UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 235 



long horn aside out of the way, while they em- 

 ployed the other in rooting up the plants on 

 which they feed. But my uncle does not believe 

 that there is any truth in this assertion. 



1th. I have just had a little geological lecture, 

 and hasten to write the substance while it is fresh 

 in my memory. 



In examining the materials of which our great 

 mineral masses are composed, we are immedi- 

 ately struck by the difference of the older for- 

 mations, which proceeded from causes that have 

 long ceased to operate, and those newer forma- 

 tions, the causes of which are still at work under 

 our own observation. 



Compared with the former, these recent for- 

 mations are of very limited extent ; they consist 

 of the sand and stones that are accumulated on 

 the sea coast by tides and currents ; of the land 

 washed away from one bank of a river, and 

 thrown up on the opposite bank by the winding 

 stream ; of the earth and gravel, and fragments 

 of rock, carried down by all rivers, and forming 

 deposits at their mouths; and of the constant 

 increase of marsh land, in consequence of the 

 growth of aquatic plants. All these appear to 

 have proceeded uninterruptedly from the period 

 when our continents assumed their present form, 

 and may be all designated by the general term 

 alluvial. There are vast alluvial formations at 



