APPLIED GEOLOGY — BEOOKS. 337 



ance in Europe, for Pierre Belon, the French naturalist, recorded 

 that in 1546 they were in use in the Thracian gold fields — then 

 as now a part of the Ottoman Empire. 



In Agricola's day there appeared a number of other treatises 

 dealing with some phase of applied geology. These were mostly 

 devoted to mineralogy, which was destined to become a science 

 long before geology had passed beyond the speculative stage. Most 

 of this early literature was in Latin and therefore calculated to have 

 little influence on mining practice. It did, however, bring the 

 scholar into closer touch with the phenomena of nature and thus 

 pave the way for a rational science of geology. 



In the early history of the science pure and applied geology can 

 be compared with two confluent rivers having widely separated 

 sources — the one springing from the high realm of speculative 

 philosophy, the other having a more lowly subterranean origin. 

 These two streams of thought gradually drew together, for a space 

 flowing side by side, and fmaUy merged into one great stream. 



The following passage, written by Peter Martyr, in 1516, while 

 describing the golden wealth of Hispaniola, reflects something of 

 the status of geology in his day: 



They have found by experience that the Vein of gold is a living tree, and that the 

 same by all ways spreadeth and springeth from the root, by the soft pores and pas- 

 sages of the Earth, putteth forth branches, even to the uppermost part of the Earth; 

 and ceaseth not imtil it discover itself unto the open air; at which time it sheweth 

 forth certain beautiful colours in the stead of flowers, round stones of golden Earth 

 in the stead of fruits, and thin plates in stead of leaves. . . . For they think 

 such grains are not engendered where they are gathered, especially on the dry land, 

 but otherwise in the Rivers. They say that the root of the golden Tree extendeth 

 to the center of the Earth, and there taketh nourishment of increase: for the deeper 

 that they dig, they find the trunks thereof to be so much the greater, as far as they 

 may follow it, for abundance of water springing in the Mountains. 



This fantastic account of gold deposits contains a sufficient kernel 

 of truth to indicate that the writer had at least some comprehension 

 of the form of auriferous veins and their relation to gold placers. 



One of the earliest recorded attempts of a, practical application 

 of geology is that of George Owen, a country squire of Wales, who 

 about 1600 prepared a lengthy description of Pembrokeshire in 

 which he discussed the occurrence of limestones and coal. He 

 appears to have been the first to note the change of bituminous coal 

 to anthracite. Owen's practical purpose is uiade clear by the fol- 

 lowing quotation from his writing: 



... it may be a guide to some parties to seek the lymestone where it yet lieth 

 hidden and may save labours to others in seeking it where there is no possibility to 

 find it. 



While men of the Agricola typo were assembling and classif3-ing 

 observations on minerals and ore bodies, another group of scientists 



