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I^VI. Mmeralogical Observations and Specula- 

 tions, 



By Professor Jameson. 

 (Read 8tk January 1814.^ 



I. On Stratification, 



The matter of which the solid part of the Earth 

 is composed, is of a rnetallic nature, and is more 

 pr less oxidized. During its formation, oxidation, 

 and combination, great degrees of cold, and also 

 intense degrees of heat, were probably induced, 

 and these latter may have occasioned fusions, &<c., 

 somewhat resembling those caused by volcanoes. 

 This matter appears to have been formed in a de- 

 terminate and regular order, in the form of tabu- 

 lar masses or strata, which are to be considered as 

 bearing the same relation to the Earth, as the folia 

 of crystals do to the crystals in which they occur. 

 These strata are not irregularly disposed : on the 

 contrary, it is highly probable that they are so 

 arranged, that when viewed in the great scale 



