There is at present no question concerning the particular shape in which the mountains of the earth had come out of the waters of the sea.  We are considering the wasting of those mountains, in being exposed to the atmosphere and waters of the earth; and the operation that the sea may have had upon their surface, is a subject for judging of which we have not the smallest data, unless by taking the thing for granted, or supposing that the present state of things is that former shape after which we inquire.  Now, this is a species of reasoning that M. de Luc would certainly explode; for he admits, as we shall afterwards find, great changes among the mountains of the Alps, from the influences of the atmosphere, perhaps more rapid changes than we are disposed to allow.  Therefore, to call in the aid of the ocean, for the degradation of these secondary calcareous mountains, holds of no reason that I can see, unless it be that of diminishing the time which otherwise would have been required in bringing about those changes by the atmosphere alone.

To conclude:  Whether we examine the mountain or the plain; whether we consider the degradation of the rocks, or the softer strata of the earth; whether we contemplate nature, and the operations of time, upon the shores of the sea, or in the middle of the continent, in fertile countries, or in barren deserts, we shall find the evidence of a general dissolution on the surface of the earth, and of decay among the hard and solid bodies of the globe; and we shall be convinced, by a careful examination, that there is a gradual destruction of every thing which comes to the view of man, and of every thing that might serve as a resting place for animals above the surface of the sea.

CHAP.  V.

Facts in confirmation of the Theory respecting the Operations of the Earth employed in forming Soil for Plants.

I have distinguished the mineral operations of the earth, by which solid bodies are formed of loose materials, as well as the resolving or decomposing operations which are proper to the surface exposed to the sun and atmosphere.  I have also pointed out the end or intention of those several operations, and likewise the means by which they have been brought about.  We may now turn our view to that part of the system in which an indefinite variety of soils, for the growth of plants and life of animals, is to be provided upon the face of the earth, corresponding to that diversity which, in the wisdom of nature, has been made of climates.

In this last view, now to be considered, some confirmation should be given to the Theory, in finding the soil, or travelled materials upon the surface of the land, composed of earth, that is, of sand and clay, of stones and gravel; the earth and stones as arising from the resolution and separation of the solids in the neighbourhood of the place; the gravel, again, as having often travelled from more distant parts.