considerable tracts, still their extent is more limited than that of the older formations; that the alluvial deposites are not extensive; that true or modern volcanic rocks were nowhere met with; and that the only traces of the tertiary strata were found in the sandstones and clays connected with the secondary traps of Baffin's Bay.

2. That the primitive and transition islands were, in all probability, at one time connected together, and formed a continuous mass with the continental parts of America; and that, in the plains and hollows of this land were deposited the secondary limestones, sandstones, gypsum, and coal, and upon these again the tertiary rocks.

3. That, after the deposition of these secondary and tertiary rocks, the land appears to have been broken up, and reduced either suddenly or by degrees, or partly by sudden and violent action, and partly by the long-continued agency of the atmosphere and the ocean, into its present insular and peninsular form; and that, consequently, the secondary and tertiary formations were formerly, in those regions, more extensively distributed than they are at pre

sent.

4. That, previous to the deposition of the coal-formation, as that of Melville Island, the transition and primitive hills and plains supported a rich and luxuriant vegetation, principally of cryptogamous plants, especially the ferns, the prototypes of which are now met with only in the tropical regions of the earth. The fossil corals of the secondary limestones also intimate, that before, during, and after, the deposition of the coal-formation, the waters of the ocean were so constituted as to support polyparia, closely resembling those of the present equatorial seas.

5. That previous to, and during, the deposition of the tertiary strata, these now frozen regions supported forests of dicotyledonous plants, as is shown by

the fossil dicotyledonous woods met with in connexion with these strata in Baffin's Bay, and by the fossil wood of Melville Island, Cape York, and Byam Martin Island.

6. That the boulders or rolled blocks met with in different quarters, and in tracts distant from their original localities, afford evidence of the passage of water across them, and at a period subsequent to the deposition of the newest solid strata, namely, those of the ter tiary class.

7. That nowhere are there any dis coverable traces of the agency of modern volcanoes; and we may add, that, in the Arctic regions, the only appear. ances of this kind are those in Jan Mayen's Island, described by Scoresby.

8. That the only intimations of older volcanic action are those afforded by the presence of secondary trap-rocks, such as basalt, greenstone, trap-tuffa, and amygdaloid.

9. That the black bituminous coal, the coal of the oldest coal-formation, which some speculators maintain to be confined to the more temperate and warmer regions of the earth, is now proved, by its discovery in Melville Island, far to the west, and in Jameson's Land, far to the east, in Old Greenland, to form an interesting and important feature in the geognostical constitution of arctic countries.

10. That the red sandstone of Possession Bay, &c. renders it probable that rock-salt may occur in that quarter.

11. That, although no new metalliferous compounds have occurred to gratify the curiosity of the mineralogist, yet the regions explored by Captain Parry have afforded various interesting and highly useful ones, such as octahedral or magnetic iron-ore, rhomboidal or red iron-ore, prismatic or brown iron-ore, and prismatic chrome-ore, or chromate of iron; also the common ore of copper, or copper pyrites; molyb dena glance, or sulphuret of molybdena;

ore of titanium; and that interesting and valuable mineral, graphite or black lead.

12. That the gems, the most valued and most beautiful of mineral substances, are not wanting in the Arctic regions visited by the expeditions, is proved by the great abundance of the precious garnet, which we doubt not will be found, on more particular examination of the primitive rocks, to present all the beautiful colours and elegant forms for which it is so much admired. Rock-crystal, another of the gems, was met with, and also beryl and zircon.

13. That these newly discovered lands exhibit the same general geognostical arrangements as occur in all other extensive tracts of country hitherto examined by the naturalist; a fact which strengthens that opinion which maintains that the grand features of nature, in the mineral kingdom, are everywhere similar, and, consequently, that the same general agencies must have prevailed generally during the formation of the solid mass of the earth.

14. Lastly, That the apparent irregularities which, at first sight, present themselves to our attention, in the grand arrangements in the mineral kingdom, are the offspring of our own feeble powers of observation, and disappear when the phenomena are examined in all their relations. It is then, indeed, that the mind obtains those enduring and sublime views of the Deity, which, in geology, reward the patient observer, raise one of the most beautiful and interesting departments of natural science to its true rank, and prove that its relations connect, as it were, in the scale of magnitude, the phenomena of the earth with those more extensive arrangements presented to our intelligence in the planetary system, and in the grand frame-work of the universe itself.

Overland Arctic Expedition.

As any notice, however short, of the scientific doings of this enterprise, cannot fail to prove acceptable, we give the following details:

"Fort Franklin, Great Bear Lake, February 6, 1826. "Nothing of any importance has occurred since I wrote you last, except that we have received a friendly message from the Esquimaux, through the Sharp Eyes, a neighbouring tribe, who frequent Fort Good Hope, the most northerly of the Company's posts. On the 29th of November last, the S.W. quarter of the sky was cloudless, but of a pure emerald-green colour (compared at the moment with Syme's book), soon fading away into mountain-green. The rays of the sun setting to the S.S.E., at the same time tinged some clouds gold-yellow, &c. The aurora has not been so frequent, and our observations of course upon it are not so interesting, as at Fort Enterprise. As far as they go, they confirm the few general remarks then hazarded, although I think not favourable, in general, to Hansteen's theory. With regard to facts, Captain Franklin's observations and Hansteen's seem to agree. The Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, for March 1825, reached us last month, and has proved a great treat to us. I am glad to see it go on so vigorously.

"We expect, if everything prospers with us, and at present we have no reason to fear any misadventure, that we shall reach England early in November 1827. This is rather too quick a movement for the purposes of science. Even a cursory view of the geology of the Rocky Mountains skirting Mackenzie's River might occupy some months very pleasantly; but the delay of a few days here is the loss of a season, and we

cannot reckon on more than two months in the year for such purposes."

"Fort Franklin, Great Bear Lake, March 23, 1826.

"MY DEAR SIR, "In consequence of an imperfect, but very interesting, Indian report of Captain Parry's wintering on the coast, and which Captain Franklin is desirous of investigating, I have another opportunity of writing to you this season. The particulars of the report, when ascertained, will be transmitted to Mr Barrow, from whom you may get them.

"I mentioned, in a former letter, that a formation of lignite occurs in this quarter. The lignite has a slaty structure, thinnish, or only moderately thick; and, when exposed to the atmosphere, cracks into forms generally nearly rectangular. Some portions, which are rather thick slaty, with a flat conchoidal fracture in the small, bear a very near resemblance to the slaggy mineral pitch or bitumen so common in the limestone formation of Slave River (zechstein ?). It is distinguished from it when put in the fire.

"In the more common form of the lignite, the surface of the slates is more dull and earthy, of a brownish-black colour, but yielding a shining streak. These slates are entirely composed of fragments, having all the appearance of charred wood united together by a paste of more comminuted woody matter, mixed perhaps with a minute portion of clay. In the paste, there are some minute perfectly transparent crystals, having the form of compressed foursided prisms, and sometimes of tables. The fibrous structure of the woody fragments is fine, and the lustre resembles that of fresh well-made charcoal of brick. The structure is evidently exogenous. The fragments are generally small, but, when several inches in diameter, their layers of structure are wa

ved and curved, as if they had been knots, which of course would not so easily break down as the other por tions. One of my specimens shows a small grain, either of resin or of am ber; and I have picked out of another a membranous substance, which has all the appearance of a portion of Ulva montana (Bot. App. Franklin's Journey), common here at the present time. I inclose this minute specimen, which has already suffered some diminution in the course of my examination of it. Muriatic acid produced no change in it; but I was afraid to try the nitric acid, lest it should destroy it.

"When put into the fire the lignite burns without flame, and emits a very disagreeable stench, unlike that of either peat or of sulphur. The combustion does not cease when the coal is removed from the fire, but goes on slowly, until there is only a brownish-red ash remaining, not one-tenth of the origi nal bulk of the specimen.

"The beds of lignite lie on the east side of Bear Lake River, where it joins the Mackenzie, are in the aggregate six or seven yards thick, and are covered by a thick bed of loose sand. They were on fire when Sir A. Mackenzie discovered the river (in 1789), and have continued burning ever since. At the distance of a few hundred yards up the Bear Lake River, there are some thick beds of a coarse, bluish-grey, earthy-looking sand-stone, (very like that on the north side of the CaltonHill,) dipping at a small angle under the lignite. They were not seen in actual contact. On the opposite side of Bear Lake River, which is 200 yards wide, a craggy hill of (carboniferous?) limestone rises abruptly to the eleva tion of 400 feet. About 30 miles farther up Bear Lake River, and nearly east from its mouth, the stream cuts the base of another limestone hill, of similar form and height, belonging to 2 chain of (partly transition?) hills, which

runs N.W. and S.E. through a flat country. At the foot of the nearly vertical limestone, but separated from it by a small rivulet, there are thick horizontal beds of sandstone, resembling that at the mouth of Bear Lake River. Upon this sandstone lie a number of thin beds of bituminous shale and sandstone, which weather easily. In the shale there are impressions of ferns (polypodiaceæ,) and in the slaty sandstone lepidodendra. I have had no opportunity of examining these rocks, excepting very cursorily, as we passed them in the boat, and occasionally snatched a specimen; but I purpose, if the snow disappears long enough before the opening of the navigation, to visit them carefully this spring. The finest sections on the banks of the river will be hid by accumulations of ice till the autumn.'

Meteoric Stone.-A meteoric stone, weighing 16 pounds 7 ounces, fell from the air at Nanjemoy, Maryland, 10th February 1825. It was taken from the ground about half an hour after its fall, was sensibly warm, and had a sulphureous smell. It had a hard vitreous surface; its interior was earthy, and of a light slate-colour; and contained numerous hard, brown globules of various sizes, together with small portions of iron-pyrites.

Platina found in Russia. This mineral has been discovered in the Uralian Mountains, and, like the platina of Choco in South America, associated with fragments of greenstone. The grains are rich in osmium and iridium. At Choco the grains contain osmium, iridium, and paladium; in the Brazils alone, grains of paladium are found mixed with grains of platina, gold, and diamonds.

.

Notice regarding a Phenomenon obser ved in the Island of Meleda, in the Province of Ragusa.

The Island of Meleda, where the occurrence that we are about to relate took place, is situated in the Adriatic Sea, opposite the territory of Ragusa, of which it forms a part. Its length is seven leagues, and its greatest breadth one. About the middle of the island is situated the valley of Babinopoglie, half a league in breadth, and surrounded with pretty high mountains. A village of the same name occupies the centre of the valley. On the 20th March, at day break, a noise was heard for the first time at Babinopoglie, similar to the report of a cannon; which, although it appeared to be the result of distant explosions, caused a sort of shaking in the doors and windows of the houses of the village. This noise was heard daily after. During the three first months, the inhabitants were undecided regarding the place from whence these noises proceeded; some thinking that a vessel was exercising in the open sea, or in one of the ports of Dalmatia; others that the Turkish artillery were training in one of the towns of the Ottoman frontier. These conjectures serve to show, that the reports were not accompanied with any local symptoms of earthquake, or any motion of the atmosphere. The governor of the island posted people on the heights around Babinopoglie to discover, if possible, the direction from which the sound came; but they were unable to observe any constant direction, as the sounds were heard sometimes on one side, sometimes on another, and sometimes over head. The governor himself went down into some deep and spacious caverns, that existed in the island, but here there reigned a perfect silence. The effect was most sensible

at Babinopoglie, and diminished from this point, so as to be scarcely perceptible at the extremities of the island. There were four, ten, or even a hundred detonations in the day; their loudness increased to such a degree, that they might be likened to the reports of a gun of large caliber. They took place in all seasons, at every hour of the day, whether the weather was fine or stormy, whether the tide was flowing or ebbing, and whether the sea was calm or agitated. It was in the month of August 1823 that they became most violent. No rain had fallen for four months; the brooks were dried up, and the rivers of the mainland were very low. Things went on thus until the month of February 1824. A silence of seven months then ensued; but the reports commenced again in September, and continued until the middle of March 1825, although they were much weaker, and at greater intervals. They then ceased, but it cannot be known whether this silence is to be permanent. There have been intermissions of several months during the phenomenon, but the cessation of the noise was preceded by very loud reports, and before this last cessation they became weaker and weaker, The reports were never accompanied with any luminous appearance; no local modification of the atmosphere was observed during their continuance; the barometer and electrometer manifested no extraordinary movement. Nor was there any true earthquake, although the doors and windows were shaken. The nature of the sound indicated nothing subterraneous, but rather an explosion in the surrounding atmosphere. Dr Stulli of Ragusa, who narrates the above details, supposes these reports to have been occasioned by the emission of quantities of gas elaborated by some volcanic fire, situated beneath the island, or communicating with it, which,

on escaping, struck the air with violence, and so produced the reports.-Bibliothèque Üniverselle.

Geognosy of Palestine.-From the observations of Professor Hall, Dr Clarke, and other naturalists, it appears, that Palestine is principally composed of secondary limestone, intermingled with trap-rocks; and the following, among other facts, are illustrations of the truth of this position. The country between Jerusalem and Jaffa is of compact limestone; the bill on which Nazareth is built is of a grey-coloured compact limestone; the Field of Blood, mentioned by St Matthew, is of friable limestone; David's Cave, mentioned in 1 Samuel, xxiv. appears to be situated in limestone; the Mount of Olives is of limestone, in part granular; limestone occurs in the Valley of Jehosaphat; the rocks around the Pool of Siloah are of limestone; a beautiful granular, foliated limestone, or marble, occurs at the Grave of Lazarus; on Mount Zion, the rocks are of a conchoidal greyish siliceous limestone ; Mount Lebanon appears principally composed of limestone; Mount Carmel is interesting, on account of the large balls of quartz contained in the limestone, these balls have been described as petrified melons, but are merely of quartz in the state of hornstone, and including layers of calcedony, and crystals of quartz; all the rocks around Jerusalem are of compact limestone, and the numerous tombs in the neighbourhood of that city are hewn in hard, compact limestone; Mount Tabor, Bethel, Capernaum, also afforded specimens of limestone to the American missionary, the Rev. Pliny Fisk, to whom Professor Hall was indebted for the collection from the Holy Land, which he has described in the Num ber of Silliman's American Journal of Sciences and Arts for June 1825.