The first chapter of the book of Genesis, may be considered under two aspects, theological and historical. With the first, I have no right, in my present character, to meddle; it involves considerations exclusively belonging to a separate class of instructors, with which it would be misplaced presumption in me to interfere. But it may without irreverence be also considered, as an historical account of the best founded traditions relating to the origin of the present order of things, that were prevalent among wise men at the time when the book was written. Now, among the number of Cosmogenies that have issued from the fertile brain of modern theorists, some have agreed with the latest and best observations that have been made on the actual state of the earth and the strata that have been exposed to examination, excepting those which have agreed also with the outline of geology described in the beginning of our Bible. The chaotic state of the mingled mass of solid and fluid substances-the operation of the laws of gravity and affinity-the consequent separation of land and sea from each other-of the atmosphere that surrounds the earth-of the light that illuminates it-the provision of vegetable food for the animals to be called into future existence-the peopling of the seas and rivers-the formation of land animals so soon as food for their subsistence had been provided in sufficient quantity and last of all, man, the most recently formed animal that the earth supports, are all described in the chapter referred to, as produced in the order here noted: that the earth was thus fitted for the habitation of organized and living beings, during a distinct succession of periods, in Scripture called days; each change occupying a considerable portion of time: a succession of natural changes and events, that every examination hitherto made, tends strongly to confirm; accompanied by a chronology, with which the real history of human civilization sufficiently agrees.

This theory of the earth-this Mosaic geology, however, has not satisfied the busy fancy of theorizing philosophy. We have the cosmogenies of Burnet, of Woodward, of Whiston, of Hutchinson, of Lazaro Moro, of Le Cat, of Maillet, of Buffon, of Raspe, of Worthington, of Whitehurst, of De Luc, of Milne, of Hutton, Playfair, and Middleton, of Williams, of La Metherie, of Howard, of Bertrand, of Kirwan, of Werner. Of most of these, a sketch may be found in the order I have mentioned them, in the beginning of Accum's system of theoretical and practical chemistry; and an interesting notice of them in La Metherie's Geology.

It would be out of time and place for me, on the present occasion, to offer a detail of exploded theories; especially as I mean to dedicate a lecture on the subject, at the close of my course: that is, after a detail of facts has been given and illustrated, which may enable the student to appreciate the value of the theories proposed. But it is in mineralogy and geology, as it is in chemistry: those who have fabricated nomenclatures, have adopted

the appellations they recommend to their own peculiar theories; and as the modern language of geology has been invented by Werner, who has fitted it to express his own opinions, a few words, embracing the outline of that learned man's system may be permitted now, without being considered as needless or anticipated.

He supposed the earth for a long time covered with water, containing intermixed, the materials of the present strata, which he calls formations; meaning by that word, a series of depositions in succession from a watery fluid made within one and the same period of time, and accompanying each other. Of these formations, several have been noted and ascertained. By degrees part of these materials chrystallized and fell down into strata, consisting of granite, gneiss, mica slate, granular limestone, steatite, chlorite, serpentine, amphibole, porphyry, and syenite. These are primitive rocks so named in his system. The water gradually subsiding, left the tops of the highest strata uncovered. These became exposed to the action of the waves; and of course part of them, would be washed away by the mechanical action of the water; and the masses and particles so separated, would be mingled with the other more miscible earths and stones. These subsiding together would form another set of rocks, partly characterised by mechanical depositions, and partly by chrystallization, more or less perfect. This set of rocks being deposited and formed during the pas sage of the earth from an uninhabitable to an inhabitable state, he chose to call transition rocks. They consist of limestone, greywacke, and trap. The last formed of these rocks, would occasionally envelope the remains of early shell-fish, with which the seas and rivers would now be peopled.

As the waters continued to subside, the particles suspended would subside also; more gradually, and therefore more regularly and horizontally than the preceding set of more ponderous and massive strata. By this time also, new classes of marine animals, and the more early vegetables, would have begun to exist; and therefore as they died, some of them would be enveloped in these last formed strata, and preserved in them. These strata, therefore, would be characterized as being flotz, floated, or horizontal; and as containing more numerous specimens of organic remains than the preceding or transition strata. The last mentioned deposits which he called horizontal, are now usually called secondary strata: they begin properly with the red sandstone, then the trap, salt, gypsum, limestone, shist, coal, limestone, chalk, sand, gravel, &c. These rocks are the most metalliferous; they occupy a lower level with respect to mountains than the transition class. The alluvial soil, and the lava, are deposited upon this secondary class of rocks.

Hence it is evident that Werner's nomenclature depends upon Werner's theory. The antagonist system of Dr. Hutton and his disciples, professor Playfair, sir James Hall and Mr. Middleton, though supported with

distinguished ability, and daily acquiring new votaries, has hitherto had little influence on the language of geology, which, in modern times, is founded on the conjectures of Werner, as to the series of changes which the surface of the earth has undergone: and for want of a better theory, geologists have been contented to use the phrases which the German philosopher has accommodated to his own impressions of the facts: impressions, which, however accurate they may be as to the confined district about Freyberg, the Hartz mountains, and the Erzgebirge, are not always justified by appearances in a more extensive range of country. Indeed, the mineralogists whose examinations have been confined to the north of Europe, have all been Wernerians and Neptunians: those who have examined with care the south of Europe, have attributed much more to the action of fire than the disciples of Werner are willing to allow. Thus, Werner calls certain rocks primitive, because they contain no organic remains, and are for the most part composed of chrystallized materials: but it is now doubtful, whether rocks, by him supposed of later origin, do not subtend and lay under the rocks that he terms primitive: again, among the rocks that he sup posed contained no organic remains, is the primitive clay-slate, which at Augers and elsewhere, has been found to contain impressions of fish. Nor is it quite free from the appearance of presumption in us to apply the word primitive to rocks, the deepest of which are so very shallow compared to the diameter of the globe.

There are certain rocks which he supposes were formed after the primitive rocks, and during the time when the earth was passing into an inhabitable state; which rocks are supposed to contain very few remains of organic bodies; but these transition rocks, as he calls them, are now found to intermingle with the primitive, as in writing slate and roofing slate, and in many places to abound in organic remains: instances of this are the vegetable impressions on the slate of the Rhode Island coal, and on the anthracite formation which extends throughout the counties of Luzerne and Northumberland in this state: while the north mountain, that is, the northern boundary of the great Shenandoah valley from Easton on Delaware, to Staunton in Virginia, abounds in organic remains of early shell-fish. The French philosophers have therefore rejected the whole series of Werner's transition rocks, but have gained nothing, that I can see, by transforming them into psammites and phullades.

Again, the whole of Werner's theory rejects the interposition of fire, its operations and effects, except in plain cases of superficial lavas: nor does it take into consideration the wearing down of high mountains, and the gradual effect of alluvial deposits in the ocean: now, as the facts seem to me inexplicable, unless upon the acknowledgment and consideration of these causes, I cannot implicitly adopt the opinions, and must therefore protest against the language of Werner.

I have thought it therefore my duty in the course of these lectures, and in the brief outline of them that I have published, to use indeed the common language of geology and mineralogy, but to use it protestando, as the lawyers express themselves-entering my caveat against being implicated in any mere opinion on a subject so new; and confining myself, as strictly as I can, to the simple expressions of obvious characters, and manifest facts.

For the same reason, that I have hesitated about adopting the geological theories of Werner, I think it right to intermeddle as little as I can with the integrant molecules, and primitive chrystals of Hauy; for with the pride of eastern monarchs, they keep themselves so close within the recesses of their palace, and so seldom expose themselves to the admiring eye of the multitude, that it is not easy to arrive at a sight of them, or to fix with accuracy the minute characters and costume by which they are distinguished.

Nor have I chosen to adopt the Wernerian classification of families, which Werner introduced and Jameson so obsequiously follows. It is evident, even to a beginner, that to class minerals into families, must depend upon resemblances, which one man may plainly discover, while another cannot see them at all-resemblances which one mineralogist may adopt from the form of the chrystal, another from the colour, another from hardness and transparency-others rejecting external, may class them according to cheraical resemblances. All this depends so much upon faney, that I have determined to adopt a classification of my own, which shall depend upon nature alone. If I fail in the path I have thought proper to adopt, I shall at least have the merit of being the first who has attempted to pursue it.

When a mineral is taken from its natural situation in the earth, and transformed into what is called a hand specimen, many of its characters can indeed be determined, but some of its most important ones must be omitted. There is a maxim common in civilized society, which experience has sanctioned, and whose truth is generally acknowledged: "Tell me what company you keep, and I will tell you what you are." This is not more true of a man, than of a mineral. It is often impossible to pronounce on a specimen separated from its companions-and transplanted from the earth inte the cabinet of a collector, while we should decide without hesitation if we saw it in its natural place, in the bed where it was formed, and in the neighbourhood of similar minerals exhibiting their natural varieties and gradations: hence the geologic, or, as the Wernerians fancifully term it, the geognostic characters of a mineral- the stratum, bed, mass, or vein in which it is found-its companions and acquaintances that reside in its vicinity-together with its geographic locality, or country of its residence--

are clues to discover the nature of it, in all cases extremely useful, in many, absolutely necessary.

Moreover, the study of insulated minerals, independent of their natural situations, is the least important, and therefore the least interesting part of the knowledge, which the sciences of mineralogy and geology, hitherto improperly divided, are calculated to teach. What with the beauty of many minerals, the delicacy of their colours, the varieties of their chrystallization, and other external characters, cabinet collectors are led, or rather misled, to pass without notice the more common minerals, to neglect the great outlines of the science as nature offers them to our view, to confine themselves to minerals, scarce, valuable, and beautiful, and to make a cabinet rather an ornament and a plaything than an instrument of illustration: the chrystallognosts in particular, look at a mineral with an eye so microscopic, that they seem to merge all ideas of utility, in collecting and tracing the form and shape of the mineral they subject to examination, which, when known, is of very dubious utility, unless as an adjunct to confirm or (explain in a few instances comparatively) the indications of other external characters, or the information presented by chemical analysis. It is somewhat like the value set upon a man for the elegance of his person, or the richness of his apparel.

The mode of teaching mineralogy that I have chosen to adopt, is to make it consequent upon, and secondary to geology. What I want to see is, that when our young men travel over any part of this vast continent, they may know at sight the ground they are upon, and form a reasonable conjecture of what the earth underneath them contains, from the nature of the surface they tread under their feet. It is not pretended that absolute certainty is to be acquired as to all the substances that may be contained in a particular formation, or coetaneous series of deposited strata; but those who are ignorant of what has already been done, would be surprised to find how near to truth a conjecture can in many cases be formed, of what is under the ground, from the appearances upon the surface: and as this kind of knowledge will increase in proportion as facts become more numerous and better registered, it requires little more than to put a student firmly upon the threshold of inquiry to enable him to pursue with effect, not merely the investigations of others, but his own.

It is thus, if at all, that the mineral riches of our country will be gradually searched out and made known; and the inexhaustible source of wealth which the bowels of the earth can furnish to well directed industry, will be laid open for the use of our country. In no other possible way can this be done, but by the study of mineralogy, connected with geology; and it is therefore to be ardently wished at least, if it may not be reasonably hoped and expected, that studies leading to an object of such importance,