''THE LIBRARY
Ob

eit UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

PRESENTED BY
PROF.CHARLES A. KOFOID AND
MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID

EARTH
SCIENCES
LIBRARY

 
'' 
'' 
'' 
'' 
'' 

GEOLOGICAL SKETCHES

AND

OBSERVATIONS,
ON VEGETABLE FOSSIL REMAINS,
&e.,
COLLECTED IN THE PARISH OF ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE,
FROM THE
GREAT SOUTH LANCASHIRE COAL FIELD,
&c. &e. &e.
ALSO,
AN ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN
THE ORIGINAL FORMATION

OF THE EARTH,

ON A
THEORY OF COMBINATION.

Illustrated with numerous Wood Cuts, &e.

 

By CHARLES CLAY, M.R.C.S.E.,
ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE.

 

“They still remain,
Amid the flux of many thousand years,
That oft has swept the toiling race of men
And ali their laboured monuments away.”

LONDON:
Published by H. Jonnson, 44, Paternoster-Row; Bancxs and Co.,
Manchester; and Davis, Stalybridge.

1839.

 

ee
"~

\
S\

F.

aN

“s
; TN rae \
é

4
fu ind

ioe

Pe

Nc iS.

 
'' 

 
''OEDU4Y

Ce
EARTH
SCIENCES

LIBRARY

DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION,
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
THE
EARL OF STAMFORD AND WARRINGTON,
LORD OF THE MANOR
OF
ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE,
WITH ALL POSSIBLE RESPECT, BY HIS LORDSHIP’S
RESPECTFUL AND HUMBLE SERVANT,

CHARLES CLAY, SURGEON.

 
''TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
THRE BARR OF
STAMFORD AND WARRINGTON.

 

MY LORD,

It is with feelings of gratitude I acknowledge
your Lordship’s kindness in allowing me the
honour of prefixing your name to this little
Volume of Geological Sketches.

Should it have the good fortune to meet
the eye of your Lordship, it is the sincere wish
of the Author that its contents may be found
strictly consistent with truth, and free from the

slightest tendency of injuring the noblest Insti-
tutions of our Country.

That your Lordship may long live to enjoy
the fruits of the many improvements now pro-
gressing in your Lordships’ estates, to the

increased satisfaction of your numerous tenantry,
is the earnest prayer of ;

Yours,
Most respectfully,
C. CLAY.
Ashton, January 1st, 1839.
'' 
'' 

PREFACE.

In offering the following observations to the
notice of the public in general, the object of the
author will be answered if they contribute in
the least degree to the advancement of the
science on which they are founded, viz., the
science of Geology. Having been engaged for
some years past in examining the fossil remains
of his own immediate neighbourhood, the result,
he has presumed, might not be uninteresting to
others. In pursuing these inquiries he admits
that the field of his observations has been ex-
tremely limited ; yet, while he was once perusing
that beautiful little work on the natural history
of Selbourne, by Mr. White, the idea forcibly
presented itself that if more attention were paid
by writers to such facts as came under their
own every-day observation, the progress of
''PREFACE.

knowledge might be more rapid, and pro-
bably much more satisfactory. This idea
has led to the publication of the following
pages; and if they contribute to the amusement
of the general reader, or tend in the slightest
degree to the advancement of geological science,
the author will feel amply rewarded, and in no
way regret the time they have occupied. The
combined Theory which forms the concluding
part of the work, may, by some, be supposed
too fanciful, and therefore unworthy of gene-
ral acceptation. It may be so. But when we
consider that all our researches after knowledge
impress our minds with views peculiar to the
subject of our study, it will surely appear not
unreasonable, and therefore not unwarrantable,
to present those views to others, provided they
do not oppose either the general laws of nature
or the still more infallible guidance of that in-
spired communication, which is the source of
all wisdom, and the basis of all knowledge.
I have long dissented from the popular notion
that theories retard the progress of any
science, and very much question if the pre-
sent improved state of geological inquiry does
not owe its present importance to the inde-
fatigable exertions of early writers in searching
for and ascertaining facts in support of
''PREFACE.

some particular theory. It has been too often
the fault of public teachers in chemical philoso-
phy, to treat with contempt and ridicule the
exertions of our fore-fathers in chemical science,
for their visionary pursuits after the philoso-
pher’s stone; while it must be evident to every
reflecting mind that it is mainly owing to the facts
developed in that search that chemistry occupies
its present eminence in the list of sciences. That
the work may come within the means of many,
and especially of those to whom the substance
of it has already been addressed at the conclu-
sion of short courses of lectures on popular
geology given at Mechanics’ Institutions, the
author has contented himself with presenting
plain outlines in wood, as illustrative of
some interesting relics of those “other
days,” which have long been erased from the
records and contemplation of man. I have
endeavoured to render this work as generally
applicable as possible, by freeing it from techni-
calities, a plan which I have invariably followed
in my lectures, preferring rather to entice and
thereby increase the admirers of the interesting
science of geology, than retard its progress by
intermixing technicalities when the subject ad-
mits of an easy explanation in plain language.
''EXPLANATION

OF THE

LITHOGRAPHED PLATE.

Figures 1, 2, 3,—Are similar to the outlines
of the same vegetables as described in the
following Work. These figures are finished
with greater care, to give the Reader some idea
of the beauty of those relics of former ages.

Figure 4,—Is a beautiful specimen of Lam-
inar Coal, the plates being extremely thin, and
every fresh surface exposed exhibiting finely
polished circular spots which appear luminous
in the mines.
'' 

 
''GEOLOGICAL SKETCH

OF THE PARISH OF
ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE.

 

“To me be nature’s volume broad displayed,
And to peruse its all instructing page my sole delight.”

 

EXPLANATION OF THE ANNEXED OUTLINE.

0 Ashton Moss Land,
I Reservoirs,

If Hills,

IiI River Tame,

4 River Medlock,

V = Towu of Ashton,

VI Town of Stalybridge,
VII Village of Lees,

& Coal Shafts,

{* Bardsley Rock,
I]* Edge Fold do.,
HE* Black Rod do.,
IV* Up Holland do.,
V* = Parbold do.,
VI* Haslingden do.,
Vil* Mill stone gritde.
''The parish of Ashton-under-lyne is situated
at the south-eastern extremity of the county of
Lancashire, immediately under the line of the
Yorkshire and Derbyshire hills, from which
most probably the addition of the latter part
of its name originated. Ashton is at the extre-
mity of an extensive plain, including the greater
part of South-Lancashire. By far the most
important feature of this parish is, in a geolo-
gical point of view, the vast coal deposit, to
which may be attributed in a great measure the
prosperity and affluence of the neighbourhood.
This deposit is a portion of that widely extended
coal formation called by some geologists “ The
great South-Lancashire,” and by others, “The
great Derbyshire and Lancashire coal field.”
This coal field commences in the north-western
part of Derbyshire, and from thence to the south-
western part of Lancashire, forming a figure
somewhat resembling a crescent with the popu-
lous manufacturing town of Manchester in the
centre, the span of its extreme points being
about forty miles. |

The southern portion of the parish is bordered
by the county of Chester, and is watered by
the river Tame, which falls into the Mersey at
''Is

Stockport, about seven miles distant. (Marked
HII in the outline of the parish.) The northern
portion is watered by the tortuous and rocky-
bedded stream termed the Medlock, (marked 4.)
which flows from thence through Medlock-vale
to the town of Manchester, where it joins the
Irwell, which also falls into the Mersey.

At the southern extremity of the parish a
large peat formation extends over a space of two
hundred acres. There are evident proofs, how-
ever, that this bog has at some former period
extemded over a surface three or four times the
extent which it now occupies. In excavating
some foundations for rebuilding houses in the
very centre of the town of Ashton in 1833-4, it
was found necessary to cut through a layer of
peat three feet in thickness and three or four
feet from the surface ; a similar appearance pre-
sented itself a short time ago when laying the
foundation of a factory situate below the town,
on the bank of the Peak Forest canal, and near
to the river Tame, This peat formation (mark-
ed 0) is at present undergoing considerable
change from cultivation, and has already begun
to repay the lord of the soil in some parts: for
the great trouble and expence he has bestowed
upon it. I have long been of opinion that the
''14

system of draining pursued fer converting peat
bogs into cultivated land is ineffectual, from the.
great tendency of the drains to run up, and the
expence required to keep them in order. The
plan I would suggest weuld be, to cut through
the peat a circular opening, then, by the pro-
tection of a wooden shield, raise the marl from
beneath and replace the peat, thus making
an opening into the porous strata beneath,
which. if repeated three or four times in an acre
would be ample and perpetual drainage; by
replacing the peat and spreading the marl on
the surface thus, three great objects would be
gained—lIst, draining the land,—2nd, manur-
ing on the spot—3rd, an extra supply of water
to the springs in the vicinity, so valuable in
manufacturing districts. The average thickness
previous to the draining of this moss was from
five to six feet; but the present average will not
be more than from three to four feet. On
making a section of this formation the first eight
er ten inches are found to be of a lightish brown
colour and of a very spongy texture, then about
two feet of dense black peat, and lastly from
eighteen to twenty inches of trunks of trees
beautifully preserved, though no record can
trace their entombment. The trunks of this
tamber are laid nearly horizontal, many of which
''1s

are twelve inches in diameter, Their direction
is from north-east te south-west, that is, from
the high land to the lower land of the parish.
This appears to confirm the idea that this peat
bog has at some remote period suddenly been
removed from a more elevated site, and in its
progress overwhelmed this forest, which most
probably gave sufficient resistance to determine
its present situation. I think many peat bogs
in low grounds owe their present situations to
the same cause, and perhaps a distinction should
be made between bogs retaining their original
site of formation and those that havé moved
from elevated lands to other sites, in conse-
quence of being checked in their progress by
large forests. The timber under this formation
is chiefly birch; and though the substance of
the wood is converted into a mass as black as
ebony, yet the bark retains that silvery white-
ness for which it is remarkable in the pride of
its growth. The texture of this wood is entirely
destroyed ; for though at first it appears firm
and fit for cabinet furniture, yet after a little
exposure it falls to pieces and is rendered useless,
It ignites easily, and burns with a bright flame.

The atmosphere of the parish of Ashton-under-
lyne is cold and generally moist in character ;
'' 

. 16

the coldness of course arising from its elevation,
being at least one hundred and fifty feet higher
than the town of Manchester, six miles distant;
and its moisture from its immediate vicinity to
the Yorkshire hills, from which the clouds re-
bound and let fall their rain on this parish.

The soil is generally stiff and unyielding. It
is therefore not very productive unless great at-
tention is paid to its cultivation. This parish
being situate in a densely populated district
there is but little of its space uncultivated, and
that is in the north-east or high land of the
parish, called Boardman’s Edge, Hartshead,
Top o’ the Heights, and Height Birches. (Mark-
ed II in the map.) This is all which remains
uncultivated, with the exception of the moss (0)
already described.

The parish is highest in elevation at its north
and north-east sides, declining gradually to the
plain of South Lancashire; its lowest sides
being at the south and south-western points.
The highest land in the parish is not more than
eight hundred feet above the level of the sea,

There are nearly twenty shafts at work for
raising coal in the parish, (which are marked 8
''17

in the map, besides others in the vicinity, which
add considerably to the wealth and enterprise
of its inhabitants.

In the high lands of the parish boulder stones
are found of almost every description, of the
older series of rocks such as granite, porphyry,
limestone, &c.

From the western side of the parish towards
Lancashire the stratified rocks gradually crop
out in a north-easterly direction towards York-
shire. These rocks are very numerous, and
present a variety of appearances from the Bards-
ley formation down to the higher mill stone
grit, with seams of coal between. The first
rock which shows itself within the boundary
of the parish is the Bardsley Rock, passing
under the western part of the parish, and
may be examined easily at Bardsley bridge on
the Oldham road, over the Medlock, about a
mile and a half from the town of Ashton. (See
map I*) The average thickness of this
formation is about eighteen yards, when
hewn into blocks for building it has a very white
appearance if raised from the lower beds of. the
formation, but if from the upper layers it is
marked with innumerable spots of fossil vegeta-

c
''we

i8

ble remains, in which this formation abounds
to a very considerable extent. The ease with
which this rock is worked is a proof of its soft
texture ; though used for buildings in the imme-
diate neighbourhood its qualities are not thought
so highly of as to ensure its being fetched from
a distance. Buildings when first erected look
extremely white; in time, however, it assumes
a dirty reddish yellow tinge, probably from the
oxides of iron.

I have already said that it abounds with
fossil vegetable matter and these are chiefly the
leaves and seeds of plants; some of the seeds
in my possession are quite perfect, while others
appear just bursting into vegetation.

According to Looney the following are found

fossilized in this formation—

Trigonocarpum noggerathi,

Calamites nodosus,

eoccsees MOugeothii,

eeoeeees approximatus,

seceees. Canneformis,

Palmacites noggerathi,
and in the shales below this formation a variety _
of the fern tribes present themselves—in the
alluvia above this formation have beey found
''19

large quantities of hazel nuts beautifully pre-
served, three or four feet from the surface, some
of which appear to be approaching a state of
fossilization. In the excellent map of Elias
Hall, of Castleton, this rock is marked No. 18; —
no person who wishes for geological information
in the various counties of Lancashire, Derby-
shire, Cheshire and Yorkshire should be without
this map, which for general correctness cannot
be surpassed, and will no doubt be highly valued
long after the author is gathered to the tomb
of his forefathers.

In this little work I shall generally apply
the same names to the rocks and seams of
coal as Mr. Hall, because he has already hit
upon the plan of naming according to terms
given them in the localities where the rocks
crop out or the mines are worked, a plan which
must be attended with infinite advantage to the
‘inquirer; this Bardsley Rock is marked I* in
the map. Following the Bardsley formation a
number of rocks present themselves. The Fox
holes rock, fourteen yards thick; Blend rock,
nine yards thick; Great Mine, three yards thick ;
Trencher Bone rock, twenty yards thick ; Hard
Mine rock, eight or nine yards. Between these
seams of coal are found; in the shales

Cy
''20

and in the rocks intervening, are similar
fossils to the Bardsley formation, but not near
_ 80 numerous nor so well defined.

The next principal rock is the Edge Fold, or
Huncliff rock, (marked II*,) termed by some
Lump rock, from the irregular masses into
which it breaks and whenever it crops out gives
a peculiar rugged wildness to the scenery on the
surface. This may be observed at the weir of
Dukinfield, on the south border of the parish ;
a pretty specimen of this is seen also at Arden
Mills waterfall, four miles from Ashton, down
the course of the river Tame.

This rock is marked 12 in Hall’s map, and
is of but little use as a building material, from
the difficulty attending the working of it into
shapely blocks. It is however a very compact
and durable formation, and it is frequently
found in the rough walls of very ancient build-
ings (Ashton Old Hall is an example) mixed
with the more pliable stone of other formations.
Its average thickness is twenty-one yards. In
addition to the fossils of the Bardsley formation
we also find the

Trigonocarpum ovatum,

Lepidodendron obovatum and noggerathi,
''21

Sigillaria pachyderma,
Sigillaria reniformis,
Palmacites and Ferns.
In the shales beneath are found the
Sphenopteris crenata,
Do. latifolia,
Do. caudata,
Pecopteris nervosa,
Halonia gracilis,
Knorria taxina,
Pinus anthracina,
Calamites verticillatus,
Sphenophyllum erosum,
Asterophyllites tuberculata,
Do. grandis,
Lepidostrobus variabilis,
Sigillaria pachyderma,
Do. _ reniformis,
Do. alternans,
Do.  organum.

Following the Edge Fold is the Blackrod or
Oldham rock, (marked III*,) with the excep-
tion of a ten yard rock intervening. The Old-
ham or Blackrod Rock, marked No. 10 in Hall’s
map, averages twenty-seven yards in thickness,
and makes its appearance in the parish at Small
Shaw, Alt, and north of Glodwick fault. This
''99

formation is often mistaken for the new red
sand stone, it is remarkably rich in fossil vege-
table objects of extraordinary size. The Cala-
mites cannzeformis has been found sixteen feet
long and the diameter little altered ; of Calamites
there are three or four varieties, Sigillaria four
varieties, Halonia tortuosa, and gracilis; Fa-
vularia tessalata, ‘Trigonocarpum, Stigmaria
ficoides, &c. Two other strata of similar for-
mation, above the Up Holland rock, contain
a vast variety of fossils, many of which are
extremely beautiful ; in some instances the stems
are contrary to the inclination of the strata and
composed of fine grained sand stone, while the
matrix is indurated clay ; Mr. Looney has re-
marked that when tliese fossil stems are erect
they never penetrate through more than one
strata, disappearing as soon as it comes in con-
tact with another of different composition, thus.

 

The Blackrod reck is a useful walling stone
''“

and often used for more important buildings,
it soon becomes coated with a brown colouring
matter, which gives it a disagreeable appear-
ance.

The Up Holland flag rock, (marked [V*,)
the most generally useful of any rock in the
neighbourhood for flags and slate, &c., makes
its appearance at the western boundary at
Stalybridge, and averages fifteen yards in thick-
ness. Its fossils consist of a few of the Sigilla-
ria Trigonocarpum Stigmaria Calamites, &c.
It was in this rock a Stigmaria was found
twenty-four feet long, twelve and a half inches
in diameter; and laid across in the strata the
bark converted into beautiful coal; an idea
may be formed of this fossil by referring to the
general section in Hall’s map where a sketch is
made of this vegetable in this formation.

Near to Hartshead Pike at Brown edge, a
quarry is open of coarse Sand Stone, for the pur-
pose of grinding down into white sand for do-
mestic use; the loose blocks thrown up from the
quarry have a beautiful appearance, at first sight
the blocks appear printed over with vegetable fos-
sil impressions, but on examination no impres-
sions of vegetables are found, but a beautiful va-

 
''24

riety of crystals of the black oxide of Manganese,
from the smallest to very large foliated crystals,
oozing from the fissures of the rock and spreading
upon the first flat surface they can arrive at.

Parbold Rock (marked V*) is seen at Mossley,
north-east division of the parish, in which the
Lepidodendron, Sigillaria, and Stigmaria, are
found.

The Haslingden flag rock is an extensively
useful material and may be examined near
Mossley, the fossils chiefly found are the

Lepidodendron obovatum,
Sigillaria pachyderma,

haces «bs reniformis,
Favularia tessalata, &c., &c.

This rock averages upwards of fifteen yards in
thickness.

At the extreme eastern limits of the parish
the higher Mill Stone grit approaches the sur-
face, (marked VII*,) and is worked in quarries
at Staley Wood, out of the parish; in this
rock the Lepidodendron obovatum, Sigillaria
and Calamites are found, some of which are
very beautiful. This formation is about thirty
yards, on the average, in thickness. Asa build-
''25

ing material this formation is very durable and
much better than the lower Mill Stone grit,
being composed of smaller grains and having
less quartz crystals in it.

In the superficial gravel formations, on the
eastern side of the parish, some small remains
of mammalia are found ; teeth of the ox, deer, &c.
and the vertebrae of others are occasionally found.

The north-eastern division of the parish begins
to exhibit those signs of wild character connect-
ed with the lower formations when they crop
out.

In the neighbourhood of Bardsley, called
Lime Hurst, the springs have a tendency to
deposit the Carbonate of Lime and form incrus-
tations, but so slowly as scarcely to be worthy
of particular notice.

The parish of Ashton-under-lyne, from the
first development of the Bardsley formation to
the foot of the Higher Mill Stone grit, com-
prises a section equal to one thousand two
hundred and fifty-six yards. The coal seams
themselves comprise no less than one hundred and
thirty-five feet when combined together, and the

D
'' 

 

 

 

 

 

 

26

number of seams are about fifty—not including

many which are too small to be worked with

any advantage.

Through the south end of the parish, and in
the direction from east to west, an immense
* deposit of sand presents itself, in some places
fifteen yards thick, and is intersected by thick
veins of silt or consolidated mud, having an
appearance of being deposited at different pe-
riods ; it appears also probable that the course
of the river Tame, at some remote period, was
more northward than at the present time and
these sand banks were produced on the original
course of the river, since which the southern
portion of the parish has been considerably ele-
vated.

 

In order to give the reader some idea of the
district, I have subjoined an extract of a section,
altered a little from Mr. Hall’s, of the various
strata between the Bardsley formation and the
Mill stone grit. The names of the rocks and
mines are such as they are known by in the dis-
tricts,.and of course will be of more use to the
party who may be inclined to search for geolo-
- gical treasures.

 

 

 

 
''Za

SECTION OF ASHTON DISTRICT.

 

Rock.

| Yards. |

Loose Material.

Yards.

Mine.

Feet

. | Inchs,

 

 

Bardsley x

Bake 6s.
Fox Hole...

Blend

17

19
14

 

 

ete

Loose material

do
do
do
do
do
do

do

40
14
48
24

10
1d

 

20

 

W oodhouse’s ...
Park

Fox Hole
Cannell
Aqueduct

Little a
Sod e
Topas

cm amber

Diem

 

2

wi ws wh: wi wi ww:

 

 

 

LG
'' 

Loose Material.

Mine.

 

 

Edge Fold

 

 

Loose naferal
a do
- do
- do
a do
2 do
- do
eee 6
ne do

ig do

\ Yards.

28

 

 

Great $a

Roger
Furnace

Dubble _

Old Colonel 2

No name one

ove aoe

Hard se
Cook’s Folly i:

Mary <

Town lane...

High shutile ...

 

 

 

 

8G
'' 

 

Loose Material.

| Yards.

Mine.

Feet. | Inchs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“a es os o- : a =a . Lower Shuttle i 10
=, ae ee ne i do ace 10 Mee a ae eS
New sO pe 38 i! ‘ i. vy 4 s Hee
ae . ee oe : oe os es Spring : 1 10
es ee sigs ee do re 20 hs ate ey ——
ee oe eo ee ° ue ee ee Ox Row ae 4 x
eo ee ee ae > do ae 12 ee ae co
ee ee ee ae ® a 9 e ee Old Man s 4 6
Black Rod . 32 ; ies = roi . as ;
ee eo ee ae 3 do 44 oe oe eka
es ve as oe . ae pia ee Little we 2 na
ae ee ee ee do ae 16 °° ae oe e
ee ee ee ee ee ee oe Blend 3 .
ee ee o° ee do 5 ee ee aca
ee ve e se oe Salt Petre oe 6 2
Salt Petre ee 5 ee ae ee oec6 ee °
ee ae cs ve do 6 ia : s :
oe eo e oe ee oe ee Smithy e 2 6
oe eo ss ee do 17 ee ° ous ce
ea oe ee ee 2a 6 oe ee Foot ° 1 1
ee eo ee ve do e 13 oe oa a aie
ee ee ee ee e be oe eo Black be 4 6
eo ee ee ° ee do . 44 oe ° . es
a : ‘ : vey ay ‘ i Siddam ‘ 1 8

 

 

 

6%
'' 

 

 

Rock. | Yards. Loose Material. / Yards. | Mine. | Yards.| Inchs.

“3 i do 24 oR soe os

3 ioe oe cs Stone 2 3

‘ ee do : 5 Pict Py are

Baacvék : ‘9 : oor : : 3 a
ae — ae Peacock 2 6

do 6 = < ae

ioe oe Sam Neely .. 2 a

do 21 fe : a fox

a se Water ‘ 1 4

do 22 Saal e ee jek!

. me -. Not named .. 1 3

oo . do 16 Pe : oe oe

< ge fee oy oe ie 4 3) 9
Up Holland 15 ° ie Z os oe
rome ake ce oe °. Hurst m 3 4
do 20 oe : en es

on +e Woodly ; 2 o8

do 80 % oe oe ce

Austerlands 34 : ! : Boodle cag i : - a
-* . oe . + Not named . 1 os

: do 15 oe a oa wes

os o Not named . 2 7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0€

 
'' 

Rock.

| Yards. |

Loose Material.

Mine.

Feet.

 

 

Gorshall . ,

ee ee
ee ee
se

°

°
e@ e

Haslingden :

Higher Mill Stone .

9

e384 ow ©
.

© ae «
ee eae —

 

 

do
do

do

 

Yards. |
50
50
60

60

 

Not named : ;

Not named ©.

Rabbit

oe 6

Not named

eo. e

King’s banks, 1&2

 

Inchs.

3

eeeeies

 

6. sad St ce CR e

e 2 @

 

 

 

1€
''32

FACTS ASCERTAINED DURING THE SEARCH
FOR FOSSILS.

In consequence of having resided during the
last sixteen years in the parish of Ashton-under-
lyne, and having had frequent opportunities of
conversing with the miners and examining the
fossil productions of the coal and sand stone
formations, I have been induced to make a few
observations while engaged in collecting the
specimens which have fallen in my way, and
which might, I thought, be interesting not only
to the geological inquirer but also to the minds
of the public in general. In this examination
the miners themselves lent me considerable as-
sistance ; and though they are similar in cha-
racter and deportment to most others of the
same rank and of the same habits, yet I gene-
rally found them glad to give every necessary
information, and pleased to find persons willing
to descend with them into their subterraneous
caverns, in search of those things which they
themselves would have overlooked, or thought
of no consequence. I take this opportunity also
of thanking many of the overlookers to the
mines who have lent me much valuable assist-
ance, and to whom I am indebted for some of
the most interesting fossil objects I possess, in
''3a

procuring which they neither spared time nor
trouble.

Derbyshire is particularly abundant in fossil
remains, and has been considered by many
geologists as the principal fossil depository in
the united kingdom. This opinion, which I
conceive to be an erroneous one, has originated
in a great measure from the facility with which
collectors have obtained a great variety of spe-
cimens, which are there abundantly scattered
on or near the surface of the ground. I feel
confident, however, that many other districts
would be found equally productive if persever-
ingly examined, and I hope the search which I
have made in my own parish will, besides con-
firming this statement, lead to similar inves-
tigations in districts where no strict search
has hitherto been made.

The existence of fossils, evidently the remains
of animals and vegetables which at some remote
period were certainly possessed of life, is now so
abundantly confirmed, that it is placed beyond
contradiction ; every museum in the kingdom
having more or less decisive proofs of this fact.
And that coal itself has its origin in the vege-
table kingdom seems equally well authenticated.

E
''B84

In further confirmation of this opinion it may be
remarked, that upon all the vegetable impres-
sions a thin coating of bituminous or coaly
substance has been found, and which had to be
removed in order to ascertain the precise nature
of the relic impressed on the shale. This thin
layer of bituminous matter I consider to be a
pertion of the original vegetable so changed by
a chemical process of long duration as to assume
its present character. ‘This is very apparent in
some of the grass blades found in a fossil state
_ in sand stone, and which have the appearance
of black stripes, while the roek itself is of a
whitish grey colour. Some time ago the trunk
of a tree of considerable size was found in a
stone quarry on the Cheshire side adjoining this
parish ; which trunk was placed in an oblique
position contrary to the inclination of the strata
in which it was bedded in the Up Holland rock.
The outer crust was about the sixth of an inch
in thickness, and of the nature of coal of the
best quality; this, it was presumed, was the
original bark, while the inner wood was pretty
nearly of the same character as the rock sur-
rounding it, the outline, page 39, gives some
idea of it. From this fact it would appear
that the bark and leaves of trees are more easily
converted into a coaly substance than the wood
''35

itself, and throughout the whole of my searches
this has been fully borne out. This also con-
nects itself with another fact, that the great
majority of fossil vegetable remains found in the
coal strata, or more properly speaking in the
shale, are those of barks, stems &c., forming
near four-fifths of the whole; they are also most
acute in their outline, and consequently most
interesting to the collector of geological speci-
mens. ‘The coal strata in the parish of Ashton
is remarkably prolific in vegetable fossils. Their
number is so great that I have obtained a very
extensive variety possessing different characters. —
These vegetable fossils have been found at con-
siderable depths, varying from 150 to 1000 feet
from the earth’s surface. Vegetable appearances
are not found in every strata; some shew not
the slightest trace of them, while others exhibit
them in great variety, and, with regard to the
delicacy of their outline, in a most beautiful
state of preservation. It appears also that the
thinnest veins of coal are, in general, the best
preservers of vegetable remains. In the mines
most productive in fossils one remarkable fact
presents itself, viz.: where the mine is disposed
to a horizontal line we find these relics very im-
perfect, or scarcely distinguishable ; but, where
the mine takes upon a quick inclination, or
BQ
''36

what is termed “a dip,” the fossils are found |
both abundant and very perfect. In explanation |
of this phenomenon it may be observed, that |
though water is the principal agent perhaps in
preserving the impressions of vegetable forms to |
future ages, yet where it is prevented from run- |
ning or draining off freely after the object of.
fossilization is accomplished, it tends to obli-
terate the very forms it would otherwise have
preserved. We find, therefore, the greatest num-
ber of fossils in mines which have considerable
dip or inclination, and where the water has an
opportunity of draining freely away.

The depth of the coal strata is no guide what-
ever to the finding of vegetable fossil matter,
though some have supposed it to beso. On the
contrary, they are frequently found in one mine,
while in the mines above and below they have
been entirely obliterated. In general, however,
the thinner the mine and the greater the inclina-
tion, the more abundant and perfect are impres-
sions found. :

Vegetable fossils are found in the shaly sub-
stance in the roof of the mines. The character
is preserved in the shale, and though it is pretty
hard, no doubt exists that at some former period
it was a pulpy or almost a fluid consistence,—a
''  

| State absolutely necessary to preserve the deli-

heacy of the vegetable outline. I have not seen

/ any decided vegetable impressions in the eoal

|

_ itself, with the exception of a species of star, an

_ outline of which is given in the following pages —

.

under the head of a supposed flower, but which
in my opinion owes its origin to a very different
cause, as I shall hereafter explain. Fossil re-
mains are frequently found in the nodules of
iron-stone and in sand-stone. The specimens
discovered in the former stand pre-eminent for
beauty and correctness of delineation ; but the
shale is by far the most prolific, where we mostly
find barks and the grasses; while the nodules
produce most leaves, seeds, and fruits. In sand-
stone we find barks, few seeds, but many leaves
and stems.

That a mysterious chemical process is the
cause of these remains there can be no doubt ;
but whether this process be slow or quick we
are utterly unable to ascertain. To a long pio-
cess of chemical action barks and seeds offer no
particular opposition ; but the short-lived and
tender nature of many plants of a succulent kind,
the pulpy nature of fruit, and the still mére de-
licate outline of flowers, which some have sup-
posed to have been fossilized, render any
''38
|
long chemical process extremely improbable. '
My own experience has not yet enabled me {
to discern any thing in these relics which might |
warrant the idea of their having been tossed to |
and fro, or removed from one situation to ano-.
ther at an immense distance. On the contrary, |
the completeness of their outlines, their unbruised _
state, and their most delicate fibres remaining |
uninjured, lead me to suppose that the plants |
found fossilized are in the locality of their once |
animated existence ; and the only contradiction
to this is the difference of climate now existing |
in that locality, and quite at variance with the
growth of vegetables of a similar class at the
present period.

Of the different classes of vegetable matter I
have found
Barks.......Vvery numerous
Leaves ......numerous
Seeds .......not so numerous
Stems ...... abundant
Roots: . «+s ofl es: : :
Bruit...» 94 ob eSGAtCe }
Flowers ..... doubtful.

The chemical process is attended by different
''39

_ results in the same vegetable production. For
instance, in many stems we find the
\ Bark... .converted into pure coal
Wood...into a grey sand-stone
Pith ....into a flinty matter.

A curious inquiry presents itself in the fossil
stems of plants; the hark becomes carbonized
and thus an imperishable cylinder of bituminous
matter is formed. I think the internal woody
fibre is carried away after putrefaction, by fil-
tration, and the cylinder filled up with a deposit
of sand stone by the same process.

Branches of trees, roots and stems are some-
times found lying in a contrary direction to the
strata, as previously stated in the Up Holland
formation (page 22) and as here represented.

 

This is accounted for by the rock being of a
sedimentary nature, and of later date than the
vegetable existence of the fossil.
''40

I have not seen any of the animal kingdom in |
the fossil state in the coal strata, with the. a
ception of masses of shells in the shales.

The fresh water bivalves are very numerous,
particularly in the adjoining township of Dukin-
field ; and are found at various depths.

There are, however, some exceptions ; I shall
here introduce two beautiful specimens which
are in nodules of iron-stone and so perfect as to
leave no doubt of their animated - origin, the
following specimen of the snake species

»

 
''41

was found in Dukinfield, and the second in
Asbton parish, near Fair Bottom, in a nodule ,
of iron-stone.

*

 

4
The following is not from the neighbourhood
of Ashton, but one presented to me by Elias
Hall, of Castleton, and is evidently the remains
of a large moth, it was found in the lias, I am
not, however, acquainted with its particular
locality:

 
''Bete
et

cs

© >

 

42

impressions most beautifully are deeper than

others that have none, and may therefore with |
“much greater propriety be attributed to the |
quickness or slowness of the chemical precess, —

as is the case with erystallization, or to the

presence or absenee of water, as before stated. —
In some instances the fossil has been found con-

trary to the dip of the mine, but generally the
strata of vegetable matter takes the same course
as. the mine.

The vast. variety of fossil impressions met
with in the coal strata prevents me from
giving outlines of the whole. A selection of the
most interesting, out of near six hundred speci-
mens, must therefore suffice for illustration.

As before stated, the most numerous of vege-
table impressions in the coal strata, are the
barks, stems, &c., of which the following are a
few examples :

 

 

, That some mines possess vegetable impres-

‘ sions while others have none, cannot arise from |
extreme age; as some mines which shew these —
''45

The original of the following is a magnificent
“specimen, the mass in which the fossil is imbed-
ded being upwards of four feet in length and two

in breadth, the upright stem and the oblique
one ahont eanal leneths.

 

\

\
\
\

\
''44

The following specimen is from the Higher Mil} |

stone grit, the fossil is hereshown partly imbedded

in the rock, the rest detached, the whole forming |
a reed of five feet and a-half in length; in re- |

moving it from the rock is was broken into four

pieces. Figure I. is the rock, II. is the fossil

reed.

 
'' 

The following outline of aSigillaria forms but a
very small portion of the original from which it was
taken; some idea may be formed by stating the
measurement. The original is a perfect stem,
five feet long and twenty-six inches in circum-
ference, and that this fossil, magnificent as it is,
forms but a small part of the original vegetable
is known by the fact that though five feet in
length the tapering is not more than one quarter
of an inch in the circumference. This fossil
''ha

extends many feet and is one of the best proofs)
of the enormous size of vegetables in the ante-
diluvian world, it however is often exceeded in di-
mensions by the outline of a Sigillaria page 48.

=
| a

 

<=
’ 3

tl

 

 

 

 

 
''|

}

—— = —e ee
cI —
SS SSS SSS]
= ——

om amen
: % BV Lae
: PH h

 

 
'' 

 

 

 
'' 

 

 

The next in order for being numerous are the
leaves, the following are a few examples.
G_
''——_

 
'' 
'' 

 

 
''a3

   

 

Seeds and fruits.

i
''   
 
  

! TH,

a
Th (
{|

in

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
''590

AEA SESS SOAS Ge
BERS SESS SOE

| ROSES eS

| ; Meise Ree EN

. = at SRO EN or 5

= A £5 Gooed &S —,
eS

Riss

\

 

| Supposed flower in coal.

wh

| Shells, &c.

 
'' 

56

.
|
|
)
Such are the general appearances of these
fossil impressions ; and though mere outlines, |
yet they are sufficient to convince any unpre- |
judiced mind of the absurdity of supposing the
originals of these specimens to be mere freaks of
nature, as some of the early geological writers.
would have lead us to suppose. That they are

therefore, the remains of vegetables which once
flourished on the surface of the earth cannot be

questioned. The same species may not perhaps)
be found at the present day; but so near is the
resemblance, that with such proofs as are now,
known it would be equally absurd to entertain’
the least doubt concerning their vegetable origin,
The great extent which many of these impressions

occupy inclines us to suppose, that the origina’

vegetable production might be of considerabl
magnitude—much greater indeed than any we
now behold; and therefore many geologist

have been induced to state, that at the perio

when these vegetables existed the whole vegeta
ble kingdom was of a more gigantic descriptio

than it assumes at the present day. Witl
regard to this I may state, that the barks an’ i
stems are remarkable for their extent in one un-
broken line; but I have not observed any thing
remarkable in the size of leaves, fruits, seed-
pods, &c., unless the one at page 54 may be
considered an exception.

   

BS

 
''| 57

The slow growth of many vegetable classes,
the Tength of time required to fossilize them
after their growth is attained, their deep situa-
tion in the bowels of the earth, and the quantity
and variety of the super-incumbent strata, render
it difficult, if not impossible, to attribute the
cause of their present situation to the deluge in
the time of Noah. Hence it has appeared to
many, that a much longer time has been required
for completing the process than is allowed for
that awful catastrophe. Admitting however that ©
the deluge was the cause of this process, the vast
quantity of vegetable fossils found would have
the feature of mutilation and bruising, as well
as great confusion; if this had really been the
case, there would be little or no difficulty in the’
supposition, that the mighty influx of waters
with its consequences with have changed the si-
tuation of the vegetable substances from _one
part of the globe to another where they could
not have existed in a living state, as easily as
the mountain stream plays with the pebble when
throwing it from one bank toanother: nor should
we then be at all surprised if we found a plant
whose origin bloomed in the sultry regions of
Africa now imbedded deeply in the crust of the
earth in the polar regions; or the remains of a
delicate fruit, or still more delicate flower, deep

H
''58

in the bowels of a land whose climate at the
present day is the very opposite to that in4vhich |
it had existed in a vegetable state. Such how-
ever is not the case, we find no particular bruis- |
ing or mutilation except what arises from great
pressure, nor is there any extensive confusion
amongst them. The sharpest points, the most
delicate fibres are preserved uninjured, sufficient-
ly demonstrating that though imbedded deeply
they are still in the same locality as when they
were in the pride of their growth. The immense
pressure fossil stems have undergone render a
variety of appearance from nearly circular to
almost flat, and this in proportion to their in-
clination from the perpendicular to the horizon-
tal, the perpendicular stems being circular and
but little altered, while the oblique are oval and
the horizontal nearly flat, and the pith of the
vegetable almost pressed out of the stem, thus,

 

proving most decidedly the recent state of the
stem when subjected to the pressure.

Fossil vegetable remains are remarkable as to
''| 59

‘their appearance in the mine or shale; for in-
‘stance, we find an upright stem in a particular
part and when we wish to trace it in both direc-
tions we find the stem obliterates itself on coming
‘in contact with a strata ‘of another nature ; per-
haps the chemical process in the adjoining layers
of matter is attended by such results as tend to
destroy the vegetable impression. The outline,
page 22, will illustrate this point.

The outline, page 55, described as a supposed
flower I conceive has no claim to such distinc-
tion, since I believe them to arise from very
different causes. I have seen but very few of
these impressions, and always on the coal itself
on the surface of the mine next to the shale; and
as I stated in the last paragraph that stems
obliterate themselves on passing out of the strata
where we find them, I cannot but think that
these supposed flowers are merely a representa-
tion of the section or end of the stem impressed
on the coal on which it rests.

At the sinking of a new shaft at Hole Bottom,
in this parish, the soft s shale presents a singular
appearance ; the strata a of the shale takes upon
itself a considerable dip, but it is intersected
by numerous fissures running in quite the con-

H 2
'' 

60 i
|
trary direction, varying from half an ineh to’
three or four inches in thickness, the fissures are |

in straight lines and filled up with hard sand |

stone; it appears this shale must either have

been rent by violence so as to present this ap-
pearance or it has contracted after being solid ; |

the sand stone has been carried into these fis-
sures by filtration of the sand stone strata above
the shale, throwah the agency of. water.

 

At this shaft is also shown a hard compact
sand stone formation, quite full of vegetable
matter and thirty eight yards thick; it has a
very similar appearance to the Bardsley rock
but harder and fuller of vegetable matter; in
other parts of the parish the space occupied by
this rock is loose material ; the situation of this
rock will be found in the section, page 29, under
the name of New rock. The vegetable stems
found chiefly in it are similar to the lower figure
page 46.

Another peculiar feature in the strata on the
road side at Roe-cross, two and a-half miles from

|
|

|
''6}
the town of Ashton, I shall briefly notice. ‘The
shaly strata between the higher and lower milk
stone grits are curved at their summits and by
this curve form the outline of the surface of the
hill side where it appears ; the following isa view
of it,

 

There is no doubt but this appearance has
been caused by the action of water.

I shall now refer the reader back to the sub-
ject of peat moss, previous to concluding this
portion of my sketches and the following remarks
as to the origin of peat moss, from Whittaker’s
History of Manchester, 2nd Vol., Page 112 and
113, are interesting and worthy of notice.
“The sand and loam of a wooded hollow
sometimes received the waters of an obstructed
brook, or drank in the showers of the winter,
till the soil became soft and spongy, and trees
were unable to support themselves upon it, and
sometimes the trees were thrown or cut down,
''62

|

as many in our Manchester mosses appear to |

have been actually cut, and originally obstructed _

the passage of the waters. Thus that particular

region of Failsworth moss which was traversed |

by the Roman road, and was evidently the |

boggiest part of it, being now reduced nearer —

the original level of the ground, has a consider- _
able descent to it on either side, and the highest
part of Chatmoss about two centuries ago, upon
an extraordinary discharge of the waters, ap-
peared to be a valley traversed by a brook.
Every drain for the moisture being thus choked
up, and the place constantly supplied with a
_ recruit of it, the principles of putrid vegetation
would begin to act, and a rank harvest over-
spread the face of the whole. This dying every
year, and being every year succeeded by a fresh
crop, a coat would gradually rise upon the sur-
face, and in a century form a considerable crust.
This is found upon our mosses two, three, or
four yards thick. And, as the great body of
stagnated water was fed with supplies from the
original current, additional influxes, or both, the
morass would extend itself, desert the natural
or artificial hollow in which it was originally
formed, and creep over the neighbouring lands.
Thus the waste of Chat moss began at first in
the cavity of a little valley, and afterwards
''63

usurped the loftier grounds about it; a large
portion of it now lying higher than many parts
of the neighbouring country, and the centre
being higher than the rest. And, in these efforts,
the imprisoned waters have sometimes so vio-
lently distended the coat, that the texture of it
has been broken, the country has been deluged
with an inky torrent, and the fields overspread
with a destructive slime. Thus our own
Hough’s moss burst on new years’ day in
1633, spread a deep bed of filth over the
lands, and poisoned all the fish in the rivu-
lets. And upon any long continuance of rain
at present, the crust of Chat moss is visibly’
lifted up by the waters, and even rises so consi-
derably as to intercept some prospects across it.
Nor is the firmer ground of our black moors
any thing else in reality, than such an extent of
mossy soil discharged of its waters. This has
been dried by the accidental diversion or omis-
sion of the feeding rill, or had all its moisture
exhausted by the luxuriant harvest above. On
Waikden and Kearsley moors have been found
innumerable trees, firs, birches, quickens, and
oaks, buried in the foreign soil; and directly
under it and even four yards below the surface,
a lank grass has been discovered in plenty, lying
upon the natural mould.”
''64

The Ashton moss though subjected to a power- :
ful draining process exhibits as yet no appear-

ances as mentioned in this note from Whittaker,
which leads me still to think the present moss
does not rest on its original site, as I have
already mentioned at page 15, but has been
moved from a higher situation. The draining
has not been as yet however to its full extent,
and it may hereafter be proved to have arisen
from the obstruction of small water courses sup-
plying it in its present situation, but the follow-
ing remarks from a short history of the town and
parish of Ashton-under-lyne, by Butterworth,
confirms the views I have here formed; I have
examined the locality alluded to by him and
find it in substance correct; it runs thus: “ The
most northerly part of the hamlet of Alt in the
parish of Ashton (observe this is in the high
lands of the parish, three miles from the present
moss land,) consists of a narrow piece of land
extending southward, which is named Turf pits,
on which a person of the name of Saxon (an
ancient family in this parish) built ‘a dwelling
house, when the builders dug for clay to make
bricks they found large masses of trees, which
to appearance might have lain there since some
great revolution in nature. The earth still re-
tains that black combustible colour peculiar to
''65

peat.” These trees were chiefly birch, and on
the descent of the land southward are localities
still bearing the names of “ Farther Birches,”
“Two Birches,” “Nearer Birches,” &c., al-
luding no doubt to large groves of these trees
giving names to the places and which in all pro-
bability were dragged along with the moss in its
descent to its present site. The peculiar situa-
tion of vast quantities of birch under the present
moss, their leaning position southward, and
lastly that birch is a tree claiming mountainous
districts for its growth, lead me to conclude
that Ashton moss has, at some former period,
descended from a higher site. The character of
the surface from the high to the low land, which
seems at the present time to oppose this suppo-
sition, may have been considerably altered since
that event took place.

Such then are the facts which I have collected
together during my geological rambles in my
own parish and neighbourhood. I trust they are
not entirely void of interest and that their pub-
licity will encourage others to similar pursuits,
and shail conclude this part of my little work with
an observation on the probability of peat form-
ing coal beds. I have never yet seen in one
instance vegetable stems in a fossil state forming

: ,
'' 

66

coal, but in all the barks and leaves do form
coal; in proof of this all fossils’ stems have their
barks and leaves changed to coal but remain
themselves as shale or sand stone ; in the mines.
of coal itself we find no stems, and this leads me
to conclude that in order that it should form a
solid strata of pure coal it is necessary -for the
vegetable matter, particularly the stems, to un-
dergo a chemical decomposition previous to its
entombment in the deeper strata of the earth’s
crust: I therefore think the formation of peat is
the preparatory process for the after-coal forma-
tion; and I may add, what are the shales of the
coal mines but the marl of peat bogs (a never
failing accompaniment) under great pressure,
and which retains with peculiar correctness the
outlines of the many vegetables that flourished
before and after the formation of peat and sub-
sequently of coal ?

In order to give a better idea of the beauty
of vegetable fossils; I have introduced a litho-
graphed plate, opposite the title page, of a few
of these relics of the earlier ages of this world ;
see Fig. 1, 2, & 3. Figure 4 is a specimen of
finely laminated coal, at every splitting present-
ing to the eye a number of circular spots polish-
ed in the highest degree, having the appearance
''| 67

| of mirrors, in the mines it reflects back the light
powerfully; specimens equal to the one here
| represented are scarce, I never met with any but
: this, though I have seen many somewhat ap-

| proaching it—but far inferior.

END OF THE FIRST PART.

 

312
'' 

PART SECOND.

 
'' 

OBSERVATIONS ON THE THEORY

é

OF THE

EARTH'S ORIGINAL FORMATION ;

OR A SYSTEM PROPOSED,

COMBINED OF PRE-EXISTING THEORIES.

PIs

 

“That it was one thing to declare that we had not yet discovered the traces of a
beginning, and another to deny that the earth ever hada beginning.”
: Playfair.

 

‘‘ As we are mot called upon by Scripture to admit, so neither are we required to
deny the supposition that the matter without form, and void, out of which this globe
of earth was framed, may have consisted of the wrecks and relics of more ancient worlds,
created and destroyed by the same Almighty power which called our world into being
and will one day cause it to pass away.”

Bishop of London’s Address.

 

In approaching this very intricate and very
difficult subject, I am aware that I am adding
to the fanciful and speculative theories which
may be said to be already too numerous; and
in doing so may lay myself open to much criti-
cism, if not animadversion, and be challenged
as the means of retarding rather than advancing
''70

the science of geology. I feel justified, however,
in attempting to combine a few ideas concerning |
the earth’s original formation, hoping thereby.
to add something to the interest already excited,
with regard to the promotion of. geological
inquiry. That the reader may not imagine the
substance of the following as an echo of modern
Opinions, it may be stated that the whole of
these remarks were given to the public as early
as 1828, and of course could have no connec-
tion with what has since appeared only by coin-
cidence of opinion. It has often been remarked,
and with considerable propriety, that time spent
in theorizing is often mispent; and as regards
the science of geology it is perhaps too true,
inasmuch as the theories hitherto promulgated
are so various, inconsistent, and contradictory,
if not really absurd, as to offer considerable
embarrassment to the progress of a study so
interesting in itself, and so conducive to the
interests of science in general. Still it may be
reasonably supposed that an individual com-
mencing researches in geology might wish to be
made acquainted with the most probable views
as to the first formation, our curiosity as to first
causes receiving no diminution, but rather in-
crease, by the multitude of facts which are daily
developed. These views will always be interest-
''71

°

‘ing to the geologist ; and, like the philosopher's
‘stone, the consideration of them may promote
ithe object by the many useful discoveries that
, will be made while engaged in its pursuit. So
lit is with geological theories. Had it not been
‘for the great ingenuity and research displayed
(in finding objects to maintain the opinions of
arises theorists, the progress of the science of
geology would have been at this moment very
limited indeed. I am therefore of opinion, that
it is possible to form a theory from the various
, speculations of past writers confirmed or sup-
| ported by modern discoveries, by way of intro-
“duction to the science; though I may fail in
_ rendering it an object worthy of general adoption.
This may be termed the theory of combination,
| because it is not formed of strictly independent
materials, but is indebted to the views of others,
while at the same time it disclaims connection
with the doctrines of any particular school,
which has often led to the propagation of great
absurdities, especially by the ancient writers,
_who were so warmly attached to some particular
_ party as to overlook the errors they were entail-
ing on the future progress of the science.

In directing your attention more immediately
\ . e e e
| to the subject of the present inquiry, viz., the
''72

original formation of the globe on which we live, \
it is far from my intention to lead you to the })

thoughts of universal creation. It will be quite
sufficient for our limited faculties to judge with

any thing like probability concerning the origi- |)

nal formation of that planet with which we are.

more immediately connected, though it forms ¥

but a speck when compared with the vast and |
illimitable extent of space, and counts but one
of those countless millions of worlds, which exist
in universal creation.

Still I feel it necessary to indulge in the ideas
of universal creation so far as to add my approval
to the doctrines as lately developed by Sir Wm.

Herschell, showing how intimately the science of |

geology is connected with that of astronomy.

That the planetary bodies in our solar system |
(our earth being one) were originally in a state |

of gas and in that gaseous state perhaps sepa-
rated from the Sun, whose primeval origin was —
the same. That these floating bodies of gas on
removal from their situation of light and heat
the process of condensation commenced as in
crystalization, by first forming a nucleus, and
these bodies forming at very many different
points in our system were the foundation of as
many worlds or planets, the gaseous matter by

 

  
 

“|
i)

4

|

 
''73

which each nucleus was surrounded rushing to
the surface of the forming planet by the laws of at-
traction to be afterwards consolidated there, pro-
ducing arotatory motion round its own axis, while
‘thesame law produced the same motion round the
‘sun, at once completing the work of our solar
‘system out of perhaps countless millions. To
‘support this nebular theory Sir Wm. Herschell
has discovered planetary worlds in every stage
of formation, from a thin nebulous atmosphere
to the consolidated and habitable world like our
own. Chemical philosophy has already proved
that every material of which our planet is com-
posed may, by sufficient heat, be converted into
a gaseous body; and, also, that gaseous bodies
may be, and are frequently, reduced to a solid
state. Ifthe theory of Herschell is at all pro-
bable, then the observations I am about to make
on the subsequent arrangement of the materials
of our planet, by the law of specific gravity,
must have greater weight; but that the reader
‘may not draw any wrong conclusions I would
earnestly advise him to read Nicholl’s Archi-
tecture of the Heavens, a work so beautifully
written, so plain to understand, and so free from
technicalities, that the views of Herschel! cannot
be misunderstood ; that ascertained, he will be
the more disposed to follow my future observations.

K
''74

First then as regards the period when th an
earth was first created. It has been the opinio h
of some writers that the age of the world is be-
yond all calculation, others fix it at a very |
remote period, while others adhere so strictly )
to the account given"in the Scriptures as to state?
the age of the earth to be very limited,—so
limited indeed as to present considerable difficul- |
ties in the way of explaining satisfactorily many |
of the appearances in geology. It is my inten- |
tion to shew, that the sacred writings are still )
the best guides we have to a proper and con-_
sistent theory: and though they form the foun-
dation of the Mosaic school, still some
portions of it have not. been understood in a
way to complete the theory so as to make it
consistent in all its bearings. It is admitted by
all writers, that both the old and new testaments_
abound with figurative expressions, and thereby
are answered the wisest and best of purposes.
For had it been otherwise, had plain statements
of facts been substituted, they might have failed
in making the desired impressions on the mind
of man. I conclude therefore that we may re-
ceive the language of Scripture with regard to
the creation, as figurative; because it is only
by so receiving it that we can ever hope to arrive
at any thing like a just conclusion on this sub-
''75

‘ject, and put an end to the various contending
‘opinions which have arisen from regarding the
_ words of Holy Writ merely as they are express-
‘ed. The first great axiom, and one in which
all theologians and geolugists agree, is, that
‘in the beginning God createu the heavens and
the earth.” This, no one but those whose opi-
nions are not worth the most trifling notice has
ever attempted to deny. I conclude, therefore,
that in the beginning God did create the whole
_ of what was-created in universal space, that to
God all things were possible, and that between
| the non-existence and the existence of matter no
sensible portion of time was manifest, the whole
being the instantaneous work of that Almighty
Being who “ spake, and it was done,” who
commanded, and it stood fast.”

 

 

 

When this beginning was, is a question of
great difficulty. Moses might have used the
word “beginning,” as a sublime indefinite, al-
_luding to a period which was beyond his com-
| prehension. It is evident the beginning might
include vast epochs of time during the mineral
| ages of the world, of which we shall hereafter
; speak more particularly. The sacred historian
informs us that in six days the work of creation
was completed, and that God, the all-wise
| K 2

|
|
''Creator, rested on the seventh day. If any por-
tions of the Bible tend to confirm figurative
writing, they are those which have a reference —
to the word “day ;” and so far particularly for-_
tunate for geological inquiry. That the days of
creation are vast epochs of time cannot be
denied, nor even doubted, if the sacred volume
be examined as a whole. Though the first chap-
ter of Genesis is not prophetic, but written asa
record or statement of facts, yet there is every
reason to believe that the facts might not have
made a due impression if they had not been
assisted by a figurative style of expression. A
few quotations, in reference to the word “ day,”
will be sufficient for our purpose. Christ said
to the Jews, “ Abraham rejoiced to see_
my day, and he saw it, and was glad.”
This expression refers either to the whole term
of our Saviour’s life, or to the time of his public
ministry. ‘The day of temptation in the wil-
derness,” evidently refers to the forty years
which the Israelites passed in the desert. The
prophet Malachi calls the christian dispensation
“the day,” which has already oceupied near
two thousand years. The fourth verse of the
second chapter of Genesis is still more to the
point, as it is not prophetic, and on the very
subject itself; “these are the generations of the

 
''77

|

heavens and of the earth when they were created,

‘in the day that the Lord God made the earth
and the heavens,” which day evidently includes
the six days spoken of at the creation. And
St. Peter declares, that “one day is with the
Lord as a thousand years.” Can any thing be
more satisfactory as to days being vast epochs
of time, thus figuratively described in the lan-
guage of the inspired volume? Another circum-
stance is worthy of our notice. A day with us
is measured by the revolution of the earth onits
axis, and we calculate time by the position of
the Sun, and which occupies twenty-four hours.
Thus it is evident that the first three days of the
creation could have no reference to days of
twenty-four hours long, as the sun itself was not
created until the fourth day. Again, let us sup-
pose that at some future period we endeavour to
enlighten the inhabitants of the polar regions by
the scriptures, how are we to explain to them
our ideas of days of the creative process, their
days being many of our months in length?
Much has been said and written of late years in
reference to this point, but. those who wish to
enforce the word “ day” to be as of twenty-four
hours do not appear inclined to grapple with the
difficulty of the polar day and night; if the geo-
logist were to calculate the past time on the
''78

principle of the polar day and night he would
have much less difficulties to encounter as to the
period elapsed. That the scriptures, therefore,
cannot be construed literally in reference to
the history of the earth, is very evident, as
it would lead to the greatest absurdities. For
instance, “ in six days the Lord created the hea-
vens and the earth, and rested on the seventh
day ;” but can it be supposed for a moment that
God required rest after his labour? It must
therefore be assumed, that after six days or
epochs of time God ceased to create, and so
“rested from all his work.” But the argument
is often used, that it derogates from the great-
ness and power of God to suppose that he spent
some thousands of years in bringing this globe
to its present state, and that it is a lowering of
his dignity to have been engaged in a progressive
work for such a length of time. Assertions like
these are unwarrantable, if not daring and
impious. It is not what God could have done
that we are inquiring after, but what he has
done. We might say in return, that to suppose
he occupied six days in the creative process
would be derogatory to his greatness; for it is
most probable that the ceeation of matter was
instantaneous, that the six days spoken of were
occupied by the laws which had been given to mat-
ter to develop its mysteries, and that a length of
''79

time was absolutely necessary to preserve the
order of things for such developments. Who,
therefore, that has ever observed, especially with
microscopic power, the wonders of nature, would
dare to assert that the time was occupied in a
mean or trifling employment? When I think
of the immense period required to perfect the
plan of creation, I cannot but think that God
adopted this plan that he might observe with
pleasure the operation of those laws bestowed on
the matter which he had previously created.
Lastly, it is evident that the expression “in the
beginning God created the heavens and the
earth,” implies an instantaneous creation of
matter in the first instance; and the rest de-
pending on the laws given by him to the created
mass.

Many writers who once firmly maintained the
six days as literal of twenty-four hours in length
are now inclined to admit that the words “ in the
beginning” allude to a vast space of time pre-
vious to the operations of the six days. This is
only a different way of arriving at the same end,
and even this admitted will remove many of the
geologist’s difficulties, and render him less liable
to be censured by theological writers,

From what has been stated I conclude that :
''80

between the first verse of the first chapter of
Genesis and the second step of God towards the
creative process, a great space of time might
intervene, for purposes which I shall afterwards
endeavour to show.

The whole kingdom of nature, with which we
are acquainted, is divisible into three great
classes—mineral, vegetable, and animal; and
it must be apparent to every one that the mine-
ral kingdom was the first in the order of crea-
tion, for until there was a resting-place no
vegetation could have existed. On this suppo-
sition the vegetable kingdom was second in the
order of development, and which must have
existed a considerable time before the third era
of creation which consisted of the animal king-
dom, and which could not have existed without
a previous vegetable surface.

Again, the animal kingdom had probably two
great epochs; the first, animals of a gigantic
size and previous to man’s appearance ; and the
second, the creation of man and those subse-
quent to his time. Previous to the creation of
man, the vegetable kingdom was probably as
‘gigantic in proportion as the animals which had

 
'' 

81

sat that time to subsist upon it: for it is a point
undeniably proved by the fossil remains which
‘have been discovered, that both the animal and
vegetable kingdoms have had their larger species
running gradually extinct since the period of
their first creation. The temperature of,the
earth gradually decreasing may be esteemed a
cause of the animal and vegetable kingdoms be-
coming extinct in their larger species. This in
a great measure is proved by the largest animals
occupying the hottest regions, and the species of
plants generally found as fossils are of a nature
requiring great heat and moisture to acquire the
growth which they appear to have attained pre-
vious to their fossilized state.

Having made these few observations concern-
ing the creation, and probable decrease of the
earths’ temperature, I now come to consider
secondly,—though all that we can advance on
this point must ina great measure depend on
supposition—the most probable system of pity
mary arrangement.

In the beginning God created the world we
inhabit, that is, the whole of the matter which
composed the world, including every atom which
is at present in the animal and vegetable king-

L
''82
doms ; in other words, the whole of the ‘al
kingdoms of nature were first created in the
mineral world. If we turn to scripture we are
borne out in this statement by the following
quotations: ‘‘and God said let the earth bring
' forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-
tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is
in itself, upon the carth: and it was so ;” again,
“Jet the waters bring forth abundantly the
moving creature that hath life: and lastly,
* the Lord God formed man of the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life; and man became a living soul ;”—all
shewing in language too plain to be misunder-
stood, that the origin of the animal and vegetable
kingdoms was derived from the mineral. Thus
then the mineral world was first created, and it
remains for us to consider what order or arrange-
ment it first most probably assumed. Are we
to suppose that there was no arrangement at all,
and that confusion reigned supreme? Or, that
‘God created all things in order and regularity ?
which supposition is the most consistent with
our knowledge of the divine attributes? cer-
tainly the latter. And is not this view confirmed
by all the regulations and processes of nature,
in every part of which, from the painting of the
wing of the moth to the whirling of the countless
'' 

83

planets round their centres in universal space,
the utmost order and regularity prevail? Some
fancy the origin of things te have been confusion,
from the words in the third verse of the first
chapter of Genesis, “and the earth was without
form and void.” This however is a figurative
expression, denoting the great sameness of ap-
pearance as to the surface of the earth; it being
quite reasonable to suppose that the first forma-
tion was only as it were a step towards the
after-process, and that the earth had not then
assumed the form or character which God in-
tended it to assume in future. The word chaos
cannot well be construed into confusion. We
might call night a chaos of darkness, yet it is
perfectly regular in its arrangement. In fact,
when the substance of the earth was created its
form was incomplete, that is, it had not the
arrangement which the Almighty Creator intend-
ed it should afterwards assume; it was a wide
waste ; it presented a sameness of appearance ;
it was “void,” because destitute of those pro-
perties of figure, density, (it being then a gaseous
inass,) and the remaining features of matter,
which are necessary to its mechanical, chemical,
and other operations.

But to return to the consideration of the first
2
''84

created mass of matter, the mineral world, con-
densed from gaseous matter. Whether it origi-
nated from the Sun, orany other planet, or was
created out of nothing, is an inquiry concerning
which we need offer no further speculative opinions
than we have already done, in approving of the
Suggestions offered by the celebrated Herschell.
It is quite sufficient for our inquiry as to its
primary arrangement, that the world was made ;
and that the first order or arrangement was
perfectly regular I will endeavour to shew, aftec
I have drawn the reader’s attention to a few
geological facts which will materially assist in
the explanations to be hereafter given.

Ist, The nearer we approach the centre of the
earth from its circumference, by mining, &c.,
the higher the temperature becomes. In sink-
ing artesian wells the boring when at 1,050 feet
in depth, the temperature was at the bottom 82,
Fahrenheit; while at the top it stands 59.
Every 45 feet in depth produces one degree of
heat. At 7,380 feet the temperature is equal
to boiling water. At 24 miles in depth, a mere
trifle compared with a globe of 8,000 miles in
diameter, the heat would melt iron. If a cir-
cular diagram be drawn upon paper, three inches
in diameter, the circular mark of the compass
''85 :

point would exhibit a thickness equal to 25
miles in depth in the crust of the earth, through
which we could not penetrate without arriving
at a heat equal to the melting of iron. !

2nd, The farther we go from the earth’s centre,
by taking the highest altitudes or ascending in
balloons, the lower the temperature becomes.

3rd, At certain altitudes both animals and
vegetables cease to exist.

4th, The nearer we approach the centre of
the earth the harder, more compact, and dura-
ble we find the materials ; also their weight or
specific gravity is increased.

5th, From the centre to the circumference we
find the materials of lighter and less compact
substances, until we arrive at the surface which
is covered with a loose and light mould.

6th, The nearer we approach the centre of the
earth we find the rocks of an igneous character ;
and as we near the circumference, the rocks and
strata partake of the sedimentary or watery
origin; a fact of great importance.
''86

It is highly necessary the reader should im-~
press these few facts strongly on his mind, in
order that he may be enabled to ascertain the
following views more correctly.

Considering therefore that the formation of
the earth was conducted with the utmost order
and regularity, (which is far more consistent
with our ideas of God than that confusion should
have distinguished the creative process) it re-
mains to us for an explanation as to the parti-
cular form and arrangement which it most
likely assumed when first originated. First then
I would maintain, that the centre of this our
terrestrial globe is in a state of active combus-
tion; in other words, it is heated to a much
higher temperature than we on the surface of
the earth can possibly conceive. The facts stated
in the foregoing pages are all confirmative of
this ; in addition to which I am of opinion that
the sun which is the centre of our system is not
sufficient of itself at its immense distance to
preserve the temperature of the earth for the
existence of animal and vegetable life without
the aid of acentral heat. In those planets which
revolve near the sun the central nucleus of heat-
ed matter is less in proportion to their size and
''87

relative position; and in the larger planets
which are revolving at greater distances where
the sun’s rays are less powerful on their surfaces,
the central heat is considerably increased.

Geologists of late have endeavoured to bring
into disrepute the doctrine of central heat, by
enlarging on the well-known fact that the figure
of the earth being an oblate spheroid by which
the polar regions are brought twelve miles nearer
the centre of heat, yet these regions are colder
than the equatorial regions though twelve miles
farther distant from the central heat than the
poles. Now this appears a very singular way
of arguing, as it supposes a mass of matter
in a fluid state whether cold or hot to take upon
itself by rotary motion a certain figure, viz.,
oblate spheroid ; but while they admit its ex-
ternal figure to be thus characterized they have
not yet conceived that the internal part of the
earth takes the same outline as the outer crust,
but suppose it to remain circular; thus if the
outline of the earth be an oblate spheroid and the
internal central nucleus of heat circular, it is
evident the polar circles would be nearer and
consequently hotter than the equatorial regions,
as in the following outline,
'' 

This I cannot admit, for whatever figure the
outer crust might assume the internal mass will
be of the same figure; nay, I should rather
suppose that as the outer crust has been more ra-
pidly cooled, and therefore checked in forming its

figure, than the internal heated fluid by rotatory
motion, the internal mass is more likely to extend
laterally into a more perfect oblate spheroid
than the external, and by this means approach
nearer the equator than the poles and thus cause
the equator to be hotter than the poles, thus,
'' 

‘It has also been argued by some able geolo-
gists that a heat so intense and in so active a
state would endanger the outer crust of the
globe. In answer to this I would ask, is it rea-
sonable to form an opinion of the materials
which inclose the central heat merely from the
knowledge we have attained by penetrating at
most 500 yards by mining in the crust of a globe
at least 8,000 miles in diameter? Or even with
the assistance of nature’s dreadful convulsions
our acquaintance with the interior of the crust
of our earth is not more than five miles. It
would be no more absurd to attempt the classi-

M
''90

fication of vegetables in'the moon, of whose cli-
mate and peculiarities we are entirely ignorant. |
It is quite within the province of reason to
suppose that the central heat however intense
may be inclosed in materials wisely adapted to
resist that heat, though carried a thousand de-
grees beyond what we with our limited faculties
can possibly conceive. The experiments of M.
Arago in the Artesian wells at Paris is a con-
vincing proof of this fact. Even at the depth of
1050 feet Fahbrenheit’s thermometer rose 23
degrees. There is not a miner but will give
decided testimony as to the great heat prevailing
in mines, whose depths, when compared with
the diameter of the globe, are trifling indeed.
Admitting then that the central heat is a thousand
times greater than is required to melt iron, yet,
from one of the facets before stated, as to the
materials of which the globe is composed, their
density &c., it is easy to conceive that at a cer-
tain depth there is a material sufficiently power-
fu! in its combination to resist the heat, however
great ; and therefore no probable danger of the
earth’s crust being melted need be entertained.
From what has been advanced concerning the
necessity of a central heat we may form some
idea of what the mineral world was first com-
''91

pored, and how it was arranged so as to bring
about the appearances which it subsequently
assumed.

 

Though the lines in this diagram are circular it
is not to be understood that the figure of theearth
is circular, that having been satisfactorily proved
tobean oblate spheroid. By attentively surveying
the figure you will however perceive my idea as
to the first command of God, the creation of the
mineral world, its materials arranged according

m 2

od
''92

to specific gravity from centre to circumference.
I., Is the central heated nucleus. II., Matter
sufficiently dense to repel the effects of central
heat. III., The granite series. IV., The for-
mations generally called secondary. V., Ter-
tiary formations. VI., Alluvial and diluvial
formations. VII., The surface covered with
water over the whole. VIII., Atmospheres
mixed with clouds, vapours, &c. IX., A thin
pure atmosphere. X., The most extremely rari-
fied atmosphere, continuing to a,similar atmos-
phere of another planet. If soil, clay, gravel,
sand and water be agitated in a transparent
vessel and then allowed to rest we see the same
beautiful disposition to arrange, according
to their specific gravities, as we observe
in the general strata of the earths’ crust.
Such was most probably the first form of our
world, in which it continued for a long series
of years, perhaps some thousands, which were
only as a day to God; and in such a state
did it remain until the second step of creation
was called forth. Before, however, we proceed
to the consideration of the subsequent steps of
the creative process, let us take a view of this
figure of our globe in its mineral age, and en-
deavour to ascertain whether the statement will
receive any confirmation from the records of
Holy Writ:
''93

It appears that the whole surface of solid mate-
rials of which the world was composed, was, during
the mineral age, covered with water, the next ob-
jectin the scale of specific gravity to the solid ma-
terials ; and that the quantity required to cover
the whole was much less than would be required
at the present time; because the globe at that
time had suffered from no convulsion, its surface
being perfectly even, no land shewing itself
above the waters. Hence the sacred historian
observes, “the Spirit of God moved upon the
face of the waters.” The density of the atmos-
phere which surrounded our planet at that time,
prevented the rays of light from falling upon
the more solid materials. This is confirined by
the words, ‘ and darkness was upon the face of
the deep.” It is particularly worthy of remark
that the word “ deep” in this last quotation has
a reference to the general body of waters only
as the land was not then-visible. Thus elapsed
the first epoch of the mineral world, which
might easily be conceived as occupying thou-
_sands if not millions of years. The second epoch
was ushered in by the introduction of light from
the distant luminaries, and the gradual dissipa-
tion and purifying of the humid atmospheres ;
whereby the way was prepared for the grand
display of those laws of matter which God in-
''94

tended to manifest when he issued the command,
- “let the waters under the heaven be gathered
together unto one place, and Jet the dry land
appear.” That such a command was issued
there exists no doubt; the only difficulty is as
to the means by which it was effected. We
cannot for a moment suppose that if God imtend-
ed by this command that the waters of the great
deep should build themselves up as a wall in one
part of the globe, it could not have been done ;
for he has already shewn an instance of his
power in this respeet by having divided the
waters, and maintaining them so divided for a
considerable length of time in the Red Sea for
the passage of the Israelites out of the land of
Egypt. In the work of the creative process,
however, it appears as though the Almighty
Creator had so wisely contrived all things, that
man might afterwards in some measure explain
the operations of nature, and the laws and
arrangements by which matter was most likely
to be governed. Thus the mighty and universal
system was created first instantaneously ; and
the fixed laws of matter were the cause of those
great changes which subsequently took piace on
the surface of this our globe, as well as on the
other worlds floating in universal space. After
a certain time had elapsed the command was

ss mammeas, >i amma
''95

issued, “let the dry land appear.” This was
effected by a mighty convulsion, probably aris-
ing from pent up gaseous fluids, which had been ©
generating for some time, and had now arrived
at the extreme limit or boundary of compression.
From. the explosion or liberation of these pre-
viously confined gases a convulsion took place
which shook the earth to its centre; in conse-
quence of which, very deep fissures or cracks
were made into the earths’ outer layers of matter.
Into these fissures, which are deeper than we
have been able to penetrate, the waters rushed
with impetuous fury; and by that means came
in contact with strata heated to such a high de-
gree of temperature as was sufficient to cause
the vast changes which afterwards took place.
If a single drop of water be sufficient to burst a
brass ball of an inch in diameter, what must have
been the effect of many millions of tons rushing
into these heated depths towards the centre of
the earth? It must have been awful indeed,—
surpassing in grandeur and sublimity all those
powers of the imagination conferred upon the
mind of man. [If these fissures only extended to
the depth of a few miles all the appearances we
see might be accomplished. The equality of the
earths’ surface would be thereby destroyed. The
vast body of waters which entered these chasms,
''96

being converted into elastic vapour, would burst
through the superincumbent strata, pushing
immense tracts of land before it, heaping land
on land above the shell of waters that previously
covered the earth; and thus forming vast depths
into which the great waters subsided, there rest-
ing and forming the bed of the primeval ocean,
while the land so forced up became the first
tracts of land destined to become the abode of
vegetable and animal life. These were the first
appearances of that unequal surface which now
characterizes our globe,—an inequality absolute-
ly necessary to animal and vegetable existence.
But when the convulsions of this earth have
ceased, and that they are gradually ceasing is
beyond all denial, the rains and streams will by
degrees level the inequalities of the earth; and
when this is accomplished, animal and vegeta-
ble life will then exist no longer, the earth will
again become a perfectly level surface, a void
or waste, and the thin shell of waters will take
their place once more in the order of specific
gravity beneath the dense atmosphere, and cover
the surface of the more solid materials. As it
is with mortals so will it be with the world,—it
will die, until the fiat of omnipotence shall again
eommand its existence.

If we take a slight view of the lands on the
''97

surface of the globe, does it not confirm this by
a chain of mountains running through every
portion of land? And where the land is of small
extent, is it not generally a mountainous mass?
And do not these chains of mountains, which
are in reality caused by the rents of the earth,
always extend in the same direction as the length
of the land raised, thus proving the mountains
to be the father-land of the mass attached to
them? Mark the appearance of an iron vessel
burst with steam; examine its rents; take a
profile view of it, and suppose the lower surfaces
covered with water. You will then see an exact
resemblance to those vast tracts of land, called

continents: and thus will the laws of matter _

tend to explain that obedience to the mighty
command, “ let the waters be gathered together,
and let the dry land appear,” which is thus most
significantly expressed, “and it was so.”

By means of these frequent and most awful
convulsions in the primary ages of the terrene
mass, the surface assumed that beautiful variety
of hill and valley, land and water, which we now
observe, and which, as before stated, is so ne-
cessary to the existence of an animated creation,
When once the rugged tops of the first moun-
tains dared to rear'their lofty heads above the

N
''98
level of the waters, the waters shrunk into the
depths they had caused, and the dense atmos-
pheres which had so long shaded our globe from
the light of the sun began to condense their
aqueous vapours on the summits of the hills,
and became the parent of the mountain streams
which tossed themselves in all their tortuous
windings into the valleys below, there widening
into majestic rivers, and rushing headlong to
the mighty ocean. The great luminary of day
bursting through the now purified atmosphere,
the grand scheme of evaporation and condensa-
tion commenced with vigour, and has continued
to this day. It was not until this period that
the vegetation of the earth began. Before, there
was no land for vegetation to exist upon. But
now the great Creator called into life the vege-
table world, “let the earth bring forth grass,
the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yield-
ing fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself,
upom the earth.” Here it is evident that the
vegetable germ was previously formed in the first
created mineral mays, and that this command
only called it into active life. That seeds of
plants should be so long imbedded in the earth
without germinating, is borne out by every-day
facts in places where coal shafts have been sunk ;
it being a very common occurrence to find where
''99

the earthly matter is placed after having been
raised up from great depths, new species of vege-
tables growing upon it, though none of the
same nature grow in the immediate neighbour-
hood. Howisthis to be accounted for, if we are
not to suppose these seeds to have had a pre-
vious existence in the bowels of the earth for
thousands of years.*

Of the remaining steps of the creative pro-
cess I shall speak with greater brevity. I have
already maintained that the vegetable king-
dom existed for a considerable time previous
to the creation of the animal kingdom. ‘The
wisdom of the Divine Being is evident in such
arrangement, viz., in allowing a period to elapse
for the gradual perfection of one before the next
in succession took place.

 

* Perhaps it is presuming too much to state that any class of vegetables are really
extinct, in the face of the surprising facts produceias to the length of time the vitality
of seeds has been proved to exist. (See notes in appendix.) Who can tell but the seeds
raised up from the deep strata of the earth may, under favourable circumstances, pro-
duce those species which our limited faculties have supposed to be extinct? Who can
tell but when the su: face of this our planet has again become a mide waste, again ar
ranged itself in the order of specific gravity. another fiat shall be issued from the great
and Almighty God, calling the world again into being and restoring the hosts of vege-
tables now known with those long supposed extinct. to clothe the earth again from seeds
now buried deep in the earth’s crust. as the scripture saith ‘t whose seed is in itself
upon the earth ?» Who can tell but the great and wise One ordained that when our
planet became too cold for certain vegetable tribes, their seeds should be stored up in
the earth’s crust for a succeeding world ofbeings, when the heat and moisture would
again be favourable to their growth and existence ?

n 2
''100

The first stage ofcreation in the animal kingdom
is presumed to have been the monstersof the deep;
and next, thelarge, andin many instances, extinct
land animals, followed by the lesser tribes. Then ©
after another lapse of time man was created, who,
though he has in one sense been justly styled
the lord of creation, was nevertheless the young-
est of the world’s family. Some writers have
supposed that the earth is still in a progressive
state of improvement as respects its inhabitants,
that man will eventually be displaced by a new
and superior order of beings, and that the earth
will finally become the abode of angels. Ofsuch
opinions I need say nothing; it being sufficient
_ for me to shew that the earth was originally in-
tended to maintain animal and vegetable life,
and that both originated in the mineral kingdom
of which the earth was originally formed. This
brings me to the latter portion of our inquiry, viz.,
how far will the general features of geology,
- arising from facts, agree with the opinions here
stated?

In making this inquiry we must just glance
at some of the most remarkable geological phe-
nomena; and first, of

VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES.

From what has been previously advanced re-
lative to the first convulsions of this terrestrial
''101

globe, you will already have anticipated that I
attribute those shocks to earthquakes caused by
water coming in contact with the  inter-
nally heated strata at considerable depths
in the crust of the earth. For, wherever ex-—
pansion has taken place sudden risings of the
lands, or mountainous regions, have been the re-
sult ; and on all occasions a mountainous eleva-
tion is accompanied by a corresponding depres-
sion in some part of the earth’s surface, either un-
der the surface of the ocean, causing a subsiding
of its waters, or in some land region swallowing
up a portion of the surface, and leaving a visible
excavation on it; and though in some
instances the connection cannot easily be traced,
yet it is no less certain that such is the fact. Thus
many of our lakes are the result of such actions
in the great chemical laboratory of nature.

Volcanoes are regarded under the same head
as earthquakes, inasmuch as their origin is the
same. Volcanic eruptions are generally from the
summit of mountains, which mountainous eleva-
tion was first produced by earthquake; and as —
volcanoes are generally in the highest class of
mountains, it follows, that the connection be-
tween the external surface of the earth and the
internally heated strata is so far weakened that
''102

the heated portions are pushed by the action of the
earthquake to the surface, where they vent their
fury in the form of lava. That these terrible
actions in nature are considerably decreased
since the first ages of the world, and are still
declining, is evident from the appearances on
the earth’s surface at the present time, though
that portion which is now land may not be the
most ancient of the earth, as regards Jand-sur-
face. The earthquakes and volcanic actions of
modern times are trifling, compared with the
vast, awful, and extensive operations of the pri-
meval ages, which appear on almost every quar-
ter of the globe. In the first book of kings,
chap. 19, ver. 11, is a beautiful illustration of
the great connection of earthquakes with volcanic
action. ‘The same connection may be traced in
the book of the prophet Amos. That these ac-
tions are neither so violent nor extensive as
formerly may be considered as owing to the
central heat of this our globe baving been con-
siderably weakened since the first creation. The
wisdom, as well as the power of a divine hand,
is manifest in such an arrangement. The object
of the first convulsions was to procure inequality
~ of surface ; and it therefore required a terrible
and most extensively applied power to procure
the desired result. But no sooner was this end

 
'' 

103

accomplished than the remaining efforts were
not only weakened, but were not required to the
same extent. It way be asked, if our volcanie
- mountains, those which are still in action, are of
older date than the flood, howis it that the fleod
which covered all did not extinguish them? In
answer it may be observed, that if our present
land were the bed of the ocean prior to the flood,
those voleanic cones might be above the surface
of the waters, and consequently their action is
kept up. This is the more likely, as the ocean
of Noah’s day is presumed not to have been so
extensive as that which remained after the deluge,
tg MOUNTAINS, |
which are governed by the same means as vol-
canoes. The most ancient mountains are the
highest, while the modern formations are com-
paratively low. The ancient summits are rug-
ged, the modern are of a smooth outline;
evidently shewing that the internal cause of the
appearance of the latter is not so powerful at the
present day as when the world was in its pri-
meval age. We mustalso recollect that perhaps
the highest and most ancient class of mouutains,
and which would better illustrate our point, are
now most probably buried beneath the ocean’s
bed, and with whose rugged peaks we are only
acquainted by their occasionally peeping above
the surface of the waters.
''104

VEGETABLE FOSSILS, AND COAL
FORMATIONS. _

These have one common origin, and may
with propriety be considered as produced by
the sinking of a large extent of the earth’s sur-
face in the early ages of the world, when it was
covered with a gigantic and luxuriant vegeta-
tion. Or the formations familiarly called peat
bogs may have been sunk by the same means,
and by subsequent pressure form a coal field. I
feel inclined to think the bog as the first step in
the formation of coal, the strong analogies
existing between bog and coal bear me out.
With peat there is always marl; and what is
coal shale but indurated or pressed marl? Iron
ore is the companion of peat, so itis with coal.
Peat is decayed vegetable matter, and coal is as
nearly allied to the vegetable kingdom. I am
therefore of opinion that the mass of vegetable
matter must be converted into peat by the rotting |
process before it can form a coal field by any
after-process. This view is confirmed by the
examination of every vegetable fossil which
passes to that state without being formed pre-
viously into peat. The stems of trees, plants &c.
do not form coal, nor do seeds, but leaves do.
- ‘Thus we find thousands of stems formed of sand
stone while the bark is fine coal. Then why do
''105

we not find stems in the coal fields? Why is it all
of one uniform appearance? Because another
chemical process took place previous to its
assuming its present situation. But where is
the improbability in supposing the vast coal-
fields with which we are acquainted to have been
equally vast forests, previously formed into peat,
sunk by the agency of convulsions to their pre-
sent situation? The thinness of many mines is
no contradiction; for the vast superincumbent
pressure they have sustained at once relieves us
from any difficulty on that head. If the forests
of the early ages of the world were as large in
proportion as the individual fossils warrant us
in supposing, it cannot be too much to presume
such forests to have been equal to form the
largest coal-bed we are acquainted with. Coal
formations may therefore be considered the
oldest fossil vegetable matter; and that animals
are not found in a fossil state among coal forma-
tions arises from the simple fact that the original
vegetable matter was sunk previous to the crea-
tion of the higher order of the animal kingdom.
Some writers suppose it absurd to think that a
vegetable world existed long before the animal
kingdom: but it is probable, that though a
vegetation might exist and no animals to partake
of its benefits, yet a wise and omnipotent Creator
°
''106

might foresee the necessity and value of coal-
beds in the future ages of the world.
PRESERVATION OF FOSSILS.

It appears probable that as the various orders
of beings advance in the work of creation they
become less liable to be preserved in a fossil
state. Vegetables being the oldest on record,
with the exception of Shells, Zoophites, &c., are
the best. The larger and earlier order of ani-
mals follow. This must forcibly strike the mind
of every observer. The last in order is man,
whose remains have never yet been found satis-
factorily in a fossil state. It is true the bones
of man have occasionally been found incrusted
with earthy matter, but not fossilized. Too
much care cannot be taken in enforcing the dif-
ference of a fossil from an incrustation; the
former is the original substance chemically
changed to one of an entirely diferent character,
the latter is merely the original object cased
over by other matter. These views are confirm-
ed by daily experience in the fossil kingdom.
That human bones are not found fossilized in
the deeper stratas arises from the fact of man
not existing when these stratas were subject to
their great changes. It may also be urged, that
the reason we do not find man in any situation
in a fossil state is, because the antediluvians;
''107

who of all others were the most likely to be im
such a state, would be found in the sub-strata
of the antediluvian land, which is now probably
buried beneath the surface of the great deep.
But let us come to the truth of the matter. Is
there not some insurmountable barrier in the
composition of the human bone differing from
that of the earlier orders of animals, which pre-
vents the process of fossilization? I believe,
when abler hands than mine shall have examin-
ed the composition of the human frame, and
compared it with the chemical composition of
bones of other animals in a fossil state which
existed prior to his appearance, such perhaps
will be the case ; and ifso, how beautifully does
the sacred volume illustrate this point in those
never-to-be-forgotten words, “ dust thou art, and
unto dust shalt thou return,’—as though the di-
vine sentence passed upon man at his first error
was for ever to exclude his bones from being me-
morials to future ages !

The last and principal difficulty I have to con-
tend with in applying these opinions, is the flood
of Noah. It has been supposed that this flood
covered the whole earth, and it has also been
firmly denied. That it did cover the whole of
the then earth is propable ; but in doing so, the |

o 2
''108

bed on which the ocean rested was left bare;
and the only time when the whole globe was
covered with water at one time was in the mine-
ral age, and previous to an inequality of surface.
In the just and awful punishment inflicted by
the deluge it was not necessary to do more than
sufficient for the object in view. It was there-
fore enough to punish man, that the earth which
he inhabited was covered with water; and by
the ocean shifting its bed, and leaving its own
situation bare, all was done that was requisite
to effect the divine will. It has been said by
Dr. Adam Clark, that the Deity never makes
an unnecessary display of his power, but accom-
plishes the greatest purposes by the least possible
means. That He acted under this view at the
deluge is most probable. It has.also been start-
ed as a difficulty, that the antediluvian land was
greater, as to its surface, than the antediluvian
sea ; and therefore the latter would not be suffi-
cient to overwhelm the former. This F am
willing to suppose, it being somewhat confirmed
by the inspired writings. In order to aceount
for the additional supply, I would observe, that
the theory of a comet coming so near the earth’s
orbit as to give off a great quantity ofits waters,
is not so absurd as many may suppose. Perhaps
this visitant might be in its first state of conden-
''109

sation, from a pure nebulous state thus forming
water; and it certainly verifies the language of
the sacred volume, “ And the flood-gates of hea-
ven were opened.” Now this appears still more
likely when we consider the present state of our
globe, where the waters are to the earth nearly
three to one. If the antediluvian sea was so
much less than our postdiluvian, where must
the additional supply come from, if not from the
source just mentioned? It is also very reason-
able to suppose that such a sudden influx of
waters would be sufficient to throw the earth off
its usual balance, and by the shock the sea
might be compelled to change the bed it had
reposed on for ages. But as our present land
was the bed of the ocean at the flood of Noah,
a difficulty presents itself as to the fossil remains
of animals being found there. The history of
the world presents to the limited inquiries of
man only one great deluge; but is there any
very great improbability in the supposition that
other deluges took place long before that of
Noah? For, the well-known existence of marine
vegetable fossils on land, is eonfirmative of the
land having been once covered by the ocean.
But as no other deluge was connected with
man’s history, the scriptures were not called
upon to mention them.
''110

The inquiry, why the fossil tribes of animals
and vegetables are larger than existing species,
must be answered by the remarkable and well-
known fact, that small patches of land only
maintain the life of the smallest species of ani-
mals and vegetables; some very small islands
having scarcely any thing upon them larger than
mice, while large tracts of land give succour to
the largest tribes both of animals and vegetables;
as the elephant, rhinoceros, &e. As therefore
the antediluvian land was greater than the pre-
sent surface, it follows that the race of animals
and vegetables was gigantic, when compared
with the present tribes ; the present surface not
being large enough to succour such tcibes as the
mastodon magatherum, which consequently be-
came extinct. And if by some great epoch in
the changes of the earth another such catastrophe
as that which occurred in the time of Noah
were to take place, and the land subsequent to
be less in proportion than at present, our ele-
phants, camelopards, and rhinoceroses, would
become liable to the same fate of general extinc-
tion. May it not be asked, were not these
mighty influxes of waters the great cause of this
reduction of temperature of the earth: Ifthe
land were of greater surface, the mountains
would be of much larger character than at pre»
''Lil

sent; and, as before stated, snch are now lost
to our view, unless when they rear their heads
above the waves of the sea.

Perhaps it may be proper to state the proba-
bility, that sea waters may be one of the great
agents of fossilization ; and though many of the
present fossil tribes are of extinct species, yet if
the present bed of the ocean could be examined,
might we not find existing species in a state of
fossilization ? All our monuments of art are
modern, compared with those which, in all pro-
bability, we should find beneath the surface of
the present ocean, which hides the remains of a
more ancient inhabited world.

In concluding these observations on the theory
of the formation of the earth, I have only to
express the sincere and ardent wish that they
may be productive of good, unalloyed with the
least mixture of evil. The facts upon which that
theory is founded, are, as to their existence,
undeniable, whatever difference of opinion there
may be as to the propriety of their application.
Impressed with our own feebleness and very li-
mited powers of investigation, it is indeed with
every feeling allied to humility that the human
understanding should investigate the works and
''112

contemplate the ways of God, especially those
which were displayed “in the beginning,’ when
he “created the heavens and the earth.” The
immensity and awfulness of the subject; its
reference to that wisdom and power which are
infinite and almighty, and therefore far beyond |
the comprehension of man, demand the utmost
caution and meekness to be commingled with
our admiration and wonder. The more we see
of the operations of the Supreme Being, the
more we see our weakness; and the more we
reflect on the changes which time has already
produced, the better are we qualified to form a
just estimate of the future.

With these observations I conclude my theoro-
tical enquiries, and the remaining pages will be
devoted to sketches that are illustrative of the
science of geology without being connected with
any particular locality.

 
''113

APPENDIX.

FORMATION OF COAL.

The following quotation on the formation of
coal is taken from Maclaren’s geology of Fife
and the Lothians, which has issued from the
press since the early parts of this work was
placed in the printer’s hand; the novelty of the
calculation may be of interest to the reader :

“ Wood affords about 20 per cent. and coal
80 per cent. of charcoal. Neglecting the oxygen
and hydrogen therefore it must have required
four tons of wood to yield as much charcoal as
we find in one ton of coal. Suppose a forest
composed of trees 80 feet high and the trunk of
each containing 80 cubic feet and the branches
40, making 120; the weight of such a tree will
be about 27 tons; allowing 130 trees to an acre
we then have 300 tons. Supposing the portion
that falls annually, leaves and wood, to be equal
to one-thirtieth, we have ten tons of wood an-
nually from an acre, which yields two tons -of
charcoal; and this charcoal with the addition of
bitumen, forms 2? tons of coal. Now, a cubic
yard of coal weighs a ton ; and a bed of coal one

P
''114

acre in extent, and three feet thick, will contaix
4840 tons. It follows, therefore, that one acre
of coal is equal to the produce of 1940 acres
(that is 4840 divided by 2) of forest ; or if the
wood grew all on the spot where its remains
exist, the coal: bed three feet thick, and one -
acre in extent, must be the growth of 1940
years! Even if we suppose the vegetation as
that of a trepical climate, to be twice as rapid
as I have assumed, we shall still require about
a thousand years to form a bed of coal one yard
thick ; and, for the thirty-six yards of coal in
the mid: Lothian field a period of 36,000 years
would be required. When we reflect farther
that the coal constitutes only one-thirtieth part
of the series of beds comprehended in the group,
some of which were probably formed by as slow
a process, we shall have no reason to reject Dr.
-Maculloch’s estimate of 600,000 years as tod
long for the production of the whole mass.”

The above theory of coal formation is perhaps
more tenable than that of Professor Phillips, who
supposes the alternate beds owing to alternate
currents from different points of the compass,
charged with different sediments, and passing
into a great estuary or lake. Lime, he thinks,
was transported by the marine currents from the
''11d

south-east, because the lime stone beds are
- thickest in that direction, and thin off towards
the opposite point: argillaceous sediment was
swept in by currents from the west, the shales
being thickest in that direction; while sand and
floating wood were drifted from the north, the
beds of coal and sand stone being thickest in —
that direction. Maclaren points out the follow-
ing difficulty: of the four currents, bearing wood,
sand, clay and lime, how did it happen that
three so generally suspended their action while
the fourth was operating ?

The descent into the coal strata is generally
dirty and disagreeable, miners are often very
careless, and to hang in a basket at the end of
a@ rope over a shaft of 300 or 350 yards in depth
requires no little nerve; with a steady engineer
and good conducting rods these subterraneous
excavations may be explored with moderate
safety. Ifthe mine be of considerable thickness
and moderately dry it is a sight worthy of in-
spection. The town lane mine, near Ashton-
under-lyne, exhibits one of the most beautiful
roofs of shale that can be well imagined, the whole
being beautifully and regularly printed over by
the leaves and smali stems of vegetables, and in
very considerable variety, so regularly distribu-

Pp 2
''116
ted as to have the appearance of printed cloth,
with a small running pattern of black on aslate

coloured ground.

PROCESS OF FOSSILIZATION

wii actin cae

i lan id METS,

i aaa 2

Must be either slow or quick; if very slow,» #

the immense periods of time elapsed, as supposed
by geologists, is absolutely necessary for the
production of the present appearances ; if quick,
such lengths of time would not be required.
The proofs of a slow process are abundant,
while those of a quick fossilization are very rare.
Flowers, when found in a fossil state, would
prove the process quick, from the short-lived
nature of the flower; of these, however, I have
expressed a doubt in my observations at the
commencement of this work, showing that some

of the supposed flowers may be the pressure of

the end of a perpendicular stem, while others
may be seed pods which are often of a very per-
manent character ; at page 41 however I have
produced a very extraordinary proof of quick
fossilization in the outline at the foot of the page
just mentioned, this is evidently an insect in a
state of change from the caterpillar to the moth,
the size of the body and the undeveloped cha-
racter of its small wings, quite inadequate to a
body of its size, I think satisfactorily shows
''FF

(though only @ solitary imstance) that the fos-_ ¢
silizing process must have been quick to catch |
this insect in: the peeuliar character in which we -

 

Me

| Ee,
5

Ca trncel, Ge
be

fs

GE ates
2

find it. If such proofs were abundant, theologists & ><:

tho
2 OF rep

might argue suceessfully against the almost | al beg E
indefinite periods of time advanced by the well- | # 2f%
authenticated and numerous facts of geological

science.

SALT SPRINGS AND MINES.

“The inhabitants of Britain were equally unae-
quainted with the making of salt. This agree-
able and useful seasoning of our food, during
the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, was im-
ported by foreign merchants into the south-
western parts of the island. And, had it been
made at all in the kingdom, it would have been
within that region of it particularly, and in such
quantities as, under the circumstances of the
country, would have absolutely prevented any
importation. The Romans had long been ac-
quainted with the art, and they brought it very
early into Britain. The first attempt would
naturally be the easiest, and confined to the
margin of the sea, and a very considerable

quantity of the finest and firmest salt, in Europe,

appears to have been made upon the shores of
Britain in the fourth century. But the Romans

 
''118

had long been instructed to search for the springs
of brine in the ground, and to boil the water
into cakes, and they actually opened some pits
before the middle of the second century. The
first were probably the salinze which were situa-
ted in the country of the Cattieuchlani or Cassii,
-and perhaps at Saludy in Bedfordshire; which
are expressly mentioned by Ptolemy, but are
now unknown and lost. About the same period
or very soon after it, others were sunk at Droit-
wich in Worcestershire. And subsequently to
both, the Romans discovered the salt springs of
Cheshire, and opened the necessary wells to them.
These were the present pits of Northwich. The
spring at Coredate or Kinderton lies seventeen
yards below the surface: but at Northwich it
rises into eight. The latter therefore would
naturally be discovered before the former, though
that was at the distance of three er four miles
from the Roman station, and this within the
area of it; as the mines of solid salt at North-
wich lay concealed in the ground and unknown
to us all, until the year 1670, and the towns of
Saludy perhaps, and certainly of Northwich and
Droitwich, arose successively in consequence of
these brine pits, and were constructed in the
immediate vicinity of them.”—Whittaker’s His-
tory of Manchester, volume 2, page 164.
''Tig.

Although the rock salt was known in 1676
the most valuable beds were not discovered until
late in the eighteenth century. A Polish gen-
tleman on visiting the mines of Northwich sug-
gested the probability of better salt being beneath
the bed which at that time they were working ;
speculators were not wanting, and soon after the
present valuable and almost inexhaustible stra-
tum of salt came into working, producing salt
of a much better quality than before obtained.
This. encouragement led to still deeper penetration
into the earth’s bowels, but though salt was still
found, its quality was not by any means propor-
tionate to the expense; in fact, the present
principal mines at Northwich appear to be in
quality superior to any other.

The mines at Northwich, in Cheshire, are
splendid specimens of the indefatigable industry
and ingenuity of man, and are well worthy of a
visit from every geologist; their groined roofs
supported by immense pillars of salt rock, the
snowy carpet of ground salt on the floor of the
mine, the enormous extent of the excavations
(in one mine sixteen Cheshire acres) and this in
a strata of twenty-seven yards in thickness,
form an object of wonder and admiration to’
every visitor.
''120

VITALITY AND IMPERISHABLE NA-
TURE OF VEGETABLE SEEDS.

I have alluded to a fresh race of plants spring-
ing up from the soil raised from great depths out
of the shaft of coal mines, and differing from the
vegetables in the neighbourhood, (see page 98-9,)
and the supposition that these seeds must have
lain dormant for thousands of years but still
preserving their vitality. There are many other
proofs of this singular fact; seeds have been
found in mummy cases and have vegetated after
a repose of 2 or 3,000 years. In the artesian
wells the earth brought up by the boring from

_ adepth of 360 feet produced, under a hand glass,

--... healthy vegetables. Seeds of strawberries, apples,

&c., have vegetated after they have been taken
out of the pots where they were preserved, con-
sequently they have been boiled a long time.
Oats, taken from the grave of an aboriginal
Briton, sprung up when sown. At Matlock an
Elder tree was cut down and placed under a
stack, where it was by accident nearly consumed
with the stack by fire, in this charcoal state it
was driven down to serve as a temporary gate-
post, @¢ vegetated and became a thriving tree.
Nor is the preservation of vitality in animals
less remarkable.
''121
VITALITY IN ANIMALS PRESERVED.

The long-doubted and ridiculed statement of
the toad found in the rock is now so well authen-
ticated that there can be no hesitation in em-
-bracing it as a decided fact. I, for a long time |
treated it as Buckland and Murchison did—with
contempt ; but now am free to confess myself
wrong. Buckland failed in his experiment to
prove it, but it is presumed had the animal been
in a torpid state before subjected to the experi-
ment it would have succeeded. Dr. Richardson
mentioned a fish enclosed in ice found in the
polar regions, how long it had been there was
impossible to tell, yet when released exhibited
signs of vitality. Then why not the toad? An
instance occurred in the parish of Ashton, since
this work went to press, of a toad found between
the shale and sand stone (enclosed in a small
cavity) at the depth of 95 yards; this has been
seen and attested by many individuals. Another
is now in the museum of the Philosophical So-
ciety of Birmingham, which was found at Co-
ventry Park. A friend of mine, on whose veracity
I can rely, stated to me an experiment conducted
by his father, who also was a doubter, the toad
was enclosed under a small flower-pot and buried
a considerable depth in the earth, after two
years it was found still living. The marmot,

Q
''122

tortoise, and dormouse have their long stages of
torpidity without destroying vitality. Adders
have been found in winter hard and brittle with
frost, yet afters carefully thawing they live.
Bees after being frozen stiff have returned to
life and their hive work by a careful application
of heat. Eggs hermetically sealed have been
‘ good after 300 years. The malt of the carp has
been found alive after the carp was boiled ; and
lastly, the experiments of Mr. Crosse has stimu-
lated into vitality the ova of insects found in flint
under the most extraordinary circumstances.
Mr. Crosse however, in his enthusiasm, has
brought himself under the censure of the world
in general, by using too strong language in his
descriptions ; it surely was enough fo stimulate
into existence, without leading the public mind
to suppose he had created a new set of living
beings that never before existed.

FOSSILS OF ANCIENT HISTORIANS.
Some of the early historical writers noticed
fossil remains, but strangely misrepresented
them. Holinshed in his chronicles 1577 re-
marks at page 4 “St. Augustine noteth how he
saw a tooth of a man that would have made a
hundred of his own;” also, John Bocase set
down that in a cave of a mountain not far from
''123

Depranum (Sicilia) the body of an exceeding
high tyrant was found, whose teeth did weigh
100 ounces each :” and “ In the reign of Tiberius
a corpse was found, the teeth of which was so
long that on calculation of thirty-two teeth the
mouth must have been sixteen feet wide, and
could separate the lips to the distance of ten feet,”
These remarks of Holinshed are produced to
favour the idea of the earlier races of mankind
being huge giants. That we have degenerated
in latter days is perhaps true, but the remains
here alluded to by Holinshed are evidently the
relics of much larger animals than the human
species, and have so often been verified by
modern geological discoveries.

MISINTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE
ON THE SUPPOSED END OF THE
WORLD.

Sismondi, in his fall of the Roman Empire,
alludes in the most powerful manner to the ge-
neral consternation that pervaded the western
portion of the world as the completion of the
tenth century after the birth of Christ approach-
ed, in consequence of the announcement from
the Apocalypse “ That after a thousand years
Satan would be let loose to deceive the nations ;
but that after a little season, God would cause

Q 2
''124

a fire to come down from heaven and devour
him.” As the awtul time approached society
became in a complete state of disorganization,
and it was truly wonderful that man escaped
the dreadful visitation of famine from the great
neglect of every thing at this time. The crisis
however approached, arrived and passed by
without those dreadful consequences that had
been anticipated, and it was generally acknow-
ledged that the scriptures had been misinter-
preted. Thus we perceive the awkward situation
we are often placed in by enforcing the literal
announcements of the inspired writings instead
of allowing them to be figuratively er allegori-
cally expressed.

FINAL CONFLAGRATION OF WORLDS.

Can this subject be touched upon by geologi-
cal writers? Surely it may with an equal degree
of propriety as the original formation of worlds.
There appears to be two great actions constant=
ly going on in the universal system of nature,
both of which have a direct tendency to dissipate
matter previously cohered together; the one by
intensity of heat directly applied to matter, as
in the sun, which without any centrifugal motion
of its own, and as the centre of attraction to our
_ System, is constantly separating vast bodies of
''125

gaseous matter from its surface and distributing
it into the regions of space amidst the atmos-
pheres of countless millions of planetary worlds:
The other is in the planets themselves, each
of which possesses a centrifugal motion of
its own, and is constantly receiving an addi-
tional supply of matter on their outer surface “
from the sources already mentioned; and the
probability is that their circumference is gra-
dually but to us imperceptibly increasing, and
if this be the case the rapidity of motion on the
outer surface is also increasing. ‘To this rapid
motion however. there will be a limit beyond’
which it cannot pass; when time shall have
caused the planet to pass through its innumera-
ble changes of renovation and decay, when the
rains and streams shall have levelled the highest
mountains and filled the deepest vallies, when
the temperature of that sphere shall no longer
be able to maintain animal and vegetable
existence, when the pent-up central fires, with
their gaseous products, after long intervals of
rest shall again arrive at their utmost limit of
compression ; when these changes shall have
occurred again and again until the sphere is so
much enlarged on its outer surface by additional
matter that its rapidity can no longer be restrain-
ed by cohesive attraction, then will the planet
''126

‘burst from its centre into countless millions of
fragments and dissipate itself into the atmos-
pheres of other worlds,* some portions of which
perhaps falling on the nearer planets in the cha-

‘ vacter of meteoric masses, ethers travelling on-
wardsin the immensity of space, their rapidity and

heat progressively increasing during its course
until it becomes of that intensity as to change

it from a solid to a gaseous body and falls im-
perceptibly on the next planet that presents its

attraction to it, and by this operation increasing
its magnitude. Thus worlds are constantly
separating from the sun in a gaseous state by
heat, to be afterward condensed and run through
their destined course of operations, while old
worlds are continually breaking up and again
terminating in the same gaseous state as when
first formed. The variety of strata presented
to our view at various depths, exhibiting a suc-
cession of surfaces that at very remote periods
teemed with organized living beings, and which
geologists find such great difficulties in account-
ing for, may fall within the plan of this scheme
without outraging probability. . Intense heat
began, and intense heat will end the scheme of

 

* It is a well-known occurrence in the establishments of machine makers, that the

grinding stones frequently split from the shafts holding them, by the rapidity of their

’ motion ; and this is applicable to stones of large dimensions only, for small ones on the
same shaft will at the same time be uninjured.
''127

worlds and the final conflagration spoken of ia
scripture is thus pointed out.

LIMESTONE CAVERNS AND SCENERY.

Having had occasion in the annexed pages
frequently to allude to the name and works of
Mr. E. Hall, of Derbyshire, I felt a desire to
apprize that venerable and excellently practicat
geologist of my intentions, and before doing so,
if possible, to obtain his sanction to such a
liberty. It was with this intention I paid a visit
to this worthy man in his truly romantic retreat
at Castleton, accompanied by a friend who like
myself was an ardent admirer of the wonderful
scenery about to be presented to usin the moun-
tainous district of Derbyshire ; a few particulars
ef our visit, connected as it was with some of
the principal objects worthy of inspection, may
net perhaps be uninteresting to the generat
reader, and may also serve as a brief yet faithful
guide for future visitants in seareh of the same
objects :—Our route lay through Chapel-en-le-
frith on a short November day, and darkness
set in ere we arrived at the termination of our
drive, and it was with no little difficulty we
threaded our way during the few last miles of our
journey, in consequence of which we had not
the opportunity of observing the towering Mam
''128

Tor, the Winnats, and other objects of interest
in our approach to Castieton; these pleasures
were reserved for the day following and perhaps
enjoyed with greater zest after rest and refresh-
ment. On our arrival at one of the principal
Inns almost the first object that presented itself
was the one for which our journey was taken,
viz.. Mr. Hall, in company with an agent of
government in the ordnance department, who
had come from a cousiderable distance to glean
information from the Derbyshire geologist.
Making ourselves and our object known it is
almost needless to state we met with a hearty
reception from the old man, and full permission
to quote from his published works whatever we
thought of use to us. A pleasant evening fol-
lowed, chiefly occupied in a little sparring on
geological theories. Having made our arrange-
ments for the following day, in which Mr. Hall
assisted and promised to take a part, we retired
for the night, highly gratified with our company
and wondering no little to find such a man in
such a place, so far removed from society and
yet so generally known to the world at large as
a geologist, and of whose practical knowledge
other geologists have so often availed themselves.

At nine o’clock the following morning, after
''129

discussing a hearty breakfast, (an indispensable
requisite previous to cavern touring,) our guide,
a respectable publican in Castleton, (Mr. Roys
who rents the Spar Cavern,) waited on us by
appointment to conduct us to the Spar Cavern,
an object of the highest interest, but which
the visitor is sometimes in danger of miss-
ing from the foolish contentions and wilful mis-
representations of the exhibitors of the older
wonders of the neighbourhood. This Cavern
is of modern discovery and only very lately thrown _
open for public exhibition, and in consequence
of being under a different landed proprietor to
the rest has caused no little jealousy ; these little
broils are exceedingly annoying to the visitor,
and disgraceful to the inhabitants, and cannot
but operate against their best interests, by the
visitor often being disgusted before he has traced
all the objects worthy of notice. By the advice
of Mr. Hall we proceeded with our guide to
visit the Spar Cave; our way lay through the
Winnats, and on leaving the town in that direc-
tion our feelings were wound to the highest pitch
of admiration at the noble scene around us
which was considerably enhanced by our not
being able to observe their beauties on our ap-
proach to Castleton the night before.

R
''130

WINNATS.

The entrance into the Winnats is very im-
posing, huge masses of limestone towering high
above our heads, on each side forming a beauti-
ful avenue clothed with a short green grass,
forming a striking contrast to the dark and
frowning masses that seemed ready at any mo-
ment to hurl destruction on all beneath; not a
tree, not a shrub to be seen, not a sound but
the echo of our own footsteps disturbed the quiet
of the scene. The short green verdure at our
feet, the blue sky above, and rocky masses at
our sides were all that met the eye, even the
chirp of our familiar friend the sparrow was
missing. On turning round we beheld in the
distant landscape the little town of Castleton,
the square turretted tower of whose little church
formed a pleasing object, which was increased in
interest by the lofty remains of the once power-
ful Castle of the Peak, hanging over the town in
solemn grandeur, indicating to posterity the
mighty influence of the once powerful Peverils,
kings of the peak ; on our left a beautiful and
fertile vale was just opening its beauties to the
morning sun.

ECHO.
The position in which we now stood and the

 
''131

appearances that presented themselves led my
friend and myself to imagine it a likely spot for
an echo, but on inquiring of our guide he had
not heard of any thing of the kind; not feeling
quite satisfied we were determined to try, and
charging a pistol which we had procured for
another purpose, I took my stand at the mouth
of the winnats, nearly opposite an old shaft dri-
ven for lead ore, and presenting the pistol in the
direction of Castleton church, fired the piece,
and to our astonishment no less than six distinct
reports followed with a number of smaller ones ;
elated by our first trial we repeated the experi-
ment, and could count seven or eight reports;
other parts of the winnats were tried but in no
place so effective as this, and the guide promised
to direct the attention of future visitors to this
pleasing object. We now proceeded on our raia-
ble and crossing over the higher land to our
right, at the upper end of the winnat rocks, we
came to the entrance of the

SPAR CAVERN.

Preparations having previously been made we
lost no time in descending with our torches, &c.,
and an additional guide down a long flight of
steps, at the foot of which the natural fissure or
rent in the mountain lime stone presented itself.

R 2
''132:

This we traced for some time without observing:

much to exite our curiosity, but as yet our eyes
had not sufficiently accommodated themselves
to the situation we were in ; gradually, however,
the beauties around began to show themselves.
The path was circuitous and of easy descent,
occasionally the narrow passage widened in a
large and beautiful cavern, clothed with stalacti-
tes, reflecting back the lights of our torches in
the most brilliant manner, while here and there
a rich vein of the fluor spar crossed our path,
adding new beauties to the scene. We conti-
nued our route admiring and wondering at every
step, until we arrived at the chief cave, called
(from a late visit of the then Earl of Mulgrave)
Mulgrave’s dining room, from his having re-
freshed himself there. Our guide now hurried
us onward to the termination of our route, while
the sub-guide stayed behind to prepare new and
unexpected scenes of beauty tor us on our re-
turn. Hitherto a deadly stillness reigned, bro-
ken only by the echo of our own footsteps or our
voices, which reverberated from side to side as
though we had disturbed the slumbers of some
mighty spirits of the cave. After leaving
Mulgrave’s dining room the roaring and splash-
ing of water was distinctly heard ; our route was
more difficult ; at last arrived at the utmost
''133

limit at present ascertained, we could see a

little onward narrowing into a small fissure pre-
venting further progress, but from the roaring
and hollow sound of the rushing waters there is
no doubt of caves still further on, which some
hardy miner will ere long discover. Renewing
our lights we retraced our steps, and being now
quite familiar with the darkness, our eyes were
enabled to detect thousands of beauties that we
had passed unheeded before, the plain torch light
having been our only assistant ; but ifour ideas
of beauty and splendour had been fully realized
hitherto, they fell far short of the scenes that we
were now to observe: coloured chemical lights
and chandeliers raised by cords to immense
heights in the large caves, presented a succes-
sion of scenes that at once bids defiance to the
ablest pen or pencil, nay, beyond, far beyond
the utmost conception of human imagination.
The scenes of the Arabian tales were a cypher.
Groves of diamonds—Palaces of gold sunk into
insignificance amid the gorgeous splendour now
surrounding us; we could have gazed with a
never-tiring eye had not our torches signified
that though pleasing beyond conception we must
now leave it; reluctantly we gradually retraced
our steps towards the mouth of the cave, the
guides exerting themselves to exhibit new beau-
''134

ties as we passed along; at length we arrived at
the entrance, and the broad day light once more
saluted us; but so absorbed were we with the
scenes just witnessed that all around appeared
uninteresting, and it was some time before we
could fully appreciate the bold mountainous
landseape before us. On awakening from our
reflection our attention was arrested by a well-
defined and moderately extensive
LANDSLIP
That now lay at the foot of the rocks on which
we stood, and in front ef the Odin mine; the
mighty mass had been rent from its_ parent bed
and now lay prostrate in the valley below, occu-
pying a space of four or five acres. We could
not but observe how much man is indebted to
the unsearchable ways of providenee. This land-
slip had been the means of exposing the parent
mass so far as to render certain the efforts for
getting the lead ore, which has since been
worked with so much advantage. We had here,
also, a distant view of Mam Tor, one of the
named wonders of Derbyshire ; but as the morn-
ing had put on a hazy appearance our view was
not propitious.
MAM TOR

Is however, as a mountain, nothing remarkable.
In its present situation it is a bold and somewhat

 
''135

pretty object, composed of a loose shaly sub-
stance which trickles down its sides on being
disturbed by the foot of some tourist; hence it
has been called the shivering mountain. On
descending the cliffs, into the new road
to Castleton, we came in front of the entrance
of the
ODIN MINE.

The entrance is very picturesque, and is an
object worth the attention of the artist. We did
not penetrate its mysteries within, understanding
that as a lead mine we should be better pleased
by exploring the Speedwell mine at a short dis-
tance. We therefore proceeded thither; and now
parted with Mr. Roys, our intelligent guide,
and under the direction of two new ones we
entered the

SPEEDWELL MINE.

A long flight of steps brought us to a boat
floating on about three feet of water; a large
quantity of candles were now lighted, and as we
proceeded along an immense tunnel driven in
the solid rock, by the efforts of our principal
guide, the other was employed in fixing candles
as we passed along, with small pieces of clay,
to the sides of the tunnel. As this horizontal
shaft was driven in a straight line for 800 yards,
the perspective exhibited by the candles was
''136

delightful. When about two-thirds of our sail
were accomplished, a stamp with the foot on the
bottom of the boat was answered by a peal of
thunder. We now missed our pistol, but my
friend did not regret it, as the reverberation by
the foot was so appalling that had it been a pis-
tol he should have dreaded the effects upon the
organ of hearing. The roaring and splashing of
a distant waterfall now assailed our ears, and it
required no little nerve to divest ourselves of
the idea that we were floating to the brink of a
fearful precipice, ready to hurl us into some
boiling gulph below. In a few minutes our boat
touched its landing-place, and our dreadful anti-
cipations ended in our being safe once more on
terra firma, with a monstrous excavation above
our heads and a roaring cataract at our feet,
with 70 feet of a fall into a dark and (as the
natives call it) an unfathomable abyss. We
were now 600 feet below the green grass
sod above our heads, and so huge is this cavern
that there is little doubt but that it approaches
very near the surface. In vain sky rockets have
been sent up, the roof has hitherto been hid
from human gaze; we sent upa largerocket, but
unfortunately it burst at about half its altitude,
whenin throwing outits coloured stars it presented
asceneofmagnificentgrandeur. Various chemical

 

 
''137

lights were now used, each adding new beauties :
in vain however we looked for the stalactital
drapery of the Spar cavern ; the awful grandeur
of the Speedwell cavern forms a striking contrast
with the gorgeous splendour of the Spar cave.
Having satisfied our curiosity with the scenes
above, we now turned to the black, boiling,
hissing gulph below, which was increased to an
awful extent by an additional supply of water
by raising ashuttle; the roaring was truly dread~
ful. The foot of this waterfall terminates in a
pool of water, emptying itself with a gradual de-
scent by a stream, which issues out at the mouth
of the Devil’s cave close to the town of Castleton,
about a mile distant: seating ourselves again in
the boat we slowly sailed to the outlet of the
cave; and highly gratified issued from its en-
trance. Asa work of art, showing the enter-
prise and ingenuity of man, this tunnel is well
deserving of the tourist’s attention, a visit to
this object is well repaid ; but, perhaps, it should
be taken first in consideration as it is somewhat
depreciated by inspecting the other caves pre-
viously. Again changing our guides we pro-
ceeded to the great cave of the peak, or, in
plainer terms,
THE DEVIL'S CAVE.
The entrance into this stupendous cave lies
8.
'' 

138

 

in a fissure of limestone, immediately under the
keep of peak castle, the mouth of the cave consists
of a natural arch of 42 feet high and 120 feet in
width; there is a wildness almost inconceivable
about in; we felt a little disappointed that its
natural beauty should be destroyed by allowing
a manufactory of ropes to occupy the entrance ;
the visitor’s reflections are disturbed by varied
noises of thirty or forty work people ; advancing
forward, the great arch gradually diminishes
until we were obliged to stoop; soon after, the
space enlarged again and we found ourselves in
the bell house, named so from its shape; pro-
ceeding onward we reached the first water, where
the rocks hung so low that we were obliged to
lie flat on our backs in a boat, or rather flat tub,
while our guides pushed us under the rock which
~..was fourteen yards long; a few seconds placed
us on the floor of an immense cavern whose
dimensions we could not as yet fully ascertain,
our eyes not having been sufficiently long in
- these dark regions, as it is always the intention
of the guides to hurry to the farthest point as
early as possible that more time may be allowed
to exhibit the wonders on our return to greater
advantage, when the eyes are become familiarized
with the place ; we thus proceeded from cavern
to cavern, crossing the water several times until
''139

we arrived at the utmost limit, where we rested
for a short time, and here one of the guides left
us to prepare certain objects for our observation.
The stream of water running through these caves
is the same with the Speedwell mine, which is
easily shown by light bodies (such as saw-dust,
feathers, &c.,) being thrown down the Speedwell
mine soon show themselves at the Devil’s cave:
during the working of the Speedwell mines large
quantities of rubbish were thrown down, thesame
is now found in thestream of the Devil’s cave,
formed into beautiful pebbles by the operation
of attrition, and affords an excellent example of
the formation of gravel even in a length short of
a mile. We now returned and could much bet-
ter observe the extent as we passed along than
as we entered ; on turning round the sharp cor-
ner of a projecting rock in our path a curious
scene presented itself, our extra guide appeared
at a distant point surrounded with candles,
showing most distinctly three beautiful natural
arches in perspective, as well formed as though
the chisel had done the work assisted by the
hand of man; after gazing a short time the can-
dles went out, the guide disappeared, and we
progressed on our way, and now we had reach-
ed a spacious cave our guide was again seen at
an immense height amid lofty domes, with a
s 2
''140

‘number of candles arranged in a fantastic man-
ner about him; again he disappeared, and our
principal guide gave us some blue lights which
threw a wildness and a brilliancy on the scene
impossible to describe; we now proceeded,
merely taking a hasty glance at the smaller
caves named the Devil’s cellar, Tom of Lincoln,
&c., to the great cave or Devil’s hall; of this it
is utterly impossible to convey anything like a
just idea, our guide was placed far as the eye
could reach with his candles arranged like the
front of an organ, from whence he chaunted
with a sweet voice a very pretty simple air of a
* Derbyshire lass with her milking pail ;” the
sound of his voice had a surprising effect, the
echoes pealing along the vaulted roofs told
powerfully on the ear, we listened and gazed for
a considerable time, the blue lights showing the
awful extent of this spacious cavern, the dimen-
sions have been taken and are said to be 220 feet
long, 200 feet broad, and 120 feet high ; a mo-
derate sized orchestra would in such a place be
equal to the whole ‘strength of a musical per-
formance at York Minster, and we could not help
thinking what a novelty the Derbyshire people
had in their power to give to the public by hold-
ing a festival in it. Having arrived at the edge
of the water, we got into the boat and soon land-

 
''141

ed; our lights were now all blown out and for
a short time we stood in utter darkness, the
guide then led us past the point of a rock when
one of the most beautiful scenes presented itself
that the eye ever witnessed; it was the streamers
of daylight pouring their flood of light at. the
entrance of the cave; those who have not seen
cannot conceive the brilliancy of the scene ; soon
after we found ourselves in the open air and the
busy din of the rope-makers dissipated the ro-
mantic ideas that were so lately prominent.
The Devil’s cave stands unrivalled for awful
grandeur and sublimity, but here, as in the
Speedwell mine, nothing but bare rugged lime-
stone met the eye, the stalactite and stalagmite
_ Were not to be seen shedding their beauties as in
the Spar cave, although a small publication sold
by a man named Needham, opposite the principal
Inn (and who pestered us no little) would have
led us to believe that the great cave abounded
in stalactite ; but the only one we saw was a huge
one at the entrance over the rope-makers, called
the Flitch of Bacon, and which was so smoked
and dirty that all its beauties, if ever it had any,
were lost ; in fact this cave is too dry in the roof
generally for stalactital formation. The present
exhibitor is a moderately civil young man but
with searce an idea beyond his hat; we under-
''142

stood that the venerable geologist, Mr. Hall,
had this office from the Duke, but from the

working of some peculiar influence he was de-.

prived of it, perhaps that influence extended
little further than the butler’s pantry or back
stairs, for to give the Duke some credit we can-
not think his Grace would knowingly have
ejected an old and well-informed man from the
place, to place the present one there. The plea-
sure to intelligent visitors would have been in-
creased by theattentions of Mr. Hall, and it would
only have been a small trifle for the declining
years of a man who has long been a worker for
public good. The next object of our notice, and
to which we now directed our steps, was
CAVE DALE.

The place so called lies behind the town, im-
mediately under the shattered walls of the Castle,
and is one of the prettiest patches of scenery that
was ever seen. From the centre of the town to
the silence and beauty of this place was only the
walk of a very few minutes, and so isolated
from human habitations that when in it the
stranger might conceive himselfa thousand miles
from the busy haunts of men. Cave Dale is the
Winnats in miniature, piles of massy limestone
en each side—the stillness was remarkable—the
dark and ivyed turrets of the Castle peered high

 
''143

above our heads; the only contrast was the blue
sky above and the green carpet at our feet. We
leisurely wound our way amidst these huge piles
towards the top of Cave Dale, Mr. Hall kindly
pointing out every thing worthy of notice:
amongst other matters he announced to us that
he would shortly show us some columnar basalt,
an assertion we could not have credited had
it come from a common guide; but denial
was unnecessary, a few yards further a fine spe-
cimen of columnar basalt stood before us; how
it came there was a query of no easy solution ;
the matter was discussed for a considerable
time with Mr. Hall, who appeared to be of opi-
nion that it had issued from.a volcanic crater in
the vicinity, and had assumed its crystalline
form uponits present limestone bed. This opinion
we opposed by as stoutly maintaining that the
strata of lava forming basalt had originally been
under the limestone, at present on the surface,
and that the basalt showed itself, as it is now,
by the upheavings of the limestone masses sub-
sequently; each maintaining his opinion we
retraced our path to the town, Mr. Hall stated
that there were very distinct evidences of volcanic
action about four or five miles from Castleton,
on the road to Middleton, from whence it is pro-
bable this basalt originated. We now de-
''H44

termined to visit the mouldering walls of the
PEAK CASTLE,
The last object of note worthy of inspection in
the neighbourhood, and this only from its roman-
tic situation and great antiquity. Mr. Hall
could not easily join us in the ascent, but waited
our return at the Inn; it was with no little
difficulty we gained the summit, but once there
the beautiful prospect richly repaid the toil.
This place, once of great strength, now lies
scattered about in detached fragments ; the parts
best preserved are the Keep and that part of the
walls overlooking the Devil’s Cave; from this
frightful and dizzy height we could not but call
to mind the time when some powerful feudal
lord held the law of power in his hand, perhaps
dragging some miserable serf to the brink of this
awful precipice and dashing him down headlong
into the yawning abyss below. There are three
views particularly deserving of notice from these
ruins. The one just mentioned over the cave,
the second from the Keep into Cave Dale, and
the third looking over the town of Castleton and
the rich valley beyond it. The antiquity of
these ruins is considerable, their structure
being decidedly Norman, supposed to be built
by William Peveril, natural son of William the
Conqueror, and is entered in the doomsday

 

 

aan
''145

survey as “Castle of Peke.” The elevated si-
tuation of this fortress, the almost inaccessible
rocks on which it is built, must in early times
have rendered it impregnable. There does not
appear to be any communicating passage be-
tween the Castle and the Cave beneath, which
at first sight appears so probable. On the route
from Castleton we did not feel any curiosity to
visit
ELDON HOLE,

Its claims to investigation being trifling when
compared to those spoken of already, and the
difficulty of access being greater in proportion
than its internal interest, we declined paying it a
visit. There is no doubt but the same dreadful
convulsion produced the whole of these caves,
and the tale of the old woman’s goose going in
-at Eldon and coming out at Castleton, though
a fiction, illustrates the fact that the same stream
passes through all these caves.

THE EBBING AND FLOWING WELL,
So long looked upon as a scene of magic power,
and the equally absurd idea of its connexion
with the ocean’s tides, has now lost its clair
to novelty, and is only visited by those too
ignorant to allow truth to reign. The well is
simply one with a syphon outlet. In wet sea-

T
''146

sons the internal cavity is speedily filled by
filtration from the superincumbent rock and
then as speedily flows of, so as to discharge its
waters frequently in twenty-four hours; in dry
seasons a considerable time is required to accom-
plish the same; hence arises the extacy of some
visitors in seeing the flood pour out and suddenly
stop, while others have waited hours for the
phenomena without seeing it and have gone
away with the idea of a hoax. Such are the
wonders of the neighbourhood of Castleton. A
short ride brought me and my friend out of the
beauties of Derbyshire into the plainer land-
scapes of Cheshire and Lancashire, where the
bustle of men and manufacturies caused a sigh
of regret for the bold and romantic scenery we
had left behind us.

Pon as

 
''147

INDEX.

Page.

Animals, vitality of .........see sere eens 121
Atmosphere of the parish .... ..---+se0- 15
Boulder Stones? 30 ee ee ees 17
Barks of Vegetables......... hg 34
Bivalve Shells in Slates........220-2+00- . 40
Birch Timber in Ashton Moss ........-. 18
Birch, curious statements of...........-- 64
Rea Sa ee cece et eae ies cove ee
Coal not impressed with outlines......... 37
Chemical process of Fossilization ......... 37
Classification of Fossils’. 0.0.0 60. 6 ee ese 38
Convincing nature of Fossils...........-- 56
- Curves in the shale strata .............-- 61
Combination, theory of.........+.-.ee- 69
Coal; formation of (Note). 0... 060.3 eee 113
Coal mine descent (Note)... .. 2.6. «vse eo
Caverns; limestone; ‘Visit'to: ois... 127
Boy OF AES en eee eee ee 35
erraititig Ol DEALS iS ce ese ees ius saan
Depth of mines no guide to Fossils........ 36
Disappearance of Fossils ......50.0e00+es 59
Derbyshire as to Fossils........... sake 3
Derbyshire, scenery of (Note)........++--127

"2
''148

Decomposition necessary to Fossil formation. 104

Picvation of the parish......0. 62.0 s00050 < 16
Examples of Fossils, see plates........... ee
Extinction of vegetables considered ....... 99
eee, COAPACECE OF 4 iy. » i: soo wscinnnuisnn 33
= Kepresentations of .......0.5 00. pcoaneee
EY Ob ogee oa este avec ep sae oo
— Not removed from distances...... 38
—  VCotirary to the strata... . uses .ase 39
— Animal rare inshale..... sesiriiee sie AO
Fossilization, process of (Note) .......... 116
© owers rare if not.doubtful ... 4. sess.ss-% 37
@assures in the shale ......+. eevee base ee
Formation, original, of the earth........ «69
— Of coal ( Note)....avies daneka dee
‘simestone Caverns, visit. to........es00 ss 127
RP, ANDERCIX oo 5 vn cid weed bon 134

Mines, some, destitute of Fossils......... 42
Misinterpretation of Scripture, appendix. . .123

Meee OF (He Parish... on ces scons aren BAGS ~
a ee ee svat Be ee
Miatwanese oxide foliated .. ... 600500805 23
Mericrs, assistance of. 1... ».05 9% oscar 32
Moss, Ashton, a removed one........ 65
Observations on Fossils ........... tet
Mee On Gl. wk ke ts ce 13

Peak of Derbyshire, appendix. ...... .137

 
''Parish, situation of 24 <> 4) <y-fes& winlens 12
eee eer. ge oo a len F olleree e 15
Peat, Ashton, differences of ......... 64
Peat formed before. coal: «0. :0 14:19 ¢ejbj 3s 66
Peaseure om Stems) 25) 66 eo gis he a als 58
Perfectness of Fossil outlines ........ 58
Process of Fossilization (Note) ....... 116
Reasons for geological search. ....... 33
Mecks, Bardsley). i... f5 sig Va ~ 17
— om. POpaHG OF lucy i a 18
— . Foxholes, Fossils of .. 2... 19
brie BOE Sg ln eo 3 8 ee ee ee 19
— Great Mine....... ia @ ole 19
eee Brew eAL TONG, 4), 46).02:5) bac elay beast 19
ss Belo fe) 0 ssa ee eh es 20
ary + BE TOG: fips aneie cg eiihs eile a 2!
m~ tip Holland ©... 0s suis Bee 23
pee Farbold 2.4.0 ceive es Sie fee ee 24
oe Eldglinedel. . 4 .  e 24
o-< Begher min stone « , 4... 6. a 24
Springs, intermitting, appendix. ...... 145
Soil, ehamiecter of ee 16
Pirated FOCKS oc eek ae PD ee ie.
Sandstone of Hartshead .........., 23
Sand deposits. ...... oes ee ee -.
Mevtion of 1256 yards ... . 5).7. 4s sa ae 27
Stems do not form coal direct. ....... 34

Shale the seat of Fossils ....... «0 ao
''150:

 

Stems how filled with sandstone - - - - - 39
Oreo Posdig 6 eo we sk UR - 56
Supposed Flower explained - - - - - - - 59
Salt springs and mines (Note) - - - - - - 117
Salt mines, descent into (Note) - - - - - 119
Fame river- - - - - --------- #2
‘Fame, old course of - - - - - - - - - - 3
Time required to fossilize - - - - - - - - 5F
‘Fime literally recorded not sufficient - - - 57
Theory of the earth’s formation - - - - - 69:
oads in rocks - - - - -------- 12k
Vegetable Fossils - - - - ------- 35
Vegetables, extinction of (Note) - - - - - 99
Vitality of vegetables almost indefinite {Notey12@
Vitality of animals considered (Note} - - -F21
Water the destroyer as well as preserver of
Fossil outlines - - - - ------ - 36
Worlds, final conflagration of - - - - - - 124
CORRIGEDDA..

Page 143, for Middleton read Tideswell.

 

: ae S A FINIS.

gies &
Neo

¥. DAVIS, PRINTER, STALYBRIDGE.

 

 
'' 
'' 
'' 
''14 DAY USE
RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED

“ARTH SCIENCES
This book is due on the last date stamped below, or
on the date to which renewed.

Renewed books are subject to immediate recall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

: General Library
LD 21-50m-6,'60 ; : : 7
: University of California |
(B1821810) 476 Berkeley

 
''-
U.C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES

WOU

| COa4bb414e2

SIorage

 

 
''seaeseciaeaben eet ae

sistas
Seth tah
Stott

ue

Heart bes
eiitiiatents
Sonn
RHO

piiieeatsh

(Raut
RiGee

(UMM

 

 
''