LIII. CHEMISTRY OF ROCKS.

288. Classification.--Rocks may be divided, according to their
origin, into three classes: (1) Aqueous rocks. These have been
formed by deposition of sedimentary material, layer by layer, on
the bottoms of ancient oceans, lakes, and rivers, from which they
have gradually been raised, to form dry land. (2) Eruptive or
volcanic rocks. These have been forced, as hot fluids, through
rents and fissures from the interior of the earth. (3)
Metamorphic rocks. These, by the combined action of heat,
pressure, water, and chemical agents, have been crystallized and
chemically altered. The rocks of the first class, such as chalk,
limestone, shale, and sandstone, are distinguished by the
existence of fossils in them, or by the successive layers of the
material which goes to make up their structure and to give them a
stratified appearance. The rocks of the second class are
recognized by their resemblance to the products of modern
volcanoes and their non-stratified appearance. Rocks of the third
class are composed of crystals, which, though often very minute,
are minerals having a definite chemical composition. Examples of
the third class are gneiss, slate, schist, and marble. The last
two classes abound on the Eastern sea-board, while the interior
of our continent is composed almost exclusively of stratified
sedimentary rocks.

289. Composition.--Rocks are not definite compounds, but variable
mixtures of minerals. Some, however, are tolerably pure, as
limestone (CaCO3) and sand-stone.

Granite is mainly made up of three minerals,--quartz, feldspar,
and mica. Quartz, when pure, is SiO2. Feldspar is a mixed
silicate of K and Al, and often several other metals, K2Al2Si6O16
(=K2O, Al2O3, 6 SiO2) symbolizing one variety, while a variety of
mica is H8Mg5Fe7Al2Si3O18.

The pupil should learn to distinguish the different minerals in
granite. Quartz is glassy, mica is in scales, usually white or
black, and feldspar is the opaque white or red mineral.

290. Importance of Siliceous Rocks.--Slate and schist are also
mixed silicates. Pure sandstone is SiO2, the red variety being
colored by iron. Igneous rocks are always siliceous. Obsidian is
a glassy silicate. A mountain of very pure glass, obsidian, two
hundred feet high, has lately been found in the Yellow-stone
region. We see how important Si is, in the compounds Si02 and the
silicates, as a constituent of the terrestrial crust. Limestone
is the only extensive rock from which it is absent. Always
combined with O, it is, next to the latter, the most abundant of
elements. Silicates of Al, Fe, Ca, K, Na, and Mg are most common,
and these metals, in the order given, rank next in abundance.

291. Soils.--Beds of sand, clay, etc., are disintegrated rock.
Sand is chiefly SiO2; clay is decomposed feldspar, slatestone,
etc. Soils are composed of these with an added portion of
carbonaceous matter from decaying vegetation, which imparts a
dark color. The reddish brown hue so often observed in soils and
rocks results from ferric salts.

292. Minerals, of which nearly 1000 varieties are now known, may
be simple substances, as graphite and sulphur, or compounds, as
galena and gypsum. Only seven systems of crystallizations are
known, but these are so modified as to give hundreds of forms of
crystals. See Physics. A given chemical substance usually occurs
in one system only, but we saw in the case of S that this was not
always true.

Crystals of some substances deliquesce, or take water from the
air, and thus dissolve themselves. Some compounds cannot exist in
the crystalline form without a certain percentage of water. This
is called "water of crystallization"; if it passes into the air
by evaporation, the crystal crumbles to a powder- and is then
said to effloresce.

293. The Earth's Interior.--We are ignorant of the chemistry of
the earth's interior. The deepest boring is but little more than
a mile, and volcanic ejections probably come from but a very few
miles below the surface. The specific gravity of the interior is
known to be more than twice that of the surface rock. From this
it has been imagined that towards the center heavy metals like Fe
and Au predominate; but this is by no means certain, since the
greater pressure at the interior would cause the specific gravity
of any substance to increase.

294. Percentage of Elements.--Compute the percentage of O in the
following rocks, which compose a large proportion of the earth's
crust: SiO2, Al2SiO4, CaCO3. Find the percentage of O in pure
water. In air. Taking cellulose, C16H30O15, as the basis, find
the percentage of O in vegetation.

An estimate, based on Bunsen's analysis of rocks, of the chief
elements in the earth's crust, is as follows:--


O, 46 per cent Ca, 3 per cent
Si, 30 per cent Na, 2 per cent
Al, 8 per cent K, 2 per cent
Fe, 6 per cent Mg, 1 per cent


More than half the elements are known to exist in sea-water, and
the rest are thought to be there, though dissolved in such small
quantity as to elude detection. What four are found in the
atmosphere?