Of these transformations, which the strata must have undergone, there
are two kinds; one in relation to change of place and position; the
other in relation to solidity or consistence. It is only the last of
those two changes which is here to be the subject of consideration;
because, with regard to the first, there is nothing peculiar in these
bituminous strata to throw any light, in that respect, upon the others.
This is not the case with regard to the transformation in their chemical
character and consistence; bituminous bodies may not be affected by
chemical agents, such as fire and water, in the same manner as the
argillaceous, siliceous, micaceous, and such other strata that are
alternated with the bituminous; and thus we may find the means for
investigating the nature of that agent by which those strata in general
have been transformed in their substance; or we may find means for the
detecting of false theories which may have been formed with regard
to those operations in which the original deposits of water had been
changed.
We have had but two theories, with regard to the transformation of
those bodies which have had a known origin, or to the change of their
substance and consistence; the one of these which I have given is that
of heat or fusion; the other, which I wish to be compared with mine,
is that of water and infiltration.
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