65 



cidedly stratified. A more minute examination 

 of this subject will be found hereafter in the ar- 

 ticle which treats of that rock. It is, at the same 

 time, entirely and properly limited to the pri- 

 mary class : having hitherto been found merely 

 in contact with the secondary strata and in some 

 rare instances only, however near it may approach 

 to them : nor do the veins of granite ever pass 

 beyond the primary into the secondary strata. It 

 is not however thus limited with respect to the 

 secondary unstratified rocks. For reasons that 

 will immediately appear, it will occasionally be 

 found in contact with that subdivision ; but, even 

 in this case, the granite veins do not pass into 

 those rocks ; while, on the contrary, the veins of 

 those substances pass into the granite, by which 

 the relative dates of the two are ascertained. 



In treating of the two divisions of the primary 

 class, granite is considered first. That plan is 

 adopted from the fact of its position being always 

 inferior to that of the stratified rocks of the same 

 class. The veins penetrate these, but the masses 

 never alternate with or lie above them. It does 



