Notice of Active and Extinct Volcanos. 235 



Art. V. — Notice and analysis of " A Description of Active 

 and Extinct Volcanos, with remarks on their origin, their 

 chemical phenomena and the character of their products, as 

 determined by the condition of the earth, during the period, 

 of their formation ; being the substance of some lectures de- 

 livered before the University of Oxford, with much addi- 

 tional matter; by Charles Daubeny, M. D.,F. R. S., F. G. 

 S., and Col. Phys. Lond. &c. &c, and Professor of Chem- 

 istry and Fellow of the Magdalen College, Oxford. 1 Vol. 

 8vo. London, 1326." 



In the last number of this work, we gave, principally from 

 the British Journals, an analysis of the elaborate and very 

 able work of G. Poulett Scrope, Esq. on Volcanos. It would 

 perhaps, be most natural to give next, some account of his 

 more recent and not less interesting volume, on the extinct 

 volcanos of France, &c. But this notice we shall, for the 

 present defer, to make room for the work of Prof. Daubeny, 

 which, although entirely independent of Mr. Scrope's in its 

 origin, has followed close upon its track ; is like that an ori- 

 ginal elementary treatise on volcanos, and although differing 

 from Mr. Scrope's work in some points, conducts us in gener- 

 al, to similar conclusions. 



Professor Daubeny was before advantageously known, es- 

 pecially by his Sketch of the Geology of Sicily,* and by oth- 

 er valuable productions. He had qualified himself for his 

 survey of volcanos and their phenomena, by attending the usu- 

 al courses of lectures, especially at Edinburgh, where he was 

 a pupil of Prof. Jameson. 



At this time, (the winter of 1816 — 17,) his mind was partic- 

 ularly directed to the long and much agitated question of the 

 origin of the trap rocks, and he resolved not to trust to the ex- 

 amination of hand specimens, but to visit the "very spots," 

 and to examine "the circumstances of geological position, as 

 well as the nature of the rocks associated," and carefully to 

 compare them with what we see in the trap districts — but he 

 was then far from believing, as he now does, that "volcanos 

 and trap rocks are, for the most part, at least, analogous for- 

 mations, calculated mutually to reflect light on each other." 

 He evidently carried with him to the investigation of this 



* See Vol. X, p. 230 of this work. 



