117 



The author took occasion to shew, that the effect of the sudden 

 sinking of a great mass of land, and the access of the sea to the 

 emptied space, would be to raise, by vast currents rushing into it, an 

 enormous mass of water to a great height, forming a huge initiatory 

 wave, consisting of greatly agitated water, loaded with the debris of 

 the former land, as well as terrestrial and aquatic animals, many of 

 them dragged from warmer latitudes, by the violent currents rushing 

 from all sides towards the empty space. This huge mass of water, 

 as soon as its weight balanced and overcame the momentum of the 

 current that had lifted it, would produce a wave which, being propa- 

 gated till it reached our land, would break over it, and form power- 

 ful currents guided by the inequalities of the land, and leaving be- 

 hind them the detritus which at present covers the rock surface. 



The author also noticed, in consequence of some discussion that 

 had taken place on the appearances presented by the diluvial masses, 

 a fact he had several times observed, shewing that the appearance of 

 stratification might not, in every case, depend on deposition from 

 water comparatively at rest. On artificial heaps of heterogeneous 

 matter which had been left undisturbed for many years, being cut 

 down, he had noticed, and pointed out to others, that the materials 

 had arranged themselves in lines, in the manner of flint in chalk, and 

 strata of finer materials. Hence he supposed it probable that, in 

 many cases, the dQuvial masses had, in like manner, arranged them- 

 selves, and assumed a stratified appearance. He was led also to the 

 inference that, instead of having been quietly deposited, many of the 

 great masses of sandstone, now exhibiting distinct layers, had been 

 produced at once by ancient debacles. 



2. On Vital Affinity. Parts II. and III. By Dr Alison. 



In continuation of his former paper, Dr Alison proceeded to re- 

 view the chief facts known in regard to the formation of the oils and 

 the albuminous compounds in organized bodies, with the view of il- 

 lustrating the modification given by vitality to chemical affinities. 

 The formation of fat or oil in vegetables appears to be effected 

 simply by the separation of oxygen from some of the varieties of 

 starch ; but in animals, where no oxygen is evolved, and where, 

 nevertheless, oily compounds may certainly bo formed from starch 

 (as shewn by Liebig, Chevreul, and Milne-Edwards), this appears 

 to be effected by an affinity of the greater part of the carbon and 

 hydrogen of the starch, for a small part of the oxygen, to form fat, 



VOL. II. L 



