204 Miscellanies. 



1. Sienitic Granite, near Christiana, Norway. — An eminent English 

 geologist, who has recently visited this famous granite, states, that " it 

 occupies a mountainous country, and has (geologically considered) the 

 true granite character, and that Von Buch was quite right in affirming that 

 all of it is decidedly newer than the shales and limestones containing tril- 

 obites and orthocerse, &c. : that it sends off veins into this transition form- 

 ation, and hardens and alters it for a considerable distance, without de- 

 ranging its strike or dip ; yet this same granite, so decidedly newer than 

 the Siberian strata of Norway, passes sometimes into gneiss, and in 

 other places sends veins into gneiss ; yet this gneiss is much older than 

 the fossiliferous transition strata, having been disturbed in its stratification 

 and greatly denuded before the fossiliferous beds were deposited uncon- 

 formably upon it. I never had an opportunity before," remarks the 

 observer, " of seeing a perfect gradation into each other of these two crys- 

 talline rocks, in a country where they can be proved to be so extremely 

 distinct in age. How often may other masses of granite be newer than 

 we suspect, where no similar evidence is at hand to establish their chrono- 

 logical relations ?" It can no longer be doubted that granite has been 

 occasionally thrown up in all geological ages not more recent than chalk, 

 and therefore granite may be not only the most ancient rock, but also 

 one of the newest. 



8. New locality of Tourmaline. — Brown tourmaline was found by us 

 last September at the steatite quarry near Orford, N. H., of great size and 

 perfection. It is firmly imbedded in the steatite of certain portions of the 

 quarry, to the great annoyance of the workmen ; and owing to its brittle- 

 ness, it is somewhat difficult to extricate it unbroken from its matrix. 

 Some of the crystalline faces are curiously modified. 



GENERAL PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY. 



1. Notice of a splendid Aurora of 1789 — communicated by the Rev. 

 Prof. Henry Ware, D. D., &c. of the University of Cambridge, Mass. — 

 On the evening of Saturday, Nov. 14, 1789, at Hingham, Mass., was 

 exhibited the most remarkable Aurora Borealis that I ever witnessed. It 

 first attracted my notice at about seven o'clock ; and from that time till 

 eleven, — and I know not how much longer, — was exhibited a constant 

 succession of rapid and surprising changes in shape, color, extent and 

 motion. 



At about ten o'clock a large portion of the northwestern quarter of the 

 hemisphere was covered for a considerable length of time, with a dark 

 uniform blood color, — continually, but by a slow and graceful motion, va- 

 rying in its shape and extent ; at the same time that the exhibition of va- 

 rious hues was continued in the north and east. At about half past ten, 



