326 Analysis of Scientific Books, 



^ne) avec les roches qui entrent dans la composition des forma- 

 tions complexes. 



Jusqu'ici nons avons montre comment, en faisant entierement 

 abstraction de la composition et des proprietes physiques des 

 roches, la notation pasigmpkigue pent reduire h une grande sim- 

 plicite les probl^mes de gisement les plus compliqu6s. Cette no- 

 tation indique comment les m6mes couches subordonn6es (le sel 

 gemme dans le zechstein et dans le red marl, §§. 28 et 29 ; les 

 houilles dans le gres rouge, le zechstein et le muschelkalk) pas- 

 sent k travers plusieurs formations superpos6es les unes aux 

 dutres : 



Elle rappelle aussi le retour des formations feldsapthiques et 

 cristallines dans les terrains de transition et de gres rouge 

 (Norw^e, Ecosse) ; retour qui est analogue a celui du granite 

 apr^s le gneis et apres le micaschiste primitif : 



«> ^> a? 7) ^> X, A, «, ^ . . . 



Les premiers termes de la serie reparolssent, m^me apr^s 

 un long intervalle, apres le grauwacke et le calcaire k orthoc6* 

 ratites, c'est-a-dire, apres les roches fragmentaires et coquillieres. 



Now we appeal to our readers, if we have judged M. Hum- 

 boldt harshly, or whether this is not the very grimace of affec- 

 tation. If he could reason for one moment, or if he had ever 

 considered the real purpose and use of an arithmetical or alge- 

 braical pasigraphry, he would see that he was obscuring what 

 he pretends to ilhistrate, and increasing labour instead of short- 

 ening it. A series summed in this manner, conveys no ideas ; 

 and if it is to convey any, the labours of the reader will be, to 

 re-translate all that M. Humboldt has exerted so much useless 

 labour in darkening. We only wonder that he has not given us 

 his geognosy in Hieroglyphics, that he might have tried to per- 

 suade us he was the rival of Young and Champollion. One 

 advantage, indeed, we will not deny ; and we are only sorry, 

 therefore, that his whole hemispheres were not written in algebra. 

 Each method is equally free of the suspicion of conveying ideas, 

 and the Greek would have been shorter than the French. 



Geognosy, indeed, can now be contained in a nut-shell, and 

 by a shorter process than the Iliad was crammed into one. And 

 lest our readers should doubt the possibility of this, we shall give 

 them the whole matter of " the two hemispheres" in two lines. 

 But unless we gave the whole passage, they might suspect us of 

 playing with their credulity, and of jesting with M. Humboldt. 

 Here it is ;— 



