Tlie Ocean. 333 



of the latter salt ; it soon lost its vitreous brilliancy, and was covered 

 with small rhombohedrons of carbonate of lime. At the moment of 

 contact, the gypsum dissolved, and reacted immediately upon the 

 bicarbonate of soda. There was a separation of carbonic acid, which 

 partly remained in the solution, on account of imperfect closeness of 

 the vessel. The formation of sulphate of soda and cai'bonate of 

 lime, in such a way that the plates which successively separated from 

 the gypsum were formed of small attached rhombohedrons, cannot 

 be supposed as solely owing to a double decomposition. It is pro- 

 bable that the dissolving action of the carbonic acid plays a part in 

 the phenomenon. These effects always present themselves with weak 

 sohitions of bicarbonate. 



These facts prove two principles, by the aid of which a certain 

 number of insoluble crystalline compounds may be produced similar 

 to the natural ones. The first consists in slowly oxidising a body in 

 a sohition of substances, upon which the oxide formed reacts, and 

 whence result oxides and various crystallised insoluble compounds. 

 The second relates to the feeble reactions which take place when a 

 slightly soluble body is placed in contact with a solution cpntaining 

 several compounds, giving rise to double decomposition, in which case 

 insoluble compounds are formed, which crystallise. — (Compter Ren- 

 dus, Feb. 1852 ; Philosophical Magazine, vol. iii., No. 17, 4th 

 Series, p.i23.d.jL»fjJi«oq9b^(hi;{mii2 eiaw ^tuit ;iyol)oif|'/ 



— _ .fioa 



bidw aioJ-KW b-ivnlq odt ^{Tshe Qce<m, 



I , t'lAs we descend towards the present state of things, and 

 lands and seas approximate to their existing relations, 

 the geographic data become more certain. One side of 

 the globe has, we find, its vanishing continent, the other 

 its disappearing |[^^^V,r^J^ northern portion of our own 

 country presents almost the identical outline which the mo- 

 dern geographer transfers to his atlas, save that there is 

 here and there a narrow selvage clipped off and given to the 

 sea, and that while the loftier headlands protrude as far as 

 now into the ocean, the friths and bays sweep further in- 

 land ; but in the southern part of the island the map is 

 greatly different ; -a broad channel sweeps outwards through 

 the middle of the land ; and the highlands of Wales, south 

 and north, exist as a detached bold- featured island, placed 

 half-way between the coasts of England and Ireland. I found 

 it exceedingly pleasant to lie this day on the soft, short 



