an account of the orthoceratites: in a letter from edward wright, m. d. to mr. peter collinson, f....

An Account of the Orthoceratites: In a Letter from Edward Wright, M. D. to Mr. PeterCollinson, F. R. S.Author(s): Edward WrightSource: Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 49 (1755 - 1756), pp. 672-682Published by: The Royal SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/104998 .

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r 672 J nesrer feen in the I^easa nor caughtat filch depths, a-§ we have had occafion to fathom or fearch: hence can never be claXed among the failors; nor indeed does it feem at all proper for exercifing that fundrion, from its long narrow pointed Ihape, fo very different frona that boat-like figure requiflte for failing. Its concamerations Seem principally intended for per- forming the motions neceILary to the animal, at the bottom of the Seaj and at greater depths, from whence it does IlOt feem ever to rife to any confiderable lieight

BnlSels, May tRy Edw.; Wright. I7 56.

GV. Hx Sccognt of thg Orthoceratites In a Leter ffwom Edward Wright, M. D o Mr. Peter CollinSotlX F. R. S.

S IR ReadJune t7. T HAD the honour of fending you

1756* 1 fome time ago a drawing and Ihort account of a ver7 large Orthoceratites, which I hope you have received. As you are fo good to accept favourably my poor obferxrations, and to honour me with your correfpondence, I here take the liberty to fend you a few remarksj which the confideration of this and other foills, and of the Frata of the fudace of the earth naturally lead me- to. If I am obliged to differ froln Monf. de Buffbn, and other modern the orills, itR is only ior- the fake of truth, and its unal- terable laws; it beillg quite contrary to my inclina-

! - tiotu;.

r 672 J nesrer feen in the I^easa nor caughtat filch depths, a-§ we have had occafion to fathom or fearch: hence can never be claXed among the failors; nor indeed does it feem at all proper for exercifing that fundrion, from its long narrow pointed Ihape, fo very different frona that boat-like figure requiflte for failing. Its concamerations Seem principally intended for per- forming the motions neceILary to the animal, at the bottom of the Seaj and at greater depths, from whence it does IlOt feem ever to rife to any confiderable lieight

BnlSels, May tRy Edw.; Wright. I7 56.

GV. Hx Sccognt of thg Orthoceratites In a Leter ffwom Edward Wright, M. D o Mr. Peter CollinSotlX F. R. S.

S IR ReadJune t7. T HAD the honour of fending you

1756* 1 fome time ago a drawing and Ihort account of a ver7 large Orthoceratites, which I hope you have received. As you are fo good to accept favourably my poor obferxrations, and to honour me with your correfpondence, I here take the liberty to fend you a few remarksj which the confideration of this and other foills, and of the Frata of the fudace of the earth naturally lead me- to. If I am obliged to differ froln Monf. de Buffbn, and other modern the orills, itR is only ior- the fake of truth, and its unal- terable laws; it beillg quite contrary to my inclina-

! - tiotu;.



[ 673 ] tlon to ctiticize the works of others, efpecia;llf thofe of fo learned a gentleman, as the above-mentioned academician, for whofe merit and talents I have a particular refpe&, except where the cleareIl- cOI1- ariEtion, in oppofition to his opinions, forces me to fo difagreeable- a taSk.

I. The Orthoceratites is one of thofe IhellsX which are never found in the recent I^ate, and is to be claiI4ed among Conch pelags of the naturaliX, which never approach the Ihore, but continue always at great depths of the fea, contrary to the litzoralesX whicAl frequent the {hores and ffiallow places; aond hence, when found foEll, are eafiJy to be matched with recent fpecimexls. - -

Pelagaan or ocean Ihells are frequently found fioffi1l very near the furface, as every naturaliI} knows, which proves, that fuch places have formerly been the fea-Ihore. Hence it is clear, that the cauSe, which tratlfported them thither, aded filddenly; vYhich abrees perfeEtly with the account of the deluge given byMofesinthe holy fcripture; and, at the fame time, overturns the IJhIlem of Monf. de Buffon, and the author of Telliamed, who pretend, that the earth was for many ages covered with water, and that in that long courfe of time it was, that the iBells, which we now find foIE1l, were gradually produced; hence that they are to be conEldered as the remains of in- numerable fucceX^1.ve generations of marine bodieh formerly the only inhabitants of the globe. The greateR depths of the fea, as yet founded, have been found to be abotlt 3000 fathoms, and the ordinary depths are about X fo; which makes it er7ident, that ws£e the theories! of thefe gentlemen true, fuch: fofil

Ac12-



[ 674- 3 wells ought never to be found at lefs depths in the tth than from 1 50 to 3ooo fathoms. II. Though fbIEll {hells are to be found in almoIt

all the plainer parts of the furface of the earthX yet there are certain very large trafts) where fuch bodies are tlever founds tZz. the mountains, which leem to e the remains of the original;Ilrata ofthe earth. It

is trr e indeed, tlaat there are many eminences, which have been by our modern theoriRs taken for mountains,where fea- 0aells, and calcareous matter, of every kind, ate to be found in great abtlndance: but theSe are very inconf1derable, alld only appear as little hil- locks, compared with the large mountains, which contain minesX veins of metal, and prec1ous Itones, and may be traced in inlmenSe chains, without al- tnoi} any diCcontinuity from one ontinent to another and Som continents to neighbourlng and oppofite iIlands, Sc. infomuch tlzat all thefe £hains not only of the old, but likewife of the new world feem con-

eEted one with another; an obfevsrationb which alone wou'd indicate the importaIlce of diligently inquiring into heir firuEture, in order to form a true theory of the eartl. Mon£. de Buffon and tlae author of itel- liamed, who endeavollr to prove that all mo¢ntains llave been formed by fea-currents) and bring one of their principal arguments in proof of this opir.ion from mvrine bodies belng found in great qtaantities in the Itrata of which they are compofedX feenz never to have made obServations OI1 mountains; elfe thear might have orbfcrved this remarkable diffUrence be- tsveen them and the calcareous iRrata of the plains that the former contain none of thoSe nlarine bodies, though thLe latter are almoIt illtirely -made up of them.

In



[ 67! ] In the Alps, Apnnines, and Pyreneans, no fhells nor marine bodies of any kirld are to be found: in ffie Ochels, a branch of the large Grampian Moun- tains in Scotland, which I have had occa&on diligently to examine, I could dificover no marine bodtes. The fame is obServed of all the large mountains of Africa, and of Af1a; and in the huge chain of Cordil leres in Peou MonE. de la Condamine fearched in vain for filch bodies. This kind of mountains, (which indeed alone deferve that name) are chiefly compofed of vitrifiable matter; and if they are fome- times found to contain fea--{hells, it is never to greae depths, nor in their original metallic or fiony Ilrata; though fuch bodies are fond in great abundance at the foot of mountains} and in the adjacent valleys, in which there are many eminences in fome parts continued- in fmall chains, tllough but of fmall ex- tentj which contain marble, ica;-Shells, chalk, and other calcinablle matter, but never a£ly lreins of metal, though we frequently find in them pyrites, ocre, vi- triolss and other minerals, which ha-ve been wafhed down from veins of iron and other metals, with which the higher mounta;ins abound, and have af terwards been depofited in the calcareous Srata of the ralleys.

III. Monf. de Buffion pretends, that all mountains have been formed by fea-currents; and a little after- wards-tells us, that all fea-currents are occafioned by- fea-mountainss Is it not natural here to aSk, Which of thefe two cauSes pre-exiiVed ? Can fuch reaSoning as this, a cirtulus ticieofus of the grofl*eit kind, ever tend to improve our knowledge, or give us iutt views ef the wolks of the gret Creator >-

The.



[ 676 ] T-he learned academician founds his opinion of

$11 mountains having been formed by fea-currents principally upon twQ obfervations The firIt;is, that they are made up of Ilrata compofed of fea-ShellS and petrified marine bodies of different kinds : the fecond, that in chains of mountains the prominent angles always correEpond vvith the depreiSed ones on the oppofte {ide of the valley, n the fame ferpentine way as we obServe in riversX the banks of which are alternately hollowed and promirlent, according to the different refilIlance they give to the current of the water. This obEervation was firI} made by Mont: Bour- guet, and muIl be owned to be curiolls and intercR- ing. Monf. de Buffon is of opiilion, that theSe two eIfential obServations put together form an invincible argument in proof of his theory, and fuch as could Mcarce have been expeEted in fo feemingly obEcure a point. As to the firA obServaion, that all mountains are made up of Ilrata compoSed of marine bodies, it is fo far from being true, that no awotxntains, properly Jo saZled, contain fuch bodies: and as to the Second, of tlle corleEpondence of the oppofste angles of mountainous tradrs, it does not at all prove, as he would have it, that fea-currents have formed thelfe nlountains, but only that there have been fornzerly fuch currents running between them, which currents have given them that form we now obServe them to hanre. To aXert, that becauSe curreruts of water have given them that figure, therefore they have produced them, is as ridiculousX as if one thoulcl lay, that a river had reared its osvn banks, merely sbecauSe it had given them a Serpentine formt



- [ 677 ] IV. Monf. de Buffon, who pretellds, that the earth

wa at lSrI} entirely covered with water, which af- terwards dug channels fior itfelf, and- thus Separated the fea from the land , and the author of Telliamed, who endeasrours to prove that this water goes in- fentibly off by evaporation; and who, as well as Monf. de Buffion, attributes the number offea-ells, found fofl ll, to the length of time he fuppofes the now inhabited parts of the earth to have been covered with vvater, feem not to have given fuf: ficient attention to an-:obServation of confequencet which is, that the greateR part of our f8fl^ll {hells are entirely foreign to Europe, and belong to tEle Equator or Tropicks. MonE. de Buin himfelf feems to have been fomewhat-aware, how much this obServation might make againIt his theory; br he ob- ferve$ in anfwer to it, that not to mention fuch fhell- fi{h, as inhabit the bottom of the fea, and from hence, being difficult to be caught, are regarded as unknown and fUreign, though they may be produced in our feas; by comparing our foEll Shells with their ana- logous lisring nlell-filh, we fhall find amongR them more {hells belonging to our own coaRs ehan of foreign ones; for example, that pedrens, peduncles muIlOels, oyRers, fea-glandsa buccina, fea cars? patellt, &c. which we firld foffill almoI} every-where, are certainly produAions of our own feas. But un- lack;ily for our ingenious theoriR, thefc Ihells, he mentions as common on our coatts, are produced in all the feas of ehe globeX and are equally inhabitants of the equator and poles; though we frequently dir cover foill fpecies of them, which are peculiar to the warmer climates.

YOL. 49. 4 R Since



[678 ] Since then it is certaira thae all our fofl"il Ihells arc

fo-reign to or cllmates except fElch} as are common

to the whole globes we may conclude that NIonC. de BuflSon's theory is-in this reEped abSolutely defiedive BeiSdes we find not only a w-ery great quantity of foIEll thells and other tnaoine l)odies, bu£ likewife a g;reat number of impreE<ons af foreign plants nzoRly

of the capilla,Y kind5 oll Jlates arld other Etones; and

it is now certain) that all the-fo*l wood of Lough_

rleagh in Ireland (-as in moR other places, where fuch

vvtood is fbund) has been producecl in a diffcrent cli-

mate ; and) if I miQake no; has been compared and

found to agree with recent fpecinlens from America.

Bones, and even intire heletons of rhinoceroSesX ele-

phants and other fUreign land animals, are dilSco

vered pretty commonly through allEurope; and

in Irelands very large horns of American moofe-deer

have been dug up. All theSe fubIlances are com-

monly found near to, or in the fame ilrata vfirith fUEl

fhells, and other marine bodies ; and a11 of them,,

whetller original produEions of fea or landa appear

evidently to llave been depof1ted in the places, where

we now find them, by one and the fame cauSe. To

account for thefe phenomenaX I believe Monf.de

}3uffon muflc adtnit a univerfal deluge, fech as is

related in the Holy Scripture: and if a deluge of this

kind is once admitted, why ffiould we ailgn other cauSes for the tranfportation of marine and terref trial bodies into climates foreign to theSe, where they svere produced ? Why, fay Monf. de 13uin and the author oftltelliamed, becaufe many thouI)nds

of years feem to have becn reguifite fbr the produdion

of fQ immenCe a gantity of fea-ells as dofe we d



679 ] find everywhere fofl:ll > and befides} fays the author of Telliamed, their diEpof1tion is fo regular, t}at ic- is plain the confuElon of a deluge could nesrer have placed them in lUch a manner. But as to the tm- menSe quantity of iE11 Shell3, upon which thefe genP tlemen infiR fO much,they have been mined by ima gining, that many parts of the furface of the earth contain marine bodies, which evidently do not; and- thefe parts are, as I obServed above) the mountains- properly lSo called, in the conItituent itrata of which no fea-fhells nor marix 13odses of any kind, no bones of land animals nor impreElons of plants, are t be found And as to the regular difpofiioon of theSe- bodies, this could not hasre happened in fsppoElng s

ioleI3t commotion of the waters to have continued the whole time they cwered the eartll. But is fucll a fuppofition natl;lral sr rleceiry ? Fronz the fOipture account, I am fure, it is not; for the rgpti 9egntfontes aegi implies. that this was only to procure water fu-f- ficient br the deluge; and that the waters afterwatds receded gradually, and wele reIlored to tranquillity hefore they entirely diMppeared} i5 manifeft fi40m the fame infpired writings. Upon the wholeX we may dare boldly to advances that we meet with daily obSer- vations, thatwdeliroy all the fine hypothefes of our mo- der< theoriIls but not a fingle one in the leaI} con- tradiEtory to the fimple and at the fame time fubZ lime and trne account delivered by the facred hiRo_ rian. How vain are the effiorts of man, when he has the boldnefs to fet up the chitnzras of his own brain iIl oppofition to fo much of the truth3 as A1_ nzighty God has permitted; us to diScover from }X;s Iloly srord) arsd from the zbSerxratiorl of his works

+ R Z dich



[ 680 ] which he )<as given us talents to contemplate and acI-

*

mlre

V.TIze deluge muI} have produced very conilderable changes on tlle ftlrface of the earth. Many Volca- n-os feem to have been formed at that- time by the accumulation of animal vegetable and mineral iub- Ilances into huge maSes, which hasre afarssrards fer- mented and putrified, alld in procefs of time burI} out inFo flames. EDarehquakes mu{t have been frequent the firR years after the deluge by t}ae fermentation of theSe heterogeneous bodies, before the remains of fo -prodigious an inundation could be dif- fipated; for wherever there is any inteRine commotion in the earths, it's violence mu{t be greatly increated, if it meets with watel, and by its heat reduces it into vapour, sshich we know adcs with an imnlenSe force zk, That this muR have been the caCe the firk years after the deluge, may be inferred from th-e abundance of moiRure it muIl have left, and tlac fermentation of fo great a quantity of heterogeneotls fubIlances buried in ruins by that memorable cata- firophe. ThetearemanyobServations, whichfeem to prove, that the earth, or at leaIl many parts of its furface, have fuffered by fire; not to mentIon the marks of it, which are to be obServed on many mineral fubftances. The artificial produdcion of potter's - carth or clay is a very itrong argument in fupport of this opinion. Potter's earth, as is well known, is

l

* This feems to be ttee reafon, why places fituated upon the fiea- {hc)re, or uporl large rivers, as was the unhappy city of Libon, fuffier more from earthquakes than more inland fltuations, where .fuch cxrcumflances do not concur.

fourlct



[ 68I ] found plentifully in mo low grounds and vallies between nlountainous traEs, and where cttlcareouJ Itrata abound. By expofing common flint-Ilones to the confined vapour of boiling water ill Papin's di geller, a clay of the very fame kind n^y be formed, and is no more than a decompofition of the flints. Hence it would aDpear, that wherever this clay is to found, there the earth has undergone fome violcnec from fire; arld that this has been eieEced by earthquakes foon after the deluge feems extremely pro bable.

The deluge has given origin to many fofl:^1l fub Itances, and produced manv combinations, Brhich otherwiSe would not have happened. Chalk is no more than the ruins of feaIhells, and limeRone conf1Rs of the fame bodies cemented together by a Rony juice. Amber appears evidently to be tlle re- fin of antediluvian trees (which are frequentlv found along witla it at tlais day) united to the acid of Sea- falt, which abollnds in the earth. The reafon of infedrs, illawS, &c. being immerEedin amber, abSot lutely inexplicable fiom the laypothefils of its being of minelal originX is now no mote a Secret; for we know, that nothing is more common than to find iuch bodies imxnerSed in the refirl of trees. FolElI Sea-lialt or falt-getn Seems to have beell depoE1ted iIl

the quarries, from whence it is dug, at the time of the deluge. All or moll palt of pit-coal appears to be of diluvian origin, -for it gives a capat awcrtzasv the texture of urhich exadily refembles that of btlrnt wood. We may reaSonably fuppoSe large forelis to have been l)uried at tlze time of the delure, which ha-ve undergorle a fermentation and putref;zAion in the earth) fo that the colour of the woody g art has

bee



[ 682 ] teen cllanged, though the texture has remained en- tire enough to allow us to diftinguilh to what liing dotn lt belongs.All bitumens, pilIarphaltlzm, pef_. Elseunzs &c:. feem to be no more than produecions of rer1nous fubitances united with mineral acids, vvthich have caught fire in the carth by fermenting with heterogeneous matter9 and have tllus under- ,one a lort of natural diIlillation and exaltatioI1. tRhefe are rnore than chimeri-cal notions, and are cven demonRrated by experiments; for amber can be produced artificially9 as likewife bitunlens by tlle di(lillation -ofreE1ntus fabIlances with rnineral acids X and there is greal: probabilityX that pit-coal might bc mltatedv X ams

S I Ra

BruffielsS 5une I Ts Tour xnoR obedient and 1 7s6.

obliged humble fervant,

Edward Wright. ,

CVIIS JRegrvScztiorg by Mr. Benjanzln Wil- porsX F. Rv 50 of his former Opi?ion, COtI-

cerring the E>ctlicazior of the Leyden Es- perXBent.

io tbe R o Y A L SO C I E r Y.

GentlemenX tad June 24 T Think it necelEary to retrad an opi

t756. IL nion concerning the explication of the Leyden expersment) which I troubled this Socsety

w1th

[ 682 ] teen cllanged, though the texture has remained en- tire enough to allow us to diftinguilh to what liing dotn lt belongs.All bitumens, pilIarphaltlzm, pef_. Elseunzs &c:. feem to be no more than produecions of rer1nous fubitances united with mineral acids, vvthich have caught fire in the carth by fermenting with heterogeneous matter9 and have tllus under- ,one a lort of natural diIlillation and exaltatioI1. tRhefe are rnore than chimeri-cal notions, and are cven demonRrated by experiments; for amber can be produced artificially9 as likewife bitunlens by tlle di(lillation -ofreE1ntus fabIlances with rnineral acids X and there is greal: probabilityX that pit-coal might bc mltatedv X ams

S I Ra

BruffielsS 5une I Ts Tour xnoR obedient and 1 7s6.

obliged humble fervant,

Edward Wright. ,

CVIIS JRegrvScztiorg by Mr. Benjanzln Wil- porsX F. Rv 50 of his former Opi?ion, COtI-

cerring the E>ctlicazior of the Leyden Es- perXBent.

io tbe R o Y A L SO C I E r Y.

GentlemenX tad June 24 T Think it necelEary to retrad an opi

t756. IL nion concerning the explication of the Leyden expersment) which I troubled this Socsety

w1th



an account of the orthoceratites: in a letter from edward wright, m. d. to mr. peter collinson, f....

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