.urn* 
-From the New-Hampshire Oracle. 
ON THE NEW THEORY. 
• Yr f ua ^ LL —It has often been a sub¬ 
ject of inquiry and wonder with me, by 
what power water is raised so much above 
icatei levels and rises in springs to the 
surface of hills, and the summit of moun- 
| tains. It was clear enough, that this was 
not produced by any inherent property of 
water, but by an impetus or projectile 
force, communicated to it. 
On reading Mr. Tuft’s letter to Dr. 
Mitchell f was delightfully struck with 
that part of it, which accounts for the cau¬ 
ses of springs and rivers. The principle 
of this phenomenon, now explained, is so 
1 simple, so obvious, and so striking, that, 
though I am not less slow than others to 
yield my belief to new theories, it instant¬ 
ly seized my mind with the fullest satis¬ 
faction as the truth. 
And so complete is my conviction on 
more reflection, that I can hardly say any 
doubt remains. 
The same theory (I ought to say prin¬ 
ciple,for it is simply the principle of pro¬ 
jectile force, developed am! placed before 
our eyes) will account for mountains, hills, 
valleys, plains, and all the inequalities on 
the surface of the earth. These circum¬ 
stances will depend on the d die rent sub¬ 
stances that compose the earth. The hea¬ 
viest substance, that is, of the greetest 
specific gravity, is susceptible of the 
greatest projectile force. Hence moun¬ 
tains are composed of stones and the hea¬ 
vy earths, hills the next heavy earths, and 
plains or level lands, of the lightest. 1 
' have often viewed with wonder"the piles 
of huge rocks which we frequently see 
heaped on the tops of hills and mountains. 
Aut it is now no more cause of wonder, 
than it is that a boy can slbig a stone far¬ 
ther, than he could a piece of wood or a- 
ny other substance of less specific gravity 
than stone. b ^ 
