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[Page 4]
superior object of curiosity to the former, & will almost exclusively occupy the attention of the Journalist.
The natural order of things, as far at least as they are objects of sensation, will suggest that which ought to be pursued in his description
The great & the general features are to be seized first. Let him descend by degrees to the particular ones & dwell chiefly upon such as are the most characteristical.
After describing the face of a Country, that is, the form of its superficies, & even its verdure or sterility, let him state what he has been able to observe of its constituent strata & what he is authorized to conclude from analogy.
It has been already remarkd [remarked] that the forms of Mountains are influencd [influenced] by the nature of their constituent strata, & although this rule is more particularly applicable to some strata than to others, and requires a practised eye, it will be found of great service in assisting enquiries of this nature, especially in countries so difficult to access.
It may be proper, in this place, to cite some examples of these modifications of the forms of Mountains. The Volcanic have been already mentioned, they are perhaps the easiest of all others to recognize, and next too these the Whinstone or Basaltic, which from the peculiarity of their profile in some Countries are termed Step Mountains. These are often insulated & conical but have always a truncated summit.
Hills or Mountains of Sand stone present at a moderate distance a convulsed grotesque appearance.