The Press.
London, England, 1858-03-27 00:00:00

only power in nature capable of producing them. This
apparent blindness is however very natural, ani not with
out example. The inhabitants of Herculaneum and
Pompeis built their houses with the lavas of Vesuvius
ploughed up its scorise and ashes, and gathered their
chesnuts from its crater, without dreaming of their neigh-
bourhood to a volcano which was to give the first notice
of its existence by burying them under the products of its
eruptions. The Catanians regarded as fables all relations
of the former activity of /F,tna, when, in 1669, half their
town was overwhelmed by one of its currents of lava.

Recollecting how rich in volcanic phenomena
the whole of that district is, it certainly does
seem singular that scarce a century has passed
since the true character of the mountains in
the Auvergne was admitted. Mr. Set ope de-
tails the first discovery of the phenomena :

In the year 1751 two members of the Academy of Paris,
Gnettard and Malesherbes, on their return from Italy,
where they bad visited Vesuvius and observed its produc
tiona, passed through Montelimart, a small town on the
left bank of the Rhone, and, after dining with a party of
skyline resident there, amongst whom was M. Faujas de St.
Fond, walked out to explore the neighbourhood. The
pavement of the streets immediately attracted their atten.
Lion. It is formed of short articulations of basaltic
columns planted perpendicularly in the ground, and
resembles in consequence those ancient roads in the
vicinity of Rome, which are paved with polygonal slabs of
lava. Upon inquiry they learnt that stones were
brought from the rock upon which the Castle of Roche-
rnaure is built, on the opposite side of the phone ; and
were informed, moreover, that the mountains of the
Vivarais abounded with similar rocks. This alcount de•
termined the Acaderricians to visit that province, and step
by step they reached the capital of Auvergne, discovering
every day fresh reason to believe in the volcanic nature of
the mountains they traversed. Here all doubts on the
subject ceased. The currents of lava in the vicinity of
Clermont, black and rugged as those of Vesuvius, descend-
ing uninterruptedly front some conical hills of scoria.,
most of which present a regular crater, convinced them of
the truth of their conjectures, and they loudly proclaimed
the interesting discovery.

When M. Guettard published his memoir,
announcing the existence of the volcanic re-
mains in Auvergne, his statements obtained
very little credit ; but subsequently other
savans, amongst whom may be enumerated
Faujas de St. Fond. Desmarest, Dolomieu,
Le Grand d'Aussy, M. de Ruch, and many
others, called attention to the natural pheno-
mena of the volcanos of Auvergne. Dr.
Daubeny has alluded to them in the " Edin-
burgh Philosophical Journal for 1820 1,"
and Sir C. Lyell and Sir R. Murchison have
also treated of Auvergne. But this work of
Mr. Scrope is the closest and most minute
account of the volcanic geology of Central
France. The author has an unaffected style,
and he possesses great cleverness of scientific
description; he is what medical men would
call "a goof clinical reporter;" he details
rather than describes, and does not generalise
his views with undue precipitation. Yet we
could wish that a few chapters for general
readers bad been introduced. As it is, the
work is chiefly addressed to the geological
public, which now forms a large portion of the
community. Geology is a science in which a
writer may unite the possession of attainments
with the faculty of popular description.
There are other sciences in which it is scarcely
possible to display a " popular" manner with-
out becoming superficial. Humboldt's admir-
able method of exposition might be studied
with advantage by those who treat of the
various branches of physical geography.

It is not often that a scientific work is so
completely finished as this volume. It has
some admirably-executed panoramic sketches
of the districts described There are, also,
inclosed in the covers of the volume two ex-
cellent maps—one geographical, and the other
geological—of the volcanic district of Central
France, with scales of both English and French

mensuration. The work is enriched with an
excellent index, and a copious catalogue of
organic remains is in the appendix, and a
table of the heights of the volcanic ranges of
the district described. The volume is fit to
ornament the drawing-room, while its contents
arc certain to make it a most valuable addition
to the library of the geologist.
Of the closeness with which Mr. Scrope
observes, we may cito his desc►iption of Puy
de Laechamp

:-

This bill when viewed from a distance has nothing of a
volcanic appearance. It is a long•backed ridge formed by
the nnited ejections of three or four craters. which have
considerably deface." one another. Its highest summit,
seemingly the result of the last eruption, is nearly 1,000
feet above the village of Laschamp in the plain immediately
below.