Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1852-07-15
The StratifieatiOn of the Globe.

There are thirty, or rather more, well
defined beds, layers, or strata, of differ
ent mineral matters, lying upon each
other, so as to form the surface of the
globe on which we dwell These COM
bine themselves, by natural characters
into three or four grand groups Com
pare them to set of books, in thirty or
forty volumes, piled up on their fat sides.
Nowhere, indeed, can the whole set of the
earth's strata be displayed, lying each
upon the other, for reasons which will
presently appear; and, if it were so at any
spot. all the power and art of man could
never penetrate through more than one,
two, or three ofthe layers. They are placed
one over the other, in sure and known
order of succession; that is, though in no
/ locality are all to be found, or (Which is
saying the same thing conversely in every
locality some are wanting, the order of
position is never violated. Let the let
ters of the alphabet represent the strata,
thus; The tertiary, b c d e; the Sec
ondary, that is all from the chalk to the
old red sandstone inclusive, f to z; the
primary, aa BIB &c. to j then observe
that any member or several members of
the series may be absent, for example, d
or f, or or p; but is never above nor
m above k, nor above g. When this
fact is rightly conceived, that the strata do
not lie over each other in continuous con-
centric speriods, like the coats Of an onion,
but may rather be compared to a vast
number of waters, ofirregular forms, laid
on a globe, and patched upon each other
in different sets as to thickness, and vari-
ously under-passing, out-cropping, and O.
overlapping. Now, let the mind imagine
mighty forces from below, acting upon
certain points, and along certain lines !;
then the wafer-patches viii be raised to
all angles, bent, broken, their edges often
turned up; so that the edges of lower stand
in some places over the higher ones which
have been thus shattered. Further, let
the mind conceive Of mass of melted
matter, suppose pitch, having lain for
some time quietly underneath the lowest
Of the wafer-patches, then boiling up,
bursting forth, and in many places raising
the waters, piercing them, passing through
them, and finally hardening in fantastic
shapes, and towering above the upheaved
and fractured outside This little play
Of imagination will present a pretty fair
idea Of the real qualification Of the earth's
surface, the eruption Of the non-stratifed
(granitic and similar) rocks which have
boiled up, elevating linear ridges (moun-
tain ranges when they could not pierce
through, but actually piercing through
where their force could overcome the re-
sistance, and when cooled, remaining the
magnificent crags and SUBMITS of the lof-
test mountains. It must also be under
stood, as matter Of the clearest sensi-
bic demonstration, that these processes
have occurred several times at various
and distant intervals, producing among
the strata many varieties Of direction, IN
clination, contortion, cleavage, conformi-
ty, and non-conformity, in reference to
each other. If all the strata could be
placed, or, for illustrations sake, we may
say, replaced upon each other to what
thickness or depth would they amount
1t is commonly said FIVE miles. DR.. Buck
land, who is so eminently qualified to
make an estimate, gives his authority to
the supposition of ten miles. With res
pect to the actual surface Of the earth, the
greatest height from the lowest valley
bottom to the top of the highest noun
tain, may be taken at five miles. This
height, compared to the diameter of the
earth may be fairly represented by the
thickness of fine thread laid upon the
surface ola twelVe-inch globe.--Pye Smth's
GeoJQgy and Scripture.
The following recipe viii be found ex-