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inviting the attention of the fossilist, and of no less importto all who are desirous of seeing the sacred Hebraic recordsestablished, beyond the possibility of sceptical doubt,) thateminent naturalist says, “ No organic remains are to befound in the interior substance of the stones of which theyare composed.” Mr. Parkinson proceeds.
“ Secondary' Mountains are generally marked by a softeroutline, and possess the distinctive character of being com-posed of, or at least retaining within them, the fossil re-mains of organized substances. They always rest on, andsometimes cover primary mountains; and sometimes, verycommonly also, they lean on the sides, or invest the primary.The secondary mountains are formed like the primitive, ofeither one species of stone, or of strata of differents'pecies.
“ Some are said to be derivative ; being supposed tohave originated in the disintegration of primitive mountains.The substances of w'hich these secondary mountains arerhiefly composed, are lime-stone, swine-stone, marlite,chalk, and gypsum. They are also sometimes formed ofindurated clay, lithomarga, jasper, porphyry, trap, siliceoussand-stone, and other substances, which belong to the pri-mitive mountains.
“ The various strata of which the earth is composed, asdeep as the curiosity, and the necessities of man have in-duced him to explore them, manifest, in the most strikingmanner, the wisdom displayed in the arrangement of thematerials which compose the present world. The firstlayer, generally consisting of a rich black mould, is formedentirely of the remains of innumerable animals and vegeta-bles, w'hich having lived through their destined periods,have been resolved into their primitive principles. Thissubstance laying at the surface, where alone it would be ofutility, yields sustenance to the wdiole vegetable kingdom;and thereby becomes the actual, though not the immediatesupport of man, and of the rest of the animal creation.Beneath this, is most commonly found a thick bed of clay,”which (besides serving as an immense reservoir, from itsadhesive consistency, to hold the superfluity of rain andother moisture for the support of vegetative life,) “ yieldsthe material of which bricks, tiles, and various species,ofpottery, and innumerable other articles, adapted to promotethe comforts of social life, are formed. Next to this, ingeneral, vast beds of gravel appear, intermixed with peb-bles, varying in their size and form; and with this is alsocommonly found the finer gravel, which likewise varies, in