278 



THE GEOLOGIST. 



with the necessary data of coming to just conclusions on this interesting topic; 

 hut this, however, would not be sufficient reason for the absence of all dis- 

 cussion on the point. We have ever accorded to every opinion, whether we 

 agree with it or not, a fair and just notice, but v\dth the principles of the pre- 

 sent book no one could for a moment suppose that we should concur. Written 

 vnili an evident desire to attain logical deductions and conclusions, our task 

 in reviewing it becomes consequently the more easy, because given any pre- 

 sumed fact as a basis, the truth of the conclusion, if really logically brought 

 out, depends not upon the logic, but upon the actuality and positiveness 

 of the original fact upon which the arguments and deductions are based. 

 We do not admit the basis upon which Mr. Davies attempts to argue, 

 namely, that fossils grow or are naturally produced m particular kinds 

 of rocks and soUs, according to an original fiat of the Creator, as animals 

 and plants are from germs and seeds which are developed under their 

 particular and essential conditions. Mr. Davies disputes that fossils are 

 the remains of pre-existing vegetables and animals, and he considers them 

 to belong to the mineral kingdom entirely, and to be developed by a peculiar 

 condition of crystallization — ^plasticity, as it used to be called, we suppose 

 he means. 



Now such a natural resemblance to organic forms by mere crystallizing forces 

 we think few people will be for a moment inclined to seriously consider ; but 

 as there may be some to whom the fallacy of this position may not be apparent, 

 we would simply remark that fossils exhibit m themselves the true conditions 

 of what they really are, namely, the solid parts of objects once under the mys- 

 terious influences of vitality, which, after the cessation of the vital forces, have 

 been resigned to the action of the crystallizing, chemical, and other forces of 

 the mineral kingdom. Refuting the premises is refuting the principles, and 

 consequently the arguments, however skilful they might be, must therefore 

 necessarily fall ; and as Mr. Davies is thoroughly wrong in his basis, his con- 

 clusions must be wrong also. 



T/ie Old Glaciers of Switzerland and North Wales. By A. C. Eamsay, T.RS., 

 r.G.S. London : Longman and Co. 1860. 



These pleasant chapters formed part of a volume — "Peaks, Passes, and 

 Glaciers" — which we reviewed in our August number of last year, and in which 

 wc laid special stress on this portion contributed by Professor Ramsay. In their 

 present pretty pocket-book form, accompanied by a well-defined map of the 

 ancient glacier-regions around the famous Snowdon, they will form an attractive 

 companion and a useful guide to the tourist in this district of Wales. 



Por the glacier-scenery of Switzerland we need not utter a word, it has only 

 to be seen to be appreciated ; and, as Professor Ramsay truly observes, in the 

 writings of De Saussure, Charpentier, Agassiz, and James Porbes the charms 

 of st_ylc and graphic illustration have invested glacial investigations with an 

 interest felt far beyond the circle of scientific readers. 



Although ilic glaciers of Wales have long since melted away, and only the 

 marks of their grinding on the rocks in their slow and ponderous passage and 

 the loose debris scattered in the vales and hollows in theu' dissolution remain 

 1o ]irovc their former existence and extent, yet we cannot view such time- 

 lionourcd relics without a solemn feeling of awe, and a wish to dive deeper into 

 tlio only seemingly inscrutable mysteries of the past; for how much has given 

 way to man's persevering intellect, and how much more will hereafter yield, by 

 the Divine blessing and consent, to his indomitable energies and intellectual 



