248 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



the leaves of which measure from one to two, and in some instances three 

 feet in thickness, some layers embracing in themselves matter ranging 

 from a coarse conglomerate to the finest sand ; and yet none of this 

 collection of materials, within the limits of the particular layers in 

 which they are included, exhibits the slightest tendency to break or 

 divide in any one direction more than another. 



The observations here stated, I am happy to find, have been also 

 noticed, to some extent, by others conversant with the subject of strat- 

 ification. Sawdust, subjected to the filtering action of w r ater, has been 

 observed by Prof. Agassiz to assume a regular stratified appearance. 

 The same has also been noticed by Dr. Hayes, of Boston, in the vats 

 in -which clay used for the manufacture of alum is washed. Dr. Em- 

 mons, of Albany, has referred me to an instance of a clay bed, in which 

 the strata of one portion are distorted and inclined, apparently from a 

 force acting laterally or from below, but which force evidently could 

 not have so acted from the perfectly regular and undisturbed condition 

 of the surrounding clay strata ; the inclinations must, therefore, ac- 

 cording to Dr. Ernmons, be referred to a peculiarity of deposition, or a 

 subsequent division at an angle on consolidation. I have also noticed 

 regular stratification in the dried deposit of a puddle in the streets, 

 where no apparent change in the character of the materials deposited 

 could be noticed, and where there was certainly no interruption of 

 deposition. 



If the divisions of stratification or lamination which I have thus 

 pointed out be admitted, it is not improbable that many cases of what 

 are now considered disturbed and tilted strata, are in none other than 

 their normal condition. 



ON THE ORIGIN OF CONGLOMERATES. 



MESSRS. Foster and Whitney, in their report on the geology of Lake 

 Superior, consider the vast beds of conglomerate in those regions to 

 have their origin in igneous ejections beneath the surface of the ocean. 

 The editor of Silliman's Journal, in noticing this conclusion, says, " that, 

 judging from known effects of igneous action, this supposition is un- 

 doubtedly correct. The action of the waters of the ocean on a lava 

 stream was exhibited on a grand scale at the eruption of Kilauea, 

 (Hawaii,) in 1840, w r here the fused rock, on reaching the sea, as Mr. 

 Coan states, ' was shivered like melted glass into millions of particles, 

 which were thrown up in clouds that darkened the sky, and fell like a 

 storm of hail over the surrounding country,' and, as a result, three 

 conical elevations were thrown up in a few days, the smallest 150, and 

 the largest 250 feet in height. The same effects would take place in 

 the depths of an ocean, only far more vast, when the opened fissures 

 lie their whole length exposed to the waters ; and the results would 

 vary, according to the condition or progress of the eruption, the cur- 

 rents that were in action at the time, and the character of the region 

 around. Adding also the friction of the eruptive rock against the 

 walls of the opened fissures, as suggested by von Buch, and we have a 

 sufficient cause for the formation of the fragmentary beds." 



