MODE IV. BASALTON. 73 



with a finer grain must still be regarded as a 

 coarse rock, as it does not admit the polish of 

 basalt or basaltin. The common whin-stones 

 of the north of England and of Scotland belong 

 to this class. It is unnecessary to indicate many 

 examples of so common a substance, which is 

 chiefly interesting from its intimate connexion 

 with basalt and basaltin, often passing either 

 into the one or the other of these substances. 



Werner has considered grunstein as either 

 primitive or stratiform. The former has been 

 here described under the venerable name of 

 Wallerite; the latter, which commonly covers 

 the beds of basalt, is that about to be mentioned. 

 It would Appear that he has since added a trans- 

 itive gritfistein, distinguished by veins or grains 

 of quartz, in Voigtland called leberfdls, or li- 

 ver rock, being coloured with a reddish brown 

 oxyd of iron. This transitive grunstein occurs 

 in the Hartz, in Bohemia; and, according to 

 Mr. Jameson, in the upper part of Dumfries- 

 shire. The Wernerians regard grunstein as a 

 more chemical solution than basalt, though it 

 commonly rest upon the latter; while in general 

 the more chemical dissolutions are the lowest : 

 a circumstance which they endeavour to ex- 

 plain by supposing the superincumbent waters 

 fnore agitated at one period than at another, 



