78 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[Feb. 17, 



ward side ranching to (be s;iddle-bow of my camel. This terrific blast 

 Consists of snlpliuretled livdrogen and carburetted hydrogen, and other 

 uoxious exhah.tions of the earth, uniting within their volumes an 

 enormous quantity of burning sands, so exceedingly minute, as to be 

 invisible to the eve: it is said, and I believe truly, that no human 

 being can fully inhale this vapour without having the lungs irreparably 

 injured, and instant death is very often the consequence. 



In some parts of the desert, towards the land of Abyssinia, about 

 Narea and Caffa, there are immense marshes where the waters an- 

 nually accumulate, until in the overflow they empty themselves into 

 the beds of the rivers, — this gives a new character to the oceanic 

 fossil soil, the grey marls are converted into a red bole, the sands in 

 many places consolidate as sandstone, and much terrestrial matter or 

 vegetable earth is blended with the various substances primarily com- 

 posing these plains. Again a portion of these waters passes off by 

 filtration into valleys disposed at a great distance from them, carrying 

 ■with them the causes of etfects manifest in the changes of fossil mat- 

 ters into minerals. The entire Delta of the Nile is spread over a 

 marine formation, being generally of a calcareous nature, or consisting 

 of sands silicified, marine exuvije, and marls converted into clay in 

 consequence of uniting with the overlying matters. 



The deserts, in whatever parts of the globe they are disposed, even 

 exhibit phenomena peculiar to themselves, and as such at variance 

 •with the geological notions of the day; in our researches, no remains 

 of lacustrine fresh water or land species have hitherto been found be- 

 neath this marine strata, the organic character disappears the lower 

 we descend, but, the lower beds, to the greatest extent known, consist 

 of sands and ocean marls. We cannot therefore conclude that in the 

 changes of this planetary body, the waters have experienced no 

 diminution, but that the great preponderance of oceanic matter, com- 

 posing in entirely ancient soils, as well as in recent formations, tlie 

 phenomena of the deserts, and of newly formed islands and continents, 

 all demonstrate priority of existence to the soils formed by the opera- 

 tions of nature on dry land, and it is palpably manifest to all men that 

 the ocean earths form the basis of land vegetation, and of all things 

 produced thereon by the influence of the atmosphere. 



In one of the preceding articles, has already been explained the 

 reason why the term "terrestrial" is used to designate the earth or 

 dry land, in contradistinction to the terra "oceanic." It is palpably 

 manifest to men of even common sense, that there are organic species 

 peculiar to the waters, and organic species peculiar to dry land : also 

 that there are earths peculiar to the one, and to the other, as for in- 

 stance vegetable earth and ocean marl : in reality the one and the other 

 are the products of animal and vegetable organic bodies— ocean 

 marl implies or embraces varieties, but vegetable earths do not, 

 although much animal matter is blended therewith, they are in fact 

 the earths of earths, species of dry land proceeding from oceanic earth ; 

 the term "terrestrial" in contradistinclion to " oceanic," implies no 

 contradiction. It has also been observed that gelatinous matter, 

 whether generated by animal or vegetable species favours the con- 

 glomeration of silica, and there are few analytical chemists of the pre- 

 sent day who will be found to dispute this acknowledged and palpable 

 truth. I go a step beyond this and prove that gelatine favours the 

 generation of silica. A correspondent holds it to be absurd to sup- 

 pose that the comminuted particles of shell fish can be converted into 

 sands. " The earthy matter in shells," being, as the correspondent says, 

 "wholly lime;" truly this is some new discovery, the elementary con- 

 stituents of living creatures of the deep are various, the most simple 

 organization being purely gelatinous, others combine in their elements 

 albumen and gelatine, with phosphorus ; otliers with these, marine 

 acid, the earths of sodium, &c., — the abundance of these elementary 

 compounds is manifest in the ocean slime, the phosphorescent light, 

 and saline quality of the waters ; the slime is the natural cement of 

 the shells of mollusca, as it is the natural and sole constituent of many 

 species, the elements of the gelatine generated by living organic ac- 

 tion, and forming other combinations, become converted into albumen, 

 and then again gelatine and albumen on the death of the animal, 

 form other combinations, entering the mineral kingdom with silica, 

 &c. Otherwise, whence comes the silica whicli constitutes full 

 two-thirds of the entire bulk of the earth? it is not found in 

 the waters oosing from the ocean beds, for the generation and increase 

 of species, is invariably followed by the continuous increase of fossil 

 beds. Mr. Lyell would supply calcium from internal reservoirs. 

 Whence will he derive his supply of silica and other earths? It is 

 sa:d that silica is composed of definite elements, so is the living 

 organic body ; in death this mathematical union is sometimes wholly 

 dissolved, and other malliemalical and mechanical combinations lake 

 place, the results being definite; undecompoundtd bodies, defying 

 the art of the chemist to separate the elements of their composition 



but being of necessity compound bodies, and therefore susceptible 

 under some, though to us unknown circumstances, to change. 



To the highly intellectual body to whom I address myself, no sub- 

 ject can be "more interesting than "The Architectdre of this 

 Earth ;" from the elementary works alluded to by a Correspondent, 

 they derive ideas of the general building, but from me they learn the 

 nature and composition of the material, and the circumstances under 

 which it was and is produced: geologists see the building through geo- 

 logical spectacles clouded by crude i leas and contradictory opinions, 

 and are told to rest satisfied with this general view, and not to look 

 for foundations to the building or primary causes of its being, as that 

 is not their province: I simply hold up the mirror of nature and 

 permit men to judge for themselves. Twenty years travel and obser- 

 vation is wortii at least double the quantity of closet philosophy. 

 Geologists teach that crystalline rocks are produced from a previous 

 heated liquid state. I liiaintain that aggregate masses are combined 

 together by certain common bases or cements, and under the influence 

 of long continuous atmospheric heat or chemical action. Geologists 

 maintain that the material of crystalline rocks has been upraised from 

 the interior of the earth; I am jirepared to prove that the most elevated 

 crystalline bodies are produced by atmospheric influences, and that they 

 do not exist at any considerable depth within the earth; geologists 

 term these rocks 'primary, and say that the causes of ettects thus 

 manifest have universally ceased : I prove that many of them are 

 recent, and that the causes of their formation are even now more 

 active than ever they were. It was only a short time since that much 

 learned eloquence was put forth by geologists to prove that from the 

 geological character of the soil no coal could possilMy be found in the 

 Falkland Islands, but the existence of coal in those islands was well 

 known to individuals at that time, and it has since been proved that 

 there is abundance of coal, and that the great beds pass by gradual 

 transition into this mineralized form, specimens of which are now to 

 be seen in the " Museum of Economic Geology." Again, bodies every 

 vear are added to the number of known undecompounded bodies. 

 Who then shall presume that natural philosophy is now perfect? 

 Geology at present is a very uncertain and fluctuating science. 



The effects of heat and cold, water and atmospheric air, gases and 

 vapours, upon bodies exposed to them, or chemically combining with 

 each other, are palpably manifest to all men, howevc-r limited their 

 sphere of action may be'; the flowers of the garden, the grasses of the 

 field, the creature which exists by the one or the other, all exist by 

 sufferance of temperature and association. On the island wholly com- 

 posed of marine exuvia; and sands, vegetable species, peculiar to that 

 island, make their appearance, and as they generate and die off, or 

 periodically shed their fruits, flowers, and leaves, so the formated soil 

 becomes covered with a coating of mould gradually increasing in 

 thickness; the plants yield potash; whence is the potash derived? 

 It cannot be from the oceanic soil, because in this soil potash has no 

 place; and, again, its quantities multiply as vegetable matter in- 

 creases ; if derived from the soil, and eventually returned to ihe soil, 

 tliere would be no perceptible increase. It is not a constituent of 

 ocean waters. If, then, it be an inorganic substance, whence can 

 it be derived ? Certainly not from the atmosphere. It cannot, there- 

 fore, be primary, not being antecedent hut contemporaneous with, as 

 necessarily apjiertaining to, the vegetable body: under other aspects 

 the same plantyields soda and not potash. It is found as a constituent 

 of many mineral bodies, and its presence truly denotes the presence of 

 vegetable matter, lost in combinations with other compounds: afford- 

 ing demonstrable evidence that the rock, of which it forms a consti- 

 tuent part, assumed its consolidated form after this earthy matter was 

 deposited, consequently that the rock is a secondary product. 



On the AnvANTAriES of em?lo\ing Large Stecuia ant Elevated Sit- 

 uations lOK Astronomical Observations, by C. P. Smyth. Ksf|.. in a paper 

 lately read at the Astronomical .Society, the auihor adverts lo meihuds 

 proposed by Mr, H. F. Talbot lor the muUi plication of copies of specula by 

 means of the electrotype, and for observing astronomical objects with a 

 telescope absolutely fixed, by means of a revolving plane mirror, uhieh me- 

 thods he considers might, if carried out, produce great improvements In 

 asironcmy. Amoni:st the advantages of the latter method he cnumerales 

 the following, arising chiefly from the unlimited focal length which it would 

 he possible to give lo the mirror ; First. The obviaiinn of the necessity of an 

 ac( urate parabolic shape tor the retlector ; Secondly, The magnilying of the 

 image willioiit distortion or colour ; Tliirdly, The small eflect which inaccu- 

 racies of the screw ol the micrometer would produce, eye-pieces of low 

 power being employed; Fourthly, The elimination of errors dependenl on 

 the contraction or expansion of ihe tubes of telescopes; and lastly. The 

 advantage of having the eve in a fixed position. The author then enlarges 

 on Ihe advantages w'^liieh would attend the use of such a lixed telescope if 

 placid on the slope of a high mountain, with the object-mirror and ihe eye- 

 piece fixed on piers, and separated by a considerable interval, the mirror bein;; 

 beneath. 



