BY COMPRESSION. 329 



exified In its prefent ftate ; but that every part of its mafs, fo 

 far at lead as our obfervations reach, has been agitated and fub- 

 verted by the moft violent revolutions. 



FaCii leading to luch firiking conclufions, however imper- Geological fyf- 

 fedtly obferved, could not fail to awaken curiofity, and give *^"* ''"P"^*^* 

 rife to a defire of tracing the hittory, and of inveftigating the 

 caufes, of fuch ftupend&us events ; and various attempts were 

 made in this way, but with .little fuccefs; for while difcoveries 

 of the utmoft importance and accuracy were made in aftro- 

 nomy and natural philofophy, the fyftems produced by the 

 Geologifts were fo fanciful ^nd puerile, as fcarcely to delerve 

 a ferious refutation. 



One principal caufe of this failure feems to have lain in the becaufe chemi- 



very imperfed ftaie of chemiftry, which has only of late years"' knowledge 



-'J W21S in its iJX^ 



begun to deferve the name of a fcience. While chemitiry was fancy. 



in its infancy, it was impoflible that geology (hould make any 



progrefs ; (ince feveral of the moft important tircumftances to 



be accounted for by this latter fcience, are admitted on all 



hands to depend upon principles of the former. The confoli- 



dation of loofe fand into ftrata of foHd rock ; the cryftalline 



arrangement of lubtiances accompanying tiiofe tirata, and 



blended with them in various modes, are circumftances of a 



the Royal Society of Edinburgh in Auguft 1804, and were tranf- 

 initted to our Journal by the Author in the following month. They 

 appear in Vol. IX. page 98. Thatconcife narrative could not but 

 ftrongly excite the curiofity of pbilofophers and geologifts, and di- 

 reft their earneft expeftations to a fuller detail. In the laft feflion, 

 June 3, 1805, a very ample communication was made, whicb has 

 been printed with five quarto plates, very beautifully engraved by 

 Lizars, fromdefigns by Sir James. I cannot but confider it as one 

 of thofe high marks of approbation, with which the Philofophical 

 Journal has been honoured from time to time, that thje author has 

 again dire£t:ed his attention to this periodical work, as the vehicle 

 through which his difcoveries Hiould be more extenfively cir- 

 culated. With this view he has not only favoured me with the 

 memoir as foOn as completed, but lias liberally taken upon 

 himfelf the expence of engraving the plates for the Journal in the 

 fame fupeiior flyle. By this means the numbers containing his 

 memoir will be enriched v/nh ten additional plates befides thofe 

 ufually given : — for I fhall with great fatisfaftion follow the tl^eps 

 of the worthy baronet by prefenting the additional expences of 

 paper and print to the reader without charge. W. N. 



chemical 



