464 ON THE SUCCESSIVE FORMS 



safely infer that there has been at least one order of 

 rocks, prior, even to the " primary;" whether more 

 than one, will he im mediately seen. Many of the 

 primary strata contain fragments of older rocks, he- 

 sides the finer materials; as I have fully shown, in 

 the history of individual strata. Micaceous schist 

 thus includes fragments of limestone, quartz rock, 

 hornblende schist, granite, venous quartz, and of other 

 micaceous schist: and thus also does quartz rock con- 

 tain pebbles of quartz, with fragments of jasper, 

 micaceous schist, and clay slate. In the graywackes, 

 or compound varieties of the argillaceous schists, the 

 same is notorious ; but the evidence is complete 

 without this. Thus it is proved, that, prior to our 

 primary strata, there have existed, at least, granite, 

 micaceous schist, hornblende schist, clay slate, jasper, 

 limestone, quartz rock, and quartz occupying veins. 

 There may have been others; but, in the mean time, 

 it is important to observe the exact resemblance be- 

 tween the present primary rocks, and the still more 

 antient ones, from the ruins of which they have been, 

 partly at least, formed. 



Now as the compounded rocks now forming are 

 produced by the consolidation of materials carried 

 from the land into the sea, it follows, that before the 

 formation of the present primary strata and while 

 they were still buried beneath the water in their germs, 

 there was a terraqueous globe; an earth containing 

 land and water, mountains, rivers, and seas. That 

 earth also was formed of rocks similar to those of the 

 present primary strata, and further, it is important to 

 observe, of granite also ; proving that this agent had 

 then, as in later times, been the cause of the elevation 

 of the strata. That the sea of this globe was inha- 

 bited by animals, is proved by the presence of organic 



