Geology. 35 



nor is, the source of our existing strata, as the result of 

 either slow or fast, or any other kind, of disintegration. 



2nd : The small amount of vitrified rock in granite is 

 opposed to the earth ever being a ball of fire, or a molten 

 mass. Moreover, those forms of matter most difficult to 

 fuse would be at the base, and the lighter portions, or more 

 easily fusible, would be on the surface, of which we have no 

 trace whatever, but much to the contrary. 



On the other hand, the gradual rise of the land above the 

 water, and land plants and animals appearing more and 

 more as we near the tertiary strata or beds, show the expan- 

 sive effect of heat within, and not the contraction of the 

 surface from the withdrawal of heat. 



3rd : The conformation of our mountain ranges and 

 steppes, or successively elevated plains and prairies, demon- 

 strate that the heat of the earth is not at its centre, but at 

 a distance of about 800 to 1,000 miles from the surface, 

 and in depth probably not above 5 to 25 miles, taking an 

 average throughout. 



From these considerations it is inferred that we never 

 have had very much molten debris of any great depth issuing 

 from the inner parts on to the surface of the earth. 



4th : That organic remains, abide after their kind, each 

 in their own stratum, prove that detritus never unsettled 

 them ; therefore, they constitute no basis from which to 

 judge of age or duration. This fact is entirely conclusive 

 against the formation of rocks from the debris or waste of 



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