102 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



the same source. It belongs to the "upper crust," the lighter 

 portion of the parent mass. It contains seven per cent, of 

 iron, one-tenth of one per cent, of nickel, seventeen per cent, 

 of calcium, forty-seven per cent, of silicon, and twcntj^-seven 

 per cent, of ferrous oxide, or oxide of iron. It has been 

 found that some of these celestial bodies contain as much as 

 sixty per cent, of iron, showing that they belong to the denser 

 portions of the planetary masses, which have become disrupted 

 from some cause. 



It is an interesting fact that we do not find these meteorites 

 to contain any new elements or forms of matter; that is, no 

 elements not common to our earth are held by them, and this 

 fact leads to the conclusion that throughout the universe there 

 is unity of design in physical constitution, as well as in 

 mechanical arrangement. Spectroscopic observation, it is 

 true, in the green line of the spectrum of the sun's light, indi- 

 cates the existence of an unknown element ; but it is probable, 

 as has been intimated, that it may be the primary form of 

 matter, from which all other forms are by some unknown 

 celestial chemistry evolved. 



Of course, gentlemen, there is much of what I have said in 

 relation to meteorites that is perhaps to be regarded as still 

 within the domain of hypothesis ; but there are strong evi- 

 dences of the correctness of the statements notwithstanding. 

 Pardon this diversion from the strict line of my topic in 

 bringing the interesting subject briefly to your attention. 



I have already observed that the constitution of bowlder 

 and all other rocks is very simple. There is a vast number 

 of difierent minerals found in our cabinets, but they differ only 

 in the proportions of a few elements, and in crystalline struct- 

 ure. Granite predominates in the rocky framework of our 

 globe, and consequently in the bowlders we find this class of 

 rocks by fiir the most numerous. In the drift or bowlder 

 rocks of this State, more than half are granitic in structure. 



Before passing to consider kinds of rocks, let me ask and 

 briefly answer the question. What is the nature of a rock? 

 Rock is dead inorganic matter, — burnt out material which is 

 incapable of any change other than disintegration by chemical 

 or physical causes. It is the coke remaining from the com- 

 bustion of a world, to use another and perhaps not quite scien- 



