A 



POETICAL GEOGNOSY, 



OR 



FEASTING AND FIGHTING. 



Ter JVepiumi^ aquu cum torvo hraehia vnltu 

 Exserere ausus erai : ter non tulit aerls astus. 



Ovid. Met. lib. 2, 



THE ARGUMENT. 



The Poem commen^eth with the bitgrinning of things : the scene of the ac- 

 «oa is laid under the ocean; and the Poet proceedeth to describe the or- 

 uer of succession of the various rocks. Their frequent diylocations are hint- 

 ea at (line 7,) — Granite ia first seated at the bottom : Gneiss and Mica- 

 slate are seated next to Granite ; the distortions of Gneiss, and its fre- 

 quent intermixture with Mica-slate (line 14 to 19).— The series of Slate- 

 rocks follow, intermixed with the Lower Limestones (line 22). — The or- 

 ^m of Limestone from the oxidation of calcium (line 26). — Porphyry, 

 t.urite, Greenstone, and Sienite, occur without any regular order of suc- 

 cession ; they often lie unconformably over other rocks, and are supposed 

 by some geologists to be the products of ^re (line 32— 45),— Serpentine 

 o|ten connected with Mica-slate (line 51).— -Character of Grauwacce 

 V.lme 55). — Great Limestone filled with remains of encrinites {entrocki) 

 contains large caverns (line 60).— Series of Coal =trata (line 62).— The 

 ^-ed Sandstone or Red Marie which covers Coal strata contains Rock- 

 salt and Gypsum (line 69) ; — it lies under Lias Limestme, and some- 

 times incloses Magneaian Limestone (line 73^.— The Oolites and various 

 ^trata with which they are associated are seated above Lias Limestone 

 f r^ '^^)- — Chalk and Chalk-marle spread along the coast in many parts 

 £^^"a^an J and France ; they are therefore seated close to Neptune (line 

 1^) — Partial formations of strata, depo^^ited after the Chalk, in detached 

 |f«es dine Si). — Gravel and black Karth near the sides of rivers contain 

 the teeth and bones of the mammoth and otiier extinct species of large 

 niamnKilia (line 80— 85),— Strata round Paris ; the lowest bed, the Cal- 

 cnire Grassier^ is filled with Cerites, and the Marie above it with Lym- 

 ^ftes (line 86— 9i;.— An enumeration of the most remarkable fossil orga- 

 nic renjains {line 94).— Oviparous vertebrated animals, such as lizards 

 ^nd fish, occur plentifully in Lias Limestone, and the latter sometimes in 

 ^lagnesian Limestone (line 105).— Coal strata contain almost exclusively 

 remains of vegetables (line llOj.— The Great Limestone filled with En- 

 C'-imtes (line 112;. — Organic remains more rare in the Lower Lime- 

 stones (line US; occur occa^^ionally in Slate (line H5).— White Statua- 



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