68 
II. Series. — Organic formations. 
4 gr. Primary or Vetustal. 
5 gr. Secondary or Planial. 
6 gr. Tertiary or Alluvial. 
My primary organic formation an- 
swers to the transition of Werner, 
the secondary to his fioetz rocks, 
and the tertiary to the deposited al- 
luvions, diluvions, &c. which I di- 
vide into diluvial, fluvial, pluvial and 
litoraL 
III. Series. — Anomalous formations. * 
7,gr. Vegetable formations. 
8 gr. Animal formations. 
9 gr. Human formations. 
10 gr. Atmospheric formations. 
I am prepared to support and de- 
monstrate this natural theory, by 
physical, oryctological and c*cular 
proofs. I have taken, as it were, 
nature sur le fait in Sicily and Ame- 
rica. I have seen the various ano- 
malous formations forming. I have 
discovered the craters or mouths of 
the eruptive salses or pseudo volca- 
noes, calcareous, slaty and carbonic, 
to which are due all the organic for- 
mations. When not visible, they 
are covered or obliterated like those 
of basalt and many volcanic strata 
This leads me to explain my views 
on this series. 1 deem all these or- 
ganic strata of the second series, 
formed by emanations or salsic erup- 
tions of oceanic SALSES or subma- 
rine pseudo-volcanoes, except the 
modern alluvions; but many ancient 
alluvions may also be owing to wa- 
tery/ salses or eruptions of water. 
Baron Humboldt has surmised that 
the Asiatic flood was caused by an 
eruption of the Caspian sea. Our 
American lakes may have caused 
floods with us, and Yolney deemed 
Lake Ontario such an aquatic vol- 
cano. 
These volcanos were not ignivo- 
mous like those of the first period or 
series, but salsivomous; they were 
under the sea in the primary and se- 
condary formations; but on dry land 
in the tertiary. They ejected by turns 
and alternate paroxysms the mud 
or slimes which have formed the or- 
ganic strata; either calcareous, slaty, 
argilaceous, carbonic, gritty, sandy, 
&c. which are found to alternate, 
and spreading horizontally they 
overwhelmed^and imbedded the ma- 
rine fossils which we find in them. 
I do not know if this theory has 
any followers in Europe; I presume 
not, since Patrin who had partly for- 
seen it, has not been believed. It 
is with the utmost astonishment that 
many hear of it here, yet it explains 
every thing without the least diffi- 
culty, while all the geologists are 
puzzled with the intermixture of 
strata and fossils. And above all 
the carbonic formations, so vainly 
attempted to be reduced to a plau- 
sible theory. 
We have in North America 3 
kinds of coal, or carbonic forma- 
tions: 1. Anthracite. £. Bitumite. 
3. Lignite. This last only is of ve- 
getable origin, and belongs to the 
alluvial or tertiary group, being 
mixed with the alluvial clay of our 
great streams. The anthracite is 
chiefly found on the Eastern slope 
and borders of the Alleghany mts. 
among the shales and grits, while 
the bitumites or bituminous coal is 
much more common on the summit 
and eastern slopes of the Alleghany 
mountains, among the slates and 
limes. They are both evidently of 
eruptive origin like the strata which 
are above and below them. There 
is no need to suppose a multitude of 
physical revolutions, successive 
floods and cataclysms to form them 
out of vegetable ruins. All is easily 
explained by alternate emanations 
or eruptions, with the other organic . 
formations. Has it ever been calcu- 
lated what would have been required 
to form our carbonic strata out of 
lignose fragments; forests cov- 
ering the whole earth, (which was 
not then quite dry land,) with trees 
as thick as the grass of a meadow, 
would hardly be sufficient for a sin- 
gle stratum. And we have many 
such over each other, separated by 
thick strata of schist, grit and lime. 
The vegetable fossils found in them, 
most of whicli are marine, have been 
imbedded there, as they have in the 
