30 
MEMOIR OF WERNER. 
riod iron appears under different forms, and we can 
assign the age of its different mines. 
The necessity of abridgment obliges me thus to 
bring together, under one view, results which, as 
may easily be conceived, could not be obtained but 
by many thousand observations. All Werner’s ob- 
servations, however, were made with so much care, 
and so scrupulously combined, that their accuracy 
has been confirmed by all subsequent investigation ; 
and if we except his opinions regarding volcanic 
countries, none of his views met with any opposition 
which did not soon pass away. 
Such, then, is the nature of Geognosy, or of the 
position of minerals, viewed as lying above one an- 
other, or in a vertical direction. But in their hori- 
zontal position — that is, as they are placed by the 
sides of each other — there are likewise differences, 
of which it is important to take notice. These dif- 
ferences form the fourth point of view under which 
Werner regards minerals, and which he designates 
by the name of Geographical Mineralogy. 
Indeed, the rocks of most recent formation, and 
which lie above the others, are the least elevated ; 
the oldest penetrate through them, and form high 
mountains. From this w r e infer, that the fluid sunk 
in its level, in proportion as the solid substances in- 
creased. It divided itself into basins, the produc- 
tions of which became of a diversified character. 
The surface of different countries is therefore dissi- 
