798 



Mollusca, living and extinct, 740. 



Molluscs, composition of the shells of, 

 624 ; fossil, 637. 



Molucca isles, dispersion of the nutmeg 

 seeds through the, 567. 



Monge, M., his account of a mirage in 

 Egypt, 536. 



Mongolian race of men, 602, 603. 



Monkeys, 590. 595. 



Monocotyledonous plants, 563. 



Monotrama animals peculiar to Austra- 

 lia, 591. 



Monsoons, 442; illustration of their 

 commencement, 443; causes of not 

 well understood, 444. 



Mont Blanc, granite of, 644, 645. 



Montanari, 131. 



Monte Nuovo, near Naples, 403. 



Rossi, its origin, 426. 



Monte Rotondo lake, 312. 



Monteith, Colonel, 324. 



Montmartre, spring at, 265 ; granite of, 

 644,645; quarries of, 743 745. 



Montoire, bog of, 769. 



Monument Mountain, U. S. view of, 

 752 



Monvoisin, Mont, 414. 



Moon, the, causes of her acceleration, 3 ; 

 peculiar eclipse of, 3 ; savages worship 

 the, 3 ; lunar phenomena, 76 ; has serv- 

 ed as a measurer of time, 76 ; diagram 

 of her phases, 77 ; is evidently not self- 

 luminous, 77 ; ijs ashy light, or earth- 

 shine, 78 ; her distance from the earth, 

 diameter, motions, and tour round the 

 earth, 78 ; luni-solar period of Meton, 

 79 ; how her eclipses are caused, 79 ; 

 remarkable eclipse of, as seen in 

 Africa, 79, 80 ; turns always the same 

 face to the earth, 80 ; librations of the, 

 80 ; earth is invisible to a moiety of 

 the inhabitants of the, 80 ; equality ot 

 day and night, on the, 81 ; uncertaintv 

 as to there being any atmosphere 

 around the, 81 ; superficial appearances 

 of the, 81, 82, 83 ; phenomena attend- 

 ing the occultation of, 81 ; maps of the, 

 83 ; supposed mountains and seas in 

 the, 83, 84 ; imagined volcanoes in the, 

 84 ; delusions as to the appearances of 

 the, 85, 86; occultations of the, 86; 

 tides are caused by the, 86 ; imputed 

 lunar influences examined, 86, 87 ; 

 light of the, its peculiarities, utility, 

 and amount of, 87, 88 ; the earth reci- 

 procates reflected light with the, 88 ; 

 the great causer of tides, 352, 353 ; 

 alleged malign influence of the, 482. 



Moon-beams, supposed malign effect of, 

 87. 



Moore, Thomas, his Canadian Boat -song, 

 281 ; his account of the Bahamas, 333 ; 

 lines on the acacia, 563. 



Morasses, 768. 



Moral, lake of, 331 ; view of the, 417. 



Moray shire floods, 416420. 592, 593. 



Moselie, course of the river, 282 ; colour 

 of its waters, 288. 



Moskwa, prince of the, his ascent of the 

 Pyrenees, 161. 



Mososaurus, the, 736. 



Moss plants, 551, 552: botanical regions 

 of, 560. 



Mountain slips. See Land slips. 



Mountains, definition of the term, 200: 

 length of the principal chains of, 202 ; 

 heights of the chief, in Europe, Asia, 

 Africa, America, and the Antarctic 

 continent, 205 ; land changes among 

 421423; rich flora of, 557; table of 

 the vegetation on, 557; some wholly 

 composed of animal remains, 635 

 unstratified, 408 ; stratified, 409 ; plants 

 of, 550. Mountain limestone in the coal 

 formation, 691, 692. 



Moutiers, springs of, 270. 



Mowna mountain, in the Sandwich 

 islands, 206. 



Mudstone, 669. 



Mulerave, Lord, 326. 



Multiple or compound stars. See Stars. 



Muncaster Fell, Cumberland, 644. 



Murad IV., sultan, 312. 



Murchison, Mr., observations of, 627, 

 628; his geological researches, 666* 

 670. 678. 680, 681. 684. 687. 089. 694. 



INDEX. 



Muschelkalk of Germany, 708 ; of Eng- 

 land, 713. 



Myans, Abymes de, 412. 



Mycene, view of Cyclopean remains at, 

 766. 



Mysore, sheep of the, 600. 



Napier, his invention of logarithms, 33. 



Naphtha springs at Baku, 275. 



Naples, bay of, 403. 



Naseby, battle-field of, 279. 



Nativities, calculation of, 4. 



Nature'always is changing, though man 

 is slow to perceive it, 370. 



Nautical Almanack, its uses, 144. 



Nebula?, the, examined by Sir William 

 Herschel, 46 ; appearances and proba- 

 ble nature of, 47 ; chapter on the, 178 

 192; their immense distance from 

 us, 178; catalogue of, by Sir J. Her- 

 schel, 179, 180; their aspects 179 

 182; nebulae in Perseus and Canes 

 Venatici, 179; in Pegasus and Hercu- 

 les, 180; in Doradus, Pollux, and Sobi- 

 eski's Shield, 181 ; dumb-bell nebula, 

 halo nebula, 183; elongated nebula, 

 184 ; nebula in the constellation of 

 Orion, 185 ; horse-shoe nebula, planet- 

 ary nebula, 186; stellar nebula?, 187. 

 Inquiry, "What are the nebulae?" 

 188 ; Herschel's estimation of the dis- 

 tances in space, 184 ; nebular theory 

 not based on atheistical principles, 

 191, 192. 



Needle rocks, the, Isle of Wight, 393 ; 

 views of, 394. 656. 



Negroes, complexions of, 599 ; heads of, 

 603 ; skulls of, 604, 605 ; longevity of, 

 607, 608 : natural equality of the race 

 of, 609. 



Neocomium, 732. 



Neptunists, the disciples of Werner, 618. 



Nereidina, the, 666. 



Nettle, the English, now rife in North 

 America, 569. 



Neva, the river, 293, 294. 



New, variable, and compound stars, 166 

 178. 



New red sandstone system, the, 707 716. 



Newcastle coal fields, 696, 697. 



New Holland, the plants of, 558. 563, 

 564 ; animals of, 591, '59* 594. 



New Zealand, flora of, 562. 



Newfoundland, 384. 



Newton, Sir Isaac, 10. 34 ; was much in- 

 debted to Flamstead's labours, 37 ; his 

 birth-place, 38 ; was the architect of 

 physical astronomy, though.his reputa- 

 tion was not much extended till long 

 after his death, 38 ; popular tradition 

 concerning the manifestation of gravi- 

 tation, 38 ; rationale of that great law, 

 39 ; Newton left a more thorough in- 

 vestigation of the subject to his succes- 

 sors, 40; his house at Woolsthorpe, 

 description of, 40 , was associated with 

 Halley in his labours, 41 ; was the 

 founder of physical astronomy, 189 ; his 

 tidal theory, 351,352. 



Niagara, falls of, 287290 ; river of, 

 324. 



Nichol, Dr., his illustration of double 

 motions, 13 ; his reasoning on the 

 multiple stars, 174. 



Niebuhr, 266. 



Nile, source of the river, 278, 279. 283 ; 

 its inundations, 294296. 307, 308; 

 breadth, 302 ; ancient and present con- 

 dition of, 397. 400. 421, 422 ; alluvium 

 of the, 777 ; crocodiles of the, 579. 



Nilgherry district in Hindostan.the, 222. 



Nimbus, or rain-cloud, 468. 



Nitrogen, with oxygen, forms air, 622. 



Noah, ark of, 593, 594. 



Non-fossiliferous rocks, division of, 635 

 etal. 



North Cape, sun at midnight at the, 49. 



Cape, the, 650. 773. 



Sea, the, 326. 



Northern lights. See Aurora Borealis. 



Northampton, Marquis of, 721. 



Northwich, brine springs at, 712. 



Norway, fiords of, 332; G50 ; snores of, 

 773. 



Norwegian lakes, transparency of the 

 waters in the, 322 ; fiords, 332 ; pines, 



Norwich, altered position of the city of, 



396, 397. 



Nottingham Castle, views of, 707. 710. 

 Nova Zembla, 588. 596. 

 Numa, said to have brought fire from 



heaven, 521. 

 Number, distance, and magnitude of the 



stars, 156-158. 

 Nyoe, or New Island, near Iceland, its 



volcanic appearance and disappearance, 



376. 



Oak-trees, boundary of the growth of, 

 552, 553. 



Oases of Egypt, 226. 



Obsidian, or volcanic glass, 653. 780. 



Observatory, Nati-onal, of England. See 

 Greenwich Observatory, Tycho Bra- 

 he's at Uraniberg, 25, 26 ; at. Green- 

 wich, (See Greenwich Observatory) ; 

 one at Paramatta, maintained by go- 

 vernment, 156; of Paris, rain-gauge 

 kept at the, 469 ; temperature in the 

 substructions of the latter, 477. 



Occultations of the stars and planets, 14; 

 of Mars and Saturn, 14 ; of Jupiter and 

 Saturn, 81 ; explanation of the term, 

 86 ; occultations of fixed stars, 164. 



Ochill hills, 683. 



Odin's Mine Tor, Derbyshire, descrip- 

 tion and view of entrance to, 258. 



Odours of human races, 605, 606. 



Ocean, the, is continuous, but divides 

 into three grand divisions, 197 (See Ba- 

 sins) ; Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific, South- 

 ern Oceans, their several limits, 197 ; 

 influences, by its temperature, the cli- 

 mates of the earth, 486 ; general chap- 

 ter on the, 325 348 ; its extent and 

 influences, 325; our knowledge of its 

 boundaries, 325, 326; its unequal depths, 

 321; composition, 327330; specific 

 gravity, 329 ; bitterness, 329 ; colour, 

 330, 331; transparency, 331333; phos- 

 phorescence, 333, 334; calms and storms, 

 334, 335 ; temperature, 335337 ; ice, 

 337 345; its geographical outlines, 

 345, 346 ; the Mediterranean portion, 

 346348 ; its weeds, 348 ; effects of 

 typhoons in the Indian, 593 ; muriate 

 of lime in the waters of the, 624. 



Oceanic highways, See Tides. 



Oceania, or Australasia, animals of, 591, 

 592 ; population of, 596. 



Ohio, river, its scenery, 306 ; prevailing 

 winds in the valley of the, 450. 



Oil, effect of, in stilling waves, 351, 352. 



Olafsen, 592. 



Olbers, Professor, 47. 137. 



Olive-tree, the, 568. 



Olivine, 652. 



Olmstead, Professor, 141, 142. 



Oolite system, 641, 642. 



Oolites,620. 



Oolitic period, the, 638. 



system, chapter on the, 717731; 



development of, in England, 718; 

 shells of the, 719721 ; saurians in, 

 721724. 729,730; lithic and other ma- 

 terials of, 725 727 ; distribution of, in 

 England, 727 729; speculations on 

 the, 730,731. 



Opossum, the, 589. 



Optical phenomena, chapter on, 516 

 545 ; lightning, 516, 517 ; electricity in 

 southern latitudes, 518 ; different kinds 

 of lightning, 519 ; meteoric lights, 520 ; 

 lightning strokes, 520522 ; magnet- 

 ism and electricity congeneric, 522 ; 

 aurora borealis and aurora australis, 

 523529 ; halos, 530 ; parhelia, 530 

 532 ; paraselenae, 532 ; rainbows, solar 

 and lunar, 532535 ; spectral illusions, 

 535 ; the mirage, 536 ; illusions by re- 

 fraction, 537,538; the Fata Morgana, 

 538540; illusions by reflection, 541, 

 542 ; by reflection and refraction com- 

 bined, 542, 543 ; V'is fatuus, 543515. 



Oran-outang, the, 595. 



Orange-trees, prolific, 570. 



Orbits of the planets, 64 ; orbit of the 

 earth, 163. 



Order of successive strata fixed and uni- 

 versal, 642. 



Organic alluvium, 766. 



Origin of springs, inquiry into the, 262, 

 263 ; of lakes, 308, 309 j of plants, 563, 



