%80 THK WORW>. 



ta, always succeeding in the same order wherever examined, and 

 each formation marking a distinct epoch in the history of our 

 planet; each characterized by its own flora and fanna, so that the 

 whole substance which has hitherto been explored, consists of 

 either minerals, i. e. inorganic substances formed by natural ope- 

 rations, or die fossil remains of animals and vegetables, charac- 

 terizing peculiar and distinct epochs in the history of the globe. 

 " The arrangement of the various formations may be represented 

 l)y an alphabetical series from a to z, and this order, though it is 

 frequently imperfect, is never inverted, We often miss one, or 

 *nore, terms in the series, and lose, say the -b or /* or m, or even 

 several letters in succession, but we never find the b taking the 

 .place of the a, or d preceding the c, or any member of the series 

 usurping the position of another which ought to go before it ; in 

 other terms, we never meet with the entire series of deposits, but 

 -those which do occur invariably follow in a regular order of 86^ 

 <juence." 



We have said 'that these strata are all either mineral or fossil. 

 Kemotely they all are of mineral origin, for all organic substances 

 have been at some time elaborated from inorganic matter by that 

 marvelous principle termed vitality. There are fourteen simple 

 substances which are named below in order, according to their 

 importance, which constitute the chief part of the earth's sur- 

 face. The first eight are called simple Non-Metallic substances* 



1. Oxygen, 5. Sulphur, 



2. Hydrogen, 6. Chlorine, 



3. Nitrogen, 7. Fluorine, 



4. Carbon, 8. Phosphorus. 



These eight simple substances by their union with certain metals, 

 which are hence called metallic bases, and also by union with 

 each other, form by far the greatest amount of all the matter, or- 

 ganic, or inorganic, solid, or liquid, or gasseous," which is known 

 to exist on the surface of the earth. The metallic bases alluded 

 to are 



1. Silicium, 4. Sodium, 



2. Aluminium, 5. Magnesium, 



3. Potassium, 6. Calcium. 



We cannot here describe each of these elementary bodies, this 



