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Sect. VI.] 



GEOLOGY 



157 



examine 

 li 



thei^ action under various circumstarxces -. he 

 ..I's^s that going on in an infinitedmally small scale, 

 wh*'ch has ^.laned do^Ti whole continents, levelled moun- 

 tain-ranges, hollowed out gi^eat valleys, and exposed over 

 wide areas rocks, which must have been formed or mo- 

 dified whilst heated under an ( aormous pressure. Again, 

 as almost every active volcano is situated close to, or 

 within a few leagues of the sea, he is admirably situated 

 for investigating volcanic phenomena, which m their 





striking aspect and simplicity, are well adapted to encou- 

 rage him ill his studies. 



In the present state of the science, it may be doubted 

 whether the mere collection of fragments of rock without 



ietailed observations on the district whence they 



some t 



tc, can hardly be considered of any 



are brought, is worthy of the time consumed and the car- 

 riage of the specimens. The simple statement that one 

 part of a coast consists of granite, and another ^of sand 



stone or clay-sla 



service to geology ; and the labour thus thrown away 



might have been more profitably spent, and thus^ saved 



the collector much ultimate disappointm.ent. 



generally recognized that both the sedimentary rocks, and 



those which have come from below in a softened state, 



It 



IS now 



are nearly the same 



over the whole world. 



A mere 



fragment, with no other information than the name ui the 

 place where collected, tells little more than this fact. 

 These remarks do not at all apply to the collection of 

 fossil remains, on which sulyect some remarks will pre- 

 sently be made ; nor do they apply to an observer col- 

 lecting suites of rock-specimens, with the intention oi 



himself subsequently drawing up an account of the struc- 



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