571 



GYPSUM. 



ALTHOUGH it is mentioned in a former part 

 of this work, that gypsum has been found among* 

 the primary rocks, that occurrence is very rare ; 

 nor do the examples quoted seem to have been 

 such as to have satisfied the discoverer, Saussure, 

 respecting its primary nature. On this subject, 

 it is better to wait for further information, than 

 to trust to unsatisfactory statements by the re- 

 porters of the opinions of others. 



In the secondary class, it occurs chiefly in 

 company with that sandstone called by English 

 geologists the red marie ; and, in this manner, it 

 is found, not only in England, but in different 

 parts of the continent of Europe. It also forms 

 a conspicuous member of that peculiar district 

 around Paris, which is supposed to have been 

 deposited under the waters of an inland lake. 

 In this situation, it is accompanied by sand, marie, 

 and other substances, in repeated strata. 



