
 
 of tourmaline. 
 RUMINANTS, ru'-min-ants etyni., rumino, to chew the cud 
 
 animals which chew the cud. 
 RUTILE, ru'-til etym., rutilus (ru 1 '-til-US'), red a reddish ore 
 
 of titanium. 
 
 S. 
 
 SAHLITE, sd'-lite. See AUGITE, of which it is a variety. 
 
 SALAMANDER, sal'-a-man-der etym., salamandra, the an- 
 cient name of a mythic animal supposed to be capable 
 of resisting fire the modern popular name of a batra- 
 chian resembling the lizard and the frog. 
 
 SAPPHIRE, saf'-fer etym., Ga.-K<psipoq, sap-fi'-ros, supposed to 
 mean smooth, lustrous pure crystallized alumina, a 
 mineral of a bluish tint. 
 
GLOSSARY. 3 Of 
 
 SARD etym., Zapda, sard'-a, Sardinia, or lapdiq, sardis a 
 variety of chalcedony. 
 
 SAURIAN, saw'-re-an etym.. sauros (saw'-ros), lizard ; resem- 
 bling a lizard. 
 
 SCANSORES, scan-so 1 '-reez etym., scando, to climb climbers, 
 as the woodpecker. 
 
 SCAPOLITE, scap'-o-lite etym., <7xa7ro<r,sca f -p0s,rod, and hOot;, 
 stone a silicious mineral, occurring in four or eight- 
 sided prisms, terminated by low pyramids. 
 
 SELENITE, sd'-en-ite etym., ffefyv-q, se-le f -nee, moon a lami- 
 nated, lustrous gypsum, so called from its partial 
 resemblance to the aspect of the moon. 
 
 SERPENTINE, sei'-pen-tin etym., serpens, serpent a magne- 
 sian stone, shaded and spotted somewhat like a serpent's 
 skin. 
 
 SHALE etym., schale, shale, shell a fine-grained slaty rock. 
 
 SIGILLARIA, sij-il-d' '-re-a etym., sigillum (se-jil 1 -lam) } seal 
 fossil trees whose bark is covered with impressions as 
 if made with a seal. 
 
 SILURIAN, sil-u'-re-an, the system of rocks first observed in 
 the region of the Si-lures (sil-u'-reez^, the ancient 
 .inhabitants of the border land of England and Wales. 
 
 SlPHUNCLE, slf'-unk-l etym., siphon, a conducting pipe 
 the tube which runs through chambered shells, as in 
 the nautilus. 
 
 SODIUM, so-de-um, the metallic base of soda. 
 
 SPAR etym., spar, bar or beam any lustrous earthy mineral 
 which breaks with regular surfaces. 
 
 SITU, si'-tu ("!N SITU") etym., situs (s?-tus), place in 
 place, in its original or natural situation, not trans- 
 ported. 
 
 SPATANGOID, spat-ang' -gold etym., <77rara^o<r, spat-ang'- 
 gos, pail or vessel a sea-urchin, so named from its 
 peculiar shape. 
 
308 GLOSSAEY. 
 
 SPATHIC, spatli'-ic etym., spaih, slice or plate in laminae 
 or plates. 
 
 SPECULAR etym., speculum (spcc'-u-lum), mirror having a 
 smooth, reflecting surface. 
 
 SPHAGNUM etym., sphagnum, bog-moss. 
 
 SPORE etym., ffxopos, spor-os, sowing the part of flowerless 
 plants which serves instead of seeds, as the specks on 
 the back of the fern leaf. 
 
 STALACTITE, stal-ac r -tite etym., ffraXa^w, stal-a'-zo, to drop 
 mineral accumulations formed by the dropping of water, 
 containing lime in solution, from the roof of a cavern. 
 
 STALAGMITE, stal-ag'-mite, ffTahayfj.oq, stal-ag' -mos, dripping, 
 dropping a deposit of calcareous or other matter, 
 made by water dropping on the floor of a cavern. 
 
 STAUROTIDE, staw' -ro-tide etym., ffraopoq, staw'-ros, cross, 
 and s.t8oq, form a silicious mineral, found in crystal- 
 lized prisms, sometimes intersecting each other at 
 right angles or in the form of a cross. 
 
 STEATITE, ste'-a-tite etym., ffreap, ste'-ar, fat a talcose rock, 
 composed of silica and magnesia. It feels like tallow or 
 soap to the touch, and hence its common name " soap- 
 stone." 
 
 STILBITE ffriXftio, stil'-bo, to shine a mineral found in 
 amygdaloid in whitish lustrous crystals. 
 
 STIGMARIA, stig-ma'-re-a etym., stigma, mark or brand 
 plants of the coal period having curiously-marked stems. 
 
 STRIA, stri'-a etym., stria, plural strict, scores or grooves 
 regular rows of scratches on the surface of rocks. 
 
 STRIATED, scored, grooved, or furrowed. 
 
 STRONTIAN, stron'-she-an etym., Strontian, stron'-slie-an, in 
 Argyleshire, Scotland, where this mineral was first 
 found a heavy, earthy mineral, of whitish color. 
 
 STRONTIUM etym. as above the metal which is the base of 
 the above mineral. 
 
GLOSSARY. 309 
 
 STRATA, stra!-ta etym., stratum (strfi'-tum), spread or layer 
 earthy or rocky matter in layers. 
 
 SULPHATE, sul'-fate etym., sulphur a salt formed by sul- 
 phuric acid combined with a base, as sulphate of lime. 
 
 SULPHURET, sul-fu'-ret, a combination of sulphur with a base. 
 
 SYENITE, si'-en-ite etym., Syena (si-e'-na), a region of 
 Egypt, where this rock was early observed. 
 
 T. 
 
 TABULAR, tal'-u-lar etym., tabula (tab'-u-la}, table of flat 
 
 surface. 
 TALC, talc etym., talc, tallow a smooth, lustrous, laminated, 
 
 magnesian mineral. 
 TALCOSE, talc'-osc etym., talc, tallow containing talc. See 
 
 TAL-C. 
 TELLURIUM, tel-u' -re-um etym., Tellus, earth a grayish 
 
 metal, combined with gold and silver in the ores. 
 TEREBRATULA, ter-c-brat' -u-la etym., tercbro, ter'-e-bro, to 
 
 bore a genus of bivalve molluscs with a perforated 
 
 shell. 
 TESSELATED, tes 1 '-sel-a-ted etym., tessda, a small square stone 
 
 checkered or divided into small squares. 
 TESTACEA, tcs-ta'-she-a etym., testa, shell animals with a 
 
 shelly covering. 
 TETRABRANCHIATES, tet-ra-brank'-e-atcs etym., rsrpa, tet'- 
 
 ra, four, and /fya^cov, brank' '-e-on. gill cephalopods 
 
 having four gills. 
 TETRADECAPODS, tet-ra-dec' -a-pods etym., rer/>a, tet'-ra, four, 
 
 dsxa, deck'-a, ten, and noSa, pod'-a, feet so called in 
 
 allusion to the number of locomotive appendages. 
 THALLOPHYTES, thai '-lo-fites etym., OaMos, thai' -Jos, young 
 
 branch, and (puw^fu'-o, to grow a class of flowerless 
 
 plants. 
 TITANIUM, ti-ta'-ne-um, a metal of deep blue color. 
 
310 GLOSSARY. 
 
 TOPAZ etym., Topazios, to-pd'-ze-os, the small island in the 
 Arabian Gulf, whence the ancients obtained the pre- 
 cious stone of this name. 
 
 TOURMALINE, toor'-md-lin etym., Tour' -ma-mal, the Cinga- 
 lese name of a mineral, found in three and six- 
 sided prisms of various colors, and much valued for 
 jewellery. 
 
 TRACHYTE, tra'-Jdte etym., rpayoq, tra'-kuse, rough a va- 
 riety of lava, rough to the touch. 
 
 TRAP, etym., trappe (trap' -pay), stair a rock often present- 
 ing the form of blocks resting on each other as the 
 steps of a stair. 
 
 TRAPEZOHEDRON, trap-e-zo-he'-dron etym., rpaxs^iov, trap- 
 e'-ze-on, table, and id pa, hed'-ra, side a solid bounded 
 by twenty-four equal and similar trapeziums. 
 
 TREMATODS, trem' -a-tods etym., r/>y/a, tre'-ma, pore 
 worms having suctorial pores. ^ 
 
 TREMOLITE, trem'-o-lite, white hornblende. 
 
 TRILOBITE, tri'-lo-bite etym., rpsis, trice, three, and Xoftos, 
 lob' -os, lobe a fossil crustacean, named from its form. 
 
 TUFA, tu'-fa etym., tufo (tu'-fo), porous soft, porous stone; 
 volcanic rock of sandy, earthy, or basaltic material. 
 
 TUNICATA, tu-ne-cd'-ta etym., tunica (tu'-ne-ca), coated 
 having a membranous coating. 
 
 Y. 
 
 VERB-ANTIQUE, verd-an-teek' etym., viridis (vir'-e-dis), 
 green, and antiquus (an-ti r -qwus) , ancient serpentine, 
 also a greenish porphyry, of a tint resembling that of 
 the green incrustation on ancient coins. 
 
 VERTEBRAE, ver'-te-bre etym., verto, to turn the bony joints 
 enclosing the spinal marrow; parts of the backbone. 
 
 VERTEBRATES, ver'-te-brates etym., vertebrae (ver'-te-brec'), 
 
GLOSSAEY. 311 
 
 joints of the spinal column or backbone animals 
 having such a column. 
 VITREOUS, vitf-re-ous etym., vitrum, glass glassy. 
 
 W. 
 
 WEALDEN, weel'-den named from the locality in England 
 where it was first observed. 
 
 Z. 
 
 ZEOLITE, zd-o-lite etym., sw, ze'-o, to foam, and 
 
 li f -thos } stone a family of minerals, found in the 
 cavities of amygdaloids, &c., and- named from the 
 appearance which they exhibit before the blow-pipe. 
 
 ZIRCON a mineral occurring in square prisms, with pyramidal 
 terminations. 
 
 ZOOLOGY, zo-ol'-o-gy etym., o>ov, zo-on, animal, and ^o^oc, 
 locf-osy discourse the science which treats of the ani- 
 mal kingdom. 
 
 ZOOPHYTE, zo'-o-fite etym., >ov, zo'-on, animal, and yurov, 
 fu!-tori) plant a term applied to some polyps, from 
 their apparently ambiguous appearance, resembling 
 both animals and plants. 
 
INDEX 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Acalephs, 107. 
 
 Acephals, 113. 
 
 Acrogens, 95. 
 
 Actinia, 104. 
 
 Actinoids, 107. 
 
 Actinolite, 40. 
 
 Agate, 32. 
 
 Alabaster, 43. 
 
 Albite, 34. 
 
 Alcyonoids, 107. 
 
 Alluvium, 202. 
 
 Aluminium, 25. 
 
 Amazon river, 225. 
 
 Amethyst, 31. 
 
 Ammonite, 176. 
 
 Amygdaloid, 77. 
 
 Andalusite, 46. 
 
 Angiosperms, 93. 
 
 Animal kingdom, 102. 
 
 Anophytes, 97. 
 
 Anterior members of vertebrates, 
 
 120. 
 
 Anthracite, 166. 
 Anticlinal axis, 86. 
 Antiquity of the earth, 268. 
 Apatite, 45. 
 Aquamarine, 54. 
 Aqueous agencies, 217. 
 Arachnids, 119. 
 Arsenical iron pyrites, 59. 
 Articulates, 117. 
 Asbestus, 40. 
 
 Asteroids, 111. 
 Atoll, 262. 
 Augite, 41. 
 
 Barnacles, 118. 
 
 Basalt, 75. 
 
 Basin, Franconia Notch, 223. 
 
 Batrachians, 122. 
 
 Bedford Kavine, 222. 
 
 Belemnites, 177. 
 
 Beryl, 54. 
 
 Bimana, 125. 
 
 Birds, 123. 
 
 Bituminous Coal, 166. 
 
 Bloodstone, 33. 
 
 Botany, 14. 
 
 Boulders on the Jura, 234. 
 
 Brachiopods, 114. 
 
 Brahmapootra, 226. 
 
 Branches or types, 103. 
 
 Brontozoum, 173. 
 
 Bryozoa, 113. 
 
 Calamites, 158. 
 Calcareous marl, 261. 
 Calcareous tufa, 37. 
 Calc spar, 38. 
 Carbon, 22. 
 Carbonic acid, 23. 
 Carboniferous coral, 163. 
 Carboniferous crinoids, 162. 
 Carboniferous fish, 164. 
 
 (315) 
 
316 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Carboniferous molluscs, 163. 
 
 Carboniferous system, 155. 
 
 Carnelian, 32. 
 
 Carnivora, 125. 
 
 Cause of volcanic eruption, 251. 
 
 Celestine, 44. 
 
 Cephalopods, 115. 
 
 Cetaceans, 125. 
 
 Chalcedony, 32. 
 
 Cbalk, 37. 
 
 Chelonians, 123. 
 
 Chemical constitution of the earth, 
 20. 
 
 Chemistry, 14. 
 
 Chlorine, 22, 
 
 Chondrodite, 50. 
 
 Chromate of iron, 59. 
 
 Chrysoprase, 32. 
 
 Classes, 103. 
 
 Classification of animals, 126. 
 
 Classification of plants, 95. 
 
 Classification of the rock forma- 
 tions, 139. 
 
 Clay slate, 82. 
 
 Clay-stones, 205. 
 
 Club-mosses, 96. 
 
 Coal formation, 165. . 
 
 Coal plants, 156-160. 
 
 Composition of coral reefs, 266. 
 
 Concluding remarks, 268. 
 
 Conformable strata, 86. 
 
 Conglomerate, 83. 
 
 Copper, 61. 
 
 Copper pyrites, 61. 
 
 Coral, 104. 
 
 Coral island, 262. 
 
 Coral reefs, 261. 
 
 Coral reefs, regions of, 265. 
 
 Coral reefs, composition of, 266. 
 
 Coral reefs, rate of growth of, 266. 
 
 Corundum, 50. 
 
 Cotopaxi, 250. 
 
 Cotyledon, 91. 
 
 Crabs, 118. 
 
 Cretaceous cephalopods, 183. 
 
 Cretaceous echinoderms, 182. 
 
 Cretaceous system, 181. 
 
 Crinoids, 110. 
 
 Crinoid from St. Louis, 133. 
 
 Crustaceans, 117. 
 Cryptogamous plants, 95. 
 Crystallography, 28. 
 Ctenoids, 122. 
 Ctenophorae, 110. 
 Cursores, 124. 
 Cuttle-fish, 116. 
 Cycas, 93. 
 Cycloids, 122. 
 
 Days of creation, 277. 
 
 Decapods, 118. 
 
 Dendrite, 137. 
 
 Density of the earth, 17. 
 
 Description of the stratified rocks, 
 
 81. 
 Description of the unstratified 
 
 rocks, 68. 
 
 Development hypothesis, 279. 
 Devonian acephals, 152. 
 Devonian corals, 151. 
 Devonian fishes, 154. 
 Devonian gasteropods, 122. 
 Devonian trilobites, 153. 
 Diamond, 23. 
 Dibranchiates, 116. 
 Dicotyledons, 92. 
 Dikes at Cohasset, Mass., 78. 
 Dinornis, 207. 
 Dip, 84. 
 
 Discophorae, 108. 
 Distribution of animals, 127. 
 Distribution of plants, 99. 
 Dolomite, 36. 
 Drift, 192. 
 Drift-wood, 260. 
 
 Earth as a planet, 16. 
 Earthquakes,- 253. 
 Echinoderms, 110. 
 Echinoids, 112. 
 Edentata, 125. 
 Elements, 20. 
 Emery, 51. 
 Endogens, 94. 
 Entomostraca, 117. 
 Epidote, 49. 
 Equisetaceae, 96. 
 Etna, 243. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 317 
 
 Exogens, 91. 
 Extinct horse, 208. 
 
 Families, 103. 
 
 Faults, 87. 
 
 Feldspar, 33. 
 
 Ferns, 95. 
 
 Fingal's Cave, 76. 
 
 Fishes, 121. 
 
 Fluorine, 22. 
 
 Fluor spar, 45. 
 
 Fool's gold, 59. 
 
 Foot-marks of Connecticut Valley, 
 
 170. 
 
 Foraminifera, 115. 
 Forward members of vertebrates, 
 
 120. 
 
 Fossils, 132. 
 Fossil fruit, 186. 
 Frost, 217. 
 Fungi, 98. 
 
 Galena, 60. 
 Ganges, 226. 
 Ganoids, 122. 
 Garnet, 48. 
 Gasteropods, 114. 
 Gasteropoda proper, 115. 
 Genera, 103. 
 General statement, 13. 
 Genessee river, 218. 
 Geodes, 30. 
 
 Geological changes, 216. 
 Geological range of animals, 213. 
 Geological range of plants, 212. 
 Geology, 13. 
 Geysers, 256. 
 
 Glacier of Viesch, 231-232. 
 Glaciers, 228. 
 Gneiss, 81. 
 Gold, 63. 
 
 Graham Island, 250. 
 Grallse, 123. 
 
 Granite vein, Williams' Hill, 72. 
 Granite, 68. 
 Graphic granite, 68. 
 Great Plan, 282. 
 Greenland, 256. 
 Greenstone, 74. 
 27* 
 
 Gymnosperms, 94. 
 Gypsum, 42. 
 
 Hardness, scale of, 27. 
 Heavy spar, 44. 
 Herculaneum, 241. 
 Heterocercal, 122. 
 Heteropods, 115. 
 Holothurioids, 113. 
 Homocercal, 122. 
 Hornblende, 40. 
 Hornblende slate, 82. 
 Horse-shoe crab, 118. 
 Hyacinth, 56. 
 Hydrogen, 21. 
 Hydroids, 108. 
 
 Icebergs, 234. 
 Ichthyosaurus, 178. 
 Ideal section, 142. 
 Idocrase, 48. 
 Igneous agencies, 239. 
 Iguanodon, 184. 
 Indicolite, 53. 
 Infusoria, 127. 
 Insectivora, 125. 
 Insects, 119. 
 Insessores, 124. 
 lolite, 53. 
 Irish elk, 208. 
 Iron, 56. 
 Iron, brown, 58. 
 Iron, magnetic, 57. " . 
 Iron, oxyd of, 57. 
 Iron pyrites, 59. 
 Iron, spathic, 58. 
 Iron, specular, 57. 
 
 Jasper, 33. 
 
 Joints, 84. 
 
 Jupiter Serapis, 256. 
 
 Jorullo, 244. 
 
 Jura Mountains, 284. 
 
 Kaolin, 34. 
 Kilauea, 246. 
 Kyanite, 47. 
 
 Lagoon, 262. 
 
318 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Laminae, 84. 
 Lamellibranchiates, 114. 
 Lava, 2,52. 
 
 Leaf arrangement, 259. 
 Lepidodendron, 159. 
 Lepidolite, 35. 
 Life periods, 140. 
 Limestone, 36. 
 Lobster, 118. 
 
 Madrepore, 107. 
 
 Magnesium, 25. 
 
 Malachite, 61. 
 
 Mammals, 124. 
 
 Man produces changes, 268. 
 
 Marble, 37. 
 
 Marsupials, 125. 
 
 Mastodon, 209. 
 
 Mauna Loa, 246. 
 
 Medusas, 108. 
 
 Megatherium, 209. 
 
 Metal, a native, 56. 
 
 Metals and metallic ores, 56. 
 
 Metals and metalloids, 20. 
 
 Metamorphic rocks, 67. 
 
 Mica, 35. 
 
 Mica slate, 81. 
 
 Mineral, a simple, 26. 
 
 Mineral constitution of the earth, 
 
 26. 
 
 Mineralogy, 14. 
 Mississippi river, 225. 
 Modified drift,. 203. 
 Molar of elephant, 210. 
 Molar of mastodon, 209. 
 Molluscs, 113. 
 Molybdenum, 62. 
 Monkeys, 128. 
 Moonstone, 35. 
 Moraines, Lateral, 230. 
 Moraines, Medial, 230. 
 Moraines, Terminal, 232. 
 Myriopods, 119. 
 
 Natatores, 123. 
 
 Nature has not repeated herself, 280. 
 
 Nautilus, 116. 
 
 New red sandstone system, 169. 
 
 Niagara, 219. 
 
 Nile, 225. 
 Nitrogen, 22. 
 
 Non-metallic elements, 20. 
 Nummulitic limestones, 189. 
 Nyoe, 249. 
 
 Ocean currents, 227. 
 Old red sandstone, 150. 
 Onyx, 32. 
 
 Oolitic cephalopods, 177. 
 Oolitic echinoderms, 176. 
 Oolitic reptiles, 177. 
 Oolitic system, 175. 
 Ophidians, 123. 
 Orders, 1 03. 
 Ore, 56. 
 Otozoum, 173. 
 Oxyd of iron, 43, 57. 
 Oxygen, 21. 
 
 Pachyderms, 125. 
 Paleontology, 132. 
 Paleozoic period, characterized by, 
 
 214. 
 
 Peat, 259. 
 Pele's hair, 252. 
 
 Pentacrinus Caput-Medusse, 111. 
 Petrifactions, 134. 
 Phaenogamous plants, 91. 
 Phosphorus, 24. 
 Placoids, 121. 
 Plan revealed, 278. 
 Plesiosaurus, 178. 
 Plumbago, 23. 
 Polished quartz, 198. 
 Polyps, 103. 
 Pompeii, 241. 
 Porphyry, 74. 
 Potassium, 25. 
 Pot-holes, 223. 
 
 Pot-holes in Orange, N. H., 224. 
 Prase, 31. 
 
 Preparation for man, 281. 
 Pterodactyl, 179. 
 Pteropods, 115. 
 Pumice, 252. 
 Pyroxene, 41. 
 
 Quadrumana, 125. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 319 . 
 
 Quartz, 26. 
 
 Quartz, ferruginous, 32. 
 Quartz, granular, 33. 
 Quartz rock, 82. 
 Quartz, rose, 31. 
 Quartz, smoky, 32. 
 
 Radiates, 103. 
 
 Rains, 217. 
 
 Raptores, 124. 
 
 Rasores, 124. 
 
 Rate of growth of coral reefs, 266. 
 
 Reef, fringing, 261. 
 
 Reef, barrier, 261. 
 
 Relative age of mountains, <fcc., 214. 
 
 Relative age of veins or dikes, 80. 
 
 Reptiles, 122. 
 
 Rhizodonts, 123. 
 
 Rivers, 218. 
 
 Rivers transporting the lands to the 
 
 sea, 225. 
 
 Rock crystal, 28. 
 Rocking stones, 194. 
 Rock striated by a glacier, 234. 
 Rocks which compose the earth, 
 
 65. 
 
 Rodents, 125. 
 Rotifera, 117. 
 Rubellite, 53. 
 Ruby, 50. 
 Ruminants, 125. 
 Rutile, 62. 
 
 Sabrina, 250. 
 
 Sandstone, 83. 
 
 Sandwich Islands, 251. 
 
 Same strata dipping in opposite 
 
 directions, 88. 
 Sapphire, 50. 
 Sard, 32. 
 Sardonyx, 32. 
 Saurians, 123. 
 Scandinavia, 255. 
 Scansores, 124. 
 Scapolite, 46. 
 Sea-anemone, 103. 
 Sea-urchins, 112. 
 Secondary period, characterized by, 
 
 214. 
 
 27* 
 
 Sections of coral reefs and a coral 
 
 island, 264. 
 Selenite, 42, 
 Serpentine, 41. 
 Shrimp, 118. 
 Siberian elephant, 207. 
 Sigillaria, 160. 
 Silicious marl, 260. 
 Silicon, 25. 
 
 Silurian acephals, 116. 
 Silurian cephalopods, 147. 
 Silurian coral, 145. 
 Silurian crinoids, 145. 
 Silurian gasteropods, 147. 
 Silurian system, 143. 
 Silurian trilobites, 148. 
 Silver, 63. 
 Skapter Jokul, 245. 
 Sodium, 25. 
 Species, 103. 
 Spinel, 50. 
 Sponges, *107. 
 Springs, 218. 
 Stalactites, 37. 
 Stalagmite, 38. 
 Star-fish, 111. 
 Staurotide, 47. 
 Stone book, 173. 
 Strata folded, 88. 
 Stratified rocks, 65. 
 Striated quartz, 197. 
 Strike, 85. 
 Sulphur, 23. 
 Sumbawa, 245. 
 Sunstone, 35. 
 Squids, 116. 
 Syenite, 73. 
 Synclinal axis, 86. 
 
 Table Rock, 219. 
 
 Tabular view of stratified and un- 
 
 stratified rocks, 141. 
 Talc, 41. 
 Talcose slate, 82. 
 Temperature of the earth, 18. 
 Tertiary acephals, 188. 
 Tertiary and modern, characterized 
 
 by, 214. 
 Tertiary corals, 187. 
 
. 320 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Tertiary fishes, 190. 
 Tertiary gasteropods, 188. 
 Tertiary mammals, 191. 
 Tertiary system, 185. 
 Terraces, 205. 
 Tetrabranchiates, 115. 
 Tetradecapods, 118. 
 Thallophytes, 98. 
 Thermal springs, 252. 
 Tides, 227. 
 Tin ore, 62. 
 Topaz, 54. 
 Tourmaline, 52. 
 Trachyte, 77. 
 Trap rocks, 75. 
 Tree ferns, 97, 
 Tremolite, 40. 
 Trenton Falls, 218. 
 Tunicata, 114. 
 Turtles, 123. 
 Types, 103. 
 
 Unconformable strata, 86. 
 Unstratified rocks, 66. 
 
 Valley of Switzerland, 234. 
 Vegetable kingdom, 91. 
 Veins or dikes, 70. 
 Verd-antique, 42. 
 Vertebrates, 119. 
 
 Vertical movements without earth- 
 quakes, 255. 
 Vesuvius, 240. 
 Volcanoes, 239. 
 
 Waves, 226. 
 Worms, 117. 
 
 Zeolite family, 51. 
 Zinc, 60. 
 Zircon, 56. 
 Zoology, 14. 
 Zoophytes, 104. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 MEARS i DUSENBERY, ELECTROTYPERS. 
 
 C. SHERMAN & SON. PRINTERS. 
 
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