= Se 
ee 
Il. OBSERVATIONS on GRANITE. By FaMEs Hutton, M.D. 
F.R.S. Epin. and Member of the Royal Academy of Agri- 
culture at Paris. : ; 
[Read Fan. 4. 1790.]. 
‘ INCE reading the paper upon the theory of the earth*, I have 
been employed in examining many parts of this country, 
in order to enquire into the natural hiftory of granite. In this 
undertaking, I have fucceeded beyond my moft flattering ex- 
peétations ; and I am now to communicate to this Society the 
tefult of my obfervations. 
In the paper juft referred to, it was maintained, from many 
‘different arguments, that all the folid ftrata of the earth had 
been confolidated by means of fubterraneous heat, foftening 
the hard materials of thofe bodies ; and,that in many places, 
thofe confolidated ftrata had been broken and invaded by huge 
maffes of fluid matter fimilar to lava, but, for the moft part, 
perfeétly diftinguifhable from it. Granite alfo was confidered 
there as a body which had been certainly confolidated by heat ; 
and which had, at leaft in fome parts, been in the ftate of per- 
fe& fufion, and certain fpecimens were produced, from which I 
drew an argument in fupport of this conclufion. 
Ar that time, however, I was not perfectly decided in my opi- 
nion concerning granite ; whether it was to be confidered as a 
body which had been originally ftratified by the colle@tion of its 
different materials, and afterwards confolidated by the fufion of 
thofe 
* Vid. Tranf, R..S, Edin, vol, I. p.209. Phyf. Cl. 
