These two species of bodies, therefore, the siliceous and the sulphureous, may now be examined, in relation to the causes of their concretion, with a view to determine, what has been the general concreting or consolidating power, which has operated universally in the globe; and particularly to show, it has not been by means of any fluid solution, that strata in general have been consolidated, or that those particular substances have been crystallized and concreted.

Siliceous matter, physically speaking, is not soluble in water; that is to say, in no manner of way have we been enabled to learn, that water has the power of dissolving this matter.

Many other substances, which are so little soluble in water, that their solubility could not be otherwise detected of themselves, are made to appear soluble by means of siliceous matter; such is feld-spar, one of the component parts of rock-granite.

Feld-spar is a compound of siliceous, argillaceous, and calcareous earth, intimately united together.  This compound siliceous body being, for ages, exposed to the weather, the calcareous part of it is dissolved, and the siliceous part is left in form of a soft white earth.  But whether this dissolution is performed by pure water, or by means also of an acid, may perhaps be questioned.  This, however, is certain, that we must consider siliceous substances as insoluble in water.

The water of Glezer in Iceland undoubtedly contains this substance in solution; but there is no reason to believe, that it is here dissolved by any other than the natural means; that is, an alkaline substance, by which siliceous bodies may be rendered soluble in water[5].

[Note 5:  This conjecture, which I had thus formed, has been fully confirmed by the accurate analysis of those waters.  See vol. 3d. of the Phil.  Trans. of Edin.]

It may be, therefore, asserted, that no siliceous body having the hardness of flint, nor any crystallization of that substance, has ever been formed, except by fusion.  If, by any art, this substance shall be dissolved in simple water, or made to crystallise from any solution, in that case, the assertion which has been here made may be denied.  But where there is not the vestige of any proof, to authorise the supposition of flinty matter being dissolved by water, or crystallized from that solution, such an hypothesis cannot be admitted, in opposition to general and evident appearances[6].

[Note 6:  The Chevalier de Dolomieu has imagined an ingenious theory for the solution of siliceous substances in water [Journal de Physique, Mai 1792.].  This theory has not been taken up merely at a venture, but is founded upon very accurate and interesting chemical experiments.  Hitherto, however, the nature of the siliceous substance is not sufficiently known, to enable us to found, upon chemical principles, the mineral operations of nature.  That siliceous substance may be dissolved, or rendered soluble in water, by means of alkaline salt, and that it may be also volatilised by means of the fluor acid, is almost all that we know upon the subject.  But this is saying no more in relation to the mineral operations employed upon the siliceous substance, than it would be, in relation to those upon gold, to say that this metal is dissolved by aqua regia.