Excerpt from First Annual Report of the Geology of the State of Vermont, 1845 Tm: importance of developing the sources of mineral wanl'ili has long been appreciated in civilized countries. The superior efficiency of systematic and intelligent effort, in operations which require a knowledge of the structure of the earth, of the situations in which minerals may be found, of their modes of occurrence, and of their chemical constitution and properties, naturally led to the establishment by governments in Europe, of those schools of mineralogy, which are almost coeval with the science itself. The benefits of such establishments not accruing to a few individuals only, but being diffused widely, it was the obvious duty of those governments, rather than the interest of individuals, to promote the knowledge of this science. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Report on the Geology of Vermont, Vol. 1 of 2: Descriptive, Theoretical, Economical, and Scenographical It is not mere hypothesis, but legitimate theory, which leads geologists with almost no exception, to the belief that the interior of the earth is now in a molten state, and that at an early date it was entirely melted. But being placed as the earth is, in a medium (the planetary spaces) from 50° to 75° below zero, a crust must have formed over the molten surface, which has been growing thicker up to the present time. This envelope is called the crust of the earth. Geological facts would lead to the conclusion that it cannot be more than a hundred miles thick; but some astronomical reasoning, which we regard as less satisfactory, increases the thickness to six hundred miles. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.