.J^ h'S TiTE FOIiMATION ()T IICCKSl [Au^^tl^ 



tlie firs wlilcli 'was tlie agent of these cliraTi^es may 

 !iave been Ions; extinct. Having thus nairo^ved the 

 t!;roun(l, wc come to tlie third class or primitive rocks> 

 toncenxin^ "^vhoso origin neither the evidence of our 

 {henses^ lior direcl ^alalogy, Itvill aid ouv researches ; 

 and \Vt) live bft to the v/ide field of imagination, 

 vrhcre sluy individual lias a ridit to exercise his 

 talents in fl>nnin2: theories; or iii other words in 

 makhig siipposillons^ Tlie Held of fancy is un- 

 doubtedly very extensive^ ^here it is not limited by 

 ^omc reference to facts on Which theories inay be 

 founded; Wd ac:^orviiaigly find great variety in the me- 

 thods different authors Iiave taken to form the earth. 



At present^ tlie dispute seems to rest between tv/o an- 

 THgonists, the disciples of water, and those of fire; called 

 Xeptnnian«^ and Plutoiilsts or Volcanlsts. They both 

 found their theories upoii the same general supposition; 

 that ij?, iliHi th^. eart!i ^t the time they begin their forma- 

 f^on was in, a flnid state t but tJiey differ in the agent 

 t-mi nature m^y haVc ciitplt^ynd 'to produce that state 

 of i1nidi!;y. The Neptunians assert that the whole 

 eartli v^as dissolved in waicr^ and the Volcanists that 

 if was melted into the iinid state by fire. These two 

 theories, as objects of discussion to exercise tlie ta- 

 IvAiin and imaginaUons of the literary World, v.ould be 

 innoce^it and harmless. Ihit when we consider that 

 i*ine tenths v)f ircoloidcal obs'^.rvatiolis have been col- 

 kcted v'rth a view to support olle or other of the theo- 

 >iesj and of course vavyuiore or less from the true stato 

 Jn which nature placed the substances examined^ — 

 ^Ud ijiis for tlie ^)r;rpose of proving the truth of oa<f> 



