time to come. By these regulations, the difference between the civil and tropical accounts for the space of 400 years will not differ so much as two hours, and will not amount to a whole day in less than 5082 years, at the end of which time it will be necessary to make a correction for this day. The civil year thus corrected took place in most parts of Europe many years ago, but it was not adopted in England till the year 1752, at which time a correction of 11 days, which, as will appear, then became necessary, were applied, and so many days were taken from September, the third day of that month being called the fourteenth. This is called the New Style, and that in use before, or the Julian account, is called the Old Style.

PHILIP GARRET.

CABINET OF NATURE.

GEOLOGY.

This science has for its object, to investigate and describe the internal structure of the earth, the arrangement of the materials of which it is composed, the circumstances peculiar to its original formation, the different states under which it has existed, and the various changes which it appears to have undergone, since the Almighty created the substance of which it is composed. From a consideration of the vast quantity of materials contained in the internal structure of our globe, and of the limited extent to which men can carry their operations, when they attempt to penetrate into its bowels, it is obvious, that our knowledge of this subject must be very shallow and imperfect. The observations, however, which have been made on the structure of our globe during the last half century, and the conclusions deduced from them, are highly interesting, both to the philosopher and to the christian.

Geology has, of late, become an interesting object of inquiry to the student of general science, and is now prosecuted with ardor by many distinguished

r

philosophers. The observations which have been made in various parts of the world, by late navigators; the facts which have been ascertained by Pallas, Sausure, De Luc, Humboldt, and other intelligent travellers; and the discoveries which have been brought to light by modern chymists and mineralogists, have all conspired to facilitate Geological inquiries, to render them more enlightened and satisfactory, and to prepare the way for future ages establishing a rational, scriptural, and substantial theory of the earth. The man who engages in such inquiries has always at hand a source of rational investigation and enjoyment. The ground on which he treads-the aspect of the surrounding country-the mines, the caves, and the quarries which he explores-every new country in which he travels, every mountain he climbs, and every new surface of the earth that is laid open to his inspection, offer to him novel and interesting stores of information. On descending into mines, we are not only gratified by displays of human ingenuity, but we also acquire views of the strata of the earth, and of the revolutions it has undergone since the period of its first formation. Our researches on the surface of the earth, amidst abrupt precipices and lofty mountains, introduce us to the grandest and most sublime works of the Creator, and present to our view the effects of stupendous forces, which have overturned mountains, and rent the foundations of nature. "In the midst of such scenes, the Geologist feels his mind invigorated; the magnitude of the appearances before him extinguishes all the little and contracted notions he may have formed in the closet; and he learns, that it is only by visiting and studying those stupendous works, that he can form an adequate conception of the great relations of the crust of the globe, and of its mode of formation."

The upper crust, or surface of the earth, is found to be composed of different strata, or beds placed one above another. These strata, or layers, are very much mixed, and their direction, matter, thickness, and relative position, vary considerably in different places. These strata are divided into seven classes, as follows:-black

earth, clay, sandy earth, marl, bog, chalk, and scabeous or stony earth. The surface of the globe, considered in relation to its inequalities, is divided into Highland, Lowland, and the Bottom of the sea. Highland comprises Alpine land, composed of mountain groupes, or series of mountain chains: Lowland comprises those extensive flat tracts which are almost entirely destitute of small mountain groupes. To the Bottom of the

sea belong the flat, the rocky bottom, shoals, reefs, and islands.

At first sight, the solid mass of the earth appears to be a confused assemblage of rocky masses, piled on each other without regularity or order, where none of those admirable displays of skill and contrivance are to be observed, which so powerfully excite attention in the structure of animals and vegetables. But, on a nearer and more intimate view, a variety of beautiful arrangements has been traced by the industry of Geologists, and the light of modern discoveries; by which they have been enabled to classify these apparent irregularities of nature. The materials of which the solid crust of the earth is composed, have been arranged into the four following classes:-1. Those rocks which contain neither any animal nor vegetable remains themselves, nor are intermixed with rocks which do contain them, and are therefore termed Primitive, or Primary rocks; the period of whose formation is considered as antecedent to that of the creation of organic beings. These are granite, gneiss, mica slate, and clay slate, which occur abundantly in all regions of the globe, with quartz rock, serpentine, granular limestone, &c. which occur more sparingly. 2. Rocks containing organic remains, or generally associated with other rocks in which such substances are found, and which, as having been formed posterior to the existence of organized beings, are termed Secondary. These are greywacke, sandstone, limestone, and gypsum of various kinds, slate clay, with certain species of trap; and they are found lying above the primary or older rocks.-3. Above these secondary rocks, beds of gravel, sand, earth, and moss, are found, which have been VOL. I. 18

termed Alluvial rocks or Formations. This class comprehends those rocky substances formed from previously existing rocks, of which the materials have been broken down by the agency of water and air; they are therefore generally loose in their texture, and are never covered with any real solid and rocky secondary strata.-4. Volcanic rocks; under which class are comprehended all those rocks, beds of lava, scoriæ, and other matter thrown out of certain points of the earth's surface by the action of subterraneous fire.

The

"The phenomena of Geology show, that the original formation of the rocks has been accompanied, in nearly all its stages, by a process of waste, decay, and recomposition. The rocks, as they were successively deposited, were acted upon by air and water, heat, &c. broken into fragments, or worn down into grains, out of which new strata were formed. Even the newer secondary rocks, since their consolidation, have been subject to great changes, of which very distinct monuments remain. Thus, we have single mountains which, from their structure, can be considered only as remnants of great formations, or of great continents no longer in existence. Mount Meisner, in Hesse, six miles long, and three broad, rises about 1800 feet above its base, and 2100 above the sea, overtopping all the neighboring hills for 40 or 50 miles round. lowest part of the mountain consists of the same shell, limestone, and sandstone, which exist in the adjacent country. Above these are, first, a bed of sand, then a bed of fossil wood, 100 feet thick at some points, and the whole is covered by a mass of basalt, 500 feet in height. On considering these facts, it is impossible to avoid concluding, that this mountain which now overtops the neighboring country, occupied at one time, the bottom of a cavity in the midst of higher lands. The vast mass of fossil wood could not all have grown there, but must have been transported by water from a more elevated surface, and lodged in what was then a hollow. The basalt which covers the wood must also have flowed in a current from a higher site; but the soil over which both the wood and the basalt passed,

mountain as a solitary Thus, also, on the

has been swept away, leaving this memorial to attest its existence. side of Mount Jura, next the Alps, where no other mountain interposes, there are found vast blocks of granite (some of 1000 cubic yards) at the height of more than 2000 feet above the Lake of Geneva. These blocks are foreign to the rocks among which they lie, and have evidently come from the opposite chain of the Alps; but the land which constituted the inclined plane over which they were rolled or transported, has been worn away, and the valley of lower Switzerland, with its lakes, now occupies its place. Transported masses of primitive rocks of the same description are found scattered over the north of Germany, which Von Buch ascertained, by their characters, to belong to the mountains of Scandinavia; and which, therefore, carry us back to a period when an elevated continent, occupying the basin of the Baltic, connected Saxony with Norway."

A BEAUTIFUL FIGURE.

The

Life is fitly compared to a fountain fed by a thousand streams that perishes if one be dried. It is a silver cord twisted with a thousand strings that parts asunder if one be broken. Frail and thoughtless mortals are surrounded by innumerable dangers which makes it much more strange that they escape so long than that they almost all perish suddenly at last. We are encompassed with accidents every day to crush the mouldering tenement that we inhabit. The seeds of disease are planted in our constitution by the hand of nature. earth and the atmosphere, whence we draw our life, are impregnated with death-health is made to operate its own destruction. The food that nourishes the body contains the elements of its decay; the soul that animates it by a vivifying fire tends to wear it out by its action; death lurks in ambush along our paths. Notwithstanding this is the truth so palpably confirmed by daily examples before our eyes, how little do we lay it to heart! We see our friends and neighbors perishing around us, but how seldom does it occur to our thoughts that our knell shall, perhaps, give the next fruitless warning to the world?