o Biography of Baron Leopold von Buck. 



long unquestionably to his most important and successful 

 labours. They present to our convictions the doctrine that 

 the ancient seas have not rolled away over the mountain 

 chains [dass die alten meere nicht iiber die berg ketten weg- 

 gegangen sind], but that the mountain chains have been up- 

 heaved into the atmosphere, bursting through the series of 

 strata in long lines, — fissures, and that these upheavals have 

 taken place at different geological epochs. A great deal 

 more, and of much importance, attached itself to the establish- 

 ment of these views, upon which undoubtedly rests the most 

 considerable progress that has been made by modern geology. 

 The eminent French geologist, Elie de Beaumont, has made 

 a general and most successful application of this doctrine, 

 which he has also contributed to perfect in a manner that 

 deserves the most ample recognition. Buch had sketched 

 in large and distinct traits which must be at once compre- 

 hended and recognised in their truthfulness by everybody. 

 Those surprising new facts, with the important conclusions 

 drawn from them, are accompanied by an excellent geologi- 

 cal map and remarkable profile drawings, described in a 

 series of treatises which may be found collected in Leon- 

 hard's "Taschenbuch der Mineralogie" for 1824. 



To the same epoch of Buch's labours belong, amongst 

 others, his studies and inquiries with regard to the filling up 

 of amygdaloids by subsequent infiltration into the vesicu- 

 lar cavities of melaphyres. I refer to these with the more 

 pleasure, because I have myself, within the last few years, 

 succeeded in confirming to demonstration in every respect the 

 correctness of the master's theory, by numerous proofs, found 

 principally in my own neighbourhood, which I have given in 

 detail in two printed treatises. 



Another of Buch's essential services was his collection of 

 materials for the first geognostic map of all Germany, which 

 in 1824 was published in 42 sheets by Simon Schropp in 

 Berlin. For the time in which it appeared, the map was of 

 great value. Of course, it will gradually be surpassed in 

 completeness and exactness by the continuous and more per- 

 fect observations of more recent works of the sort which 

 have either appeared already or may be expected to appear 

 in future. The Prussian government, preceded in that re- 



