108 On the Climate of the Antediluvian World. [Feb. 



over the metallic ball." Mr. Smithson then adds, that he consi- 

 ders, as I also do, the metallic nucleus which remains enclosed 

 as the source of volcanos, and considerina; the high interest 

 which attaches itself to their ejections, proceeds to the chemical 

 analysis of the sahne substance which forms the subject of his 

 paper. 



Havino- done justice to the opinion of this learned and excel- 

 lent chemist, 1 must observe that the notion of our planet having 

 ever been either a comet or sun, is not only an unnecessary 

 postulate, but a most improbable conjecture. Every observation 

 made on comets strengthens the suspicion, that so far from being 

 burning bodies, they are masses of transparent fluid having very 

 little density ; and a sun, according to the received definition, 

 being the centre of a system, cannot be a fit denomination for 

 our earth. 



This doctrine has also been adopted by M. V.Buch. Whether 

 it suggested itself to his mind as an original idea, I know not; 

 but as he does not mention its concordance with the discovery 

 of Sir H. Davy or Mr. Sraithson's hypothesis, 1 presume it must. 

 That the opinion of so celebrated, experienced, acute, and sen- 

 sible a geologist as M. V. Buch, must have great weight with 

 all who are acquainted with his excellent writings, needs no 

 comment. — (See his paper on Basaltic Islands in the Abhand- 

 lungen der KonigUchen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaflen von 

 Berlin, Baud, iii.) 



The inferences which Mr. Micherhch draws from his ingenious 

 and successful attempts to produce crystallized minerals by 

 heat, lead him to a similar doctrine. He says, " The artificial 

 production of minerals by fusion puts beyond doubt the idea of 

 our primitive mountains having been originally in a state of 

 igneous fusion. This state gives a satisfactory explanation of 

 the form of the earth, of the increase of temperature at great 

 depths, of hot springs, and many other phenomena. At that 

 time, during this high degree of temperature, the waters of the 

 sea must have formed an elastic fluid around the globe, accord- 

 ing to the experiments of M. Cagnard de la Tour." 



(To he aontinucd.) 



