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9
78.
All the torrents of water flowing from the mountains to the sea
carry with them the stones from the hills to the sea, and by the
influx of the sea-water towards the mountains; these stones were
thrown back towards the mountains, and as the waters rose and
retired, the stones were tossed about by it and in rolling, their
angles hit together; then as the parts, which least resisted the
blows, were worn off, the stones ceased to be angular and became
round in form, as may be seen on the banks of the Elsa. And those
remained larger which were less removed from their native spot; and
they became smaller, the farther they were carried from that place,
so that in the process they were converted into small pebbles and
then into sand and at last into mud. After the sea had receded from
the mountains the brine left by the sea with other humours of the
earth made a concretion of these pebbles and this sand, so that the
pebbles were converted into rock and the sand into tufa. And of this
we see an example in the Adda where it issues from the mountains of
Como and in the Ticino, the Adige and the Oglio coming from the
German Alps, and in the Arno at Monte Albano [Footnote 13: At the
foot of Monte Albano lies Vinci, the birth place of Leonardo.
Opposite, on the other bank of the Arno, is Monte Lupo.], near
Monte Lupo and Capraia where the rocks, which are very large, are
all of conglomerated pebbles of various kinds and colours.
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