210 DOMAIN XI. DECOMPOSED. 



mixture of sand being a decomposition of 

 Loam, quartz. Bergman found the loam near 

 London, to contain only 13 of argil ; the 

 remaining 87 being a redish grey sand, as 

 Mould, fine as flour. What is called mould, con- 

 sists chiefly of vegetable and animal re- 

 mains. The fall of leaves in a forest 

 creates a fine black mould. 



In various parts of England, and other 

 countries, the loam is of a red colour, and 

 proceeds in what may be called belts or 

 zones (for strata can only be superimposed 

 on each other) for a great distance, but 

 with various interruptions. This red tinge 

 can scarcely arise from the decomposed 

 felspar of red primeval granite, as some 

 have supposed ; for in that case the hardest 

 nodules of the granite would probably s til! 

 be found, as in the red sand-stone ; but 

 may merely proceed from the admixture 

 of red oxyd of iron, while in other spots 

 the black oxyd may predominate. Argil- 

 laceous earth is found in the most primitive 

 substances; and theory can scarcely be 

 expected to determine whether the fertile 



