USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. 
MINERALS. 
INTRODUCTION. 
1. MINERALS are natural bodies destitute of organi- 
zation and life : and MINERALOGY is that branch of 
natural science which treats of the properties and rela- 
tions of such bodies. 
MINERAL DEPOSITS. 
2. If we penetrate beneath the surface of the earth, we 
observe there a very remarkable arrangement. Instead of 
a generally uniform appearance, as we see on the sur- 
face, we pass through divers substances, as clay, gravel, 
sand, and numerous others, deposited in beds or strata 
of various thickness, from a few inches to a great many 
feet (PI. I. Fig, 1). These lie, for the most part, neatly 
horizontal: but in some instances, particularly in moun- 
tainous countries, they take different degrees of inclina- 
tion ; and, in places where the country consists of 
gently sloping hills and vales, the beds have a waving 
or bending form (Fig. 2). The strata of which the 
earth is composed, as deep as the curiosity or the ne- 
VOL. I. B 
