230 



ON COAL* 



contained ; but that brown-coal is formed from 

 vegetable remains. The following facts counte- 

 nance the opinion just stated : 



1. Glance-coal occurs in primitive country, in 

 gneiss, mica-slate^ and clay-slate, and is so asso- 

 ciated with these rocks, as to be of cotemporaneous 

 formation with them. 



2. Glance-coal occurs also in transition rocks, 

 where it is sometimes associated with vegetable re- 

 mains, but these are few in number, and of but 

 rare occurrence, and evidently bear the same re- 

 lation to the coal which the petrifactions of shells 

 and corals, in the transition limestone, bear to the 

 limestone in which they are contained. 



3. Glance-coal occurs also in floetz rocks, and is 

 accompanied with more vegetable remains than in 

 transition country, just as the shells in floetz-lime- 

 stone are more numerous than in transition lime- 

 stone. 



4. Black-coal occurs only in floetz country, and 

 there it is frequently associated with vegetable re- 

 mains ; but these do not bear a greater proportion 

 to the coal than the shells, 8tc. in floetz-limestone 

 bear to the limestone. 



6. Black-coal occurs in veins, and these are of 

 cotemporaneous formation with the basaltic or 

 sandstone rocks in which they are contained ; — a 

 fact, which proves, that, in this instance at least, 

 coal is an original formation unconnected with 

 vegetable remains. 



