FORMATION OF PRIMITIVE MOUNTAINS, 339 



of Germany ; and farther, I have been seconded in my 

 researches by my friends ; so that I now possess upwards 

 of forty different species of crystallized chemical combi- 

 nations produced by fusion, the greater number of which 

 are minerals already known ; some are new species, 

 which have not hitherto been met with in nature. 



The occurrence of mica, which forms a predominant 

 constituent part of our primitive mountains, as an arti- 

 ficial production, gave rise to the following geological 

 speculations. 



The artificial production by fusion, of the minerals 

 which compose our primitive rocks, appears, according 

 to Mitscherlich, to place beyond doubt the theory that 

 our primitive mountains were formerly a melted mass. 

 Such a state of fluidity, he continues, affords an easy 

 explanation of the figure of the Earth, of the increase of 

 temperature as we proceed into its interior, of hot springs, 

 and of many other phenomena. With respect to this 

 theory, we may refer to M. Laplace, who is convinced 

 of its plausibility, without grounding his belief upon 

 the reasons which chemistry presents. I propose, how- 

 ever, to make mention of a few facts, in order to shew 

 with what facility many chemical phenomena in geology 

 may be explained by following this theory. 



Primitive mountains are generally distributed over 

 the surface of the earth : it necessarily foUows that the 

 bodies which have composed the surface of the earth 

 have participated of the temperature which the primi- 

 tive mountains have had at the period when they were 

 in a fluid state. The temperature at which water boils 

 depends upon the pressure of the atmosphere; and if 

 the temperature of the earth increases, we only require 



