80 NATURAL HISTORY. 



" new island is near on a level with' the water, and 

 " that it will probably soon disappear. 



" From these and several other similar facts, it ap- 

 " pears, that inflammable bodies exist under the bot- 

 " torn of the sea, and that they sometimes produce 

 fl violent explosions." 



On the whole, however, the islands produced by the 

 action of fire and earthquakes, are but few, and these 

 events are seldom ; but tiiere are an infinite number 

 of new islands produced by the mud, sand, and earth, 

 which the rivers, or the sea carry and transport into 

 different places. At the mouth of all rivers, masses of 

 earth and banks of sand are formed, whose extent often 

 become considerable enough to form islands of a mode- 

 rate size. The sea retiring from certain coasts, leaves 

 the parts highest from the bottom naked, which form 

 so many new islands, And likewise, by extending it- 

 self on certain shores, it covers the lowest parts, and 

 leaves the highest, which it could not surmount, to ap- 

 pear above the surface of the water, which form so 

 many more islands. In consequence of which, it is 

 remarked, that there are very few islands in the mid- 

 dle of the sea, and that they are almost all in the 

 neighbourhood of the continents, where the sea formed 

 them, either by retreating from, or approaching towards, 

 these different countries. 



Water and fire, whose natures are different, and, 

 even contrary, produce what, at least appears to us to 

 be similar effects. Water, as has been observed, has 

 produced mountains, and formed most islands. There 

 are likewise caverns, clefts, holes, gulphs, &c. some 

 of which owe their origin to subterraneous fires, and 

 others to water. 



