86 CORRESPONDENCE. 



fertility and sterility of the soil, land above sea, and various peculi- 

 arities may be distinctly referred. On the other hand, we observe 

 present changes slowly taking place in rivers, lakes, and shores. 

 Another example : we find in certain localities a substratum of coals, 

 the remains of vegetables, and as Mr. Lyell justly observes, " the 

 commercial prosperity and numerical strength of a nation may be 

 mainly dependent on the local distribution of fuel determined by 

 that ancient state of things." On taking a general view of the 

 country on the Kentish side of the river Thames, we observe a rich 

 variety of hill and dale, cultivated in a manner calculated to excite 

 the most powerful emotions of the mind in admiring the beauties of 

 Nature. No man can behold the matchless scenery of Kent 

 without feelings of wonder and admiration ; the fertile plain, 

 the barren hill, the sloping plantation of fruit trees : and in 

 spots where Nature parches and withers, we see the ingenu- 

 ity of man adorns the place with the Raspberry and the Straw- 

 berry. The valleys run, there or thereabouts, from east to west 

 —a fact which supports the theory of the earth revolving on 

 its poles ; as the tides would in consequence have a natural tendency 

 to run east and west. Some writers of distinguished talent have 

 gone so far as to contend that the origin of the greater number of 

 existing valleys was simply due to the agency of one cause, and 

 that it was consummated in a brief period of time. But I believe 

 the sinuosity of deep valleys is one among many proofs that they 

 have been shaped out progressively, and not by the simultaneous 

 action of one or many causes. In regard to the transporting power 

 of water, we are often surprised at the facility wherewith streams 

 of a small size, and which descend a high declivity, bear along coarse 

 sand and gravel. 



It is impossible to deny that the watei's of the sea have formerly and 

 for a long time covered those masses of matter which now constitute 

 our highest hills ; and, further, that these waters for a long time 

 did not support any living bodies, that is in reference to changes 

 which took place in the inorganic rocks. It is also evident that the 

 basin or reservoir containing the sea has undergone some change at 

 least, either in exten' or in situation, or both ; such is the result of 

 the very first search and of the most superficial examination. 



On penetrating the different parts of this coast, the strata vary 

 considerably in depth, the plastic clay being deepest in the valleys 

 and immediately as the hill ascends. On removing the diluvial 

 crust or debris we come to a layer of sand, which runs from two to 

 eight feet from the surface. This formation contains fresh-water 



