Doctor Gillan that “ the island o f Amsterdam wks the
“ product o f sablirmneeusi-fiiees; land bore»fId«iiMlife
“ ofvolcanic eruption. in-fevery; part of it. On the'west
'* “ ahd- JSouth -wes-t sides there are four smalb cones,? regn-
1“ larlyforiried, with craters vin their^ centres; in whisik
“ the Java and other volcanic substances, have^dver.^
-‘S-appe&rance' “of.recent -formation. -The keatiuontinues
'‘ still so great, and; such-a quantity pf elastic vapours
‘ ‘ issues -through numberless crevice®,' that there? can he
no-doubt*Of*their havingibeen, very -lately-,1 im ita te
“ osfceruption. In a thermometer, placed upon the?st®r-
the ^quicksilver- rose constanfly/t®- -one huridrbd
and nighty degrees, and when sunk a little into the
advanced-to twt> hundred and twehie* de-
‘^greesv ItJcerfeMy wouldiha^e. risen'sfeillhigh^’but
“ the; scale befog graduated only -to-'the p o in to f bpiling
“• eatery and the length of the tube 'propor feronedito that
fheithpsmometerwas immediately withdrawn,
“ lest the inGreasfn^pxpaniion of ithe quieksilver^hduld
‘ ‘ burst die glass. % e ground-Vras delt - tremulous rinder
‘ 1 the .feet-;- a:stone thrown violently iupon ;itj®eturned
“A hollow sound >; and the -heat was *se intense; ffbr a
“ considerable distance'arPund; that the foot could mot
“ be kept for -a -quarter df a minute in the same position,
“ without being scojfehidii Eut the-great Crater on-thfe
“ eastern side, now full of water, is by far- the largest
*•* here^or, perhaps, elsewhere, and-is ofiamastpoishing
siae‘e@nsiderably ^)geeding.in diameter fhwse / ': # ° || - bf Etrfi imyéudsa'fieKrd^aïjnr
‘ | ;np, .'Whi^h^equipd ^q«yyi.ffo>an orlfi«eaJforr itsipkssagè,)
and th e^ $ c§ j)Yith-;which sueh- ma#teA was'im'peMéd;
“ i n i t o ^ V e r e p p 3.e ilfeê: resistance, of the -superin-
1‘, eufpbept gaptbi^RdpI,- njiust hhvfe be ©nil indeed,! piro-
;y?,*digipu#(. >
,, ^“vTihisj jyapjt jjsrajteriykeeording tp *fbel- usitaliiinteAnd of
‘ I computing the antiqutftyjrf voleanoes;;vm^tth”avei/1|een.
“ formed a^a-yjery-remote,period.. Thé feV^ülltafcOund
-héfö1 sides is mujbh decomposed jamfothas-mnOtUld^f éd
V into dies on the l^rfa^^^n-iim^y'parts*,
^|t0,|gy6önsiderable depth .* r The. deebmpositap® has, stkjj-
y*pj|^ha rich .soil for thpifong ïgla-ss; Sgrowin^on 4Bë
<Jk sides of the crater; and has ,evemsp^adboverMMOSt
“ parts o f the,/jsland,. The fibrous ?raots b£ ,the|gf>|sS, .
expending in all directions- through the ;dh,©Vnlp(S®/sed
“ lava, jaod volcanic,;asli£S; *andj mixed >in a.pigea^jfe''
j‘ statp .v^hfothe vegetahlpknbjd, producedïfroha the
“ nual pustr-efac-dph ©f{the;lèay.es and stalks, tevotforhaed
a layer, pf? soil, seyerAlhfe^t'dlepV ail ,©?®ter• th ë island'.
“ But! a§;i(j has notfeingpqxeept its own ^eigjht; toseom-
“ press it together, it is tofoa lightisporigyl-exturewith
. ‘I; yêry ditde^ephesipn^ and', in man^pjkeesVi furrowed
“ and jmersêpted by .the summer rains, arid the.torir-drits
“ypqeasioned by the .melting pfothe.;-,snoiw,. which dies
“ -uppn. it, in the ypnteq, from threC; to.’fdur leetthpck,