The Kalida venture. [volume] (Kalida, Ohio) 1841-1865, 1851-03-28
From The, Philadelphia Saturday Fzpress.l
THE NATURAL SCIENCES.
THE EANTH'S CRUST AND ITS
.s0ao al REVELATIONS. l'el '29l'

Leaving now the planetary and stellar
worlds, with the general deductions
drawn from our knowledge respecting
them, the pursuance Of our plan brings
Ius 10 consider Tie lessons. Of Nature
taught by the physical constitution Of
our own globe" "A field 'of vast extent
and partially explored, invites our at,en.
tiou here; whlo IFS revelations are % mis-.
ierious. and as Rambling TO human pride
as those given BY luminous rsysfrom the
faf off ether. are9lta lqa'fof7i 9ai
l.'rnE STRATIrrcA ATioN Of THE CRUST
nF THE EARTH The FIST fact we notice
which meets us al the threshold OF Ge-
alogical science-is, that the structure
pfthe Ear,I''s crus, is not homogeneous
but composed Of different, kinds OF mate.
'lals, Technically ,rooks,) arrang ed in lay
ers of strata Of great relaiiveregulatiy.-
Not that these strata are continuous
throughout, like the coats Of an onion, or
sheets ofpaper, &c, piled one upon ano-
iher--for, as we have before inlimated,
aud shall refer 10 again, these layers
have been broken up, or distorted, by
the forces which have elevated the NOM.
tains and hills Of The Earth, SC that the
ends Of The disrupted strata ofen appear
on The surface, giving rise to marked Pc
culia'iies iu different regions--yet such
is.tIleir arrangement. that when the di.
rection of The disturbing force is known
we can tell what strata, lie beneath and
wbpi were above the material under ex
animation 81 se119os Fa' 7lgo5a
The rocks which constitute the intcri
or ofour own globe, so far as il has beer
penetrated by man are of,hree kinds:-
L.. The Massipe Rocks, called also
Pluio"ic or Ingenuos Rocks. which ii,
beneath all the others, or have sometimcl
been forced up through than from be
meath. They we're once in a melted
state, Ike the lava Of the present period
aod on cooling formed granite, porphyry
b1salt,& hsea7mm"sa t7'F't 7''" .st
@. The Sed;mentary or true Stutife
c,lledlalso Nep'anian Rock, which have
heen deposited in water, in the same
manner as modern seas and lakes deposi,
sand and mud on their shore. or at the
bottom. These sediments, have been
derived partly from the disin.egra,ion O
the sokler rocks,- end partly from the de-
/ cav Of plants and animsls. The mate
rials being disposed in layers have be
cnme as ihey hardened, lImes;ones, slate.
marls and pfi's, according to- lhcir chem
ical composition. As they are the only
ones which have been fauud TO contain
animal and vegetable remains, (called
fossils, from the Laiin. tossus, Ding
they, are most important in investigating
The earlh's history. Tho s,rais are very
numerous. and are arranged for the con
vcnience. Of Geologicalsiudy into Groups
or Formations, accordineito the character
[nf their fossil remains. These Sndimen,
tary Rocks are alse. divided into Secon
dar, and Tertiary Rocks, according to
age, &c. 7al ilr d,'R isF ia gi!aiga I,
8. Metamorphor;c Rocks.-These
are stra,ifed slate, &c., without fosslls-
Lying between the, two former--being
probsbly sedimentary rocks, which have
undergone great changes from heat and
( pressure. ra s ssag la uH9i $ REti'
| The va'i,us ,kin's o: rocks living abov,
'he granite have been classified oas fol-
lnws:--l. Gneiss system. 2. Micha
Scl,ist system. g. Clay. Slate sysie m
d. Granwacke systems IS. ,Silurianr sys
ten. g. Old Red Sandstone svslem.--
". Carboniierous system. 6. New Rec
| Sandstone sys,em.i,9. Ooliiic system
| 10. Chalk system. IL. Terllary system.
Il2. Superficial Deposits. ,.fa5945i
2. ANTIQUITY OF THE EARTH.-Each
Of the diffaren. systems Just enumerated
may be said TO represent space Of lime
| fm each must have required Certain
time to be formed, and from palpab!e ap.
pearances tha, time was ia al instances,
Of long duration Upon this subject
DR.. Harris, in his ,heologicai essay, en-
titled, "T'he Pre.Adamte Earth," pre-.
sents us with the following beautiful re
.1,marks, which we cannot do better thar
copy in rrtenso: 5gao9aM ~ mo-i aieH
s'Tnrning FIRST 10 the inspired record Il
|ascertnin the oriein ofthings as they nov
are, we learn, ot our earth, that il assu
med its present stateia few thousands o
years ago, in consequence Of a creative
process, Or Of a series of creative acil
concluding with the creation Of mar
which extended through period Of sis
ordinary or natural days.l Pwsessed ol
this FAC, respecting the date Of mans in
|irodnctien on the earth, we pnicecd 70
Eexamine the globe itsela. And here we
find tina, The mere shell Of tbe earth takes
Eus back through an uhknnwna series o
ages in whic,, creation appeafs TO have
| followed creation at the distance oi nigh
,y intervals between. ,l.s,. 9s s1, Ss.s.s,,e
| 1But though in the progress ofour in
qniries we soon find that we have 'clearet
l,he bounds II historic time and are mo
wing far hack among the periods Of an un
measured and unme asurable antin,,itv m,