•""1572 M. Berzelius's Kemarks on 



ally convinced him of its evident errors, and it may be now 

 considered that he has fully forsaken it. In its stead, the 

 opinion has begun to gain the general sanction of geologists, 

 that the oldest rocks proceeded from the cooling of a melted 

 mass, that this cooled mass, during the first period of cooling 

 and hardening, was bui'st asimder and contracted, that ncAv 

 melted masses were pressed out from the rents thus produced, 

 and that these again were hardened above the others. It is 

 considered, and certainly upon good gi"oxmds, that these cooled 

 masses having been ejected, and therefore altered in their 

 position, Avcre at first very hot ; that water, for the most part 

 in a gaseous form, surrounded the globe, and formed part of 

 the earth's atmosphere, which became condensed incessantly, 

 and fell back upon the heated surfiice, where it again got in- 

 to a boiling state under an enormous pressure of its own gas, 

 and therefore reassumed a gaseous form at a much higher 

 temperature than that at which water boils at present ; and 

 that under this constant dropping of water in heavy rain, 

 whose temperature was very high, the cooling surface was 

 broken up, and became disintegrated and destroyed, in con- 

 sequence of which the rocky dust was formed, which after- 

 wards gave rise to stratified rocks, &c. These likewise were 

 biu'st asunder with the underlying solid rocks, so that new 

 melted masses broke forth in the openings of the still heated 

 but hardening mass, where they remained for a long time 

 liquid, penetrated into all fissures and openings, separated 

 loosely united beds, flowed in between them, and, owing to 

 their inferior specific gravity, elevated them : while, during 

 the long continued hot condition caiised by the extremely slow 

 cooling, they altered the rocks with which they were in con- 

 tact, and extended this efi^'ect to various distances, according 

 to the different periods which the melted mass required for 

 cooling. In this mannei', it is supposed, that the transition 

 limestone, which has evidently been hardened in water, was 

 changed into marble, a condition which is closely allied to the 

 mountain-limestone, from which it is principally distinguish- 

 ed by the fineness of its grains. In this manner also we see 

 . liow, in still later periods of the cooling of the earth, the 

 '^r'trap burned into hardness the upper surface of the bituuiin- 



..•.^Vittiijio 



