2 
GLEANINGS IN SCIENCE. 
The solid mass of our globe, then, in so far as it is naturally exposed to our 
view, or has been penetrated by the labours of the miner, would appear, ( with the 
exception of some streams which have flowed from Vesuvius, Lipari, and other vol- 
canoes in which the rock possesses a glassy structure,) to be comprehended under 
these two classes. Aggregates and Crystallites. , 
The whole of these rocks, of both classes, furnish, at every turn, proofs of their 
having undergone revolutions of the utmost magnitude; and much ingenuity lias 
been exerted, in endeavouring to trace these changes to some consistent and ra- 
tional system. lint of all the active powers of nature, one only has Occurred tome 
as capable of affording a solution, in any degree satisfactory of the phenomena, 
— I mean the power of internal heat, which, in all ages, and in various countries, 
has made its appearance at the surface of the earth, not unfrequentlv from under 
the ocean, and which still, ill our own days, gives occasional proofs of its unabated 
activity, 
To ascertain the reality and sufficiency of this agent, and to trace the volcanic 
fire to its source, with tolerable probability, is, doubtless, tut object of great inte- 
rest and curiosity; but it has always appeared to me, that the progress of geology 
was retarded by a premature anxiety to enter into such inv estigations. 
Taking it for granted, howeveiyas, indeed, no one can dispute, that there fre- 
quently do arise violent exertions of heat from under the bed of our ocean. Dr. 
IIutton held that this might furnish a rational and sufficient theory of ibe earth, 
without entering into any inquiry as to the origin of that beat ; and admitting that 
there are many geological facts which cannot be accounted for by such a fire as 
that of Vesuvius, now acting at the surface, in free communication with the air, 
he contended that the case may be very different, where that same cause acts at 
the button} of a deap sea, and under various modifying circumstances, bv which 
its operation could not fail to be influenced. 
This, indeed, constitutes the essence of the Huttonian Theorv, which I learned 
principally in conversation with its illustrious author ; and which, since his death 
I have taken every means of submitting to a variety of chemical tests ; being for 
ever on the watch for such natural scenes as might illustrate these principles as 
well as for opportunities of making experiments, to determine whether such modifi- 
cations on the action of heat were, or were not, sufficient to justify these expecta- 
tions of Dr. IIutton. f ■ 
It was in prosecution of these views that I formerly undertook a set of experi- 
ments, proving, I believe, to the satisfaction of the scientific world, the identity of 
Whinstone and Lava, of which a full detail is given in your Transactions ’ In 
farther illustration of the same topic, my experiments on Carbonate of Lime were 
formerly undertaken, by which it was shewn, that calcareous matters exposed to 
heat tmder pressure, might he fused ; and, on cooling, would crystallise so as in 
, , - , , - . cooling, would crystallise, so as in 
every respect to resemble marble. To these 1 beg leave likewise to refer the Scried 
The immediate object of tl.e paper I have now the honour of submitting to the 
Society — the consolidation of the strata— has been pursued in a similar a 
with similar views to those formerly announced. In making effm-ts to t m ,v, d 
modifications which the action of heat would undergo, when compelled to 00“ 
in tom. 
although. 
the late celebrated Dix Ki imvan,) 1 was Ted’ to t'he narfb ol'ilT'' 1 ^ ® n ! a 8‘ mists » 
by an unexpected scene which panted kself in m? tlus 
country. 
by 
my own neighbourhood, in the 
It had often been Urged, arid atmareutlv with 
F the Huttonian Theory, that no amount of heat tpplied wft agMnst , tWs , ’ ranch 
nngle, would occasion the parts to consolidate into a comnart ^.T"' 1 ’ FT 5 ' 1 Z 
my experience led to the same conclusion, I saw that , !‘ e ' An< } as a11 
some flux were introduced amongst the materials — 1 . les *’ with heat, 
would take place. The striking circumstance "ft^ ■Fi 11 **' 1011 of the particles 
Dunglass, and which will he particularh \ Z - 7 t0 > as purring near 
me the idea that the salt of tl,J ocean might' dots haT'l 1 Y ' su f«e*tedto 
mg the requisite degree of fusion, 1 inst il,,^ - hdve J )eea agent in cans. 
Of which I am about to bring before the ^ “/“'n of “Penmants, the details 
shown, that this ma terial, under vlrio* • Bytl ! ese ’ I conceive it will be 
plain the consolidation of the strata ,. ! m0d * llra , t,o "*i « fully adequate to ex- 
surface of the earth. SUata ’ aud mau r «her effects which we see on the 
