"The second chapter or part deals with the general capacity of the mountain. Although the influence of the heavens and the fitness of the material are necessary to the formation of ore or metal, yet these are not enough thereto. But there must be adaptability of the natural vessel in which the ore is formed, such are the veins, namely _steinendegange_, _flachgange_, _schargange_, _creutzgange_, or as these may be termed in provincial names. Also the mineral force must have easy access to the natural vessel such as through the _kluffte_ (stringers), namely _hengkluft_, _querklufte_, _flachekluffte_, _creutzklufft_, and other occasional _flotzwerk_, according to their various local names. Also there must be a suitable place in the mountain which the veins and stringers can traverse."
AGRICOLA'S VIEWS ON THE ORIGIN OF ORE DEPOSITS. Agricola rejected absolutely the Biblical view which, he says, was the opinion of the vulgar; further, he repudiates the alchemistic and astrological view with great vigour. There can be no doubt, however, that he was greatly influenced by the Peripatetic philosophy. He accepted absolutely the four elements--earth, fire, water, and air, and their "binary" properties, and the theory that every substance had a material cause operated upon by an efficient force. Beyond this he did not go, and a large portion of _De Ortu et Causis_ is devoted to disproof of the origin of metals and stones from the Peripatetic "exhalations."
No one should conclude that Agricola's theories are set out with the clarity of Darwin or Lyell. However, the matter is of such importance in the history of the theory of ore-deposits, and has been either so ignored or so coloured by the preconceptions of narrators, that we consider it justifiable to devote the space necessary to a reproduction of his own statements in _De Ortu et Causis_ and other works. Before doing so we believe it will be of service to readers to summarize these views, and in giving quotations from the Author's other works, to group them under special headings, following the outline of his theory given below. His theory was:--
(1) Openings in the earth (_canales_) were formed by the erosion of subterranean waters.
