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of whose aqueous origin there was no doubt. But then they were 

 met with the fact that iron was insoluble in water, and nearly every 

 one of its oxides as well. A sj^ring not far from their doors would, 

 perhaps, help to some extent in solving the problem. He had a 

 bottleful of the water. It tasted of iron, that showed that the 

 metal was dissolved in it. But at the bottom of the bottle they 

 would perceive certain red grains. This was, to all purposes, iron 

 ore — a red hematite. How was the iron dissolved in the water? 

 The answer was, by the agency of the carbonic acid contained in it. 

 When, as in the well, the water came in contact with the atmos- 

 phere, the cai-bonic acid escaped and the ii'on was deposited as a 

 sesquioxide. Down in the chalk, in the fissures and hollows where 

 the water came to supply the spring, vreve, he doubted not, lai-ge 

 deposits of this red oxide. Here they had, he thought, on a small 

 scale, what, in times gone by, went on on a large one. Look at 

 that map of the hematite district of Cumberland and Lancashii*e. 

 Those red marks on the map told you where were the fissures 

 and hollows in the mountain limestone, in which the hema- 

 tite ore was found. The hematite which filled the deposits 

 resembled a huge chemical precipitate. For the most part, the ore 

 consisted of minute particles, generally not veiy firmly connected, 

 and of a soft natui-e, in which larger and harder pieces were 

 imbedded. Where on the map the red marks were thickest, 

 there the strata had been much dislocated, and there, 

 consequently, the hollows and fissui-es were more numerous. 

 Given a carbonate of iron, or carbonic acid, ad libitum, and the 

 diflSculty of accounting for those vast masses of oxide of iron was at 

 any rate lessened. Yet, although we could not see our way clearly 

 to account for this enormous quantity of carbonic acid which was 

 in combination with iron, yet we must remember that this gas 

 formed a large proportionof primary, secondary, and tei'tiary rocks. 

 The lias rock, which furnished nearly one-half of the twelve 

 millions of tons of iron ore raised in gi'eat Britain, was carbonate. 

 The rich black-band ore of Scotland was also a carbonate. The 

 Cleveland stone was associated with animal remains, the black- 

 band with vegetable. Had we any evidence to show us how living 

 beings could aid in the deposition of iron ? Assuredly we had. 

 He learnt from the official report of the Swedish Chamber of 

 Commerce that 13,4-76 tons of lake ore were obtained in 1870. " This 

 is foixnd as a deposit at the bottom of shallow lakes, from which it 



