He fays that all the Hills about MeJ/ifia are not made 
of fuch loofe Sand, fome confiding of a hard Rock, 
others of 2L^b\tQ Tophus y or a dirty Marl; in ail which 
one may obferve cither the former Order of the Strata, 
or horizontal Lines of different Bodies and different 
Colours. 
He obferves that the Land-Shells differ in hardnefs 
and confiftency according to the Matter in which they 
lie : An Echinus petrified in a Tophus^ is not fo hard as 
another Echhus pttriRtd in a Rock; fo that according 
to thedifpofition of the ambient Matter, they acquired 
a greater or a lefs degree of hardnefs ; and in fome they 
continued juft as they were at firft ; all which he urges 
to fliew, that thefe Land-ftiells could not be PetrifaSi- 
ons made in Water, according to the common Notion- 
©f the Word. 
Having thus laid down his Hypothefis , he fubjoins 
feveral of bis own Obfervations which (as he fuppo- • 
fes ) put this Qoeftion beyond Difpute. 
L He obferves, that there are no Sharks Teeth found . ] 
any where at Land but in Malta; the GloJJhpetrs in 
other places are fmall, or light the Cortices of large 
ones. This he refolves into fpecifick Gravity, and the 
different make of Sharks Teeth, of which fome arc 
quite hard, others only cortically fo ; thefe laft are fil- 
led with a mucilaginous juyce;. fuch were thofe three 
that he found upon the Hills near Meffina^ which were- 
filled with fine foft >Iarl, inflead of that Mucilage 
wherewith they had been naturally replenifhed. 
1 1. He broke great Numbers of petrified andj 
other Bodies naturally hollow, which were filled only * 
with fuch Marf as that they lay in, or elfe fragments of 
Shells, Sand, Pebbles, Spines of the Hyflrix Marinus^ , ^ 
and fuch like ftuff. And he affirms that he nor no Body • 
clfedid ever fee within thefe Shells any thing but what: - 
jnight get in at the Mouths of the Echini which ftews, , 
that.,. 
