THE (iK0I,001iJT. 
iiK'liPs ; good Canucl-coal thirteen inelics. There is no appearance of a volcanic 
rock anywhere near. How llien can we reconcile tlie two? 
Second : Is Iron of vegelahle-oriiiin, as llugli Miller seems to give the idea 
in his transmigration of iron in iiis Old lied sandstone ; or of what origin is it? 
Troubling yon so far, I remain, Yours truly, A Ntw Subscribeh, Dewslniry. 
—First : Anthracite not being the same as cannel-coal, the lirst question falls 
to the ground. 
Coal that has lost its hydrogen, whelhcr on aeeount of the proximity of ig- 
neous rocks, or from other causes, is Anihracite (stone-coal, culm, steam-coal, 
&c). Cannel-coal has usnally more earthy and animal matter in it tliau com- 
mon coal has ; and has probably res\ilted from the compressed peaty imul, often 
full of fishes, formed in the carboniferous lagoons. 
Second : Iron-ores are fi'etiuently associated with coal and other fossil vege- 
table matter, and some of the iron may probably have been once in tlie form of 
bog-iron, which is said to consist of ferruginous infusoria ; or it may have once 
been to some extent contained in the wood, stems, and leaves. At all events 
it appears that in the decomposition of the vegetable matter, carbonic acid 
would be formed, and this would unite with the oxide of iron, which is so uni- 
versally dislributed in earths, muds, gravels, &c., and w'oidd form a carbonate 
of iron. This vvould often become aggregated into masses in the silt or clay- 
beds, and form the ironstone-nodules of the coal-measures. But the mass of 
the oxides, the carbonates, and other salts of iron found in tlie rocks has pro- 
bably been converted and reconverted again and again, now in one stratum of 
deposit now in another, now in a trap rock now in a granite, now on the sur- 
face, and ])crha])S in some organic body, now deep down in a mineral-vein; and, 
after passing Ihrough successive changes of combiiiatiou, are stiU suilering 
alterations witliin the natural limits of chemical alliiiity, and subject to the 
many mechanical agencies that are liable to remove them from one place and 
rearrange them in another. 
REVIEWS. 
Beach Rambles in search of Sea-side Pclhles atid Crysiah, with some Oljservaiions 
OH the Orif/in of the Diamond and other preciotis Stones. By J. G. Tiiancis. 
London : Iloutledge, Warue, and Routledge. 1S59. 
When people with good reputations indorse the paper of other people who 
have no reputation at all, they must take the consequences. All the world 
knows as well as we do the many good books the Messrs. Iloutledge have pro- 
duced : their names alone to a book are sufficient to, and do, sell it ; and they 
must, therefore, submit to the strictures and commentaries that hundreds of 
others besides ourselves will make on such a pretentious volume — one of the 
poorest in zoological, geological, mineralogical, and chemical knowledge it was 
ever our misfortune to be under the obligation of reading. We have the 
greatest personal respect for those gentlemen, and gratefully remember the 
many hours of amusement and instruction their works have afforded us, the 
cheap rates at which many valuable publications have issued from their hands, 
and the important modifications made by their efforts in the general book-trade. 
They must forgive our remarks, however severe they may be, in doing that 
duty which, as long as we exist as a jiopular exponent of a popular and grand 
scieuec, we shall fearlessly do, of defending its sacred domains from the intru- 
