CONTENTS.

PART I.—WONDERS OF THE EARTH.

Page
Chap. I. Parley explains how the Strata of the Earth are placed. 1
Chap. II. What creatures once lived where Dorsetshire now is. 5
The Icthyosaurus. 6
The Plesiosaurus. 14
The Pterodactyle, &c. 17
Chap. III. What sort of a place once existed where the neighbourhood of Paris is now, and the animals that lived there. 21
The Palæotherium. 22
The Anoplotherium, &c. 25
The Dinotherium. 26
Chap. IV. Of Great Caverns in England and Germany, filled with bones of wild animals 30
Dr. Buckland's account of the great cave of Gaylenreuth 31
Chap. V. Of other animals that once lived in England and elsewhere
The Elephant 34
The Gigantic Elk 38
The Megatherium 39
The Beaver 41
The Dodo 42
Chap. VI. Parley describes Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and Hot Springs 47
Earthquake of Calabria 49
Volcanoes 61
The way in which an Eruption takes place 63
Lava Streams 65
Great Lava Streams from Skapta Jokul, in Iceland 69
Alluvions 70
The Great Volcano Kirauea, in the island of Hawaii 71
Of the formation of new islands 76
Parley describes his visit to the Geysers of Iceland 78
The Sulphur Mountains and Sulphur Springs 87
How the Geysers may be caused 89
Chap. VII. Of the Rocks called Basaltic 92
Parley's visit to Staffa 93
The Giant's Causeway 101
Chap. VIII. Why Parley believes that there is a great source of heat within the globe 103
Chap. IX. Parley tells something about the history of Mount Vesuvius 111
The Grotto del Cano 112
Of the death of Pliny, the Naturalist 115
Herculaneum and Pompeii 124
Chap. X. Parley describes the Falls of Niagara 135

PART II.—WONDERS OF THE SEA.

Chap. I. Parley tells about the Frozen Ocean 144
Icebergs 146
Parley's dangerous situation on an Iceberg 150
Chap. II. The story of a long journey over the ice with some Esquimaux 152
Chap. III. The journey over the ice, continued 167
Chap. IV. The Whale 178
The mode of catching Whales 183
Character of the Whale 187
Chap. V. A voyage on a Tropical Sea 190
Trade Winds and Monsoons 191
Chap. VI. The Waterspout 194
How Parley supposes Waterspouts to be caused 199
Chap. VII. Coral Reefs and Islands 203
Various kinds of Coral 204
The Coral-Making Polypes 206
Forms of the Coral Reefs 211
Parley's first sight of one 213
Chap. VIII. Luminous appearance of the sea 221
Animals by which it is occasioned, and the Acalepha in particular 223
Chap. IX. The Cuttle Fish 231
The Octopus 235
Chap. X. The Paper Nautilus, or Argonaut 239
How Parley saw one sailing on the sea 241
The Pearly Nautilus 245
The Nautilus Spirula 248

PART III.—WONDERS OF THE SKY.

Chap. I. The Colour of the Sky 250
Chap. II. The Aurora Borealis 254
Chap. III. Parley tells of some other Meteors
Parhelia or Mock Suns 263
Ignes Fatui 264
Experiment to show the cause 266
Chap. IV. Shooting Stars 267
What they are 269
Chap. V. Meteoric Stones, or Aerolites 273
How they are caused 277
Chap. VI. Bloody Rain 280
Red Snow 281
Showers of Frogs and Fish 282
Chap. VII. The Spectre of the Brocken 285
Chap. VIII. Some other instances of Aerial Reflection
Souter Fell 291
What a Friend of Parley's saw 293
Dover Castle 293
What Humboldt saw 294
What Captain Scoresby saw 295
Apparent distance of Object 296
Chap. IX. Fata Morgana 299
The Mirage 299
Chap. X. How Parley supposes these appearances to be produced 303
Refraction 305
Reflection 311
Conclusion.
Of some other Wonders, &c.
Section I. How we ought to think upon what we know 314
II. Ever Part of the Earth a Home for something 316
III. Birds of Passage, Dormice, and Snails 318
IV. The Rein-deer—the Camel 322
V. Benefit of the difference of Climate 324
VI. The same Organs in different Animals developed in various modes and degrees—the Acalepha, Actinia, and Sepia 326
VII. How the Stars and we are connected together—Gravitation—Aerolites 330
VIII. Dew 332
IX. How every thing is endowed with a tendency to preserve its own life, and the existence of its race 334
X. The Bud of the Poppy—long retention of life by seeds and roots 336
XI. Of Seeds which are furnished with wings or sails 339
XII. Conclusion of the conclusion 340