{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_70648/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_70648","id":"gutenberg_70648","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/70648","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Religion/Spirituality","Category: Science - Earth/Agricultural/Farming","Geology","Religion and science"],"text":"THE\n COURSE OF CREATION:\n\n BY\n JOHN ANDERSON, D.D.\n\n WITH A GLOSSARY OF SCIENTIFIC TERMS.\n\n \u201cIn these morning-days of existence, Nature at once stamped,\n with her plastic hand, her lineaments of beauty and adaptation\n on everything she made. There is nothing omitted to be\n afterward supplied\u2014nothing formed defective in a single part\n or organ that required to be corrected. The first discoveries\n in Geology at once speak conclusively of a plan or Course of\n Creation devised from the beginning\u2014a power, not delegated,\n but linked forever with the first intelligent Cause\u2014a world,\n through all its changes, continually presided over and ruled by\n Him who made it.\u201d\n\n CINCINNATI:\n WM. H. MOORE & CO., PUBLISHERS,\n 118 MAIN STREET.\n 1851.\n\n Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by\n WM. H. MOORE & CO.,\n In the Clerk\u2019s Office of the District Court for the District of Ohio.\n\n E. MORGAN & CO.,\n STEREOTYPERS, PRINTERS AND BINDERS,\n 111 MAIN STREET.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nIt is no mitigation of an author\u2019s temerity in publishing, that he can\nsay for himself he had no intention, when collecting and arranging\nhis materials, of ever submitting them to the eye of the public, or\nof provoking criticism by his speculations. Certain it is, however, I\nhave often, and with severity at times, questioned myself as to the\npropriety of my geological pursuits, my ardent love of them, and their\ncompatibility with the strict discharge of professional duty. My answer\ngenerally was, I sought not these things of themselves; they were hung\nup and displayed before me, wherever I went on pleasure, on business, or\non duty. I simply inquired after their names; and of all the geological\nphenomena that have passed under my review, I can safely affirm of them,\nin their darkest, deepest places, they have uniformly led me \u201cfrom\nnature up to nature\u2019s God,\u201d and have inscribed upon them in brightest\ncharacters\u2014BENEDICTUM SIT NOMEN DEI.\n\nHow often, I have argued, in the leisure hours of life do we find men\nidling away their time, wasting it in vain talk, or consuming it in\nthe most trifling pursuits, when a most interesting branch of science\ncan be learned by wandering over the green fields, the rocky dell, the\nmountain side, or by the walk at even-tide, and there to hold converse\nwith the Creator\u2019s works and the records of his will? I have recalled\nthe list of great and good men, whose names are imperishably connected\nwith the science of geology, who have given much of their time to these\nresearches, and who have reaped laurels from their discoveries. Can\nBuckland, Conybeare, Sedgwick, Sumner, Smith, Fleming, and Chalmers\u2014all\neither explorers or expositors\u2014and other eminent divines, have been\nengaged in improper pursuits, or have given the sanction of their\nauthority to tenets and views connected with the scheme of nature that\ndo not accord with the religious principle? Often on such occasions\nhave I dwelt upon, and compared with my own humble pursuits, the lofty\nand impassioned descriptions of the Psalmist, where, sometimes in a\nsingle piece, he takes a magnificent sweep of the great master-keys\nof creation\u2014the foundations of the steadfast earth\u2014the course of the\nfluid waters\u2014the revolutions of the sun and moon\u2014the vicissitude of the\nseasons\u2014the habits and instincts of the lower animals\u2014the earthquake and\nvolcano\u2014and all recited as demonstrations of Divine wisdom and goodness,\nand all calculated to awaken and to sustain the devotional feelings of\nthe heart.\n\nHaving, under the influence of such impressions, gathered, and now put\ntogether in this form, the notes of my researches, I do not mean to aver\nthat I have visited every locality referred to, or personally observed\neverything noticed in the publication. Where so much has been done by\nothers I have carefully examined their works. Where the field is so\nboundless, and the course of illustration necessarily so discursive, I\nhave freely made use of their collected materials. Still, I have been\nchiefly induced to adopt the line of description from the Grampians\nto the Alps, because, at sundry though often distant periods, I have\nexamined the various suites of rocks comprised betwixt these mountain\nboundaries. If there be any novelty in the volume, it will be found,\nnot in the subject-matter itself nor in the mode of treating it, but by\nfollowing the geographical sequence in the descriptions of the several\ngeological formations, and their relations to each other in the countries\npassed over.\n\nI have to express my acknowledgments to Messrs. W. and R. Chambers for a\nconsiderable number of the figures contained in the volume, and which\nhave already appeared in one or other of their numerous publications. To\nMr. David Page, than whom I do not know a better practical geologist, I\nam indebted for much valuable information, gleaned by him in an extensive\nacquaintance with most of the ground passed under review. The errors of\nthe volume are my own, and these, I doubt not, in a science subject to\nsuch daily mutations and receiving daily such additions as the science of\ngeology, will be found neither few nor venial.\n\nNEWBURGH MANSE, May, 1850.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n PART I.\n\n GEOLOGY OF SCOTLAND.\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n Introductory\u2014General Sketch of the Science, 13\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n Primary System.\u2014Ben-Mac-Dhui.\u2014The Grampians, 22\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n The Silurian System.\u2014First Traces of Organic Life, 34\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n The Devonian System.\u2014Fossils of the Old Red Sandstone, 43\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n The Yellow Sandstone.\u2014Dura Den\u2014Fossils of, 62\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n\n The Trap Rocks.\u2014The Sidlaws and Ochils, 79\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n\n The Carboniferous System.\u2014Period of Gigantic Vegetables, 93\n\n CHAPTER VIII.\n\n The Carboniferous System\u2014_continued_.\u2014Geographical Distribution\n of Coal.\u2014The Great Coal-Field of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and\n Ohio.\u2014Coal Deposits of Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and\n Michigan.\u2014Economic History of Coal.\u2014Conditions of Formation, 115\n\n CHAPTER IX.\n\n The Geological Structure of Fifeshire, 132\n\n CHAPTER X.\n\n Geology of Edinburgh and its Environs.\u2014Mid-Lothian\n Coal-Basin.\u2014The Pentlands, 138\n\n CHAPTER XI.\n\n The Lammermuirs.\u2014The Border Land.\u2014Reptilian Foot-Prints in\n Old Red Sandstone of Pennsylvania.\u2014General Structure of\n Scotland, 150\n\n PART II.\n\n GEOLOGY OF ENGLAND.\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n General Sketch.\u2014Geology of the Lake District, 160\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n The Permian System.\u2014The New Red Sandstone.\u2014Foot-Prints near\n Pottsville, Pennsylvania\u2014In Connecticut, Massachusetts, and\n Virginia.\u2014Rock-Salt.\u2014Exhumation of immense Skeletons of Birds, 168\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n The Oolite System.\u2014Period of Gigantic Reptiles, 183\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n The Wealden Formation\u2014Remarkable Fossils of, 198\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n The Cretaceous System.\u2014General Reflections, 206\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n\n The Tertiary System\u2014Eocene and Miocene Formations of.\u2014London\n Basin, 216\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n\n The Mammoth Period.\u2014Remains of, on Banks of Missouri.\u2014Concluding\n Remarks, 229\n\n PART III.\n\n FRANCE AND SWITZERLAND.\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n Physical Union of France with England.\u2014Basins of Paris and the\n Loire.\u2014Volcanic District of Central France\u2014Auvergne, 241\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n Geological Structure of Switzerland\u2014The Alps\u2014Mont Blanc\u2014Bowlder\n Formation\u2014Glaciers, 265\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n Thickness of the Earth\u2019s Crust.\u2014Central Heat\u2014Theories of, 279\n\n PART IV.\n\n GENERAL PRINCIPLES.\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n R\u00e9sum\u00e9, 286\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n Theories of Organic Life\u2014\u201cVestiges of the Natural History of\n Creation,\u201d 293\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n Analogical Order\u2014Physical and Moral\u2014of Progression, 311\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n The Extinction of Organic Life, 320\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n Time, and the Geological Epochs, 328\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n\n The Mosaic Account of Creation\u2014Geology, how reconcilable with, 348\n\n CONCLUSION.\n\n THE CREATOR, 366\n\n Glossary, 377\n\n\n\n\nTHE COURSE OF CREATION.\n\n\n\n\nGEOLOGY OF SCOTLAND.\n\nPART I.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nINTRODUCTORY.\n\n\nGeology is that branch of science which comprehends the knowledge of all\nthat relates to the form, structure, mineral and fossil constituents, of\nthe earth. The Scottish Grampians, it is generally admitted, form part of\nthe lowest sections of its crust, to which the researches of geologists\nextend. We must go to other countries for any coeval, and, to North\nAmerica for any older, competing land: and still, there, the rocks are\nof the same mineral qualities and arrangement. The Ben-Mac-Dhui group\nform the highest and most prominent masses in the whole range of these\ncrystalline mountains.\n\nWhen I first stood on the broad flat top of Ben-Mac-Dhui, I had no\nthought or purpose of ever recording its geological history. The\nexcursion was undertaken simply for recreation, and a delightful one it\nproved. I longed to plunge into the deep recesses of the old forest,\nand to see the trees which nature had strewed with careless hand, ere,\nperhaps, Caledonia was tenanted by the human family. I looked down from\nits rugged sides, as I ascended, with awe and wonder\u2014snatched a little\nalpine as I drew breath for the next spring\u2014chipped a piece of granite\nas I obtained a footing over a yawning chasm, or breasted along by\njagged precipitous defile,\u2014and when, having fairly scaled the summit,\nI gazed out upon the world beneath, the feeling which for a moment\nflitted across my mind was one of no merely vain complacency, that I was\nthen the most elevated subject of all the twenty-six or twenty-seven\nmillions inhabiting the British Islands\u2014and the lowest, too, in their\nstony regions! The mountains of the earth serve to inspire some of\nthe loftiest sentiments that can fill the breast of its intelligent\ninhabitants. Imbosomed in their deep solitudes, man feels his own\nlittleness, and is forced to inquire who made these wonders, and who\nsustains them? We are all the better, morally speaking, for leaving\noccasionally our daily-trodden haunts, where we see only human things,\nand hear only of the triumphs of human craft, the excitement of human\npassions, the littleness and vanity of even the noblest human daring.\nThere is an image of Jehovah\u2019s greatness impressed upon the outward face\nof nature, which for a time will awaken and sustain the most salutary\nreflections, breathing, as it were, a new life into the soul of the\nwayfarer. A man escapes from himself, forgetting the burden of a thousand\npetty cares, and rising above his sensual condition, when he looks upon\nthe physical world in these its grander features and secluded scenes,\nwhich irresistibly speak to the inner sense of divinity, wisdom, and\nomnipotence.\n\nThe philosophy of the mountains, in the classic ages of Greece and Rome,\ninclined but little to any analysis of their grosser materials of earth\nand stone. The poetic and ideal were exclusively associated with their\nstructures and form. The dii majores dwelt upon, and thundered from,\ntheir lofty summits. The clouds hovered in peaceful majesty over their\ncouncil of sage or fierce debate. The elements were the ready ministers\nof their will; and Oreads, Dryads, and Naiads, peopling all the hills,\nforests, and streams, were the creations of that principle of the inner\nman, which has always searched for the spiritual behind and beyond the\ntangible attributes of Nature. Hence, too, the gnomes of the caverns,\nthe spirits of the mists, the fairies of the glens, the kelpies of the\ntorrents, were all the embodiment of forms, which fancy, in her later\nsuperstitions, has cast around the mountain landscape, with the witchery\nat once of the terrible and beautiful. The charm that spell-bound the\nhuman mind for ages, is not dissolved when, with ruder intent, we\ntraverse these rocky solitudes, listening to the echo of our obedient\nhammer, learning the secrets of the universe amidst the voices of the\neverlasting hills, and seeing the wonders of the material world throwing\nlight on the wonders of the spiritual.\n\nWe are reminded, among the mountains, of one of the first and loveliest\nof all material things, the creation of light. Loving them for their own\nsakes, as well as for the legends of the old world with which they are\neverywhere inscribed, the geologist takes to the hills with the first\nfaint fresh streak of dawn. Emerging with earliest day from the somber\nshades of the forest which, like night, invests the prospects with its\nown sadness and gloom, speedily a scene of joy and activity bursts upon\nthe sight. The light comes upon you like a real tangible thing. You see\nit glinting and breaking on the lofty ridge, then nearing down along the\nbrown slope of the mountain, here projecting in long bright lines through\nthe trees, and there\u2014delicious, golden morn! first-born of Nature\u2019s\nchildren, harbinger of life and gladness. How beautiful are thy first\nfootsteps upon the heath-clad mountains! What a brood of gloomy thoughts\nthou dispellest, chasing them before thee, like yonder envious mists\nrising lazily from the plains, valleys, and streams, which they would\nfain hide from the eyes that now revel amid their exuberant loveliness.\nThese lofty peaks are worthy altars for the beacon-fires of the orb of\nday, after he has finished his journey through the nations; and comes\nback to us, over the floating splendor of the sea, in the eastern\nheavens. And see! he hath lit a hundred on these splintered summits,\nwhich blaze now as they blazed centuries ago, and diminish not!\n\nThe view from this remarkable group of mountains\u2014the most remarkable by\nfar in the island\u2014differs much from any other with which I am acquainted.\nThe impressions at first are all very confused, and some time is required\nto resolve into distinct pictures the wondrous panorama before you.\nWe have stood upon Skiddaw, where everything is clear, distinct, and\npalpable in distance and form; on Ben Lomond, where the far-stretch of\nperspective over lakes, rivers, and plains, is like a first lesson in\npainting; on Ben Lawers, where the eye sweeps rapidly over well known,\nfamiliar objects, spots of wood, glen, and mansion; on Ben Nevis, where\nyou fancy yourself in mid-air, every object is so separate and apart,\nand so disposed the whole you are looking on, that the view is all\n_downward_ upon the picture. But here, these dark giant masses crowd as\nit were against you. There is a struggle for the post of elevation. You\nare highest, no doubt of that; but so jealous all are these proud somber\npeaks, that every one seems to overlook, though yet actually beneath,\nthe broad ample table-head of the center of the group. Sometimes one is\ntempted to leap across the narrow dells of separation, and at once master\nthe geology of the district, so near seems every hill-top as almost to be\ntouched. But as you approach their several positions, expanding valleys,\ndeep fathomless chasms, and the channels of noble rivers, bar farther\napproach, and attest the wide, independent domains of each. They are\nmonarchs every one of them\u2014Brae-Riach, Cairn-Toul, Cairn-Gorm, Ben-Avon,\nBen-y-Bourd\u2014each holds his own regal court, over tarn, lake, and stream;\ntorrents, cataracts, and all the appurtenances of the boldest mountain\nscenery.\n\nAfter one has time to gather up his thoughts and perceptions, the scene\nresolves itself, still indeed as of one whole, but of distinct component\nparts. In the far distance you attempt in vain to number the peaks that\neverywhere rise against the sky line; but more closely around, five or\nsix summits are seen to spring from a single root; a common circumference\nmarks out the limits of the group; and, by no unreasonable liberty with\nthe imagination, you easily replace the old materials into the vacant\ninterstices, before the water had begun its work of abrasion, or the\nearthquake coming to its assistance shivered their solid rounded forms\ninto these hideous, precipitous gorges and chasms. The great hills here\nstand, every one of them, upward of four thousand feet above the level\nof the sea; and when entire, one aggregated whole, as possibly they\noriginally were, the center mass may have towered thousands more into the\noverhanging firmament. The scene is utterly unmatched, as it cannot be\ndescribed, by any other in Great Britain: and make your ascent when you\nmay, there are sights and objects to be met with at every step, in every\nsalient dell, that will cause you evermore to rejoice you commenced your\ntravels among the Aiguilles of Ben-Muich-Dhui.\n\nIt is in the great mountain groups that the true key is to be found to\nthe science of geology, as well as all those collateral circumstances\nwhich impart so much charm to it as a healthful and invigorating exercise\nto mind and body. Here, amidst these piled-up masses, we are furnished\nwith the lowest ascertained sections of the earth\u2019s crust, from which\nwe can at once study the nature of its rocky divisions, and the laws\nwhich prevail in the order of their superposition. When the world was\nin its primeval state of chaos, without form and void, we are warranted\nto assume that the mountains as yet had no place on its surface, but\nsubsequently arose out of the bosom of the deep; and lifted up, as they\nemerged above the waters, the rocky strata already enveloping the globe.\nThese strata are still to be seen folded round the central masses,\ndisrupted and torn like a garment too tight for the body, and displaying\nthrough innumerable cracks and fissures the inclosed rocks. This fact\nlies at the foundation of all geological inquiries, gives to the subject\nall its pretensions as a science, and before proceeding on our \u201cCourse\u201d a\nword of explanation will be in place.\n\nThe first condition of the earth, of which we have any historical notice,\nis that which is represented in Genesis, where, after the initial\ndeclaration that God was creator of all things, we are told of a period\nwhen the whole of its materials were as yet unarranged, \u201cand darkness was\nupon the face of the deep.\u201d The Divine Spirit moved upon the surface of\nthe shapeless mass, when the various elements of air, earth, and water\ngradually assumed their respective positions. The form which the earth\nhad impressed upon it, as philosophy has demonstrated, was that of a\nspherical body, flattened at the poles, a figure resembling as nearly as\npossible that of an orange. There is reason to believe, therefore, that\nevery part of the solid mass of earth is symmetrically arranged, and that\nevery individual particle occupies the position which Divine wisdom has\nassigned it.\n\nRocks, let the reader be assured, have not been indiscriminately heaped\ntogether. Everything here, amidst all the apparent confusion which\nsurrounds us, is in the most perfect order, following one uniform law\nof superposition. When God fixed the foundations of the earth, stretched\nhis compass \u201cupon the face of the deep,\u201d and laid \u201cthe beams of his\nchambers in the waters,\u201d he completed the mighty edifice agreeably to the\nplan which he had determined upon \u201cfrom the beginning:\u201d the different\nportions of the building rise one above another in regular succession;\nand the work, so far as we can survey the interior, displays the several\n_courses_ into which the materials have been thrown. These constitute\nwhat geologists call the strata of the earth, layers of varying\nthickness, such as our slates, sandstones, and limestones exhibit, and\nwhich nearly envelope the circumference of the globe. The order in which\nthe strata are disposed is uniform from below upward, and this order is\nnever inverted. From the blue slates of the Grampians to the Chalk cliffs\nat Dover, there is a regular succession of intermediate rocks, piled one\nupon another like the mason-work of our houses; and while to many there\nappears nothing but confusion, to the scientific eye every portion of\nthe series, although the same ingredients enter into several classes of\nrocks, is as well defined and as easily recognized, as the two members at\nthe extreme points are by the common observer.\n\nBut beside the stratified rocks, there is another class of rocks equally\nextensive, and which occupy an important place in the economy of nature.\nThese are the granites and whinstones of which the highest mountain\nranges are usually composed. There are many subordinate varieties\nbelonging to both classes, which are characterized by slight shades\nof texture and composition and distinguished by different names. One\nthing is common to the members of each group. They are not disposed in\nlayers, and exhibit no lines of stratification, except in the granite\nrarely, throughout the entire mountain chain. These rocks occupy no\nfixed place in the order of superposition, but seem to be intruded in\nthe most irregular manner among the stratified rocks, separating one bed\nfrom another, filling up fissures and rents; and binding and interlacing\nthe various deposits more closely and firmly together. They are often\ncomposed of the fragments of other rocks, agglutinated into a compound\nmass by a base of clay. Remarkable changes are also produced upon all\nthe strata where they come in contact with granite and whinstone\u2014chalk\nbeing converted into crystalline limestone\u2014limestone into chert\u2014clay\nand sandstone into a substance as hard and compact as flint\u2014and coal is\ndeprived of its bitumen or the quality which renders it so useful as a\ncombustible body.\n\nFrom these, and other appearances, geologists have been led to the\nconclusion, that these rocks are of later origin than those which are\nstratified, that they have been injected among them in a state of fusion;\nand by the expansive force of internal heat, that they have burst through\nthe stony crust of the earth, and elevated and disrupted the strata\nwhich compose it. They are, if we may use the expression, the _levers_\nwhich the Almighty has employed in bringing up the lower deposits to\nthe surface, in laying open the interior chambers, and in producing all\nthat infinite variety in our earthly habitation which ministers to the\ncomfort and well-being of man. Much seeming confusion and disturbance\nmark everywhere the course of these rocks, similar, though upon a more\nextensive scale, to the disorders attendant upon the irruption of a\nmodern volcano; but throughout the whole there reigns such a harmony of\npurpose, that the conclusion is irresistible, these operations could\nonly have taken place by Divine permission, and are in accordance with\nthe Divine plan, controlling the most refractory agencies of nature, and\ncausing them to contribute to the general good.\n\nThese eruptive rocks have been produced under the sea, at a period, many\nof them, when the waters and the dry land were not as yet separated\nfrom each other. They are therefore termed sub-aqueous products, and\nare, in consequence of the pressure to which they have been subjected,\nhard, compact, and heavy. They differ in this respect from the products\nof modern volcanoes, which are light and porous, as being formed under\nthe simple pressure of atmosphere, and are denominated sub-aerial. The\nmost prevailing ingredient both in ancient and modern lavas is feldspar:\nthis, combined with hornblende, quartz, and augite, characterizes the\nwhole of the two families of the trap and granitic rocks; and completely\nestablishes their claim to be regarded as originating in submarine\nvolcanoes. Geology is thus in its first step, and initial principles,\nin perfect accordance with the scripture record; and, in walking over\nthe varied fields of creation, we shall tread all the firmer, and enjoy\nour recreations all the more, that we find the word and works of God\nillustrative of each other, revelation never contradicted, and science\nbearing enlightened testimony to the wonderful truth\u2014that the hills\nmelted like wax before the Lord.\n\nTwo reasons, therefore, are to be assigned for the starting point of\nour investigations, and the route fixed upon in following them out.\nThis center group of mountains comprises the first or lowest phenomena\nconnected with the science of geology: here the earliest lessons are\ninscribed; and here, developed on a great scale, we are presented with\nthe axis of elevation which has given character and outline to the whole\nsurrounding district. Ben-Mac-Dhui is the most prominent type of our\nprimary mountains, and has been mainly instrumental in lifting up a large\nportion of the Grampian range. Looking abroad from its summit, over all\nthat varied landscape of plain and valley, and further than the eye can\nreach, summoning in imagination before us the successive strata as they\nrecede in the far distance, a diagram which would faithfully represent\nthe order of the rocks and their relation and proximity to the granite,\nwould be quite correct in making Ben-Mac-Dhui a pyramidal basis, and the\nother formations as steps to the apex of the pyramid.\n\nThis lofty chain of primary rocks on the one hand, and the Alpine region\nof Switzerland on the other, may likewise be regarded as constituting\nthe barriers or edges of one great basin, within which are inclosed\nmembers of almost every rock formation, fossiliferous as well as\nnon-fossiliferous, existing anywhere on the face of the earth. Along\nthe line of tour indicated, you pass over every intermediate deposit,\nfrom below upward; and have laid before you, for inspection, specimens\nof all that is interesting and curious in the science. Betwixt the\ntwo points, selected as our termini, lie strata upon strata, organic\nbed upon bed, not piled up in one colossal mass, but drawn out and\nslipped over the edges of one another, and so arranged and disposed\nat successive intervals as most happily to suit the convenience and\nsuccessive stages of the journey. This is one of the most remarkable\nfacts in descriptive geology, whereby we learn that a depth of nearly\nten miles of solid rock can be duly examined, every particle and fossil\nof it, not by perforation _downward_ to the bottom, but by the natural\ninclination of the beds, and their several outcrops rising to the surface\nlike the inverted tiles on a roof. In consequence of this persistent\narrangement, objects, both new and strange, will at every step meet the\nview. There the whole system of geology, page after page, is spread out\nbefore you. Every day opens up a new chapter geographically, as well as\nmineralogically divided. And when you have gained the summit of Mount\nBlanc, you can leisurely, in the mind\u2019s eye, look back over the whole\nCOURSE OF CREATION.\n\nIt is a reproach, I am aware, sometimes cast upon geological researches,\nthat the portion of the earth\u2019s surface exposed to view is as nothing\ncompared with the entire mass, and that another portion, by far the\nlargest segment, is concealed by the ocean, and its own debris. In\naddition to these disadvantages, it may now be objected that the line\nof description indicated narrows the field of research still farther,\nand that a few disconnected materials only are all that can therefrom\nbe extracted. It may be answered,\u2014\u201cThat the earth is constructed with\nsuch a degree of uniformity, that a tract of no very large extent may\nafford instances, in all the leading facts, that we can ever observe\nin the mineral kingdom. The variety of geological appearances which a\ntraveler meets with, is not at all in proportion to the extent of country\nhe traverses; and if he take in a portion of land sufficient to include\nprimitive and secondary strata, together with mountains, rivers, and\nplains, and unstratified bodies, in veins and in masses, though it be not\na very large part of the earth\u2019s surface, he may find examples of all the\nmost important facts in the history of fossils.\u201d[1] We shall, however,\nalong with our lineal descriptions of the mineral kingdom, notice the\noccurrence, position, and fossil contents of the strata as represented in\nother parts of the world.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nNATURE AND STRUCTURE OF THE GRAMPIANS. PRIMARY ROCKS.\n\n\nIn beginning a description of the earth, every one is prepared for the\ninformation, that it must have existed in some form or other antecedent\nto the development of life upon its surface. Revelation asserts a\nsuccession in the objects created, as well as in all the cosmical\narrangements connected with the early history of our planet. Things\nwere not perfected at once, and brought simultaneously into adaptation\nand form; a preparation and a fitting up, as it were, of the inorganic\npreceded the introduction of the organic structures of creation; and,\naccordingly, the solid framework of the globe gives corroborative\nevidence of this anterior condition of its history. The rocks of the\nperiod are, from this circumstance, denominated PRIMARY, because they not\nmerely denote the absence, but are assumed to have been formed before the\nexistence, of any types of organic matter, vegetable or animal.\n\nNowhere can this first lesson in geology be more forcibly taught than by\nan examination of the sterile rocks and rapidly decomposing precipices\nof this bleak and hoary region. Once through the glens, and fairly\ncommencing the ascent of the center mountain, every symptom of existing\nlife has disappeared; and amid the huge, tabular masses that accompany\nyou in the upward journey, there is no trace of organic forms in these\nvestiges of the past. The nucleus of the whole group is granite, one\ndense aggregation of crystals; now rent and furrowed by a thousand seams,\nthe heart and penetralia bared and open, a convulsed sea of molten matter\nstill and motionless as the grave! The associated rocks, all of the\nprimary class, are gneiss, mica-slate, quartz-rock, chlorite-slate, and\nlimestone; and these inclose no relic of a living thing. Geology thus\nascends the stream of Time; but it gives no farther tidings of a scene\nlike this, save that it arose from the depth beneath at the Creator\u2019s\nbidding.\n\nTHE STRUCTURE OF THE DISTRICT.\u2014The mountain of Ben-Mac-Dhui, according to\nrecent measurements, is 4,418 feet in height, and covers a superficial\narea of nearly forty miles in extent. It occupies a central position\nin the Grampian range, being about equidistant betwixt Aberdeen on the\nGerman Sea and the western coast, so ribbed and indented by the Atlantic.\nRanges of granitoid rocks, of the primary class, diverge for nearly forty\nmiles south and north of Ben-Mac-Dhui, thereby giving this mountain a\nprominence in position possessed by no other within the boundaries of the\nisland.\n\nThe valleys by which this monarch is surrounded, open in every direction,\nand run toward every point of the compass. Two great rivers, the Don and\nDee, take their rise in some of the deep gullies of the mountain, while\nthe Spey is fed by the innumerable streams that issue from its sides.\nThese rivers have each an easterly direction, which, by their water-shed,\ngive shape and character to the whole district. A hundred lateral glens,\nwith their tributary streams, and all their tarn-head or loch, debouch\nupon the three principal straths, whereby their deepest solitudes are\nreached, and the very foundations of their loftiest peaks bared and\nlaid open. There, remote from human habitation, the geologist sees as\nit were two conditions of the world,\u2014the one, the shattered framework\nand fragments of its early convulsions, huge mountains prostrate and\ncrumbling beneath his feet,\u2014and the other, the spring-heads of renewed\nvitality collecting in countless dripping rills, each to sustain its\nown little plot of pasturage and flowerets, not the less welcome that\nthey are all so rare and alpine, and looking in their freshness as if\nthey were there purposely to cicatrize and heal up the deep scars in the\nrugged precipices around.\n\nLoch-na-gar on the south-east, and Ben-y-gloe on the south-west, have\nalso their separate congeries of lofty hills and precipitous defiles,\ninclosing tarns, lochs, and rivers; likewise their own peculiar grouping\nof glens and straths, whose inner recesses are all most speedily attained\nthrough the velvet pathways of their moss and crow-berry. From the poetic\npeak the prospect is worthy of its fame. All around is a vast rolling\nsurface of mountains, with steep mural precipices, and separated by deep\nravines, while immediately underneath a cliff of 1,300 feet lies the\nlake, contracted to a span, and rendered even darker in its gloom by the\nsnowy glaciers that sparkle here and there on the overhanging rocks.\n\nFrom Loch-na-gar eastward to Craigdarroch and the more distant Morven,\nand through the great forests of Balloch-bowie, Glentanner, and Glenesk,\ngranite is the prevailing rock. Around Balmoral, immediately under \u201cthese\nsteep frowning glories,\u201d the granite rises into a number of smaller and\nbeautifully dome-shaped hills. Cloch-na-bein and Mount Battock, washed\nby the Feugh and the Dye, are likewise composed of granite. Gneiss,\nmica-schist, quartz-rock, and clay-slate hang on the southern slopes,\ntraining down into the plains of Kincardine and Forfarshire. To the west\nof Loch-na-gar, and intermediate betwixt that range and the granitoid\nmasses which cluster round Ben-Mac-Dhui, the same alternating series of\nstratified rocks occur. From Castleton to the head of Loch Callater, and\nalong by Glen-clunie to the junction with Glen-beg, where the counties\nof Aberdeen and Perth meet, the strike of these rocks is again passed\nover in a walk of a few miles; the beds penetrated and tilted up by\nveins of granite and feldspar. Several dykes of the latter mineral, of\nan extremely deep-red color and glassy crystalline texture, traverse\nthe district, extending over a vast range of country, penetrating\nindifferently the granites and schists, and always forming attractive\nobjects in the beds of the rivers.\n\nIn the immediate vicinity of Castleton and Invercauld, the geological\nphenomena of the district are very accessible as well as instructive, in\nconsequence of the comparative smallness of the mountains, and isolated\nposition into which they are thrown. A magnificent amphitheater of hill\nand plain is spread out before the traveler, through which the Dee,\nafter a course of upward of twenty miles from its wells\u2014mysterious as\nthe fountains of the Nile\u2014rolls its waters, now joined by the Quioch,\nClunie, Candlie, and all the tributaries of the surrounding peaks.\nSome of the hills present bare precipitous cliffs, as Craig Koynach and\nthe Lion\u2019s Face, where the granite, schistose, and calcareous rocks\nare finely exposed to view. Their strike is continued westward, when\nthey are severally crossed in the easy ascent of Morne, half of whose\ndome-shaped top is covered with quartz-rock, which here, as in most of\nthe neighboring heights, attains to an enormous thickness, and shows\nin weathering the yellow granular texture of sandstone. So remarkably\nlike are some specimens we picked up by the roadside, that for a time\nwe imagined ourselves to be approaching a region of secondary deposits.\nInternally, however, the bright crystalline structure is uninvaded by\ndecay. Ben-Beck, Cairn-a-drochel, and Ben-Viach behind Mar Lodge, are\nchiefly composed of gneiss, passing into a slaty micaceous schist. The\nsame character of rock continues upward through Glen-lui until its\njunction with Glen-lui-beg and Glen-derry, where the granite maintains\nits sovereignty over all that primitive lofty region.\n\nThe geologist, in penetrating these primeval wilds, has but little\nchoice left him as to the comforts of his pathway. Arrived at the top of\nGlen-lui, the two diverging passes, right and left, are equally desolate,\nsavage, and grand. He may make his selection as the feeling of the moment\nprompts, but he will not be able to congratulate himself as the traveler\nin a different field\u2014\n\n Hic locus est, partes ubi se via fundit in ambas:\n _Dextera_, qu\u00e6 ditis magni sub m\u00e6nia tendit;\n Hac iter Elysium nobis: ut _l\u00e6va_ malorum\n Exercet p\u00e6nas, et ad impia Tartara mittit.\n\nNo \u201cfiends,\u201d indeed, as Dryden renders it, are here, unless the belated\ntraveler may allow his fancy to shape these gnarled withered stumps of\nthe old forest, as it well may, into grisly living forms; or the red deer\nbreaking from their coverts, and gazing in wild amazement from the crags,\nstartle him from his propriety. Still Loch Avon, black as pitch, and\nimbosomed in horrid rocks, is not an unfitting emblem of the Tartarean\nlake.\n\nPursuing his route to Strathspey, either through the desolate openings\nof Ben-Avon, or by the wild passes of Brae-Riach and Cairn-gorm,\nthe geologist again drops down among the gneiss, schists, limestone,\nand quartz. These types of rock line the trough of the Spey, on both\nsides, as far as the granite district of Ericht and Laggan, presenting\nthe usual phenomena of granitic and feldspathic dykes, and in some\nplaces, as at Loch-an-Eilan, remarkable twistings and flexures in the\nmica-schist around this eagle-haunted lake. Glen Tilt, on the south-west,\nis distinguished by a singular display of granitic veins, appearing\nto radiate from a common center\u2014the well-known phenomena which the\nphilosophers of the Hutton and Playfair school pressed so keenly and\nsuccessfully into the service of their theory. The gneiss is generally to\nbe observed in the form of low ridges, interstratified with quartz-rock,\nand approaching in mineral qualities to the mica-slate.\n\nThe bearing of all these stratified rocks is, on the main, sufficiently\nindicated by the outline of the Grampian range. The quartz, mica, and\nchlorite slates, are nearly continuous along the chain, traversing in a\nS. W. by N. E. direction the breadth of the island, from sea to sea. The\nline of strike, however, is often interrupted, either by the eruptive\nveins above mentioned, or by the upheaval of the central axis, which,\nas it rose with greater violence, or was parted into higher and unequal\nridges, would necessarily occasion corresponding changes in the lie and\ndirection of their coverings. This principle in geological dynamics has\nbeen satisfactorily established by Mr. Hopkins of Cambridge, who has\nshown, that in the production of any great line of elevatory disturbance,\nwhether affecting straight, curvilinear, or ellipsoidal masses, the\nstrata would frequently be broken by fissures at various angles to the\nchief line of strain or elevation. Hence these interminable glens,\ntransverse straths, cul-de-sacs, and countless depressions, forming tarns\nand lochs, all inosculating into each other, and which give such variety\nand grandeur to this alpine region. The pent up ebullient matter beneath\nthe crust would thereby force its way to the surface\u2014now in the form\nof veins\u2014now in long narrow ridges\u2014and in other quarters assuming the\ncontour of broad mountain domes. The dip, in like manner, corresponding\nto these partial strikes, as well as great axis of the chain, is often\nvarious\u2014as at the Linn of Dee, and along the braes of Corry Mulzie, the\nbeds being almost horizontal, while generally they are so highly inclined\nas to be nearly vertical.\n\nThere are also numerous examples where the crystalline strata dip inward\ntoward the granite ridges, and in this manner form an acute angle with\nthe base, instead of being infolded over and welded to them. The only\nadmissible explanation in these instances of the dip is, that the ends\nof the strata adjacent to the eruptive masses have sunk into depressions\noccasioned by the evolution of igneous matter, while their upper edges\nhave been tilted backward. Hence the schists often rise into independent\nelevated crests all along the chain, and even where no granite appears\nat the surface. The rocks in Glen-Beg and Glen-Clunie afford examples\nof this kind, where, as in Cairn-na-well, and the other mountains here,\nthey are highly inclined, and plunge in the direction of the principal\nrange. Geology, viewed in this light, becomes an auxiliary to physical\ngeography, explains many anomalous appearances on the earth\u2019s surface,\nand successfully accounts for all the flexures, breaks, undulations, and\ninequalities, that constitute such marked features in the primary strata.\n\nUntil very recently, the doctrine maintained was, that nearly all the\ninequalities on the earth\u2019s surface were produced by the erosive and\ndenuding effects of water; that not merely the small lateral valleys and\nbranches of rivers, but likewise all their main trunks, were caused by\nthe slow and gradual working of the stream, cutting the most solid and\nmassive rocks in the same way and almost with the same instrument by\nwhich the lapidary divides a block of marble or granite. Nay, with such a\nready agent, acting through incalculably remote and indefinite periods of\ntime, the conclusion was arrived at, that \u201con our continents there is no\nspot on which a river may not formerly have run.\u201d A sounder philosophy,\nand one far more accordant with the facts, is now beginning to prevail,\nnamely, that nearly all transverse gorges, by which rivers escape across\nridges from one water basin to another, are nothing more than ancient\napertures in the crust of the earth, which have resulted from the former\ndisruption and denudation of the rocks: and that rivers, properly so\ncalled, have never cut sections through chains, but simply flow in\nchasms prepared for them.\n\nNATURE AND QUALITIES OF THE ROCKS.\u2014The granite is the most prevailing,\nas well as the most striking in its appearance and texture, in the whole\nrange. Mineralogically considered, every specimen is a gem. Granite\nis a compound, aggregate rock, here of a lively flesh or rose color,\nconsisting of perfectly formed crystals of quartz, feldspar, mica,\nand in some instances hornblende, when it merges into what is termed\nsyenite. The sparkling film is mica. It is not metallic; but it shines\nwith metallic luster; and in some places of the chain, as at Rothes on\nthe Spey side, it is found in plates so large as to become a substitute\nfor glass. The component parts of mica are silex, alumine, potash, iron,\nmanganese, and traces of other substances. The colors of the mineral are\nvarious, according to the proportions of some of the ingredients. The\nlamin\u00e6 are divisible into plates no thicker than 1/300,000th part of an\ninch. Entering into the composition of almost every rock from the oldest\nto the newest, it abounds chiefly in granite and schist, but also occurs\nin sandstones, and the slaty shales of the coal formation.\n\nI never look at a piece of granite, fragments of which are strewed on\nevery heath, without being reminded of Paley\u2019s inaccurate and disparaging\ncomparison betwixt \u201cthe stone\u201d and \u201cthe watch,\u201d in his celebrated\nargument for the existence of Deity. Take a specimen fresh and living\nfrom the rock, or from any bowlder that meets you on the way. There is\nnot a stain in all that composite mass: how bright every ingredient! No\nworkmanship of man can rival it in its closeness of texture, beauty of\ncolor, distinctness and delicacy of shading and outline. What chemistry\nelaborated these particles as they separated and united? What scales\nweighed their impalpable elements? What hands constructed their nicely\nharmonizing proportions? Whence derived their principle of cohesion as\nthey cooled and inosculated in the burning crucible? As that fragment of\nrock, so is the whole interior of the mighty range\u2014the whole basis of the\ncontinents of the world\u2014countless myriads of sparkling gems wrought into\nsymmetry and form; the foundations of our earthly habitation literally\n\u201cgarnished with all manner of precious stones.\u201d\n\nPaley, forgetful of every law or purpose so conspicuously developed in\nthe whole of these beautiful arrangements, thus commences his great work\non Natural Theology:\u2014\u201cIn crossing a heath, suppose I pitched my foot\nagainst a _stone_, and were asked how the stone came to be there, I might\npossibly answer, that, for anything I knew to the contrary, it had lain\nthere forever: nor would it perhaps be very easy to show the absurdity of\nthis answer. But, suppose I had found a _watch_ upon the ground, and it\nshould be inquired how the watch happened to be in that place, I should\nhardly think of the answer which I had before given, that for anything I\nknew, the watch might have always been there.\u201d\n\nHow many fallacies are there in this statement so far as mention is made\nof the stone? The science of geognosie, not so far advanced in Paley\u2019s\ntime, now clearly establishes the \u201cabsurdity\u201d of supposing its having\nlain from \u201ceternity\u201d in the place where it is found. The relative ages of\nmountains, and therefore their succession in Time, are now demonstrable\nand well understood. Then, the component parts of the mineral are as well\ndefined, as accurately proportioned, and arranged in manner and order as\nprecisely, as the several parts of the watch. The mica, the quartz, the\nfeldspar, have each their law or order of structure, as well as their\nprinciple of aggregation; and they have taken their respective forms and\nno other, and have assumed their compound structure and no other, in\nobedience to chemical affinities and an atomic adjustment, as certain and\nunalterable as are the conditions and requirements of dynamics.\n\nNay, more, the parent rock, from which that stone was taken, has its own\nplace in the system; its position, amidst the upheaved disrupted strata\naround, has been assumed for a purpose; and the very size, form, and\noutline of the giant mass, are all shaped to an end. Rocks are as easily\ndistinguished as trees or animals, which have not risen up by accident,\nbut have been constructed out of certain materials, and arranged each\naccording to its own class. Their internal characters, and even outward\nshape, are marked and defined. The gnarled oak in fiber and texture\ndiffers not more from the soft, pendulous, graceful willow, than are\nthe differences of rocks and minerals in their normal arrangement of\nparticles; in their diversity of fracture, cleavage, luster, and density.\nWe see at once the mechanism of the watch, the growth and expansion of\nplants and animals. But so, upon gaining the least knowledge of its\nframe-work and structure, we cannot open our eyes upon any part of the\nexternal world, without being impressed with the conviction, that all\nwhich we see and admire, must be the work of a higher power. Design\nis stamped upon everything. Will, order, and might are everywhere\nvisible.\u2014Geology, discovering harmony amidst apparent confusion,\nrenovation in decay, shows that every rock is fitted to its place;\nthat systems and series of formations are arranged upon a principle\nof utility; and so thoroughly calculated to exercise their assigned\nfunctions have all the parts been formed, that the most elaborate\nmachinery of man\u2019s contrivance falls infinitely short of the beauty and\nperfection everywhere displayed in the material creation. Lain forever!\nNo; such a scene of mountain, valley, river, plain, and ocean\u2014all related\nto each other\u2014does not exist by chance, is not conserved nor arranged by\naccident.\n\nTHEORY OF FORMATION.\u2014When we examine a piece of granite, nothing appears\nless likely, to a common observer, than that it was once in a molten\nstate through the action of fire, and that its crystalline structure was\nassumed in process of cooling. Now, the fact of its crystallization,\nthe beautiful and perfect arrangement of its parts, the impress of the\none crystal upon the other reciprocally communicating their respective\nshapes to each other, and the compact, agglutinated state of the whole,\nis regarded as the strongest proof of the igneous origin of this\nremarkable rock. Granite is not a mere congeries of parts, which, after\nbeing separately formed, was somehow brought together and united; but\nit is certain that the quartz, at least, was fluid when it was molded\non the feldspar. In some granites, the impressions of the substances\non one another are observed in a different order, and the quartz gives\nits form to the feldspar. The ingredients of granite were therefore\nfluid when mixed; and this fluidity was not the effect of solution in a\nmenstruum, as in that case one kind of crystal does not impress another,\nbut each retains its own peculiar shape; and the conclusion is, that\nthey crystallized from a state of simple fluidity, such as, of all known\ncauses, heat alone is able to produce.\n\nThis is the account given in the Huttonian theory, as expressed nearly\nin the words of Playfair, which, along with the position of veins, the\ndisruption of superincumbent strata, and other phenomena, has resulted\nin the universally received admission of the Plutonic character of this\nclass of rocks. Dr. Macculloch has extended the principle, and has\nsatisfactorily proved, that granite is but one term in the series of\nigneous products, the passages from which are distinctly traceable into\ngranitoid syenite, and syenitic greenstone, and thence into greenstone,\nbasalt, and lava. Professor Forchhammer considers granite, when melted,\nas one simple compound, and which only on cooling becomes separated into\nthe different minerals that compose it.\n\nGranite, wherever it is found, is inferior to every other rock; and as it\ncomposes many of the greatest mountain chains, it has the pre-eminence\nof being elevated the highest into the atmosphere and sunk the deepest\nunder the surface, of all the mineral constituents of the globe to which\nour researches extend. The associated primary rocks in this upland region\noverlie the granite, and possess a distinctly stratified structure.\nThey are not now in their original position. They have been tilted up,\ntraversed, and interlaced by the granite while in fusion, and have been\naltered greatly in their texture and qualities by their contact with the\nheated mass. Hence they are called METAMORPHIC ROCKS, because of the\nchange to which they have been subjected.\n\nThe rocks that immediately overlie the granite are gneiss, mica-slate,\nquartz-rock, and limestone. They all partake of the crystalline\nstructure, and all, except the last, possess the same ingredients,\nand assume interchangeably the same aspect. Of gneiss there are three\nvarieties, each composed of feldspar, quartz, and mica, and distinguished\nby the size and form of the crystals that constitute the mass. This rock,\nconsisting in all cases of thin lenticular plates, has a ribbon-like\nappearance, and, according to the predominance of one of the parts,\nbecomes glandular, slaty, or aggregate. Mica-slate consists of quartz\nand mica\u2014the latter predominating\u2014and feldspar frequently entering as\nan adjunct. Quartz-rock, as the term implies, is formed of the pure\nsiliceous matter, nearly homogeneous in many instances\u2014but scales of\nmica are often present\u2014and feldspar not always absent. The limestone,\nagain, differs from all the above in the excess of the calcareous\nelement, while, along with talc, steatite, actynolite, asbestus, and\nother simple minerals, mica, quartz, and feldspar are likewise to be\nnumbered among the imbedded crystals. These rocks, over the entire\nsurface of the globe, are of one family, and generally associated. They\nare always the lowest of the stratified series, and follow in the order\nnow described. They are essentially one and the same in their constituent\nmineral qualities\u2014different in the form and proportions in which they\nare aggregated\u2014and geographically connected with the granite in their\ndistribution. Thus these crystalline rocks not only constitute the floor\nof our earth, but have in all probability supplied the materials under\nwhose plutonic agency, when fused and molten, the massive pavement was\nraised above the waters and tempered into its present consistency.\n\nGranite, the derivative rock, is found, accordingly, in every region of\nthe globe\u2014the lowest as well as the most universally distributed\u2014the\nbasis as well as the apex of every great mountain chain. No true Highland\nscenery is anywhere to be found that does not embrace granite as the\nmost prominent feature in the picture. Not a hill in Scotland, two\nthousand feet high, but incloses a portion of this rock. The beauties\nof the English lake country are all derived from this source. The lofty\nserrated peaks of Wales have been raised upon its crystal foundations.\nThe north-west and central portions of France, the Swiss and Tyrolese\nAlps, the vast expanse betwixt Dresden and Vienna, the Caucasus, great\npart of the Himalayan, Uralian, and Altai mountains, and large elevated\ndistricts in China, are all less or more of granite formation. Through\nNorthern Russia and Scandinavia the granite may be regarded as merely\na continuation of our Scottish range\u2014one great stony girdle, which\nforms the primary mineral boundary of Northern Europe. America, Africa,\nAustralia, possess not a single ridge of celebrity through which the\nsame fundamental rock is not traceable in every district. How simple,\nuniform, universal the component elements of the globe! One and the same\natmosphere surrounds it, one ocean washes it, one system of massive\npillars supports it, one sun enlightens it. How direct and irresistible\nthe inference, that one intelligent, all-powerful Being fashioned and\nframed it!\n\nThe separation of the dry land from the waters was, doubtless, effected\nthrough the instrumentality of means. The igneous theory of granite, and\nother amorphous rocks, is in accordance with this supposition, which\nthereby imparts a sacred and peculiar interest to all our investigations\nrespecting the origin and elevation of mountains. The range of geological\ninvestigation is thus wide as the circumference of the globe\u2014deep as the\nfoundations of the earth\u2014and sublime thoughts are everywhere awakened of\nHim\u2014\n\n Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,\n And the round ocean, and the living air,\n And the blue sky, and in the mind of man:\n A motion and a spirit that impels\n All thinking things, all objects of all thought,\n And rolls through all things!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nTHE SILURIAN SYSTEM. FIRST TRACES OF LIFE.\n\n\nThe group of rocks on which we next enter are termed fossiliferous, that\nis, there is contained in their hard stony substance the impressions and\nactual remains of organic bodies. As we proceed upward through the series\nin their ascending order, we will find different rocks distinguished by\ndifferent classes of fossils, and characterized by distinct lithological\nappearances. They are in consequence divided into different formations,\nand called by particular names. Hence the origin of SYSTEMS, of which\nthere are five or six recognized by geologists, separable into their\nrespective groups of strata. Descending from the primary, the highest as\nwell as lowest in the series of rocky combinations, the group which first\ninvites attention is the SILURIAN; so denominated because the strata\nare widely spread over the districts in England and Wales, anciently\ninhabited by a people called the \u201cSilures.\u201d They are found in various\nquarters of the world, and occupy a large area on the southern frontiers\nof Scotland.\n\nThe rocks of this class consist of a group of argillaceous, calcareous,\nand arenaceous deposits, varying in color and texture. They are of\ngreat thickness and severally impressed with their own written story,\nthe fossil memoranda of the changes and events that occurred betwixt\nthe formation of each. These are the transition rocks of Werner. The\nnewly-adopted term of Silurian implies no peculiar theory as to their\norigin. It simply expresses the fact that in the district in question a\ncomplete succession of fossiliferous strata is interpolated between the\noldest slaty crystalline rocks and the old red sandstone. The system is\ndivided by their discoverer and historian, Sir R. I. Murchison, under the\nascending series, into the Cambrian System, Llandeilo-flags, Caradoc\nSandstone, Wenlock Shales and Limestones, and Lower and Upper Ludlow\nRocks.\n\nDo the equivalents of all, or of any, of these groups exist in the\nGrampian range? Geologists for the most part have been answering these\nquestions in the negative. Hitherto no true silurian deposits have been\nrecognized as existing among the northern Scottish mountains, and no\nwell-authenticated organism of the system has been detected in any of\ntheir localities. This, however, will hardly be taken as a conclusive\nargument after the admission into the family of the Skiddaw slate, in\nwhich the faintest traces of organized matter have only very recently\nbeen observed, while the over-lying series consisting of chlorite-slate,\nand alternating beds of porphyry and greenstone, from twenty to thirty\nthousand feet thick, have not yet been proved to contain a single fossil.\n\u201cGood fossil groups,\u201d Professor Sedgwick argues, \u201care the foundation of\nall geology; and are out of all comparison the most remarkable monuments\nof the past physical history of our globe, so far as it is made out in\nany separate physical region.\u201d\n\nWe are convinced that the clayslates and graywackes which repose on the\nsouthern flank of the Grampians, as well as abundantly in the interior,\nwill, upon strict examination, have their place assigned among the\nSilurian class. Mr. Nicol, who has done so much for the Lammermuir\ndeposits, will find ample scope for his investigations, and all his\ningenious speculations, in determining the true position of these\nargillaceous beds, which are of prodigious thickness and vast extent.\nThis is not the place to enter into details, but in support of the view\nnow advanced, the following among other reasons may be given.\n\nFirst of all, the clayslate of the Grampians resembles in its lithology\nthe slates of Wales and Cumberland, admitted to be silurian. In hand\nspecimens they cannot easily be distinguished from each other: practical\nmen consider the slates of Dunkeld and Glenalmond as softer and less\nflinty than those of the south. They pass from extremely coarse into the\nfinest grained varieties, when the graywacke character is entirely lost\nin the homogeneous mass. Their position in reference to the crystalline\nrocks, in the next place, is very distinct, never alternating with, nor\nlying conformable to, either the gneiss or mica-schists. They form the\nouter zone, from east to west, of the Grampian range, where feldspar,\nporphyries, and trappean rocks are along the whole line mixed up or\nassociated with them. Then overlying the clayslate, precisely as in\nCumberland, the old red sandstone is found in immediate succession and\nresting unconformably. Shall we add that, even in a topographical point\nof view, these beds will be admitted to vindicate their claim to Silurian\norigin, constituting, as they do, in extension, a portion of the great\nprimary belt that encompasses the western shores of Great Britain, and\nbeyond the channel, stretches through Brittany and Normandy?\n\nFrom considerations such as these there are sufficient grounds, we\nthink, for constituting the clayslates and porphyries of the Grampians\ninto a \u201cphysical group,\u201d existing in a \u201cseparate physical region.\u201d The\nabsence of organic remains may be accounted for by the fact of the vast\ndisturbance prevailing in the seas at the period, and indicated by the\nprodigious quantity of igneous matter spread repeatedly over their\nbottom. These causes would act in so far in preventing the existence and\nincrease of living things, over all these parts, and most certainly in\nobliterating the traces of their remains, if any were deposited. But as\nfuture explorers may yet detect them in abundance we proceed to consider\nthe nature and classes of fossils elsewhere discovered in the Silurian\nstrata.\n\nANIMAL REMAINS. Here, in this series of rocks, we are carried back to\nthe beginning of life upon the globe, in which we see the very dawn and\ncommencement of earthly enjoyment, the first forms and races of creatures\nwhich were privileged to eat at the banquet of creation. As matter of\nhistory, therefore, nothing can be more interesting; as a subject of\nmere curiosity concerning ancient relics, the most ardent arch\u00e6ologist\nwill be amply gratified; and as showing the manner of the divine actings\nin replenishing the earth with living things, the word and the works\nof Deity are again to the devout inquiring mind brought into pleasing\nharmonious comparison.\n\nWe find that the creatures belonging to this first epoch of organic\nexistence are, generally, low in the scale of animated being. The\nrocks in which their remains are imbedded are, in some instances almost\nentirely composed of organic matter, showing that life at first was\nnot bestowed sparingly, or, through some hidden mysterious processes,\nstealthily introduced upon the stage; it rather appears in an abundance\nand variety, speaking of a purpose in obedience to a designing creative\nact. As suitable to the condition of the planet, not at once but\nby successive arrangements brought into a state of adaptation for\nsustaining life, the animals now formed appear to have been chiefly of\nthe invertebrate division, that is, animals of comparatively simple\nstructure, destitute of a bony skeleton, suited to live in shallow waters\nand muddy bottoms, and to be content with such fare as an infant state of\nthings over the young earth could produce. Among these ancient families\nare graptolites,\u2014many of them zoophytic bodies, allied to the modern\nsea-pen; crinoids, or lily-shaped animals, of beautifully-developed\nforms; and trilobites, crustacean creatures divided into three dorsal\nlobes. There are several species of each. And so accurately has nature\nadhered to her plan of operations, that we find the corals of that early\nage doing the same offices, and piling up similar submarine reefs, by\nwhich these busy little architects are still distinguished. The mollusca\nof the period are very numerous, embracing almost every order and form\nof shell that are found in our present seas, though wholly of different\nspecies; conchifera, brachiopoda, gasteropoda, cephalopoda, pteropoda,\nbeside the heteropoda, of which there are no existing analogues. The\nhabits of all these orders must have been nearly the same as those of\nour modern types. The cephalopoda, embracing the nautilus and orthoceras\ntribes, were then as they are now, the tyrants of the deep, furnished\nwith eyes and ears, and armed with powers that enabled them to roam and\nprey at will in the bays and estuaries of the primeval world. There have\nbeen named and catalogued of these first forms of the moving creatures of\nthe deep about three hundred and fifty distinct species.\n\nBut, beside these, there have been discovered in the silurian rocks six\nor seven genera, involving a still greater number of species, of fishes\nof the order of the Placoids, so denominated from the broad scales or\nplates with which they are covered. The probability is, that more of\nthese higher organisms will yet be brought to light, as all the strata\nof the system consist of marine deposits, and only the most limited\nsections have anywhere been explored. They constitute the lowest of\nthe fossiliferous beds; are generally found, except in Russia, in a\nvertical or highly inclined position, and consequently but little of\ntheir superficial area is exposed. Here, however, geologists have named\nand described an Onchus Murchisoni, a Thelodus parvidens, and other four\ngenera of equally erudite-sounding names. The onchus type is continued,\nand greatly multiplied in species, in the two succeeding formations, when\nit dies out, or at least no trace of the genus is found in later times;\nwhile the rest appear to come and to depart within their own geological\nepoch. These organisms are all as yet termed Ichthyolites, that is,\nsimply fossil fragments of fish, as no entire animal has been anywhere\ndetected, while of their true class M. Agassiz affirms with confidence.\nTeeth, fins, spines, occur so abundantly in a stratum of the Upper Ludlow\nseries in Wales as now to be termed \u201cthe bone-bed,\u201d giving assurance that\nthe seas were thus early stocked with the finny tribes. The families of\nmost of these fishes have yet to be determined. But nature, though in her\noperations \u201csimpler than man\u2019s wit would make her,\u201d was still pretending\nenough to be shaping out thus early the higher types of life.\n\nThe science which introduces to such sights and studies, occupies no mean\nplace among the various branches of human inquiry. To neglect to decipher\nwhat is so indelibly recorded on these pages of creation, is willfully to\nshut oneself out from what has been actually preserved for information\u2014a\nvoice from the past, which speaks in the same distinct articulate\nlanguage as the present of the fiat of Omnipotence. No object is mean or\ncontemptible which divine wisdom has formed, and no subject is unworthy\nof investigation which illustrates His ways and works during any period\nof creation.\n\nThe mind, at this starting point of life, is curious to know what\namount of information can be obtained as to the organic structure and\nspecific characters of these first denizens of earth, so as to compare\nthem with the forms and species of the analogous families now existing.\nThe information derived from this first chapter in pal\u00e6ontology, we\nbelieve is, that the earliest specimens of organization are as perfect\nas the latest, each after its kind; and that, in these morning-days of\nexistence, nature at once stamped, with her plastic hand, her lineaments\nof beauty and adaptation on everything she made. There is nothing omitted\nto be afterward supplied\u2014nothing formed defective in a single part or\norgan that requires to be corrected. The first discoveries in geology\nat once speak conclusively of a plan or course of creation derived from\nthe beginning\u2014a power, not delegated, but linked forever with the first\nintelligent cause\u2014a world, through all its changes, continually presided\nover and ruled by Him who made it.\n\nVEGETABLE REMAINS were long wanting, and sought for in vain, to complete\nduring this period the picture of the ancient world, as described in\nthe pages of revelation. Geology, indeed, had everywhere sternly held\nback the required evidence, and animals were announced to be the first\nof living things. This, though contrary to all analogy with regard to\nthe conditions of animal subsistence, was generally received as a well\nestablished dogma; and the earliest book of history was laid aside, or\nits statements in these circumstances regarded as irrelevant. Vegetable\nremains, however, have been detected in the oldest fossiliferous group\nof rocks, and this apparent discrepancy has been forevermore disproved.\nFucoid plants are found in great abundance in the transition series of\nScandinavia as well as in the silurian strata of our own island. That\nthey are not more widely distributed is satisfactorily accounted for by\nexperiments which show that some species of plants entirely disappear in\nwater. A productive flora, therefore, may have existed from the earliest\nperiod, but, unable to resist decomposition, all traces thereof have long\ndisappeared from the tablets of the earth.\n\nNay, so abundant in some quarters of the globe has vegetable matter been\nat this period, that there are traces of beds, approximating to coal,\nentirely composed of it, and the rocks inclosing these beds so charged\nwith bitumen and carbon as to be used as fuel. \u201cThe silurian strata of\nthe Scandinavian peninsula and the Island of Bornholm, contain,\u201d says\nProfessor Forchhammer, \u201cin their oldest parts, large beds of aluminous\nslate, which is used in a great number of manufactories for making alum;\nand this aluminous slate has the great advantage over those slates of the\ncarboniferous system of Germany and a part of France, that it contains\nthe sufficient quantity of potash which is required to make alum.\u201d It\nis well known that potash constitutes an ingredient in most vegetable\nbodies; and that when a plant is burned there remains a skeleton of\nthis substance. Hence, possibly, the origin of the potash in the alum\nslate. But the argument does not rest upon inference. The same authority\nrelates, that in Bornholm and in Scania, the southernmost part of Sweden,\nthis slate contains a great number of impressions of a fucoidal plant, of\nwhich Liebmann has given minute botanical descriptions. Then, pursuing\nhis interesting tale of this first flora of creation, he says,\u2014\u201cAccording\nto Professor Keilhau, Professor Bock, and M. Esmark, the same ceramites\noccurs frequently in the aluminous silurian slate of Southern Norway.\nRecently M. Hisinger has figured an imperfect specimen of it from Berg,\nin the province of Ostergothland, in Sweden. Thus this fucus appears to\nbe characteristic of the alum slate of Scandinavia: and I can scarcely\ndoubt that the most characteristic properties of the alum slate, as\ndepending upon its carbon, its sulphur, and its potash, are derived from\nthe great quantity of sea-weed which has been mixed up with the clay,\nand whose carbonaceous matter so affects the whole rock, that the slate\nis used as fuel for boiling the aluminous liquor, and burning lime; and\nin some parts of the province of Westergothland in Sweden, even small\ncourses of true coal occur. There can hardly remain any doubt that this\ncoal is derived from sea-weeds, of which fossil parts have been found,\nfor not the slightest trace of land plants has ever been discovered.\u201d\n\nThese are instructive facts, yet greatly to be extended, when, we\nquestion not, the land will also contribute of its flora to complete\nour knowledge of the most ancient fossiliferous strata.\u2014But recently,\nbands of true coal have been discovered completely inclosed in this\ngroup of rocks near Oporto, the town of which stands on a ridge of\ngranite, four or five miles wide, with mica-slate and gneiss resting on\nboth sides. To the eastward, these again are overlaid by sedimentary\nrocks, chiefly clayslate; which, commencing on the coast about thirty\nmiles north of Oporto, run down and cross the Douro, about sixteen\nmiles above that town.\u2014To the south of Vallango, the strata overlie a\ndeposit of anthracite in several beds, some of them from four to six feet\nthick.\u2014This coal is now worked in several pits, and principally sent to\nOporto. Along with it are beds of red sandstone and black carbonaceous\nslates, with vegetable impressions too indistinct to be determined, but\nstrongly resembling ferns of the coal measures. In the shales above\nthis coal Mr. Sharpe, the discoverer, found many fossils, as orthides,\ntrilobites, and graptolites, most of them new species, but others well\nknown in the lower silurian rocks of Northern Europe. It would thus\nappear that the coal deposits of Oporto are included in the silurian\nformation, and are far below the usual level of the coal.\n\nWe cannot overvalue the theoretic importance of these discoveries, which\ndo not indeed bring to light any exuberant variety of the vegetable\ntribes, such as the earth afterward threw out of her affluent bosom.\nBut they mark sufficiently the period when plants, according to the\ngeological reading of the history, first make their appearance on these\nlithological pages: fucoids and alg\u00e6 are there in abundance, to give\nthe vegetable portion of the narrative, as trilobites and molluscs form\nunquestionably the predominating features of the animal department.\nThe coal-beds of Oporto\u2014should their position turn out to be truly\ndefined\u2014show the dawning of a terrestrial flora, not sparingly but\nluxuriantly developed: and thus the silurian period may be regarded\nthroughout as sufficiently characterized by well-marked types of\nvegetation, more doubtful in the higher forms, but determinate in the\nacotyledonous and cryptogamic tribes which prevail indifferently from the\nlower to the upper beds of the system. Nor do we require to overstrain\nthe statement, by questioning nature or revelation as to the species,\ngenera, orders, and classes of vegetables referred to in their respective\npages. They are coincident as to the great truth itself, that PLANTS\ndid exist in the earliest \u201cdays\u201d of the earth\u2019s history. As a science,\nnothing is taught in the Sacred Record. None of the technicalities\nof physical inquiry are employed. But a beautiful progression, and\nelimination of one thing after another, are intimated. The light is\nseparated from the darkness. A firmament is set in the midst of the\nwaters. The first plant that burst from the soil had thus every element\nprovided which its nature and habits required\u2014the light, to which it\nturns and ever yearns after\u2014the air, in which to perform its respiratory\nfunctions\u2014the water, from which to secrete the juices of circulation\u2014and\na dry land, out of which to elaborate materials for its structure. This\nis a Wisdom which is above all philosophy, instructing in the elements\nand principles of things, long before botanical arrangements were dreamed\nof, or \u201cbushy dell\u201d there was, where\n\n \u201choary-headed frosts\n Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose.\u201d\n\nThe silurian group of rocks is very widely extended, as in Britain,\nFrance, Russia, the north-west of Asia; in South Africa, North and South\nAmerica, the Falkland Islands, and Australia. The most ancient physical\nfeatures of the Old World can almost be recalled, as we thus trace the\noutline of the deposit, marking out, by its geographical distribution,\nthe primary islands and mountain peaks of the aboriginal land. How\nchanged the very face of things\u2014continuity between states and kingdoms\nwhere seas now roll\u2014and all the great continents occupying the sites over\nwhich the waters held unbounded sway!\n\n[Illustration: Trilobites of the Silurian System.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nTHE DEVONIAN SYSTEM, OR OLD RED SANDSTONE.\n\n\nA geologist requires not, like the tourist, to be told of the various\nconflicting roads that run among the mountains, in what precise course\nhe is to wend his way. He will follow his own pathways, roads of\nnature\u2019s forming, guided by the strike and lie of the rocks rather\nthan by the beaten tracks of every-day life. But come whither he\nwill\u2014through Glentilt, Glenericht, Glenbeg, and the Spittal, Glenisla,\nand Clova,\u2014or along the Dee, the heights of Glentanner, and penetrating\nto the sources of the Esks\u2014sure we are, when he reaches by any of those\npasses the frontiers of the Grampians, he will pause and gaze wistfully,\nthoughtfully, admiringly, ere he descends, upon the magnificent prospect\nthat stretches before him, unrivaled by any on the terraqueous globe. The\nGRAN-PEN, _celtic\u00e9_, the shelvy or precipitous summit, Romanized into\nGrampius, has its own inner charms, peaceful rock-girt valleys where\nprinces dwell, and happy as Rasselas ever trod.\u2014And escaped from these,\nwhat an outer world beneath, fertile, abundant, replete with everything\nthat can charm the eye or interest the student. Looming in the far\ndistance, the Lammermuirs, of silurian origin, can just be descried as\na dark-blue line on the verge of the horizon; the Ochils and Lomonds,\nof carboniferous age, repose like islets on the pendant sky; while, in\nthe foreground of the picture, there is the most charming variety of\nwoodland, meadow, farmstead, town, and mansion, all as I now gaze upon\nthem in their autumn coloring, invested with a Claud-like mellowness that\nspeaks with a moral yet romantic sympathy to the heart. The round tower\nof Brechin, the moldering walls of Edzell, the frowning battlements of\nGlammis, the worn-out and now verdant ramparts of Dunsinane, have each\ntheir crowds of visitants, and are all within the compass of a single\nday\u2019s journey.\n\nThe eye of the geologist is in search of another object as it wanders\nover that lovely scene: Kinnordie, the birth-place of Sir Charles\nLyell, must ever be classic ground in the history of our science. It\nrests on the old red sandstone, and furnishes some of the most valuable\nillustrations in Sir Charles\u2019s early sketches. What influences, may\nwe here ask, gave being and shape to the ingenious and splendid\ngeneralizations of this accomplished geologist? Is it too much to assume\nthat the philosopher, as well as the poet, is all his life-long captive\nto first impressions, that the scenes of his boyhood claim \u201ca local\nhabitation\u201d for many of his future speculations, and that his most\nmatured trains of thinking have been dependent upon casual circumstances?\nBorn and educated in the shadow of the Grampians, who can doubt that the\nspirit within was early stirred to lofty views as he gazed upon their\nelevated forms, and wondered how their peaks rose so high in air, and\nwere thus lifted above the valleys? May it not be presumed, though the\nphilosopher himself may have no recollection of the matter, that his\nspeculations regarding the alternate elevation and depression of land and\nsea had its germ in some such happy moment of mountain inspiration? Byron\nowned the influence in all its power, when, in the rocky defiles and dark\npine forests of Lochnagar, he had early communings with spiritual beings,\nthe wreathe-forms and kelpies of the streams; and in visions imparted\namidst the wilds of the Dee, prepared his mind for the daring flights\nof the Alps. The geologist had here all the materials of after-thought,\nwhich in his various essays and works he has so skillfully expanded\u2014from\nhis explorations of Bakie-loch with its alluvions, peat, marl, shells,\nand horns, in which he had the type of some of his Alpine tertiaries\u2014the\nold canoe and ripple-mark here too, the representatives of their\nfar-sundered ages and onward to his bold speculations on the elevatory\nhypothesis, of which the Grampians, as well as Sidlaws, supplied him with\nample illustrations.\n\nThe descent from the mountains upon the series of rocks that occupy the\nplains, is one not merely of space, but likewise of time. A geological\nepoch has vanished, and a new order of things has been called into\nexistence. This implies a change in the animal as well as in the mineral\nkingdom. The change may not have been sudden, but it has been thorough\nand pervading, accompanied by circumstances that show a general shift\nin the sea-bottom, and causes that have been nearly uniform in their\noperation over the surface of the globe. The shift in the sea-bottom is\ndetected in the elevation of the silurian group of rocks, which have\nbeen lifted from a horizontal into a highly-inclined position: in some\ninstances they are nearly vertical; and in most cases where the igneous\nrocks occur, they are bent and twisted, greatly altered and disrupted, by\nthe process of upheaval to which they have been subjected.\n\nGeology notes in this an epoch or age of organic existence. The\nsuperjacent series of rocks are seen lying unconformably upon the\nsilurians, that is, the older series had been consolidated and upheaved,\nand a period of intervening time had elapsed before the deposition of the\nnewer. The fossils imbedded are likewise distinct and peculiar\u2014one and\nthe same over the superficial area of the globe\u2014and thus we learn to mark\nthe great and interesting cosmical changes which had already begun to be\neffected. We are now among the Old Red Sandstone, or Devonian system of\nrocks, so denominated from their great development in that district of\nthe sister kingdom.\n\nAs contrasted with the former system, the rocks of this period indicate\nconsiderable disturbance in the waters of the ocean, currents and\nagitations widely prevailing, and perhaps also deeper seas. The crust\nof the earth was still rising, and the mountains becoming higher, and\nthese effects would necessarily follow. A superior order of animals\nwere introduced. The fishes, which begin to appear in the upper beds of\nthe silurian group, are now increased both in numbers and in variety of\nstructures. The invertebrata were the prevailing types of the former\nage. The old red sandstone is pre-eminently characterized by the\nvertebrata, when, completely adapted to the element to be inhabited,\nmailed and plated over with thick horny scales, huge bony heads, fins\nand tails of corresponding strength and size; the Sauroid family appear\nupon the stage, capable all of buffeting the waves and fulfilling their\ndestiny amid the greatest commotions. The fish of this early period are\ngenerally well preserved, even better than those of the tertiary age,\nin consequence of their osseous scales being harder than the bones, and\nwhich, from their interlocked arrangement, have contributed to preserve\nthe general form of the body when the inner skeleton has disappeared and\nevery other part and organ have been destroyed.\n\nThe old red sandstone formation is very extensively distributed in\nthe northern counties, forming a great belt round the coast from\nCaithness-shire to Aberdeenshire, and consisting of three well-marked\ndivisions, the lower, middle, and upper series of beds. The strata flank\nthe northern walls of the Grampians and their out-liers, traversing the\ngreat central or Caledonian valley for a hundred miles, and training\nround the western coast by Oban, the shores of Mull and Morven. They\nare of great thickness in many places; and in some of the beds, as at\nCromarty, Lethen-bar, and Gamrie, contain nearly all the fossils peculiar\nto the formation.\n\nThe order of Ganoid fishes, which afterward fulfill so distinguished\na part in the kingdom of nature, is wholly absent from the silurian\ngroup, while, in the Devonian, nearly thirty genera, and considerably\nabove sixty species, have been described and named. The scales of\nthese creatures would appear to have been richly ornamented, enameled,\nand shining, and hence the term Ganoid applied to the order. In the\nnorthern districts, beyond Ben Mac-Dhui, the following genera, with\nseveral species belonging to each, have been found, namely, coccosteus,\ncheiracanthus, cheirolepis, dipterus, diplopterus, diplocanthus,\nglyptolepis, osteolepis, pterichthys. The principal localities of these\nfossils are\u2014the Dipple on the Spey, Tynet Burn in Banffshire, Seat-Craig\nnear Elgin, Altyre on the Findhorn, Clune, and Lethen-bar in Nairnshire,\nGamrie, Cromarty, and various places in Sutherland and Caithness.\nShetland is chiefly composed of the old red sandstone, which yields\nabundantly the fossils peculiar to the deposit. The formation extends\nthrough the Orkney islands, inexhaustibly fertile in organic remains,\nand among which have been found plates and fragments of the Asterolepis,\nthe largest of all the genera belonging to the period: the head and\njaws, at least, appear to have been of enormous dimensions, and portions\nof the inner skeleton must have been bony, contrary to the general\ncartilaginous structure of the class. The Placoids of the subjacent\nrocks have many resemblances to the cestracions, centrin\u00e6, and spinaxes\nof our present seas, their scales being set like plates at irregular\ndistances over the body. The Ganoids, on the other hand, whose scales\nwere continuous, and enveloped the entire animal, have no affinities to\nany living types.\n\nSpecimens of vegetable organisms are very common in some of the\nflagstones of Orkney, resembling, in some instances, the Lycopodiace\u00e6,\nor club-mosses, so abundant in the carboniferous strata: and branching\nfucoid plants, of which portions have been found from two to three feet\nin length, and of nearly the same diameter of stem throughout. But in\ntracing the COURSE of CREATION in this department of her works, the most\nimportant fact to relate is, the discovery of a coniferous lignite,\nimbedded in the old red sandstone of Cromarty. This interesting relic\nwas obtained from these beds, several years ago, by Mr. Miller; and,\nthough still of that remote age an instantia solitaria of its kind, like\nthe foot-print of Robinson Crusoe, it is the sure token of a race that\ninhabited the island, and harbinger of a luxuriant flora then waving\nalong the shores of the boundless waters. These northern localities, on\nthe mainland, as well as in the islands, are also remarkable for their\nshell-beds in this deposit, while very few of such organisms have yet\nbeen detected in any of the Scottish rocks of the system to the south\nof the Grampians. The relics are confined to one species of shell,\nresembling in general appearance the form of the Cyclas, and are found in\nvarious quarries in the district.\n\nWhat a revolution in letters, knowledge, and civilization since the days\nof the Romans! This, their Ultima Thule! and a science in the very rocks\nof which they never even dreamed. Proud they were of their fabled origin\nfrom the twin boys suckled by the wolves. Here are the spoils of ages\nlong anterior to their myths of remotest genealogy\u2014families of creatures\nthat had fulfilled their destiny\u2014buried in the sand, and upheaved into\nlofty mountains, while the Seven Hills of their proud city slept beneath\nthe waves.\n\nWe now proceed to trace the order of the formation southward of the\nGrampian chain.\n\n1. The conglomerate, a deep red and well-marked deposit, skirts the\nbase of the mountains, and in some places is of vast thickness, betwixt\nStonehaven and Blairgowrie. This rock is composed of fragments of\nthe primary series, gneiss, mica-slate, quartz, and porphyry; the\ngranite constitutes the paste in which these are set and agglutinated\ntogether. Excellent sections are to be seen in those localities,\nwhere the principal rivers, the North and South Esks, the Wast Water,\nthe Isla, and the Ericht, make their passage in debouching upon the\nplains. In all these defiles the cliffs are precipitous, and often very\npicturesque, their variegated and bright flesh-colored sides forming\na pleasing contrast with the dark waters as they eddy into pools, or\ndash headlong over their broken ledges. A momentary inspection of this\ncomposite rock leaves not the shadow of a doubt upon the mind as to\nits derivative origin, while its vicinity to the great chain where its\nseveral ingredients are to be found as directly points to the quarry\nwhence it was hewn: not, it may be, slowly accumulating, as generally\nasserted, during the lapse of indefinite periods of time, but rapidly\nbrought together and consolidated, as so many of the sharp angular\nedges of the materials most unequivocally attest. The finer beds that\noccur in the vicinity would seem to have been the talus or outgoing\nof the coarser conglomerate, formed of the minute particles of the\nsame ingredients which had accumulated in the more tranquil hollows of\nthe sea-bottom. The slaty fissile sandstone of Coventry Quarry near\nFettercairn (so remarkably tilted up and welded literally to the igneous\ndyke), stretching throughout the north-east and south-west parts of the\ncounties of Kincardine and Forfar, and prevailing over the districts of\nAuchtergaven, Crieff, and Callander, may be mistaken in many places for\nthe clay-slate itself slightly altered in texture and appearance.\n\nThese conclusions as to the derivative origin of the conglomerate are\nfully confirmed and borne out by the fact, that the deposit is everywhere\nfound precisely where such materials would be collected, all around the\nshores of the Scottish Highlands, overlying or fringing the base of\nthe crystalline rocks, filling up the creeks and bays of the primeval\nworld. After thousands of years the massive blocks of syenite, chiseled\nand half-dressed, are still lying in the quarries of Upper Syria,\nwhile the cities for which they were preparing are heaps of ruins in\nthe desert. Nature, left to her own operations, treasures up the waste\noccasioned by the elements and other forces, and by thus raising outworks\nand buttresses protects her crystal foundations against the inroads of\nconsuming time.\n\n2. Forming an outer zone or rampart, and overlapping the conglomerate, a\ngray fossiliferous sandstone constitutes the next member of the Devonian\ngroup. This deposit is widely extended, and consists of several beds.\nOne of these is a fine-grained, compact building stone. Another, the\nwell-known flag-stone, is of a more slaty texture, of a dark-blue color,\nand abounds in mica. These sandstones occupy a great part of the sea-ward\nbarrier by Montrose, Arbroath, and the high grounds of Carmylie. They\nfold over the Sidlaws on both acclivities of the range, where they form\na well defined example of what geologists term the _anticlinal_ and\n_synclinal_ axes, that is, the rock curves and reduplicates, like a soft\nflexible substance, according to the undulations of the surface. The\nseveral beds cross the Tay in the direction of Dundee, and emerge on the\nopposite banks at Wormit-bay, Parkhill, and Newburgh; ranging eastward\nalong the northern slope of the Ochils by Norman\u2019s Law and the high\ntable-land of Balmerino.\n\n3. A limestone rock, termed CORNSTONE, from its practical application\nto grinding purposes in England, occupies a place among the old red\nsandstone series. This deposit occurs in thin bands of a dull yellowish\nor blue-colored stone, containing numerous cherty nodules, and, where\ncompact, is of a sub-crystalline texture. The cornstone generally\ncontains more of silicious than of calcareous matter, and is consequently\nnot much prized for building or agricultural purposes. In Scotland no\norganisms have been as yet detected in it, but in England it yields\nabundantly remains of the cephalaspis and various crustaceans. This\nrock is not co-extensive with the other members of the group, nor do we\nfind it continuous in any part of the district which it occupies. It is\ngenerally found in small detached patches, as at Glen-Finlay, Meigle,\nCargill, on the north of the Sidlaws; at Ballendean, Rait, Meurie, in the\nCarse of Gowrie; at Parkhill, Newburgh, Clunie, Kinnaird, on the south\nbank of the Tay; and at Newton and Craigfoodie, on the southern face of\nthe Ochils. At the Newburgh station of the Edinburgh and Northern Railway\nthe cornstone is inclosed among the eruptive rocks, partaking of their\ncommon induration, and, except in its distinct lamination, cannot be\ndistinguished in color or texture from the traps.\n\n4. A rock-marl underlies the cornstone in the form of a reddish,\nvariegated sandstone, and contains about fifteen per cent. of lime.\nDeep sections of this calcareo-arenaceous deposit are displayed along\nthe basin of the Tay, on both sides, from the confluence of the Isla\nto Stanley, at Pitcairn Green on the Almond, and occupy the ridge from\nMethven to Crieff. A remarkable vein of serpentine skirts the base of the\nGrampians in a south-east and north-west direction, of a beautiful dark\nolive-green, in some places of a blue and whitish color, and at Cortachie\nBridge, where it crosses the Esk, containing crystals of diallage. This\ndyke widens in some parts to nearly ninety feet, of a hard compact\ntexture, and, as the marble of the district on the lakes of Clunie, it is\nextensively used for ornamental purposes.\n\n5. The geologist, as he pursues his journey by either of the lines of\nrailway that intersect Forfarshire, has still many interesting localities\nand objects before him. Traversing \u201cthe fertile plains of Gowrie\u201d by the\nPerth and Dundee Junction, he enters at Inchture upon a higher member of\nthe old red sandstone, a fine-grained yellow-spotted bed. The deposit\nfirst appears to the eastward of Inchture, in the den of Balruddery,\nwhere its outcrop is seen immediately to overlie the gray fossiliferous\nbeds.\u2014The same variety emerges on the opposite bank of the Tay at\nBirkhill; at Abernethy, where it abuts at nearly right angles against the\ntrap in a small ravine to the south of the village; whence it skirts the\nbase of the Ochils, and occupies the center of Strathearn at Dumbarnie.\nThe Clash-bennie sandstone, doubly interesting from having furnished the\nfirst and best specimen of holoptychius, the type of its age, may be\nregarded as an extension of the Balruddery and Inchture rock. The beds\nvary a little in their lithological characters, as well as in the deep\nflesh-color predominant in the latter; still the spherical markings are\nthere, and, as their organic remains are identical, their position in the\nseries may be considered as one and the same. The yellow or upper beds of\nthe old red sandstone fall next to be considered; but these, from their\ngeographical limits, are deferred to the subsequent chapter.\n\n6. Approaching Perth by the Midland Junction, the geologist cannot fail\nto be arrested by the vast accumulations of sand and gravel, which\neverywhere present themselves, sometimes in the deep cuttings and\nrailway sections; sometimes in the shape of rounded hillocks or long\nnarrow ridges; and at other places as extended plateaux or sea-margins\nof different elevations. Along the whole western and southern slopes\nthat overhang the city, these objects give a pleasing variety to the\nlandscape, and form interesting subjects of speculation as to their\norigin, doubtless the gathered wreck of all the rocks we have been\ncontemplating; for after a careful examination of their contents the\nconclusion cannot be avoided, that with much of the spoil of the primary\nrocks, we have here the detrital waste of the entire old red sandstone\nseries. The Carpow cutting, in Strathearn near Newburgh, contains large\nrounded masses of all the varieties, with their peculiar ichthyolites;\nthe gray, red, and yellow deposit that prevails in Fifeshire, and one\nsolitary patch of which still exists _in situ_, near the Kirk of Dron, as\nif on purpose to mark its ancient and more extended boundaries. Nodules\nand bowlders of the cornstone are likewise abundant. In the vicinity\nof Perth, the waste of the yellow sandstone is to be found, unmixed in\nseveral spots, consisting of thick beds of fine argillaceous sand.\n\nSimilar masses of gravelly debris are spread over the middle-basin\nof the Earn, from Forteviot to Muthil. The Scottish Central cleaves\nits way for ten miles through scarcely any other material. The dreary\nmonotony of these endless hillocks, around Auchterarder and Blackford,\nis relieved in part by the fine undulating grassy braes of the Ochils,\nand the richly-wooded rising grounds skirting the left bank of the river.\nThe geologist\u2019s eye wanders eastward, through the district occupied by\nthe lower basin of the Tay, where the whole was one great estuary or\nstrait, and these the shoals covered by the ancient waters. The eastern\nshores, from Wormit-bay to Leuchars, are accordingly characterized by\nvast accumulations of sand and gravel, originating in the same causes and\ndeposited at the same period.\n\nIt will excite no surprise, therefore, should we remark that the various\nbeds of old red sandstone now so disjoined, or appearing only as patches,\nonce covered the greater part of the district traced above, extending\nfrom the Ochils across the Sidlaws to the Grampians. Nor can there be\ndifficulty in finding an adequate cause for their up-break, especially\nin the upper members of the group. Consider not merely the constant\nwaste arising from aqueous abrasion and meteroic influences, but also\nthe tearing effects occasioned by the convulsive throes and elevatory\nmovements of the Grampian, Sidlaw, and Ochil ranges, either singly, or,\nas it may have happened, in combination, when the overlying rocks must\nhave been shattered and broken in every direction, and rendered capable\nof easy transportation. Although belonging to a posterior geological\nepoch, these hillocks of gravel and sand are thus the collected records\nof primeval times, attesting that mighty agencies have been at work in\nrending the globe, re-adjusting its materials, and preparing them for\nfuture combinations.\n\nHow speedily, in these first days of creation, does geology make us\nacquainted with the liability to change and mutation stamped upon\nall earthly things! The mountains are raised up, and their earliest\nstruggles are to get down again. Nor is it the law of matter, if we may\nuse the expression, to rise. The waters seek the hollows of the earth,\nbecause they are material. The rocks, more solid, are subject to the\nsame principle of gravitation, and their course is downward, and their\nnatural place the bottom of the waters. When the rocks were separated\nfrom and elevated above the waters, it was not by any virtue or power\nin themselves to assume these positions. The separation as well as the\nelevation were the results of direct arrangement; both certainly provided\nfor in the original plan, and yet not the less brought about against\ntheir own material tendencies by a special agency. Geology thereby\nestablishes the fact, that the mountains were raised up and the dry land\nCOMMANDED to appear. And now, decomposing and wasting down, we see them\nseeking back to their old places, to be there re-constructed, and to\nsubserve other purposes.\n\nTHE ORGANIC REMAINS, which fall next to be described, are confined to\nthree of the beds, as enumerated above. The first of these, in the order\nof superposition, is the micaceous flagstone of Carmylie and Arbroath,\nlikewise extending along the south bank of the Tay, and distinguished\nby the vegetable culmiferous impressions with which it abounds. These,\nin some places, are so numerous, as to cover the entire surface of the\nrock. The idea of an ancient marsh is immediately called up in the mind,\nas one sees stone after stone split up, and all the interstices mottled\nand streaked over with the stems and leaves of the plants which were\nfed by its waters. While we write, every pond, and every lake in the\nneighborhood has crept quietly under its carpeting of ice, a congelation\nof the living with the dead. How beautiful and distinctly delineated the\nculms and leaves of the chara locked in its crystal embrace; the flower\nof the juncus yet lingers on the stalk; and there, how gracefully float\nthe long broad continuous stems of the scirpus lacustris! The pike and\nperch, both typified in the olden rocks, may be seen motionless as a\nstone, or softly buoyant as the down, in the clear depths below. Not so\nbrightly, but now as fixedly set, and as minutely preserved, are the\nfragments of the flora of the Devonian age: if blackened and jetty in\ntheir hoary antiquity, these films of mica give light and relief to the\ndarker background of the picture; and shapes, too, were there sporting in\nthe waters,\u2014the seraphim and buckler-headed cephalaspis,\u2014which painter\nnever conceived, nor poet feigned.\n\nThese fossils are not in a state of petrifaction, but generally consist\nin the form of an easily-separated film of carbonaceous matter, or more\nfrequently as a simple coaly marking. Sometimes, but very rarely, the\nplant is found betwixt the slaty layers, as it were in a dried state, and\nstill perfectly flexible; and the impressions not unfrequently resemble\nthe narrow striated leaves of the alopecurus geniculatus, the floating\nfoxtail-grass, with its knotted culms. There are other specimens, that\nlook like the bark of trees, or the branches of the gnarled oak, ribbed\nand jointed crosswise. The round dotted patches, varying from the size of\na garden pea to an inch in diameter, not unlike, in shape and appearance,\nthe form of a compressed strawberry, are very plentiful. Dr. Fleming,\nin Cheek\u2019s \u201cEdinburgh Journal\u201d for February, 1831, has figured this\norganism in connection with the stem, which thereby forms a graceful and\nwell-defined flowering plant, while Sir Charles Lyell considers these\nberry-shaped forms to be the relics of the ova of some gasteropoda of the\nperiod. But at Wormit and Parkhill they are so uniformly, and in such\nnumbers, associated with the culmiferous and leaf impressions, as most\nstrongly to vindicate their claim to a vegetable origin. We have in our\ncollection several specimens, with this organism separated certainly from\nthe culm, but still in such closeness and proportionate size, as, with\nlittle aid from the imagination, to infer their former connection, and\nassign to them a place among the phanerogamous and seed-yielding plants.\nIf so, we cannot too highly prize these relics, regarding them, as they\nundoubtedly are, among the oldest of organic substances\u2014the first of the\ngreen herbs that sprung from the earth\u2014the fragile flower, that withers\noften in a day, there to attest the mandate of primeval creation. How\nmany seasons have returned; how many seed-times and harvests have covered\nthe fields; what revolutions and changes over all these hills and plains,\nsince that flinty rock formed the soil, and these vegetables sprung from\nits fertility! They are not admitted among the economic order of the\ngramine\u00e6; nor whether of marine, semi-marine, or lacustrine origin, have\ngeologists been able to determine.\n\nOf the ANIMAL REMAINS of fishes belonging to the gray sandstone, the\nCephalaspis Lyellii was one of the earliest discovered, as it still\nconstitutes one of the most remarkable of these fossil relics. The\nhead of this creature, and hence the name buckler-headed, is large in\nproportion to the body, forming nearly one-third of its length. The\noutline is rounded in the form of a crescent, the lateral horns inclining\nslightly toward each other, while the anterior or central parts project\nconsiderably outward; this peculiarity of structure is occasioned by the\nintimate anchylosis of all the plates which compose the cranium. The\nbody resembles in appearance an elongated spindle, swelling out on the\nridge of the back, and narrowing to the extremity of the tail, which\nterminates in a long slender point. How like, peradventure, the very\ndagger with which the murderous Thane of Glammis threatened to render\u2014\n\n \u201cThe multitudinous seas incarnadine,\n Making the green one red!\u201d\n\nThe sanguineous fluid, in those days, was not indeed very plentiful;\nbut the sharp-horned orthocer\u00e6, and the swift predaceous nautili were\ncotemporaries; and hence, either for protection or attack, we find that,\nwhile the head of the Cephalaspis was one entire plate of enameled\nbone in the upper division, the body was wrapped in a closely woven\nnet-work of bony scales, of peculiar form, and differing from the scales\nof every other genus of ganoids. The scales along the center of the\nsides are so high, that their breadth exceeds their length eight or ten\ntimes, occupying more than half the height of the animal. Everywhere\nmeshed in smaller but equally impervious nettings, there are of the\nlarger scales, from twenty-six to thirty covering the sides, thereby\ncompleting a mail-clad figure of a singularly warlike aspect, and bidding\ndefiance, like his great anti-type, to all his foes,\u2014\u201clet fall thy blade\non vulnerable CRESTS\u201d\u2014but now, like Banquo\u2019s ghost, \u201cthe bones are\nmarrowless.\u201d\n\nThese curious fossils were first detected in the quarries at Glammis, by\nSir Charles Lyell, and from their striking resemblance to the cephalic\nshield of certain trilobites, were supposed, for a time, to belong to the\nclass of crustaceans. The beds of Carmylie and Balruddery, yield these\norganisms in the greatest abundance. One solitary specimen, a fragment of\ntwo inches in length, of the smaller scaly net-mesh, has been obtained\nby me in the gray rock, on the south bank of the Tay. The heads are\nuniformly in the best state of preservation; indeed hundreds of these lie\nentire, where no part of the body has left the trace of an impression. M.\nAgassiz assigns, as the reason of this, the great difference that exists\nin the structure of these two parts, and especially in the disproportion\nof their dimensions and forms, which would offer a distinct resistance\nto the pressure to which the animals must have been exposed. \u201cIf, on the\nother hand,\u201d he adds, \u201cthe heads usually present their superior surface\nto us, it is because their inferior surface, the cavity of the mouth,\nthe branchial arch and sinuosities of the inferior bones of the cranium,\nare points of support comparatively more solid, and more adapted for\nsustaining the matter which has filtered into them, than a larger surface\nslightly convex, which would naturally be detached from the rock wherever\na separation was found in it.\u201d\n\nTHE DEN OF BALRUDDERY presents us with a group of very remarkable\nfossils, comprising, in an area of the gray sandstone of a few square\nyards, innumerable impressions of the plant-markings already noticed,\nmultitudes of the Cephalaspis, spines, and other ichthyolites, along\nwith two entirely new genera of fishes of the order of Placoids. The\nsandstone here is of a very slaty character, splitting up into thin\nlayers, betwixt every one of which some organism or other has impressed\nits form; and the different kinds are often so promiscuously huddled\ntogether, as to suggest the idea of some violent commotion in the element\nwhich collected and destroyed them. In the \u201cSynoptical Table of British\nFossil Fishes,\u201d by M. Agassiz, we find inserted a _Parexus recurvus_,\nand a _Clematius reticulatus_, from this locality; they are represented\nsimply as ichthyodorulites, no complete specimens of the creatures having\nbeen presented to him, nor indeed have any been as yet obtained. One of\nthe specimens in the Balruddery collection, when returned by M. Agassiz,\nwas labeled as a _Pal\u00e6ocarcinus alatus_: and in the 14th Livraison of\nhis \u201cPoisson Fossiles,\u201d he thus writes:\u2014\u201cEnfin j\u2019en dois aussi plusieurs\nesp\u00e8ces \u00e0 M. Webster de Balruddery. Parmi ses \u00e9chantillons j\u2019en ai\ntrouv\u00e9 plusieurs d\u2019un grand int\u00e9r\u00eat, parce qu\u2019ils m\u2019ont fait conna\u00eetre\nque le genre Pterygotus que j\u2019avais \u00e9tabli, il y a plusieurs ann\u00e9es,\nsur des fragmens tr\u00e8s-imparfaits, n\u2019appartient point \u00e0 la classe de\npoissons, mais bien en celle des crustaces. Une pareille erreur semble\n\u00e0 peine possible, et cependant elle para\u00eet excusable lorsque je ferai\nconna\u00eetre les caract\u00e8res de ce fossile; des botanistes c\u00e9l\u00e8bres n\u2019avaient\npas h\u00e9sit\u00e9 \u00e0 les ranger parmi les Algues. Les Seraphius fossiles\ndes carri\u00e8res de Forfarshire, que M. Lyell a soumit \u00e0 la Section de\nGeologie de l\u2019Association Britannique r\u00e9unie \u00e0 Edinbourg en 1834, sont\ndes ces m\u00eames crustaces gigantesques du terrain D\u00e9vonien. Ils offrent\ndes rapports \u00e9loign\u00e9s avec les Entomestrac\u00e9s gigantesques du terrain\nhouiller, d\u00e9crits sous les noms d\u2019Edotea et d\u2019Eurypterus.\u201d The Lobster,\naccordingly, of Balruddery is the first discovery of its fossil kind;\nportions of nearly every organ of the body have been found, so as to make\nthe restoration of the crustacean complete: a creature of at least four\nfeet in length, and as in the fishes of this epoch, the shelly covering\nis dotted all over with enameled scale-like markings. This magnificent\ncollection remains still undescribed, hundreds of the specimens, from\nthe minute to the gigantic, and of the greatest diversity of character,\nbeing only detached fragments of the structures to which they belonged;\nbut enough have we there to testify as to the early prolific abundance of\nNature, and that, throughout all ages, her types and forms of life are\nwonderfully allied.\n\nThe interesting locality of Balruddery is succeeded by another in the\nascending order of the strata, but lower on the plain of the Carse of\nGowrie,\u2014Clashbennie, situated about six miles to the westward. This\nrock is well entitled to be denominated the Holoptychius Bed, as here\nthe first complete specimen of that remarkable genus was obtained, and\nof which there are three species in the deposit, namely, H. Giganteus,\nNoblissimus, and Murchisoni. Three other genera, of the ganoid order of\nfishes, have left their relics in this bed, some of them in a beautiful\nstate of preservation: these are Glyptosteus reticulatus, Phyllolepis\nconcentricus, and Glyptolepis elegans, all named and described by M.\nAgassiz.\n\nThe Holoptychius ranks among the family of C\u0153lacanthes, and the term\nHoloptychius (holos, entire; and ptyche, a wrinkle) is applied to the\nfossil from the circumstance of the scales being covered with wrinkled\ndots or markings, the enameled surface of which is indented with deep\nundulating furrows. Another characteristic feature of this genus consists\nin the distant position of the ventrical fins, being considerably removed\ntoward the tail, and in the arrangement of the branchial organs, which\nform two large plates between the branches of the inferior ray, as in\nthe genus Megalichthys. The structure of the \u201cnageoirs,\u201d the rounded\nform of the ventrical fin, and the manner in which the rays of its\nanterior edge are insensibly prolonged, in connection with their relative\nthinness, are also marked distinctions. The head of the Holoptychius\nis remarkably small in comparison with the size of the body, which, in\nthe Clashbennie specimen measures thirty inches in length by twelve in\nbreadth. The scales are still disproportionately larger than either the\nhead or body, some of them being nearly three inches in length by two\nand a half in breadth, with a corresponding thickness. The structure\nof the dermal covering is beautiful in the extreme; it is composed of\nthese scale-plates, articulating, and laced together in such a way as\nto combine the greatest possible strength with the highest degree of\nflexibility; and, protected by a rich coating of enamel, it must have\nbeen capable of the greatest endurance, and of resisting any pressure.\nTwo thickly set rows of teeth; one inner, and extremely minute, the other\nlarge and pointed, completed the equipments of a mouth adapted to seize\nand crush to powder any intruder upon its pasturage. The vertebral column\nextended to the extremity of the tail, which was forked or divided into\ntwo unequal lobes, a contrivance of nature that enabled the animal to\nturn quickly on its back before striking its prey. This form of the tail\nis called the HETEROCERCAL; it is characteristic of most of the fishes\nof the period, and prevailed during the pal\u00e6ozoic age; when it gave way,\nat the era of the chalk formation, to what is termed the HOMOCERCAL\nstructure, and which still exists in the fishes of the current epoch.\n\nThe Phyllolepis is a very striking genus of the same family, and has\nalso been noticed at considerable length by the Swiss naturalist. The\nscales, or other plates, which covered the body of this fish are of\nenormous dimensions, being nearly half a foot in diameter, and rounded\nto an obtuse angle. What distinguishes them from all other scales, and\nparticularly from those of the Holoptychius, with which they have certain\nexternal resemblances, is their extreme tenuity, consisting simply of a\nfilm of enamel spread over a thin osseous membrane, scarcely so thick as\nthe blade of a knife, and varying from three to five inches in diameter.\nTheir surface is smooth, or slightly marked with concentric wrinkles\nparallel to the edge of the scale. Two species of this genus have been\nfound, one in the old red, and the other in the coal formation. In the\nClashbennie sandstone only a few detached scales have been detected, but\nsufficiently well preserved to show the superposition, or imbrication,\nperhaps, in which they stood relatively to each other, the wrinkles\nserving as grooves by which their adhesion was more firmly effected. One\ndecided characteristic of this organ in the _Phyllolepis concentricus_\nis, that it is a little raised toward the middle, whence it again\ndeclines or sinks on all sides, after the manner of a roof.\n\nThe sandstones flanking the hill of Kinnoul, and stretching along the\nleft bank of the Tay, by Scone and Lethendy, appear to be a continuation\nof the Clashbennie beds, as also those occupying the ridges by Ruthven\nand Dupplin, where they assume much of the fissile character and\nmicaceous aspect of the Carmylie flag-stone, but everywhere destitute of\norganic remains in the whole western district from Perth to Callander.\nThe absence of fossils from particular beds has been accounted for in\nvarious ways. But even in the same series of rocks, and where there is no\nbreak in the continuity of the strata, it is a maxim of geology that the\nrange of fossils is not always co-extensive with the mineral deposits.\nThen, as now, the explanation is, that the slightest physical changes\naffected the tastes and habits of the animal kingdom; the direction and\nstrength of a current; the depth of water; the character and qualities\nof the sea-bottom; the force of tidal action; the season of the year,\nbeing, it is well known, singly sufficient to produce great differences\nas to the migrations and favorite haunts of almost every aquatic race.\nAnd hence it is laid down as a recognized principle in the science, that\na particular bed of rock within certain limits is not to be excluded\nfrom its place in a system, and another substituted therein, by the mere\npresence or absence of a certain class of fossils. Individuals, too, will\noften outlive the family to which they belong, and be found in certain\nlocalities intermixed with the races of a higher group of rocks.\u2014And\nthese remarks are applicable to all the formations, less or more,\nfrom the lowest fossiliferous strata to the latest of the tertiaries.\nApplied to the old red sandstone, they serve to explain the fact that,\nwhile the precise relative position of the western beds in the district\nunder review cannot in every instance be determined, large spaces or\nareas are entirely destitute of organic remains which in the eastern,\nand not distant, localities are detected in the greatest abundance and\nvariety. The system of rocks is unquestionably the same, but neither\ncephalaspis, parexus, clematius, holoptychius, glyptosteus, phyllolepis,\nnor glyptolepis, ever would seem to have frequented these parts; whether\nfor the reasons above assigned, or for any other local cause, or simply\nthat they did not like the region\u2014as the grouse and ptarmigan, even now,\nwill not descend to the plains\u2014is one of the recondite problems of animal\nlife connected with the new as well as the older state of things. These\nbeds may yet, however, be discovered to be fossiliferous, as the smallest\nspace in local distance may reveal their hidden stores, to reward the\ndiligent observer, and add to our knowledge of the aboriginal fauna of\nthe district.\n\nThe lesson farther taught by the varied phenomena which have passed under\nreview in this chapter would seem to be, that there is nothing fixed or\npermanent in such arrangements of nature.\u2014These are the beginnings of\ncreation, and both as respects organic and inorganic matter, change and\nre-construction have prevailed from the earliest periods to which our\nresearches can penetrate.\u2014The Divine Architect did not complete things\nas we now see them, in one initial act; nor, as we regard quiescence\nand stability, were the elements and forces of nature so balanced as\nnot to interfere even in violent collision with one another. A world is\ncalled into existence. Storms and commotions rend its frame.\u2014Sea and land\ncontend for mastery. And everything within its bounds, like the flux of\ntime, like day and night, summer and winter, life and death, is observed\nto have emerged into being and form, to have assumed new arrangements,\nthen to have perished; or gradually, as its nature might be, to have\nconsumed away.\n\nNo reason can be assigned for all this, as the law or order of events,\nexcept the appointment of Him who made and continues the constitution\nof nature as it is. No adequate cause of creation can ever be conceived\nbut that of the Divine Goodness; and while we never can expect fully\nto comprehend the wisdom that planned, and the power that carried into\neffect, the purposes of that wisdom, still the very effort to attain\nknowledge concerning them, fulfills one great object for which man is\nmade curious about the works of his Maker. In contemplating the wonders\nof those days, the variety, adaptation and perfection of everything\nin itself as then constructed, he will always refer to that Infinite\nIntelligence through whose goodness he is permitted to enjoy knowledge.\nIn becoming wiser he will become better. His increasing knowledge will be\nmade subservient to a more exalted faith in that everlasting \u201cWord\u201d who\nframed the worlds; and in proportion as the vail becomes thinner through\nwhich he sees the origin and course of things, he will admire all the\nmore the brightness of Him who was the true light which lighteth every\nman that cometh into the world.\n\n[Illustration: Holoptychius Noblissimus.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nYELLOW SANDSTONE.\n\n\nDura Den, whither the scene of our explorations now shifts, occupies a\ncentral position in Fifeshire, and lies equidistant betwixt St. Andrews\nand Cupar, the county town. This classic field of geology is therefore\nof the easiest access. The railway traverses the opening to the ravine,\na lovely valley of choice arch\u00e6ological as well as fossil remains,\nwhere parliaments have assembled and a scepter was contended for, the\nretreat of learned churchmen, and a refuge in the caverns of its rock\nfor persecuted saints. A day\u2019s excursion to such a place cannot fail to\nbe a profitable as well as agreeable one, where the students of geology,\nor of botany, or of history, will severally meet with objects suitable\nto their taste; and, if lovers of the tragic, a short detour to the left\nwill furnish a sight of Magus Muir, of cruel memory and most indefensible\npolicy.\n\nThe geological structure of Dura Den is more than ordinarily interesting,\npresenting, as it does within a limited distance, and in close\njuxtaposition, the two series of the old red sandstone and carboniferous\nsystems, an included mass of overlying trap, a greenstone dyke, and a\nvein of galena. The whole length of the dell, with its windings, from the\nruins of the castle resting on the conglomerate red, to the outgoing on\nthe south into Ceres basin of the coal formation, does not exceed a mile\nand a half. The rocks overhang the road which passes through the valley,\nthe sandstone in some places rising precipitously into bold mural cliffs\nof a hundred feet in height, and presenting colored and well-defined\nsections of the different layers of which it is composed. These\nconstitute the fish beds of the yellow sandstone group, lying toward the\nnorthern extremity of the den, and consist of beds of variegated marls,\nintermixed with friable arenaceous bands, and hard, compact, fine-grained\nbuilding stone.\n\nThe carboniferous series are separated from those of the yellow sandstone\nby the greenstone dyke referred to, which immediately, and inconveniently\nfor sight of the junction, interposes betwixt the two systems. The lower\nbeds of the independent coal formation are here thrown up to an angle of\n26\u00b0, the yellow sandstone adjacent being nearly horizontal, and in no\nplace exceeding an inclination of eight or ten degrees. The coal beds\nhave been lifted up by and repose anticlinally upon the trap, where the\ncutting for the road has exposed the outcrop of the seams; and thus,\nin a narrow space and lying on the surface, we may mark the outgoing\nand the incoming of a vast revolutionary epoch, organic and inorganic,\nin the earth\u2019s history. The strata, consisting of alternating bands of\ncoal, shale, ironstone, and sandstone, assume toward the head of the\nvalley a nearly horizontal position, abutting against a mass of trap\nwhich separates the lower from the upper workable beds of the bituminous\nmineral in the Ceres basin.\n\nDura Den, in addition to the interest arising from lithological\nstructure, presents an excellent example of a valley of erosion. The\nriver which traverses it rises at times into considerable volume,\nand sweeps with violence through the pass; connected above, at one\nperiod, with a lake, and acting continuously on soft friable matter,\nthe abrading powers of the instrument are sufficiently adequate to the\nproduction of the effect. The qualities of the rocks penetrated may be\neasily inferred from the windings of the stream\u2014the harder substances\noccasioning a divergence from the straight course\u2014the soft and marly\nscooped out into wider and more extended areas. A section of any one of\nthem is thereby labeled for the fullest inspection, which are arranged,\nnot perpendicularly one upon another, but drawn out in longitudinal\nsuccession on the floor and sidewalls of the valley, and exhibiting to\nthe geologist, after so many types and forms of the old red sandstone,\nthe first break and most northern limit of the coal metals in the great\ncentral basin of Scotland.\n\nTHE YELLOW SANDSTONE, as it is termed from its prevailing color, though\nnot uniformly so, belongs to the old red or devonian system of rocks,\nof which the cornstone and conglomerate beds are in the immediate\nvicinity, and the position and relation of the three to one another\neasily determinable. The upper or yellow deposit occupies the valley of\nStratheden nearly throughout its entire length and breadth, and ranges\nalong the base of the heights of Nydie, Cults, the Lomonds, Binnarty,\nand the Cleish hills, dipping under the carboniferous lower group, and\ngenerally separated by overlying masses of trap. The sandstones, indeed,\nof both systems, resemble each other so much in color and texture, that\nin many instances along the line now indicated the trap must be taken as\na guide by which to ascertain the qualities and respective positions of\nthe two series. Glenvale, a beautiful ravine which intersects the Lomond\nrange, presents admirable sections of the whole group, in their regular\norder of superposition and finely displaying their contrasting mineral\ncharacters.\n\nORGANIC REMAINS. These are abundantly distributed in scales, teeth,\nspines, coprolites, and other remains, and are to be found in every\nopening and quarry throughout the range of the deposit. It is only\nin Dura Den, however, that any entire animal forms have as yet been\nobtained, and these all confined to a portion of the rock not exceeding\nthirty yards by three in breadth, a narrow trough excavated for the\npurpose of forming a water-shed to the mill, which stands in the center\nof the valley. The fossils derived from this single spot consist of four\nnew genera, and seven or eight new species, that have been added to\nour catalogue of extinct animals. These remains were all in a state of\nbeautiful preservation; the scales and fins are brightly enameled, and\ncontrasted with the matrix in which they are set, the colors are as vivid\nand glistening as when the animals were sporting in their native element.\nThe specimens, I believe, of the various collections made in this rich\ndepository by different parties were all submitted to the examination of\nM. Agassiz, who has figured several of them in his \u201cMonograph\u201d on the old\nred sandstone, but without completing, it is much to be regretted, his\ndescriptions of the various fossils. We give the following abridgment of\nsuch descriptions as are contained in the work.\n\nThere are two new species of Holoptychius represented, namely,\n_Andersoni_ and _Flemingii_, and these are distinguished entirely by\nthe form and tracery of their respective scales. The H. Andersoni is\ndescribed as a small spindle-shaped (_fusiforme_) fish, thick and short,\nand narrowing rapidly toward the tail.\n\n[Illustration: Holoptychius Andersoni.]\n\nThe scales are much less than those of the other species, as deep as\nthey are broad, and resembling in general form the scales of the H.\nMurchisoni found in Clashbennie. What peculiarly distinguishes them is\nthe figure of the ornaments (_le dessin des ornemens_) of the surface,\nwhich are parallel, horizontal, very marked and distant in the A. and\nnever extending in the stri\u00e6 to the posterior edge. The scales, again, of\nH. Flemingii are on the sides of the fish deeper than they are broad, and\non the belly they become rounder. Their ornaments are also very distinct\nin the F., consisting of a system of waving lines, which run horizontally\ntoward the outer edge without any perceptible ramification, while the\nwrinkles of the scale rise from a series of little hills (_collines_)\nranged parallel over the length of the inner edge, undulating and very\nclose. This specimen is represented as very imperfect. The other is\nnearly entire, the plates of the head and several of the teeth are well\npreserved, every scale is in its place, and the fins are only wanting to\nrestore the normal outline of the fish. This fossil has been figured and\nerroneously described in the author\u2019s \u201cGeology of the County of Fife\u201d\nunder the name of gyrolepis (holoptychius now) giganteus, from which,\nsays M. Agassiz, it differs specifically.\n\nFrom the fossils of this locality has been established the new genus of\nGLYPTOPOMUS, the specimen of which being originally mistaken by Agassiz\nfor a platygnathus, but since found by him to differ from that genus in\nseveral material points. The scales of the platygnathus, for example, are\nround and imbricated, possessing in this respect all the characteristics\nof the scales of the c\u0153lacanthes, while on the other hand those of the\nglyptopomus resemble the scales of the sauroids, which are rhomboidal or\nsquare (_ou carr\u00e9es_), closely set and never imbricated, as shown in the\nsubjoined illustration.\n\n[Illustration: Glyptopomus Minor.]\n\nMoreover, the platygnathes are lengthy (_allong\u00e9s_) in the body, likewise\nlong (_longue_) in the tail, which is furnished with a very strong\nfin, whereas the body of the glyptopomes is very thick, and the tail\nshort. The ornaments of the scales of G. bear a close affinity to those\ngenerally of the c\u0153lacanthes. Only one species as yet has been found, the\nglytopomus minor, and figured in the tab. 26 of the \u201cMonograph\u201d under the\nname of platygnathus minor.\n\nThe glyptopomus minor, says M. Agassiz, found in Dura Den, and of which\nthere is but one specimen, is possessed of a body broad and thick,\napproaching in form to that of the holoptychius. The fish is lying on\nthe belly, and turned slightly to the left, so that it is the back and\nright side which are represented in the plate. The head is proportionally\nsmall, covered with bones very irregularly carved, presenting a dense\nand diversified granular aspect. On the side of the head there is a\nlarge enameled plate, which shows that the cheek was covered, as in the\npolypterus, with one single osseous plate, on the under edge of which\nwas fixed the large masticatory muscle. The scales on the body of the\nfish are large, high on the sides, and nearly square on the back, where\nin the middle they form an oblique series converging to an acute angle.\nThe scales are very thick set on the side of each other, and apparently\nconnected only by means of the skin to which they are attached.\nThe enameled surface is not smooth, but rather marked with a fine\ngranulation, which imparts a rich velvet gloss to the scale. Traces only\nof the fins are preserved, partly of the ventral, partly of the dorsal\nor caudal, and the rays of which are all apparently short and slender.\nThis specimen forms a part of the author\u2019s collection, but inadvertently\ndescribed as belonging to that of Professor Jameson.\n\nAnother genus, established from the fossils of Dura Den by M. Agassiz,\nis the Pamphractus, of which there are two species, _Hydrophilus_ and\n_Andersoni_. These are both in the collection of the author, and have a\nspecial history of their own, from which, when read in all its details,\nit would appear they have suffered as roughly at the hands of geologists\nin simply determining their class, order, or genus, as they ever did from\nthe physical revolutions amidst which their lot was originally cast.\n\nBefore the type of a new and strange form called _Pterichthys_, had been\ndetermined by this learned pal\u00e6ontologist, collectors were everywhere\npuzzled by the specimens of the animal that, from time to time were\ncasting up. The winged appendages of the sides of the head, as movable\nfins, had easily given rise to a variety of opinions concerning their\ntrue affinities, and which, says M. Agassiz, \u201chave been regarded by the\nmost able naturalists successively as Tortoises, Fishes, Crustacea,\nand even Coleoptera.\u201d The fossils of Dura Den were at first regarded\nby him as belonging to the type as well as genus Pterichthys, and my\nspecimens were actually returned from Neufch\u00e2tel so named\u2014the \u201cbroad\u201d\nand \u201cnarrow\u201d species\u2014and the label still remains attached. Meanwhile,\nfive or six species of the genus Pterichthys had been already determined\nand described by him, from the fossils of Cromarty and Morayshire\u2014these\nin the collection chiefly of Mr. Hugh Miller; and Mr. Miller being,\nabout the same period, engaged in the preparation of his work, \u201cThe\nOld Red Sandstone,\u201d speedily under the new nomenclature, as he was so\nopportunely furnished with the materials, gave the public the benefit of\nM. Agassiz\u2019s discovery and version of their true and authentic history.\nWhat we had hastily, certainly, but still influenced much in the matter\nby the judgment of others, referred to the order of Coleoptera, he\nwas enabled at once, upon the inspection of a Dura Den specimen, and\nfrom its very striking resemblance to his own, to pronounce to be a\nPterichthys. A few pages before he had stated that he could make nothing\nof the creature, although some specimens of the fossil had been in his\npossession for a period of nearly ten years; but NOW, he was able to\nrecord,\u2014\u201cI very lately enjoyed the pleasure of examining the _bona fide_\nichthyolite itself,\u2014one of the specimens of Dura Den, and apparently one\nof the more entire, in the collection of Professor Fleming. Its character\nas a Pterichthys I found very obvious.\u201d But short-lived, indeed, are all\nmundane enjoyments. The most intellectual, in the revolutions of science,\nare not exempt from their general character of vanity. While the two\nnorthern sages were thus gazing, in all the raptures of a new discovery,\n\u201cupon the _bona fide_ ichthyolite _itself_,\u201d the philosopher, under the\nshelter of the Jura, was doubting, re-examining, and finally correcting,\nhis own first judgment; and, while the virgin pages of \u201cThe Old Red\nSandstone\u201d had scarcely time to reach their author, the \u201cMonograph\u201d was\nannouncing to the world the determination of a new genus, and that the\nfossil of Dura Den was a Pamphractus, and no Pterichthys at all.\n\n\u201cI had at first,\u201d says Agassiz, \u201cconnected with pterichthys the only\nspecies known of that genus, by calling it _pterichthys hydrophilus_,\nbut a more profound study and attentive comparison of that species with\nthe genus coccosteus, have proved that it ought to form a distinct\ngenus, intermediate betwixt pterichthys and coccosteus, which I\nhave named _pamphractus_, in consequence of the divided form of the\ncarapace. The pectoral fins of pamphractus resemble very much those of\nthe pterichthys in their form, being slender, elongated, and crooked\n(courb\u00e9e). But the plates of the carapace are all differently arranged.\nThe central plate is very large (\u00e9norme); it covers two-thirds of the\nwhole carapace, and unites the anterior articulation of the head with\nthe carapace. The lateral plates, which acquire so great a development\nin the pterichthys, are here reduced to narrow stripes, stretching to\nthe edge of the carapace; while, on the other hand; the posterior plates\nare of very great size, and form with a small intercalated plate the\nextremity of the carapace. The disposition of the plates of the head is\nlikewise very different from that of the pterichthys, in which we discern\nno thoracic cincture as in that genus, but a transverse line, which\nseparates in a striking manner the plates of the head from those of the\ncarapace. _We see not any portion of the tail_; but I presume that it\nwould bear a resemblance to the form of that of pterichthys.\u201d Agassiz\nthus concludes his description of pamphractus, which we have partly\nabridged:\u2014\u201cThe excessive development of the central plate of the carapace\nwhich reaches the articulation of the head\u2014the absence of a thoracic\ncincture making the round of the body\u2014and the distinct separation of the\noccipital articulation, will always distinguish this genus from that of\npterichthys.\u201d\n\nAgain, however, the ashes of the dead have been disturbed, the history\nhas been recast, and the old genealogy attempted to be restored. Sir P.\nG. Egerton, in a paper read before the Geological Society of London,\non the 19th April, 1848, and a copy of which he did me the honor to\ntransmit, has examined very minutely every organ and portion of the\nanimal as delineated in the \u201cMonograph,\u201d and is satisfied that it\nis, indeed, still to be regarded as a genuine pterichthys. However,\nSir Philip very cautiously adds,\u2014\u201cHaving never seen a specimen of\n_pamphractus_, I should not be justified in expressing any positive\nopinion respecting this genus, but I cannot help thinking that it is\nfounded on a specimen, showing the true dorsal arrangement of the\nlorication of the Pterichthys.\u201d Accordingly, Mr. Miller, who supplies a\nconsiderable portion of the paper in question, affirms, with abundant\nconfidence, that he has been able to penetrate the mystery of the error.\n\u201cI have succeeded,\u201d he says, \u201cin tracing to its origin the _Pamphractus_\nof Agassiz. The specimens which he figures could never have furnished\nthe materials of his restoration\u2014These materials he evidently derived\nfrom the print of a Pterichthys of the upper Old Red (showing the\ndorsal superficies of the creature), given by the Rev. Dr. Anderson of\nNewburgh, in his Essay on the Geology of Fifeshire (\u2018Quarterly Journal\nof Agriculture,\u2019 Vol. XI, 1840), as that of a fossil beetle.\u201d Now, with\nall submission, this hypothesis is wide of the fact. While Mr. Miller\nwas inspecting, at Aberdeen, \u201cthe bona fide ichthyolite itself,\u201d and\nwhich, as we shall immediately see, was not a Pterichthys, Agassiz had\nboth the print and the real specimens lying before him. The impressions\non the slab are ELEVEN in number, three of the \u201cbroad\u201d and eight of\nthe \u201cnarrow\u201d species; and, comparing the one with the other, the print\nwith the fossil, he records, \u201cThey have been figured VERY FAIRLY by Mr.\nAnderson, in his interesting Memoir on the Geology of Fifeshire.\u201d \u201cBut,\u201d\nadds Mr. Miller, \u201cI have ascertained, by the examination of the greater\nnumber of specimens of this species yet found, in the general outline\nof the carapace, which was longer in proportion to its breadth than\nin the print, and not defined by such regular curves.\u201d ... The print\nis a perfect transcript of the fossil, as if taken in a mold,\u2014curves,\nprojections, and tubercles all duly and \u201cfairly\u201d preserved, as in the\noriginal; and, with all the materials, and so many actual impressions\nbefore him, Agassiz hesitated not to change his views, and to feel\nassured that it was really a Pamphractus, not a Pterichthys, that he\nwas examining. Farther, we have only to add, that in the Essay in the\nQuarterly Journal of Agriculture, it is not true that the print of a\nPterichthys is there \u201cgiven as that of a fossil beetle;\u201d the higher\npatronymic had, ere the publication of the prize essay, been withdrawn;\nand the author, along with all others, states, he was waiting the\njudgment of the highest and most competent authority from the blue lake\nof Neufch\u00e2tel.\n\nAnd thither also, it would now appear, that other inquiries had been\ntransmitted respecting the organisms of Dura Den, to be famed by modern,\nas it had already been by ancient, genealogical claims. We suspect, at\nleast, it is of \u201cthe bona fide ichthyolite itself\u201d that M. Agassiz,\nin the \u201cMonograph,\u201d speaks in the following extract:\u2014\u201cDr. Fleming m\u2019a\ncommuniqu\u00e9 le dessin d\u2019une p\u00e9trifaction recueillie par lui \u00e0 Dura Den,\nqui resemble beaucoup, quant \u00e0 la forme du Pamphractus hydrophilus. La\nt\u00eate est courte, arrondie, large, presque en forme de croissant, le corps\nest allong\u00e9, formant avec la t\u00eate un ovale qui se termine en pointe en\narri\u00e8re. Les pectorales sont gr\u00eales, courb\u00e9es et aussi longues que\nle corps. L\u2019articulation de la t\u00eate avec le corps est tr\u00e8s-nettement\nmarqu\u00e9e, d\u2019une mani\u00e8re qu\u2019a la forme de la carapace pr\u00e8s, qui est\nbeaucoup plus pointue, on croirait voir un Pamphractus. Mais ce qui\ndistingue surtout ce fossile (\u00e0 en juger du moins d\u2019apr\u00e8s le dessin qui\nn\u2019est, \u00e0 vrai dire, qu\u2019une esquisse) c\u2019est qu\u2019il n\u2019y a pas de plaques\nsepar\u00e9es, et que toute la surface de sa carapace ne montre qu\u2019une\ngranulation uniforme et continue, si toutefois la d\u00e9lin\u00e9ation des plaques\nn\u2019a pas \u00e9t\u00e9 omise par le dessinateur. Nous aurions donc dans ce fossile\nun genre nouveau de cephalaspide, caract\u00e9ris\u00e9 par la forme de sa t\u00eate et\npar sa carapace uniforme. Quoi qu\u2019il en soit, j\u2019attends de plus amples\ninformations sur ce sujet, avant de pr\u00e9ciser davantage les caract\u00e8res de\nce type, et je me borne \u00e0 reproduire les contours de ce dessin, Tab. 31,\nfig. 6, afin de fixer d\u2019une mani\u00e8re plus particuli\u00e8re l\u2019attention sur ce\nfossile.\u201d\n\nNow, making every allowance for the imperfection of the sketch of Dr.\nFleming, (qu\u2019une esquisse), and which had not the aggravation of being\na \u201cprint,\u201d only see how many marvels have been successively evolved\nout of \u201cthe _bona fide_ ichthyolite itself:\u201d\u2014it is not a Pamphractus,\nthough very much resembling it in form\u2014it is not a Pterichthys, of\nwhich alliance there is not a hint even dropped by Agassiz, though its\ncharacter as a _Pterichthys_ Mr. Miller \u201cfound very obvious;\u201d but \u201cwe\nhave in that fossil a new kind (genre) of cephalaspis, characterized\nby the form of its head, and by its uniform carapace,\u201d all which\ncharacters have been overlooked in \u201cthe pleasure of examining the\n_bona fide_ ichthyolite itself\u2014one of the specimens of Dura Den, and\napparently one of the more entire.\u201d Has this creature undergone a\nstill further metamorphosis, numerous as those of the Pterichthys\nitself? Or what specimen is it which now rejoices in the appellation of\n_Homothorax Flemingii_, also again challenged or suspected at least by\nSir P. Egerton, not to be its true designation! But, _quocunque nomine\ngaudeat_, the cabinet of science is enriched by the addition of a new and\nremarkable fossil fish.\n\nRepeatedly, since the notice in Mr. Miller\u2019s work of the Dura Den fossil,\nand his fanciful commentary on the truth and accuracy of the plate in\nthe \u201cGeology of Fifeshire,\u201d have I examined, compared, and recompared\nthe design and the original, and never have I been able to detect the\nslightest disagreement, even in the minutest feature. Others, and parties\ninnumerable have examined them freely in my presence, have pronounced as\nto the fairness of the representation. There are five figures in all upon\nthe plate of the Dura Den fossils; they were all, fossils and figures,\nunder the ocular inspection of M. Agassiz; one of these, _Holoptychius\nAndersoni_, he has figured in the \u201cMonograph;\u201d the representations are\nidentical, and all are declared to be \u201cfigured very fairly.\u201d True, the\npamphractus had not been able to preserve the tail, nor any trace even\nof that member. Agassiz did not think himself justified in supplying\nthe deficiency. I added none either, \u201ccarefully sinking\u201d the nonentity.\nBut Mr. Miller had a point to establish: the fossil MUST be one and the\nsame with the _bona fide_ ichthyolite _itself_, which appears to have\nretained the caudal appendage. It will not certainly account for the\nobliteration of this organ in ALL the specimens of Dura Den, that, in\ncommon with _Pterichthys_ and _Coccosteus_, the _Pamphractus_ was not\npossessed of the _heterocercal_ structure, so characteristic of the\nfishes of the period. But yet it is not there. Then, \u201cthe tubercles seen\nin profile,\u201d are exaggerated: Agassiz thought fit, upon examination, to\nretain the exaggeration, as Nature, he perceived, had designed. And now,\nMr. Miller finds it proper to communicate to Sir P. Egerton, that after\nexamining the specimens (presented by me) in the Museum of the Highland\nand Agricultural Society in Edinburgh, \u201cone of the MOST STRIKING specific\ndistinctions of the creature consists in the length and bulk of the arms,\nand the comparatively great prominence of those angular projections by\nwhich they are studded on the edges\u2014projections which seem to be but\nexaggerations of those confluent lines of tubercles by which the arms of\nall the other species are fringed.\u201d So, Nature has her \u201cexaggerations,\u201d\nlikewise! and the first of the genus which ever rose to the stroke of the\nhammer, has in no degree been misrepresented in its fair proportions,\nexcept that the angular projections referred to are not so prominently\ndeveloped as in other specimens in the author\u2019s collection.\n\nIt will readily be inferred from all this that the locality of Dura\nDen is entitled to much consideration in consequence of the variety\nof its interesting remains, not to speak of the diversity of views\nwhich the remains themselves have occasioned in so many quarters. The\nPterichthys, Pamphractus, Homothorax, and Cephalaspis are all of the\nfamily _L\u00e9pid\u00f6ides_, and have such a close affinity in outward form\nas readily, in mutilated specimens at least, to be mistaken for each\nother. The appendages of the head, having the appearance of wings,\nsuggested the term _pterichthys_, the winged fish: the plates covering\nthe body, according to their number and form, gave rise to the generic\ndistinctions; and the species of each have subsequently been determined\nby minor differences. The external organs in all were enameled, and\ndiscover, like the fish of the period, the tuberculated surface. The\nPterichthys of the more northern counties vary in size from nearly a\nfoot to an inch in length, and generally the wings of these, so far\nas they have been figured in works, are extended horizontally and\nperpendicularly to the body. The Pamphractus of Dura Den are all nearly\nof a size\u2014about two inches and a half in length,\u2014the wings in every\ninstance depressed and inclined to the sides, and in no instance of the\ntwenty to thirty specimens exhumed from the rock, has the tail been\nappended, or a fragment of the caudal organ detected. The cephalaspis has\nonly been found in the lower beds of the system, and highly important\nwould be its discovery in the upper, where, however, we have reason to\nthink the new genus Homothorax has been substituted in its place. Mrs.\nDalgliesh of Dura, in whose collection we found a Glyptopomus, and a slab\ncontaining several impressions of the Pamphractus, has kindly, and with\na commendable love of science, informed us that her quarries are freely\nopen for the researches and explorations of geologists, and that every\nfacility will be afforded them in their interesting task.\n\nIn addition to the fossils already referred to, I find in the specimens\nof my collection returned from Neufch\u00e2tel, that two are labeled as\nDiplopterus, new species; two as Glypticus, new species; and one as\nHoloptychius, new species. This last is now figured in the \u201cMonograph\u201d as\nthe Platygnathus Jamesoni. None of these are described in the narrative\nof the work, so that until his return from America, where pal\u00e6ontology\nwill unquestionably reap much from his indomitable perseverance, his\nalmost instinctive skill, and vast learning, we cannot expect that M.\nAgassiz will have leisure either to supplement the deficiencies of his\ngreat work, or confirm his former conclusions against the alterations\nsuggested in his absence\u2014suggested certainly in no small degree upon\nfanciful organization and mistaken assumption.\n\n[Illustration: Platygnathus Jamesoni.]\n\nIn closing our review of the old red sandstone, we shall briefly state\nthe principles of classification of fossil fishes, as determined by M.\nAgassiz, from which it will be seen by the earliest types of the marine\nvertebrata, while admirably suited to the perturbed condition of the\nelement in which the strata were formed, differ widely in their structure\nfrom all existing races.\n\nThe fishes of the present era, it is well known, are divided into two\ngreat classes, the cartilaginous and the osseous. In the former are\ncomprehended the sharks, rays, and sturgeons of our present seas; the\nlatter embrace the salmon, cod, herring, and the various kinds possessed\nof similar forms. The bony structure in all the cartilaginous class is\nsoft, destitute of fibers, and contains scarcely a trace of earthy or\ncalcareous matter. The osseous fishes, on the other hand, are constructed\ninternally of true bone, composed of calcareous matter, like that of\nbirds and quadrupeds, which is possessed of a fibrous arrangement, of\ngreat hardness and capable of long endurance. Now, it would appear that\nthe fishes of the old red sandstone belong almost exclusively to the\ncartilaginous class. The internal frame was composed chiefly of this\nsoft, soluble substance; hence it is that no portion of the inner\nbody of the fish, in any of the fossil specimens, remains.\u2014The teeth\nand scales, with fragments of the bones of the head, are all that have\nsurvived, but so hard and enduring has been the scaly outer coating, that\nthe figure and contour of the animal have been preserved entire. The\nspecimen of Holoptychius Andersoni, from Dura Den, is still enveloped\nin its original covering, not a scale in the whole body displaced or\nmissing, the head and belly slightly compressed, while the posterior\nridge of the back and tail is sharp and angular.\n\nHere, then, in this class of animal life, we find that what is defective\nin the internal structure\u2014if it be a defect\u2014is completely supplied in the\nouter appendages, whereby the fishes which have the softest bodies are\npossessed of hard, horny skins, coated with enamel. Their bones are thus\nall on the surface, sometimes in the form of scales; sometimes assuming\nthe shape of spines and tubercles; now in small, now in large plates;\nand often disposed in the most singular and grotesque arrangements, as\nin the genus coccosteus, or the osteolepis, whose entire skull consisted\nof shining naked bone, and in the cheiracanthus, a creature possessed of\nfins scaled and enameled all over.\n\nThe Swiss naturalist, accordingly, in adopting a new principle of\nclassification, so essential in the case of the fossils of the old red\nsandstone, has made the scales and external organs the groundwork of his\nsystem. The classification of Cuvier and the older naturalists proceeds\nmainly upon the character and disposition of the fins. Hence the order\nof the Acanthopterygii, or thorny-finned; and the Malacopterygii, or the\nsoft finned order.\u2014The classification of M. Agassiz, proceeding upon the\ncharacters of the scales and plates, has given rise to the following\norders, namely, the Placoid, or broad-plated scale; the Ganoid, or the\nshining-scale; the Ctenoid, or comb-shaped scale; and the Cycloid, or\nmarginated scale. Upon the simple basis of these four orders, he has\nconstructed his system and composed his \u201cPoissons Fossiles,\u201d the standard\nauthority in fossil ichthyology, and elaborate monument of his learning\nand genius.\n\nThe relations, as well as distinguishing peculiarities, of the fishes\nof the old red, are thus described by Agassiz:\u2014\u201cOf the Placoidian\norder,\u201d he says, \u201cthe genera ctenacanthus, onchus, ctenoptychius,\nand ptychacanthus, are provided with spinous rays to the dorsal fins,\nresembling the gigantic ichthyodorulites of the carboniferous and\njurassic formations, but differing in their less considerable size; they\nare distinguished among themselves by the forms and ornaments of their\nrays. In the order of ganoid fishes, the genera acanthodes, diplacanthus,\ncheiracanthus, and cheirolepis present themselves at first sight as a\nseparate group; for although covered, like the others, with enameled\nscales, these are so small, that they impart to the skin the appearance\nof shagreen. The manner in which the fins are sustained by spinous rays,\nor the absence of these rays, and the position of the fins themselves,\nhave served as characters in the establishing of these genera. The genera\npterichthys, coccosteus, and cephalaspis, form a second group exceedingly\ncurious: the considerable development of the head, its size, large plates\nwhich cover it, and which likewise extend over the greater portion of\nthe trunk, and the movable appendages in the form of a wing, placed on\nthe side of the head, give to them the most remarkable appearance. It is\nthese peculiarities, indeed, which caused the class to which these genera\nbelong for a long time to be misunderstood. The large bony and granulated\nplates of coccosteus, led to their being considered as belonging to\ntrionyx: and it will be sufficient excuse for this error to call to\nrecollection, that the greatest anatomist of our age had sanctioned this\napproximation. The form of the disc of the head of the cephalaspides,\nwhich has the appearance of a large crescent, and their more numerous,\nbut very elevated scales, resembling the transverse articulations of the\nbody, explain how it was possible to see in these fishes the trilobites\nof a particular genus. Lastly, the winged appendages of the sides of\nthe head of pterichthys, as movable as fins, have easily given rise to\nthe variety of opinions concerning the true affinity of these singular\ncreatures, and has caused them to be taken at one time for gigantic\ncoleoptera, at another for crustacea, or small marine tortoises; so\nlittle do the types of the classes appear fixed in certain respects\nat these remote times. Another singularity of these genera is the\nassociation to the bony plates of the head of a vertebral appendage,\nwhich is far from having acquired the same solidity; but appears, on the\ncontrary, to have remained fibro-cartilaginous during the whole life of\nthe animal\u2014resembling in this respect the skeleton of the sturgeon.\n\n\u201cIt would be difficult to find among recent fishes, types presenting any\ndirect analogy with the genera pterichthys, coccosteus, and cephalaspis;\nit is only from afar that they can be compared to some abnormal genera\nof our epoch.... The analogy which they offer, on the one hand, in form\nwith the dorsal cord of the embryo of fishes, together with the inferior\nposition of their mouth, which is equally met with in the embryos; and\non the other hand, the distant resemblance of these fishes to certain\ntypes of reptiles, present the most curious assemblage of characters\nthat can possibly be conceived. A third group of fishes belonging to\nthis formation, comprises those genera whose vertical fins are double\non the back and under the tail, and which approach very near to the\ncaudal. These are the genera dipterus, osteolepis, diplopterus, and\nglyptolepis, which differ from one another by the form of their scales\nand their dentition. And lastly, it seems necessary to regard as a fourth\ngroup of this order, the genera which are characterized by large conical\nteeth, situated on the margin of the jaws, between which are alternately\nsmaller, and indeed very small ones, in the form of a brush. Such are the\ngenera holoptychius and platygnathus, and the genus recently established\nby Mr. Owen under the name of dendrodus, and respecting which this\nlearned anatomist has given some exceedingly interesting microscopical\ndetails.\u201d\n\nThe philosopher here, in these views as to the primitive diversity of\nthe ichthyoid types in the old red sandstone, adduces such illustrations\nand others not quoted, as subversive of the theory of the successive\ntransformation of species, and of the descent of organized beings now\nliving, from a small number of primitive forms. He asserts the doctrine\nthat the characteristic fossils of each well-marked geological epoch\nare the representatives of so many distinct creations, and affirms\nthat he has demonstrated by a vast number of species that the presumed\nidentifications are exaggerated approximations of species, resembling one\nanother, but nevertheless specifically distinct. M. Agassiz introduces\nthe same doctrine in his latest great work, the \u201cIconographie,\u201d wherein\nhe goes the length of saying, that, even when species are, so far as\nthe eye can judge, identical, they may not be so\u2014that there may exist\nspecies so nearly allied, as to render it impossible to distinguish\nthem\u2014and reiterates that each geological epoch is characterized by a\ndistinct system of created beings (the results of a new intervention of\ncreative power), including not only different species from those of the\npreceding system, but also new types. Under his safe guidance we have\nglanced at the earliest groups and forms of life upon the globe, and have\nseen the simple structures of the beginning succeeded by higher, if not\nmore perfect or more complex, at least by creatures capable of a wider\nrange of action and enjoyment. The deductions and sweeping inferences of\ngeologists may be often vague and uncertain; but a science, whose direct\naim is to decipher the records of the past and compare the successive\ntypes of animal life upon the earth, deals with important objects, and\nleads to salutary trains of thought, keeping continually before the view\nthe Fountain-Head of all being; and adding a new proof to the sublime\ndoctrine, that Man who is privileged so to range through creation and\ntime will himself outlive a term of existence, measurable by a few points\nof space and a few moments of eternity.\n\n[Illustration: Pamphractus Andersoni.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nTRAP ROCKS.\n\n\nWe do not select the rocks which form the title of this chapter from\nmere arbitrary choice, or because they are geographically connected with\nthe district under review, but because they are immediately the next\nin the chronological order of our course. The Sidlaws and Ochils have\ntheir position as precisely determined in relation to time as to space,\nfor difficult often as it may be to fix the sequence of events within\nthe historical era, there is generally no lack of evidence by which to\nascertain, in the far remoter times, _when_ the several strata and the\nigneous masses assumed their respective places on the surface of the\nglobe. The proofs here are of a cumulative character, and irresistibly\nconclusive. The animate and inanimate things of earth, the living and\nthe dead, are both admissible witnesses in the question, and their\ntestimony is alike unexceptionable. The saurian seas had been disturbed\nupon the upheaval of their beds; these with their organic contents were\nelevated by the irruption of plutonic matter, and in their altered\nposition gave a bolder contour and additional bulk to the primitive\nland. New accumulations were forming during the devonian period in the\nwaters still mightily agitated along the lines of disturbance; new races\nof scale-enameled creatures occupied their depths, and huge crustaceans\nanchored among their rocky shallows. The interior regions again let loose\ntheir giant forces, and these chains of hills rose above the surface,\ndisrupting and heaving into day the various deposits of the old red\nsandstone. Hence the formation of the one set of rocks preceded, in\nthe order of time, the elevation of the other: not an islet appeared\nover all these parts while the sedimentary strata were accumulating\nbeneath: plants and trees covered the flanks of the Grampians, alg\u00e6 and\nfuci abounded in the waters, and myriads of fishes sported amid their\nluxuriance; but as yet there was no basin of the Tay, no fertile Carse\nof Gowrie, no kingdom of Fife stored to repletion with its precious\nmetals of iron, lime, and coal. The Sidlaws and Ochils, therefore, become\ninvested with even a romantic interest, when we thus view them in their\ngeological relations\u2014their age precisely defined\u2014and themselves, flinty\nand weather-stained, the memorials of the vast convulsions and changes\nof nature. They mark the outgoing of a period comparatively barren\nof vegetable life, and the incoming of the exuberant products of the\ncarboniferous epoch.\n\nI. THE STRUCTURE of the Sidlaw and Ochil ranges, from the amorphous\ncharacter of the rocks, furnishes little or no room for geological\ndescription. These nearly parallel chains of hills, separated only by an\ninterval of from two to five miles, and forming the lower water-shed of\nthe basin of the Tay, consist of the various members of the trap family\nusually denominated whinstone, and whose structure is very different,\nupon a glance, from that of the sandstones and other sedimentary deposits\nwe have been considering. This class of rocks have all a tendency, in\nmineralogical phraseology, to a spathose structure, and discover at\nleast the rudiments of crystallization: there is no lamination in their\ninternal texture, and the lines of stratification which they sometimes\nexhibit are assumed, or impressed by the previously consolidated strata\namong which they have been injected. They are not lavas, which are\nsub-a\u00ebrial products, nor are they aqueous formations, whose materials\nhave been deposited in water. These rocks are the results of igneous\nfusion deep under the crust of the earth, poured over the bottom of the\nsea, and protruded into the diversified dome-shaped forms which they\ngenerally present.\n\nTrap-rock consists of several varieties, as porphyry, clinkstone,\ncompact feldspar, amygdaloid, greenstone, and basalt. These all pass\ninto each other by insensible gradations, often forming one continuous\nmass, for the most part composed of the same ingredients, and have in\nconsequence been regarded by geologists as belonging to one group,\nproduced under similar circumstances, and elevated at intervals about\nthe same period. The porphyritic structure prevails generally in both\nchains, and \u201cporphyry has the peculiarity of being rarely found in any\nbut the primary strata: it seems to be the whinstone of the Old World,\nor at least that which is of highest antiquity in the present.\u201d[2] But\nnot only are both ranges characterized by the same qualities and texture\nof rocks in hand-specimens, one hill answering to another; they also\npreserve the same general features of outline, and the same relations to\nthe disrupted sandstones among which they have been injected. The highest\npoint, for instance, in the eastern division of the Ochils, is Norman\u2019s\nLaw, attaining an elevation of nearly one thousand feet above the level\nof the sea: in its uprise the mass has brought along with it the lower\nbeds of the gray sandstone, which flank its northern and eastern sides,\nwithin three hundred feet of the summit. To the north and west of Dundee\nthe highest points of the Sidlaws are encompassed in like manner with\ntheir analogous beds of the gray rock. And so in every locality, whether\nalong their base lines, or among the numerous ravines and valleys that\nintersect their cultivated slopes, the strata may be seen cropping out,\nbearing testimony to the convulsive movements to which they have been\nexposed, and the altered positions they have in consequence assumed.\n\nA remarkable bed of conglomerate or tufaceous trap intersects the chains\nat different, but generally corresponding, points of elevation, varying\nfrom two to four hundred feet above the sea-level. On the Ochil side this\nbed crosses the chain of hills from Letham school-house to Lindores Loch,\nwhere, along the line of the Edinburgh and Northern Railway, the out-crop\nmay be observed at various places\u2014very interestingly on the western\nslope of Clatchart\u2014and again appearing at intervals toward Abernethy,\nwhence it is traceable through the glen. In the ravines of the Sidlaws,\nbehind Rossie Priory, in the den of Pitroddy, on the face of Kinnoul and\nMoncrieffe Hills, and across the ridge intersected by the Perth tunnel,\nindications of the same tufaceous bed can be traced, consisting, for the\nmost part, of quartz rock, schist, and rounded masses of the different\nvarieties of the trap, mixed not unfrequently with bowlders and smaller\npieces of the gray and red sandstones. This formation has, doubtless,\nbeen produced on the bottom of a troubled sea, where the crust has\nbeen exposed to violent action\u2014much of it comminuted and broken into\nfragments, rolled and fashioned into nodules, large portions of it torn\nup, but retaining their continuity for a space\u2014when the molten flood has\npoured from below, and diffusing itself through the mass, the whole,\nafter successive eruptions, has been lifted to its present elevation.\n\nII. The amygdaloidal portion of these hills forms an interesting\nfeature, and prevails very widely in both chains. This rock has a\nconglomerated stratified appearance in some places; but generally the\nmatrix is very compact, rather porphyritic, of a dark brown or greenish\nhue, and when exposed to weathering, the innumerable small cavities\nor vesicular tissue by which it is laminated are prominently exposed.\nThese cavities are filled with zeolites, carbonate of lime, chalcedony,\nprebnite, and various other crystalline silicious deposits. The green\nhue is derived from the decomposition, on the exposed surfaces, of the\nimbedded substances. This rock forms the true habitat of the richest and\nmost beautiful specimens of the agate and jasper family, of the purest\nScottish pebble, and of large sparkling geodes of amethystine crystals.\nThe agates of Kinnoul and Moncrieffe are prized by lapidaries, as they\nare admired by amateurs, and no mineralogist should fail to visit the\nromantic pass of Glen Farg\u2014illustrated by the classic pens of Galt,\nLauder, and Scott\u2014adorned and stored, in every niche of its serpentine\ncourse, with calc-spars, analcime, chabasie, stilbite, heulandite,\nkonilite, and the entire family of the zeolites, presenting often\nfasciculi of crystals several inches in length, thin as silken threads,\nand rivaling frost-work in the transparency and brilliancy of their\ntexture. The mass of rock constituting Bein Hill, and intersected by the\nturnpike for miles, appears as a simple agglutination of nodules of the\nsize and color of garden peas, and consisting principally of analcime,\nzeolite, and chalcedonic pebbles.\n\nWhat account is given of these curious formations\u2014of their color,\nstructure, and qualities\u2014all so different from those of the surrounding\nmatrix? Assuming the igneous origin of the trap family of rocks, and\nagainst which there can scarcely exist the possibility of an argument,\nit is supposed that, when in the act of cooling, cavities would\nnecessarily be produced in the heated molten mass by the expansive power\nof gases, and that upon their escape silicious and other deposits would\nbe formed in the empty spaces. All the ingredients of the included\ncrystals, of every genus, are plentifully diffused through nature, mixed\nup with the matter of every kind of rock; air and water are nowhere\nwanting, and substances sufficiently porous, for their transmission; a\nlamination or separation of coating, layer upon layer, is discernible in\nevery agate; while the still partially existing hollows in some nodules,\nand the concentric nature of the bands of earthy matter which lines their\nsurface, clearly demonstrate the deposition of the outer prior to that of\nthe inner layer, and prove that at the very time when the crystallization\nhad commenced, the cavities had assumed the form and shape which they\nnow retain. Sometimes, too, the nodules have a compressed or flattened\nappearance; and the explanation in such cases is, that the cavities, if\nformed during the cooling of the beds, must have been altered in their\nshape by pressure either before the deposition of the silicious matter,\nor during the successive formation of the layers. Other, and indeed\nmany, theories are broached, among which the most plausible is, that the\ncavities in which the agates are now found were caused by the \u201cmolecular\naggregation of the silicious particles compelling the surrounding matter\nto yield in proportion to the attraction of these homogeneous particles.\u201d\nThe former explanation, however, is the most generally adopted, the most\nobvious in its conditions, and the most accordant with the existing\nprocesses of nature, the laws of heat, and the order of crystallization.\nThe porosity and fibrous structure of agates, consisting of a congeries\nof minute radiating fibers at right angles to the rings or concentric\nlayers, have also been established from microscopical examination, and\nhence the diversity of their colors, whether from vegetable matter or\nmetallic oxides everywhere so abundant in the soils and crust of the\nglobe.\n\nThe same law or mode of formation applies to crystallized minerals\ngenerally, and has continued to operate from primitive times to our own\nin their production. The sparkling topazes of Cairngorm and gigantic\ncrystals of the Alps\u2014the semi-opal of Iceland and the heliotrope of\nKinnoul\u2014the dazzling emeralds of Brazil and Ethiopia\u2014the stupendous\ngarnets of Fahlun\u2014the delicately-colored fluors and calc-spars of\nDerbyshire and Cumberland\u2014the gorgeous rubies and sapphires of India\nand Ceylon\u2014the beautiful prismatic idocrase of Vesuvius and Etna\u2014the\nsplendid amethystine geodes of Oberstein, Siberia, and Spain, little\ngrottoes lined with polished geometrical figures, all declare a common\nbirth as they all nestle in rocks of a common origin. The diamond, the\nrichest as it is the rarest of all, belongs to a totally different class\nof crystallized bodies, and owes its formation to the agency of entirely\ndifferent causes.\n\nIII. THE DYKES OR VEINS form another striking feature among the\ngeological phenomena of these hills, and seem as if nature intended\nthem for lacings or bands to give greater cohesion and stability to\nits parts. They consist of long narrow strips of rock, which have made\ntheir way through the previously consolidated strata, intersecting the\nplanes of their several beds at nearly right angles, and constituting\namong themselves a system of parallel and vertical partitions in the\nrock. Once observed in any district, these dykes are of too marked a\ncharacter not to excite inquiries as to their uses and mode of formation;\nand occurring, as they do, in every region and among all classes, from\nthe oldest primary to the newest tertiary deposits, they are obviously\ndesigned for some great purpose in the plan of Creation.\n\nVeins may be described as tabular masses that penetrate the earth\u2019s\ncrust to an unknown depth, and almost invariably consist of different\nmaterials from the rocks they traverse. They are supposed to have all\nbeen in a state of fusion, and either themselves to have produced rents\nand fissures in their pressure upward, or to have filled with their\nmolten ingredients such as from other causes were already existing.\nWhen detected in sandstone or other stratified formations, they are\nreadily distinguished, and acknowledged to be of foreign origin as well\nas of posterior date. The matter of them consists generally, among\nthe secondary formations, of basalt or greenstone; more frequently of\nporphyry and feldspar among the older and crystalline rocks. In their\npassage through whinstone the sides of the veins are usually smoothed\nand polished as if by the action of another body rubbing against\nthem; the sandstones and other sedimentary rocks are indurated, or\ndiscoloration may be traced for a considerable space inward from the\nwalls of the vein. There is no mixing up of the materials of the dyke,\nnor any approach to incorporation with those of the including mass.\nAfter exposure on the surface to atmospheric influences, the basalt or\ngreenstone splits up into large tabular blocks, which become extremely\nfriable, and scale off in thin layers, leaving a central ball, which\nexfoliates in like manner, and gradually molders into dust. These dykes\nare very numerous in the Grampians, occurring everywhere, and diverging\nin every direction through the primary rocks. They traverse the lower\ndistrict on the south of the range, five or six crossing the Tay, and\nrunning nearly parallel in a north-westerly course. They rise above\nthe sandstone in various places of Strathearn, forming mural ridges,\nfurrowed into broad jointed masses, or piled loosely above each other.\nThe outgoing of some of these remarkable concretions can be traced into\nthe German ocean. From St. Andrews westward, their line of bearing may\nbe detected, both among the trap-hills and the sandstones which flank\nthem, and like well-run stags, after debouching from the Ochills and\nSidlaws, converging upon the forest of Glenartney. Doubling, winding, and\ndragging out and in among the passes from Crieff to Comrie, two of them\nmay be descried on the steep face of Aberuchill, fairly scaling its lofty\nsummits; and driving onward, may others be observed on the south of the\nRuchle, to the far heights of Uam-Var.\n\nThe etymology of the term _Ochil_, would seem to be connected in some\nway with these geological phenomena. A tradition exists that, from\ntime immemorial, the earthquakes of Comrie were cotemporaneous with\nsubterranean movements or noises in the _Ochil_ range, near Devon. The\nG\u00e6lic word _ochain_, or _ochail_, signifies, according to Armstrong,\n\u201cmoaning, wailing, howling;\u201d and hence it is inferred that the name of\nthe \u201cMoaning Hills\u201d may have been given to the range, from the sounds\nso frequently heard in the district. There can be no question as to\nthe probability of a subterranean sympathy betwixt the two localities,\nthrough the instrumentality of these dykes, or otherwise; and, though\nthe series of events referred to above belong to an anterior age\u2014far\nremote, indeed, from the human and all its traditions\u2014a plausible origin\nis thus given to the name, in connection with an analogous series of\nevents that did happen within the human period.\n\nIV. A vast historical interest, therefore, is to be attached to these\nhills, and their phenomena of veins, connected as they are with the\nfirst elevatory movements of the globe, and when form and outline were\nbeing given to its massive fullness. The hand of the Creator is clearly\nseen in raising them up from the depths below. Not a particle of the\nentire volume is in its original position, or that which it would of\nitself statically assume. God formed everything for use, while beauty and\nagreeableness of shape are inseparably combined. When viewed in the light\nof causation, it is not enough merely to say, and there to stop short,\nthat we see in the outward face of nature the impress of power, wisdom,\nand goodness\u2014that none of these things made themselves\u2014that the rocks\nand mountains are an image of Jehovah\u2019s greatness\u2014the streams, plains,\ntrees, corns, animals, the effect of His love and care. All this they\nunquestionably are, but they are more. Their arrangement and disposition,\nbeside their mere existence, evince a continued superintendence\u2014a purpose\nand a will to maintain an order and construction of elements which would\notherwise separate and dissolve\u2014a keeping together, and as one, each\nafter their own kind, the inorganic and organic parts of creation. The\nphilosophy, as well as theology, of these arrangements have been thus\nbeautifully recorded: Thou coveredst the earth with the deep as with a\ngarment, the waters stood above the mountains; at thy rebuke they fled,\nat the voice of thy thunder they hastened away into the place thou hast\nprepared for them. Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over;\nthat they turn not again to cover the earth.\u2014It is demonstrable that,\nwere all the rocks which compose our mountain ranges and dry land to\nbe dissolved and carried into the sea, the waters of the globe are\nsufficient again to cover and conceal from view their vast and multiform\nmaterials, and to replace them in those depths whence they originally\narose.\n\nDr. Chalmers, in his work on natural theology,[3] has not, we think,\ncorrectly apprehended the bearings of the argument for the existence of a\nGod drawn from the fact of the existence of a material world. \u201cWe do not\nperceive,\u201d he says, \u201chow, on the observation of an unshapen mass, there\ncan from its _being_ alone, be drawn any clear or strong inference in\nfavor of its non-eternity: or that simply because it now is, a time must\nhave been when it was not. We cannot thus read in the entity of matter,\na prior non-entity, or an original commencement for it: and something\nmore must be affirmed of matter than merely that it is, ere we can\ndiscern that either an artist\u2019s mind or an artist\u2019s hand has at all been\nconcerned with it.\u201d Is this either sound reasoning or good philosophy?\nThe fact of the entity of matter does, necessarily and directly, lead to\nthe inference that it had a beginning. It could not originate itself,\nand just the more as it is viewed in its mere materiality, so much the\nstronger and irresistible the conclusion that there was no potentiality\ninherent in itself to cause it to begin to exist. Strip these hills of\nall their verdure\u2014remove from the mind all consideration of their beauty,\nvariety, and softness of outline\u2014divest that landscape of its ebb and\nflow of tide\u2014of all that constitutes the scene one of the most charming\non the face of the earth, and in its desolation and sterility you would\nstill in idea revert to a period when it was not. These shapeless, inert,\nbarren masses of rock, and soil, and sand, did not place themselves there\nby any power of their own. Whether on Mount Horeb or Bencleugh, the\nmind will learn, from its own inner voice, that the traces of Jehovah\nare there\u2014a Power, beyond and above, that called these rude piles into\nbeing\u2014the absence of all form and vitality in themselves the proof and\nthe witness of the Creator\u2019s mind and the Creator\u2019s hand. Death cannot\noriginate anything into life. Matter, as matter, cannot constitute nor\nbegin of itself to be. A scene like this could not now commence its own\nbeing, and at no period in the past did it possess a single property of\nself-existence. The entity and eternity of matter are, therefore, two\nphysically impossible things, as nothing but the one supreme intelligent\nGod can be at once self-existent and eternal, and that which is God\ncannot be material.\n\nBut, if the reasoning here is bad, the philosophy is still worse. It\nis not philosophy at all to speak of anything in nature as _unshapen_.\nMatter is never presented to us in its simple elements. What we see of\nthe visible, material world, is something in combination with something\nelse, substance united with substance, and the union and combination\nare not accidental or chancework. There are law, order, and definite\nproportion in every compound body. Things go together by determinate\narrangement. When first summoned into being, the elements of the universe\nhad each separately their own communicated properties; they took their\nplaces in the mass, each according to their natures; and now the little\nand the great, the bowlder on the heath and the orbs on high, the\nconcrete rock and our whole planetary system, are modeled upon a plan,\nand all subservient to a purpose. In decomposition none of them waste or\ndecay. Resolved into their primary atoms, they unite in new arrangements,\nand collect into new bodies; and in the putrid corrupting mass, the law\nof order, symmetry, and beauty, reigns in active operation, eliminating\nnew structures and establishing new harmonies.\n\nMen have long been acquainted with the fact, that in all combinations\nof two or more substances, there are certain proportions which obtain\namong the different ingredients, and that the best mixtures are those\nwhich are regulated according to a scale. The arts have flourished, and\nimproved in one age above those in another, just in proportion as this\nprinciple has been attended to, and the degree in which the properties of\ncompounds have been ascertained. We hence learn to imitate the crystal\nin its clearness, and to rival the colors of gems and flowers. The\nmetals are thus tempered for the use and benefit of society. The acids\nare neutralized, and salts are formed, and the health of man is restored\nor preserved. Dalton discovered the law of combination in definite and\nmultiple proportions to be constant in the thin air we breathe\u2014that\nwater, in all conditions and situations, consists of the two ingredients\noxygen and hydrogen, and that these in weight are always as eight of\nthe former to one of the latter\u2014that even the most elastic gases are\ncomposed of particles of real, ponderable, definable matter\u2014and that\nthrough all substances, palpable or impalpable, gross or ethereal, the\nprinciple of aggregation, according to the atomic theory, is universal.\nScience has not, indeed, as yet determined what is the law of connection\nbetween the chemical composition and the crystalline forms of bodies;\nalthough Sir David Brewster has clearly established that there is\nan exact correspondence between their optical properties and their\ncrystalline forms,\u2014the law of the transmission of light through specific\nsubstances. Sir Isaac Newton had long before cone to the conclusion\u2014and\nfrom the heavens brought down a philosophy to explain the theory of the\nearth\u2014that \u201cAll things considered, it seems probable that God, in the\nbeginning, formed matter in solid, massy, hard, impenetrable particles,\nof such sizes, figures, and with such other properties, and in such\nproportion to space, as most conduced to the end for which he formed\nthem; and that these primitive particles, being solids, are incomparably\nharder than any porous bodies compounded of them; even so very hard as\nnever to wear or break to pieces, no ordinary power being able to divide\nwhat God made one in the first creation.\u201d Philosophy such as this,\nverified, much of it, by an induction of rigid experiments, discovers\na universe of matter worthy of its author, and like him\u2014a God, not of\nconfusion, but of order; things framed, every one of them, according to\nrule and method, and all stamped with the indelible impress of utility,\ndesign and loveliness. The \u201cunshapen\u201d has no place in the physical world.\n\n\u201cIt is not,\u201d continues Dr. Chalmers, \u201cfrom some matter being harder than\nothers, that we infer a God; but when we behold the harder placed where\nit is obviously the most effective for a beneficial end, as in the nails,\nand claws, and teeth of animals, in this we see evidence of a God.\u201d\n\nNow, this is precisely what has been done in the construction and\ndisposition of the several parts of our planet. The hardest matter is\nplaced where it can subserve a beneficial end, on the bottom of the\nsea, the shores of a continent, the hills that border the valleys of a\ncountry. The framework of the globe is in itself of the most durable\nmaterials, and these materials have been all so arranged as to render\nthe earth solid, fertile, and beautiful diversity of climate, combined\nwith diversity of soil, moisture, and shelter. These rocks may have been\nmolten in the depths beneath; but no innate powers of nature raised\nthem unto mountains, and separated the hard from the soft, lifting the\nheavier substance into the highest places, and scooping out the hollows\nfor the lighter. These are acts, all of them, of divine might, directed\nto a purpose, and what alone could render this world a fitting abode for\nliving things. Wonderfully made are all the creatures of our earth,\u2014every\nbone, sinew, and muscle in its appropriate place\u2014and so constructed as\nbest to perform their respective functions. But equally wonderful the\nadjustment and adaptation, through all its parts, of that earth on which\nthey are domiciled, and which ministers so admirably to the various\nwants and requirements of its diversified tribes of plants and animals.\nNot more significant of design, nor more effective for a beneficial\nend, the bony heads and enameled scales of the finny inhabitants of the\nperiod, the cephalaspes and holoptychii of the stratified rocks, than\nthe indurated texture of the traps as a solid casement in which their\nwaters were to be retained, and a storehouse of well-assorted materials,\nwhence substance and nutriment were to be extracted for the land. The\nargument, in short, so far as fitness and utility are concerned, is one\nand the same in both classes of objects\u2014the house and its inmates alike\nillustrative of contrivance and skill\u2014equally eloquent in praise of the\nartist\u2019s mind or the artist\u2019s hand.\n\nAnd in this way it is, that the story of our earth should be read, and\nthe course of creation should be traced. In the first ordering of things,\nwe see the interposition of a great First Cause; and the farther back we\ngo in our geological researches, the more closely do we discern the chain\nthat connects our globe, and all that is in it, with the throne of the\nEternal. The everlasting hills, we are constantly reminded in Scripture,\nare the witnesses of his power. They are appealed to as the evidences of\nhis ever-active, ever-sustaining presence. What wonderful manifestations\nof his might and wisdom have they been called to testify! Mount Ararat,\nthe symbol of his saving interposition\u2014Mount Sinai, for the giving of the\nlaw, and surrounded with the thunder and terror of his great name\u2014Horeb,\nproclaiming his mercy and the gentleness of his love\u2014Gilboa, drenched in\nthe blood of his swift vengeance\u2014Hermon, a token of the minuteness of his\ncare and the sweetness of his grace\u2014Tabor, Olivet, and Calvary! scenes of\nthe mystery of incarnation and awful purity of inflexible justice.\u2014And\nthese very hills and mountains around, standing memorials through all\nages and their revolutions, that at his bidding they arose, and by his\nsustaining agency they are still upheld and preserved on high.\n\nWe regard as utterly untenable the doctrine, therefore, that from the\n\u201centity\u201d of matter we cannot infer the existence of a God. Matter, as\nmere matter, we do not see, and know nothing of. All the matter that\nis brought under our notice, is either organized or elaborated into\narrangement and disposition of parts, as nicely harmonized and adjusted\nas organic shape and form.\u2014The organic and inorganic structure may\ndiffer, but the difference is one of degree, as much as of kind. The\nargument, from the existence and composition of the atmosphere, the\nsalubrious mixture of gases in the formation of water, the capacity\nand adaptation of soils for the germination of seeds and the growth of\nplants, is equally pointed as to the proof of design and beneficial end,\nas that which is derived from the fleece of the sheep, the feathers of\nthe bird, and the silicious coating of the wheat-stalk. The uses of these\nthings are obvious, and seen and appreciated at once.\u2014But so is every\nmolecule of matter and aggregation of rock, in the largest amorphous mass\nas in the polished crystallized gem, assimilated by law and indurated\nfor use. And when we see the structure of the entire globe so directly\nconducive to the well being of its numerously diversified families, we\nhave the argument the same in the WHOLE as in the parts, in the lumpish\nmass as in the order and symmetry of the bones, muscles, and organs of\nthe animal frame. But for these hills the rain would fall perniciously,\nand the dews distill in vain. Of what use the return of the seasons,\nwith no variety of climate? and while the ocean encompassed the globe,\nwhere would be the courses of the rivers, the mists and exhalations of\nthe valleys? We may often mistake the uses of things, the end and purpose\nof particular arrangements; but the doctrine of FINAL CAUSES we ought\nnever to leave out of our calculations. They pervade all nature. They\npermeate all bodies. The world as constituted, the creation which we\ncontemplate and admire, is in all its parts and dispositions a system\nof means and ends, a combination of instruments end skillfully-balanced\nagencies, a bright ever-discoursing record of the Eternal Mind, which\nyet shrouds itself in light inaccessible and utterly unfathomable to the\ncomprehension of all created, finite intelligences, whether human or\nangelic.\n\nThus geology takes us up to the beginnings of creation\u2014shows us the\ningredients and arrangements of matter\u2014lays bare the foundations of our\nearthly dwelling, the divisions and conveniences of its apartments\u2014and\nseeing wisdom in adaptation, design in endurance and suitability, we\ninfer, upon equally irresistible grounds, that the earth is of God, and\nmanifests in everything the perfections of its Author. The SCHEME of\ncreation, in all its parts and relations, we may never know; its course\nand order we can distinctly trace through many of its arrangements.\n\n[Illustration: Relative Positions of Trap.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nTHE CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM\u2014PERIOD OF GIGANTIC VEGETABLES.\n\n\nThe system of rocks termed the Carboniferous constitutes the most\nremarkable, as well as the most valuable, group in the whole range of\ngeological investigation. The strata of which this system is composed,\nevince design in the clearest and the most unequivocal manner, testifying\nto the mandate given on the third day of Creation, that the earth\nwas to bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree\nyielding fruit after its kind; and which, in the prodigious development\nof vegetable matter that so early and rapidly ensued, demonstrate such\nproductive powers of nature to have been chiefly prospective, and\npreparatory to the still higher development of life that was to follow.\n\nMilton has finely imagined a tradition in heaven, long subsisting,\nconcerning the creation of a new world, and of man for whose habitation\nit was intended:\n\n \u201cSpace may produce new worlds, whereof so rife,\n There went a fame in heaven, that He ere long\n Intended to create, and therein plant\n A generation, whom his choice regard\n Should favor equal to the sons of heaven;\n The happy seat\n Of some new race, called Man.\u201d\n\nThe idea here so beautifully expressed is, that the cosmical arrangements\nof the earth were, from the beginning, so conducted as to be subservient\nto man\u2019s well-being; and, certainly, nothing could show more the dignity\nof the new race, or the interest taken in them by their Creator, than\nthis tradition which ran of them in other spheres. But geology, more\nto be relied on than poetry, furnishes demonstrative evidence of the\nanterior designs and purposes of Omnipotent Wisdom in actually fitting\nup \u201cthe happy seat,\u201d and in storing it beforehand with materials suited\nto the wants and comfortable subsistence of him who was to be its\nloftiest inhabitant. The coal-metals, in the discovery of their history\nand position, alone vindicate the importance of geology as a science.\nThe whole group with which they are associated, in their mineral and\nvegetable contents, their place in the system, and the means provided at\nonce for protection and excavation, manifest a series of contrivances so\nexpressive of design, as cannot fail, when read aright, to draw forth our\ngratitude and wonder.\n\nI. THE MINERAL INGREDIENTS, POSITION, AND ARRANGEMENT OF THE\nCARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM.\u2014The rocks belonging to this formation, in the order\nof superposition, succeed the old red sandstone, consisting of a series\nof deposits of great thickness, of an infinite number of alternations and\nvarieties, and nearly the same in every coal-field all over the earth.\nThey constitute one great group of marked physical characters, formed\nunder similar conditions, and produced during the same epoch or period of\ntime. The out-crop of the beds meets the eye along the ridge of which the\nLomonds may be taken as the center, ranging eastward by St. Andrews to\nFifeness Point, and extending indefinitely westward by Stirling, Campsie\nHills, Port-Glasgow, to the coast of Arran. The southern lip of the great\ncoal basin of Scotland stretches from the German Ocean, near Dunbar, to\nthe Ayrshire coast in the North Channel, flanked by the old red sandstone\nand Silurian rocks almost continuously throughout. And within the space\nnow indicated are situated all the principal coal-fields of the northern\npart of the empire.\n\nThe lower beds of the formation consist generally of coarse-grained\nsandstone, termed by the English geologists millstone grit, and inclose\na few thin unworkable seams of coal. Bands of ironstone, shale, and\nsandstone are superimposed in repeated alternations. A thick massive\nlimestone lines the edges, feathering in and out through the area\nof the basin which contains the coal metals. This is the mountain\nlimestone, the most of which is supposed to have once existed as coral\nreefs, raised on the bottom of shallow seas, so subdivided as to form\nsuitable compartments for receiving and retaining the matter of the coal.\nAccordingly, corals, encrinites, and shells everywhere prevail in the\nrocks of this deposit, and, in some instances, present the appearance\nof a homogeneous, agglutinated mass of the remains of these marine\nanimals\u2014the first of living creatures which the waters were charged to\nbring forth, and with which they were now swarming. The bituminous beds,\nthe true coal, generally occupy a central position in the group, firmly\ncaked and inclosed between the arenaceous and shaly strata. The number\nof seams vary in different basins, ranging in Scotland from eleven to\nthirty-two or thirty-three, and comprising an average thickness of the\nuseful mineral of a hundred and twenty feet. The varieties of coal\u2014as\nanthracite or blind-coal, cannel or parrot, and the common house or\nglance-coal\u2014are occasioned chiefly by the different proportions of the\nbituminous elements which enter into their composition. Compared with\nScotland, the coal-measures of England and Wales are of a greater average\nthickness, lie far beneath the surface, and contain in general a greater\nproportion of bitumen.\n\nThe basin containing the coals, as defined above, is inclosed within the\ngreat chains of primary and secondary mountains of the central district\nof Scotland, which were upheaved into dry land before the coal-measures\nwere formed. A period of violent disturbance had thus passed away, when\nthe carboniferous formation bears evident tokens of having been begun and\ncompleted in tranquil waters. But after being collected, the coal-metals\nwere exposed to the action of disturbing forces: eruptive masses, of\nigneous origin, have invaded their domain; basalts and greenstone,\ntrap dykes and veins, are everywhere found within their inclosure;\nand apparently the utmost disorder and irregularity now reign, where\norder and stillness once prevailed. But look a little closer: examine\nthe length and breadth of any coal-field in any part of the world, and\nyou will discern proofs of a purpose, not only in the quality of their\nmaterials, but in the position, arrangement, and grouping of the metals;\nthose very disturbing forces, to which they and all earthly things have\nbeen exposed, giving unequivocal testimony of an overruling intelligence\ncontinuing, through all ages, to superintend and guide their various\noperations.\n\nStudy any coal-field in your neighborhood, and observe _the place_ of\nthe mineral. It does not lie exposed upon the surface, but is placed at\na considerable depth in the earth; of which many are apt to complain,\nthinking that, if a different arrangement had prevailed, much needless\nlabor and expense would have been saved. But the constituent elements\nof coal are such, that by exposure on the surface the mineral would,\nin a comparatively short period of time, have run to waste and decay.\nEven a thick covering of earthy mold would not have been sufficient to\nprotect it; and therefore was the treasure purposely hid in the earth,\nand so inclosed that the floods could not wash it away. Then consider the\n_quality_ of the rocks by which the coal is protected, and along with\nwhich it is invariably associated. These consist of limestone, sandstone,\nshale, and clay ironstone, which always occupy the same basins, and\nalternate with the coal sometimes in a series of more than a hundred\nbeds. Such a group of well-characterized rocks not only act as a guide\nfor determining the localities of the valuable mineral, but they serve\nthe double purpose of facilitating the excavation, by affording at once\na safe roofing to the mine, and an easy passage for the drainage of\nthe water which accumulates in the pits. No other class of rocks would\nhave been so suitable. The granite and crystalline rocks would have\nbeen inconvenient, or wholly unfit: no borings could have been effected\nthrough such materials to any extent; the operations underneath would\nhave been equally difficult and unmanageable; and through such hard\ncompact substances the drainage must have been impracticable. But a still\nmore remarkable indication of contrivance arises from _the elevated_\nand _inclined position_ into which the coal strata have been thrown.\nHad they remained in the position which they originally occupied, and\nbeen covered with the vast accumulations which have subsequently taken\nplace, their depth would have been utterly beyond the industry of man to\nhave reached. Hence the waters have disappeared, having accomplished the\npurpose for which they were, in this instance, spread over the earth, and\nthe rocks formed beneath them have lifted up their heads; not uniformly,\nor in one continuous unbroken mass, but divided into small sections, and\ninclined in every possible direction. The wisdom of this appears from\ntwo considerations: From their inclined position, the various beds of\ncoal are worked with greater facility than if they had been horizontal, a\n_level_ is produced for the drainage of the water, and the edges of the\ncoal bent upward are brought nearer the surface. But these advantages\nare, every one of them, increased incalculably by the division of the\ncoal-field into limited sections, whereby less water is allowed to\naccumulate than if the beds had been indefinitely extended; their lower\nextremities are prevented from being plunged to a depth that would be\ninaccessible; and their several portions arranged in a series of tables,\nlike the steps of a stair, rising one behind another, and gradually\ninclining outward from the lower to the upper seams of the basin. Again,\nevery coal-field is furnished with a system of checks, in the shape of\n_faults_ or _dykes_, against floodings, fire-blaze, and other accidents\nthat occur in the operations of mining. These faults or dykes consist of\nclay, the detritus of the associated rocks, or of intruded whinstone,\nwith which the fractures produced at the period of the disruption and\nelevation of the coal-field have been filled up, and the various sections\nof the metal insulated, and contracted to more workable dimensions.\nThey present the appearance of a vertical wall, cutting the strata at\nright angles; and, though often occasioning much inconvenience and\ninterruption, yet, as every experienced collier well knows, forming\nupon the whole his greatest safeguard, and essential every way to his\noperations. To all which add, as _constants_ in every coal-field, the\nminerals of lime and iron, gifts, both of them, of inestimable value:\nthe former in the amelioration of the soil and construction of every\nsocial edifice; the latter ductile and plastic as wax, capable of being\nwelded, and yet, by a slight chemical change, possessed of adamantine\nhardness; and the coal always there, in juxta-position, to serve as a\nfuel for the reduction of the limestone and ironstone into their economic\nproperties\u2014properties starting into agency as if by a miracle.\n\nThese are a few of the facts connected with the arrangement and\ndistribution of the coal-measures, in whatever quarter of the globe\nthey are found. Is it possible to resist the conclusion, that, in such a\ndisposition of things, there are the clearest indications of contrivance\nand design? Nay, that the argument derived from the construction and\npositions of the solid parts of the earth is the same in kind, if not in\ndegree, with that which is so irresistibly demonstrative in the case of\nthe organic structure of the living frame? The dance of atoms imagined\nby the philosopher of antiquity, could never have terminated in the\nperfect order and harmony of the heavenly bodies\u2014innumerable systems of\nworlds maintained,\u2014each hung upon nothing, and duly preserved all of them\nin their respective spheres. Equally impossible is it to contemplate\na disposition of things so adapted, and indeed so indispensable, for\navailing ourselves of the mineral treasures of the earth\u2014essential\nto our wants, and ministering so directly to our social comfort and\nimprovement\u2014and yet to refer the whole, or any part, to the blind\noperation of fortuitous causes. Impossible, indeed, it ever will be,\nfor the human mind to embrace or unravel all the mysteries of creation;\nbut thus admitted to the mighty wonders of the interior, we are almost\nenabled to trace the history of the moving atoms from their chaotic\ndisorder into their places and arrangement in the visible universe\u2014to\nsee dead matter assuming the forms of life and organization\u2014clothing the\nearth for a season with luxuriance and beauty\u2014buried for ages under the\nsolid rock\u2014and again, out of coldness and death, affording light, and\nwarmth, and power to the successive generations of men.\n\nII. ORIGIN OF THE CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS.\u2014The strata comprised within the\ncoal-measures are variously estimated; being, in some instances, about\neleven thousand feet in thickness; in other cases, of much greater depth;\nand of this mass of matter, the coal itself does not occupy more than\na maximum average of one hundred and fifty feet. The shales consist of\nthin beds of mud, washed down by the rivers from the neighboring heights,\nand would appear to have formed the soil on which subsisted a rank\nvegetation; the impressions of plants, roots, and trunks of trees being\nstill found in a standing position. It is from these bands of mudstone\nthat the best specimens of the flora of the period are derived; every\nthin splitting presenting the most entire and beautifully-preserved\nfigures of fronds and stems. The ironstone is usually mixed up or\nassociated with the shales, and consists, like them, of comparatively\nthin beds of ferruginous clay. The sandstones, of which the greater\nproportion of the mass consists, have clearly resulted in the continued\naction of the same causes that produced the old red deposit of the\nanterior period. But the two remarkable products of the age are the\ncalcareous and coaly strata, which give character to the system as\nwell as the epoch in which they were formed; the one showing a sudden\ndevelopment of carbonate of lime, and the other an increase of vegetable\nmatter, whose enduring monuments point them out as the most striking\ncotemporaneous and co-extensive formations on the surface of the globe,\nor connected with the history of our planet. The bituminous products of\nthe Silurian period, if the anachronism may be pardoned, are but as the\ngleanings after the full harvest.\n\nThe limestone is unquestionably of marine origin, as the countless\nmyriads of testacea inclosed in it testify, and was probably constructed\nby the primeval families of those island-making architects by which the\ncoral-reefs of our present seas are raised, and whose instincts have\nfound them similar employment in all ages of the world. The limestones of\nthe earlier systems may have been formed in the same manner; and then, as\nin the subsequent period, we must go to the great original storehouse of\nNature for the materials on which they worked. The spoils of the primary\nrocks could not supply them, as the quantity of the carbonate of lime\ntherein contained bears no proportion to the masses which constitute\nthe mountain limestone group. But the calcareous substance was already,\nin some elementary form, in combination or otherwise, in existence\u2014the\nanimals capable of secreting and arranging it anew, as the secondary\ninstruments of creation, were abounding in the seas\u2014shallow bottoms over\nthe subjacent sandstones of the devonian system, and within the required\nconditions of life, were prepared for their operations. The waters had\nnow brought forth abundantly the moving creatures, which, at first more\nscantily distributed, produced the limestone of the silurian rocks, as\nthe arborial remains of the land, in like stinted measure, are inclosed\nin the older pal\u00e6ozoic deposits. Their day of increase as it advanced,\neach after their kind, is recorded in the vast accumulations of animal\nand vegetable matter which compose the strata of the carboniferous\nsystem, both of an order and quality purposely so arranged, and never\nupon the same scale of magnitude to be repeated in the combustible\nmineral.\n\nThis account, as given by geologists, of the origin of the mountain\nlimestone, is rendered not only probable, but almost certain, by the\nmanner in which we find these little insects, the coral-builders,\nconstructing their piles of masonry at the present day. For example,\ncertain species of polyps, of solitary habits, work alone, each rearing\na single stem or stalk, from which others project; then more stems are\nproduced, until, upon the completion of the whole, there results one of\nthose beautiful arborescent structures so much prized as ornaments for\ncabinets and drawing-rooms. Some, again, attach themselves to the loose\nstones, upon which they form their little tree or flower-top; others\nadhere to the solid rock, from which there springs a stony vegetation,\nrivaling often, in variety, luxuriance, and brilliancy, the most showy\nvegetable productions of tropical climes. But a certain class are\ngregarious, and will only work in company. Myriads of these inhabit the\nPacific, constructing entire islands, and throwing up mighty barriers of\nrock, and threading over vast areas of the sea with inosculating lines\nof coral reef. The calcareous accumulation, known as the Great Barrier\nReef, extends for about a thousand miles in length, by about thirty in\nmean breadth, filling up, with its various reticulations, the whole\nintermediate space betwixt the coast of Australia and Bristow Island, off\nthe coast of New Guinea. The works of these minute creatures thus occupy\nan area which may be roughly estimated at thirty thousand square miles;\nthe different branches forming compartments of variable extent, which are\ndivided into linear, outer, and inner reefs, and embracing within their\nample folds the entire spoils of ocean living or floating in these parts.\n\nThe mountain limestone of our own country, formed in like manner on the\nsea-bottom of corallines, has a wide geographical range, extending from\nthe bay of St. Andrew\u2019s on the north, to the extremity of Wales on the\nsouth; passing into Ireland, where it is elevated into long ridges, or\noccupies the mountain-slopes; and forming outliers or extended barriers\nin all the southern counties of Scotland, and in the greater portion of\nthe northern, the middle, and the south-western districts of England.\nThese were the coral reefs of an ocean now raised into dry land, divided,\ntoo, into outer and inner compartments, or arranged into systems of lines\nand branches, which diverged from or inosculated with each other. Nor\ndoes the resemblance between the recent and the more ancient formations\nstop here, but extends to the structure of the deposits, lithologically\nconsidered, the mechanical, sub-crystalline, and crystalline texture\nbeing exhibited in both sets of rocks. Thus, in the examination of Heron\nIsland, the coral beds, one to two feet thick, are found to have a\ntendency to split into slabs, and joints are observed to cross each other\nat right angles, parallel to the dip and strike, respectively, giving to\nthe still living coral rock the jointings, cleavage, and stratification\nof the greater pal\u00e6ozoic deposits. Naturalists divide these polyps\ninto existing and extinct races. But whether extinct and specifically\ndifferent, or otherwise, they are creatures of a family, possessed of the\nsame habits and performing the same operations, now as of old; and if,\nas geologists say, millions of ages have elapsed between the actings of\nthe first and last generations, our admiration will be only all the more\nunbounded by thus witnessing the harmony of creation through indefinite\ntime, and the accuracy of the Book which contains the record of it.\n\nThe coal itself, as now universally admitted, is of vegetable origin.\nUnder the microscope, in the most compact specimens, the tissues by which\nall the coal plants are more or less distinguished can be distinctly\ntraced. Chemically considered, its vegetable origin is equally well\nestablished. Carbon constitutes the principal ingredient of the mineral\nthe quality of which enters most abundantly into the composition of\nvegetables. One theory of its formation is, that vegetable matter,\ncarried to the sea or extensive lakes, has undergone a process of\ndecomposition, by which, while some of its principles may have escaped\nor been evolved in new combinations, the carbon, with a portion of the\nhydrogen, has remained; this, mixed with more or less earthy matter, has\nin its soft state been consolidated by the force of aggregation simply,\nor by compression from the superincumbent strata, and the action of a\nhigher degree of temperature than now exists. Others are of opinion\nthat coal is the altered residuum of trees and smaller plants that have\ngrown on the spot where we now find them\u2014that the forests were submerged\nand covered by detrital matter, which was upraised to form a foundation\nand a soil for another forest, to be in its turn submerged and converted\ninto coal\u2014and that thus the alternations which the vertical section of\na coal-field exhibits are to be accounted for. The former views are\nmaintained by Sir R. Murchison and other eminent geologists. The latter\nhave been adopted by Sir Charles Lyell, in consequence mainly of the\narrangements and structure observed in the remarkable coal-field of Nova\nScotia, where he states that there is a range of perpendicular cliffs\nin the Bay of Fundy, composed of regular coal-measures, inclined at an\nangle between twenty-four and thirty degrees, whose united thickness\nis between four and five miles. By neither theory, perhaps, nor by any\nother yet advanced, is it possible to reconcile all the appearances which\nthat singular compound, a COAL-FIELD exhibits\u2014the various changes which\nthe vegetable matter has undergone to convert it into lignite, jet,\ncommon coal, cannel coal, and anthracite, two or more of these varieties\noften occurring in the same coal-measures\u2014in one quarter the clearest\nindications that the sea has let in its floods and mingled its spoils\nwith those of the land, and in another quarter, through fourteen thousand\nfeet, for example, of the drift accumulations in Nova Scotia, that\nthere is not a trace even of any substance of a _marine_ character, all\nappearing to have been deposited in fresh water. But while no explanation\nyet given of the phenomena can be regarded as satisfactory, while Nature\nwithholds much, and ever will, of the wonderful processes through which\nshe attains her ends, the vegetable source of the product cannot be\nquestioned; nay, the origin of coal from the extinct forests, from the\ntrees and plants of a former age, is so very probable, that some beds\nsound like wood under the beat of the hammer; and large areas, when thin\nslices are placed under the microscope, are found in every portion to\nretain the woody-fibrous structure.\n\nIII. THE BOTANICAL CHARACTERS of the flora of the coal period form of\nthemselves an interesting subject of study, and suggest some very\nimportant considerations as to the history and purpose of the formation.\nThese will be best understood by a reference to the structure and habits\nof plants in general. Those of the coal, it will thence be seen, belong\nexclusively to one or two families,\u2014as ferns, palms, and conifer\u00e6,\u2014which\nseem to have grown in every soil, and to have been adapted to every\nclimate.\n\nThe most general divisions of existing plants are into the _vasculares_\nand _cellulares_. The former kinds all bear flowers, possess a system\nof spiral vessels, and are termed phonogamous. The latter, on the other\nhand, are flowerless, have no spiral vessels, and are denominated\ncryptogamous.\n\nAnother extensive subdivision of plants proceeds upon their anatomical\nstructure, and the laws which regulate their mode of growth. Thus one\nclass, it has been observed, increase in bulk by additional increments\nto the outside of all the parts which compose the plant, as the roots,\nstems, and branches; another, by additions to the inside of all these\nmembers: and for this reason the former are called exogenous, and\nthe latter endogenous. In the one case the new or youngest growth is\nalways exterior to the old; and if thus left unprotected, it will be\nreadily admitted that the growth of all such plants would be greatly\nand constantly endangered by atmospheric as well as innumerable other\ncauses. The remedy provided by nature against this, is a covering of the\nsubstance called bark, which is folded round the entire exterior, stem\nand branches, of the whole exogens, and within which the newly-formed\ntissue is all safely deposited. No plant, on the other hand, whose growth\nis from within, needs any such protection, and accordingly none of\nthem\u2014as all the grasses, corns, canes, and fungi\u2014are possessed of bark,\nor any analogous membrane. The bark is an ephemeral substance, which\nlasts only for a year, and has annually to be renewed.\n\nThe additions to all exogenous plants are indicated in the stem or\ntrunk, by concentric lines or circles. In the center there is a cellular\nsubstance called pith. When you take, therefore, a cross section of the\ntrunk of this class, the structure and parts will be arranged thus\u2014bark\non the outside, pith in the center, and between these, concentric\ndeposits of woody matter, and all connected into a solid mass by plates\nof comb-like tissue, radiating from the interior to the circumference,\nand termed medullary rays. A structure like this, so closely and firmly\nunited, and filled up through all its parts, was surely intended for\nendurance; and yet out of this class of the vegetable tribes, nature has\nselected few of her carboniferous models. The plants of the period, as\nyet detected, are composed chiefly of cellular tissue, mixed up with the\nsubstance of the stem, and without pith, medullary rays, concentric woody\ndeposits, or the binding ligament of bark. The hardy oak and tall slender\ncane may be taken as examples of the two modes of structure\u2014the former\nallied to existing, the latter to extinct families.\n\nAnother ground of distinction among plants consists in the leaves\nor flattened expansions, from which they derive all their grace and\nsymmetry. This is farther connected with the seed and rudimentary organs,\nand gives rise to the division into _cotyledonous_ and _acotyledonous_\nplants. The non-flowering or cryptogamous are all of the latter kind. The\nflowering or phonogamous not only belong to the former, but are again\nsubdivided into monocotyledonous or dicotyledonous, according as their\nseed-vessels are possessed of one or of two lobes. Where there are two\nlobes the expansion of the germ upon bursting from the ground terminates\nin two imperfect leaves, by which the botanist can at once determine the\nclass to which it belongs. The corns and grasses have single cotyledons,\nfrom one extremity of which descend the roots, and from the other the\nstem springs up, terminated with a single leaf.\n\nThe leaves perform important functions in all those orders of plants\nwith which they are connected, and serve as interesting guides in fossil\nbotany, which seldom derives any assistance from the more destructible\nand \u201cfleeting flower.\u201d The leaves of plants consist of a complicated\nnet-work of vessels, filled up in the interstices by cellular tissue,\nand covered over with a thin epidermis or skin. Those belonging to the\nmonocotyledonous sub-class are traversed by a number of parallel veins,\nwhile dicotyledonous leaves are divided into regular compartments,\nsome of which upon withering display the most perfect and beautiful\nsystem of reticulation, rivaling in delicacy of texture the wing of\nthe gossamer. Leaves which outlast the season, as in evergreens, are\ntermed non-deciduous, and are covered or interwoven with a thin crust\nof silex, which at once serves to protect and communicate to these\nornamental shrubs their bright enameled appearance. The grasses possess\nthis property, and some of them can elaborate in their joints crystals of\nconsiderable magnitude. The leaves of ferns are called fronds, and differ\nfrom true leaves in bearing the reproductive organs on the surface, while\nthe slightest inspection of their form and mode of expansion readily\ndistinguishes them from all others. Fronds, properly so termed, originate\nin the stem and are part of it; there is no distinct line of demarkation\nbetween them: stem, leaf, and spori, or seed; are all as one body; and\nthus, as being of one piece, these membranous organs have been quaintly\nlikened to a garment without a seam.\n\nFrom this brief description it will be seen that all plants and trees\narrange themselves under two great classes, namely, the soft and spongy,\nor the hard and fibrous-woody structure. The remains of such as have been\ndetected in the carboniferous rocks belong almost exclusively to the\nformer class, the cryptogami\u00e6 and endogen\u00e6, while of the three hundred\nand upward of fossil species which have been described and figured, not\nmore than ten, and some of these still of doubtful characters, can be\nregarded as of exogenous and true woody growth. Ferns, mosses, palms,\nand gigantic succulent plants, now all allied to those of tropical\nclimates, constitute the vast preponderancy of the fossil flora of the\nage in question. Are we to infer from this that the other families and\ntribes which at present so abundantly cover the earth were not then in\nexistence? The botanist can now refer to his catalogue of eighty to a\nhundred thousand species of existing plants, growing in the different\nregions of the globe, and of widely distinguished habits and forms;\nand were few or none of these in being then? We possess not, as yet,\nsufficient data for the solution of this very interesting problem,\nalthough in the progress of geological discovery, every year is adding to\nthe list, and giving us a more extended acquaintance with the vegetable\nproducts of the coal period. An important experiment recently made by\nProfessor Lindley would seem to favor the probability that a far more\nnumerically abundant flora had then existed. One hundred and seventy\nplants were thrown into a vessel containing fresh water, and among them\nwere species belonging to all the natural orders of which the flora of\nthe coal-measures consists, and also to other natural orders which it\nmight have been expected would be found associated with them. In the\ncourse of two years, one hundred and twenty-one species had disappeared,\nbeing entirely decomposed, and of the fifty which remained, the most\nperfect specimens were those of coniferous plants, ferns, palms,\nlycopodiace\u00e6, and the like\u2014the families, all of them, most allied to\nthose preserved in the coal-measures.\n\nNow the important fact to be attended to in this experiment is, the wide\ngeographical distribution during the carboniferous era of those tribes\nof plants which enter most certainly and abundantly into the composition\nof the coal metals. Many others may, and doubtless did, flourish within\nthe period of the formation. But that the plants, possessed of the most\nconservative vegetable qualities, and the most capable of resisting\nsolution in water, should be precisely the kinds which had then a\nuniversal range over the earth\u2019s surface, can be ascribed to nothing else\nthan to a wise predetermined purpose and arrangement. These plants were\ngrowing in every region. Every clime favored them\u2014every soil nourished\nthem. The bituminous product was intended for man\u2019s use, whose family\nwas destined to inhabit the whole earth. How irresistible the conclusion,\ncorroborative of all the proofs of design derived from the nature\nand structure of the coal-measures, that, anticipating his wants and\nproviding for his improvement, nature purposely constructed such forms of\nvegetable life, possessed, like the watch, with a compensation balance\nso as to suit every condition, and to thrive in every land; or, what\nis equally probable and consonant to the requirements of the problem,\nthat there was such a uniformity of climate and temperature, and other\nchemical adjustments, as were most adapted to the peculiar and prevailing\nvegetation of the period.\n\nIV. THE ORGANIC REMAINS we proceed to consider more in detail, where a\nremarkable contrast will be observed between the vegetable and animal\ntypes presented, so far as they have been respectively fossilized and\npreserved. The vegetables are nearly all of terrestrial, the animals are\nas generally and predominantly of marine, characters. Is this the result\nof blind chance, or of contrivance and foresight?\n\nThe plants of the coal epoch consist chiefly of the cryptogamia, and\nof these the ferns are the most abundant, composing, according to the\nestimate of M. Brongniart, about two-thirds of the entire carboniferous\nflora.\n\n[Illustration: 1. Sphenopteris linearis; 2. Pecopteris Mantelli; 3.\nSphenopteris affinis.]\n\nThe number of known existing ferns amounts to between seven and eight\nhundred, of which about fifty species belong to Great Britain, and\nupward of two hundred to the inter-tropical island of Jamaica. Nearly\ntwo hundred fossil species have been discovered in the British coal\nstrata alone. The fossil genera most common to the district around, and\noccurring in every section of the great valley of the Scottish lowlands,\nare cyclopteris, neuropteris, pecopteris, and sphenopteris. The shales\nand clay-ironstones in which these beautiful plants are detected, are\ngenerally of a dark brownish color, while the impressions are all of\nthe deepest jet, bringing out in lively contrast the complete cast\nof the fronds. There is a great resemblance between the specimens of\nextinct ferns and the existing families of our filices, now growing\non every hill, brae, or mountain corrie; and, if this were all the\ndifference, nature would seem to have departed but little from her\noriginal models. But the presumption is that most, if not all, the\nferns of the coal era were trees which attained to a great height, and\nsimilar to the tree-ferns now growing so abundantly in the islands of\nthe Pacific. The decorticated stems and trunks are deeply indented with\nscars, the markings, it is supposed, of the fronds which dropped from\ntheir feathery sides. This inference is borne out by the additional\ncircumstance, that the fossils are generally much flattened and\ncompressed, as would necessarily happen to succulent plants and such\ntrees as consisted of the cellular tissue of the endogenous class. What\na striking change in the vegetation of our country, where purple heaths,\nand cheerful grasses, and luxuriant corns, and forests of every tint\nand structure, have replaced the long green stems, and dark somber hues\nof the fern-clad regions of the olden times! The remains of this tribe\nare so numerous as to have stinted, one would suppose, or utterly to\nhave prevented the growth and increase of every other order of plants,\nbringing before the imagination the scenes of our Australian colonies,\nso wild and wondrous to European eyes\u2014and carrying back the mind to the\nvision of primeval ages, through a long succession of times and their\nevents, the vista of an infant world.\n\nThe lycopodia, or club-moss tribe, are also very widely distributed\namong the coal-measures, and attained in the earlier ages of the earth\u2019s\nhistory an equally gigantic size with the tree-ferns. At the present\nday, they are all weak, prostrate plants, of from two to three feet in\nlength, and, following the same laws as the mosses and ferns, they are\nmost abundant in hot, humid situations within the tropics, and especially\nin the smaller islands. As respects their botanical affinities, the\nlycopodiums are intermediate between ferns and conifer\u00e6 on the one\nhand, and ferns and mosses on the other; related to the first of those\nfamilies in the abundance of annular ducts contained in their axis, and\nto the second in the whole aspect and outline of the stem of the larger\nkinds. Indeed, so great is the resemblance between lycopodia and certain\nconifer\u00e6, that there is no other external character, except size, by\nwhich they can be distinguished; and, according to Professor Lindley,\nit is, at least, as probable that some of those specimens detected in\nthe ancient flora of the world, which have been considered gigantic\nclub-mosses, are really and truly pines, as that they are flowerless\nplants.\n\nAnother family of fossil plants abundant in the coal formation are the\ncalamites, so named from their jointed reed-like structure. They attained\nto the size of trees, trunks upward of a foot in diameter being often\nmet with, but still of such a soft succulent texture as to maintain the\ncharacter of being, if reeds, easily shaken by the winds. These, and\nvarious specimens of the palm tribe, are to be found in every coal-field,\nand often in such vast masses as to show that they constituted no\ninconsiderable proportion of the flora of the period. Palms now only\nflourish within the regions of the tropics, where, from their various\nproperties, as well as great productiveness as fruit-bearers, they\nconstitute the chief source of dependence to the inhabitants for all\ntheir supplies of the necessaries, luxuries, and medicines of life. A\nsingle spathe of the date contains about 12,000 male flowers: another\nspecies has been computed to have 207,000 in a spathe, or 600,000 upon a\nsingle individual. The spathe constitutes the raceme or flower-stem of\nthe tree, and on a single raceme of a Seje palm, Humboldt estimated the\nflowers at forty-four thousand, and the fruits at eight thousand. When\nthese magnificent productions of nature covered the plains and marshes of\nour northern climes, there were no roaming tribes to gather their fruits,\ninhale their fragrance, or bask in their shades. And yet they were not\nformed in vain. Buried in the rocks, their collected remains now yield\na product as useful and valuable to the human family\u2014as contributive\nto intellectual improvement, as they would have been to mere animal\nenjoyment.\n\nThe genus sigillaria, one of the most common of the coal plants,\npossessed the singular properties of being apparently hollow in the\ncenter, yet with an inner woody axis floating in a woody succulent jelly,\nand inclosed in a thick outer coating of bark. The trunk is beautifully\nfluted with longitudinal parallel lines, regularly arranged along the\nsurface, and dotted all over with small scars, as if impressed by the\nleaves penetrating through the bark into the central woody axis. The\nstigmari\u00e6, once supposed to be a distinct genus, are now generally\nregarded as simply the roots of the sigillari\u00e6; they are, for the most\npart, found resting in their natural position, in large clusters often;\nand forming with their dense matted fibers a floor of considerable\nthickness, on which, season after season, the leaves fell as the coaly\nmatter accumulated. This tree grew to an enormous size, specimens of\nfour feet in diameter by fifty feet in length being frequently met with;\ntraces of a vascular and fibrous structure can be observed in the\nstems\u2014also the annular wood layers are sometimes beautifully defined;\nand, combined with a coating of bark of an inch in thickness, the\nprobability is, that the sigillaria belonged to the exogenous class of\nvegetables.\n\n[Illustration: Calamite.]\n\nBut of all the plants found in the coal-measures, the CONIFER\u00c6 or pine\ntribe, distinguished by their punctated woody tissue, are the most\ninteresting, whether we consider their characteristic properties,\nextensive distribution, antiquity, and consistency of habit through\nall the epochs and changes of creation. Unlike the tree-forms already\nnoticed, the pines grow now as they grew before, inhabiting the same\nplaces, and preserving the same appearances in bulk and figure. In\nstructure the conifer\u00e6 occupy a place intermediate between cellurares\nand vasculares, connected with the former through the lycopodiums, and\nwith the latter by the myrice\u00e6, or aromatic gale tribe. The scales of the\ncones are regarded by botanists as true foliage or reduced leaves, and in\nthis respect they approximate to the genus zamia, of the order cycade\u00e6,\nwhere these organs are distinctly developed as carpellary leaves. Thus\nwidely connected through the chain of vegetable life, the fossil pines,\ndiscovered in our coal-fields, form also the most interesting link\nbetween the present and the remote past, showing similar conditions of\nvegetable existence and forest landscape. No class of plants have been\nmore useful to man than the whole pine family; none are more universal\nin their distribution over the face of the globe; none are possessed\nof such powers of endurance, existing through all time, and natives of\nevery part of the world, from the perpetual snows of Arctic America,\nto the hottest regions of the Indian Archipelago. These trees differ as\nremarkably in form as in size, ranging through every gradation from the\nstinted juniper of the Grampians to the stately cedars of Lebanon. And\nthe fossil specimens, huge in dimensions as those of Craigleith are, do\nnot excel the existing races. The araucaria, or Norfolk Island pine,\nattains a height of two hundred feet; and in the Oregon territory of\nNorth-West America, there are species of the fir tribe (P. Lambertiana\nand P. Douglasii), which rise to even still more gigantic proportions.\nFiguratively, it is said of the cedar, that its branches shall cover the\nearth, and in the shadow thereof all fowl of every wing shall dwell:\nliterally and truly we find, that members of the same family have existed\nin all lands, and flourished in the mountains through all ages.\n\nCompared with the present condition of things, New Zealand bears the most\nstriking resemblance in the character of its vegetation to the flora\nof the ancient carboniferous age. \u201cThe number of species of plants at\npresent known is 632, of which 314 are dicotyledonous, and the rest, or\n318, are monocotyledonous and cellular. The number of monocotyledonous\nis very small in comparison with the cellular; there are 76 species.\nThe grasses have given way to ferns, for the ferns and fern-like plants\nare the most numerous in New Zealand, and cover immense districts.\nThey replace the _gramine\u00e6_ or grasses of other countries, and give a\ncharacter to all the open land of the hills and plains. Some of the\narborescent species grow to thirty feet and more in height, and the\nvariety and elegance of their forms, from the minutest species to the\ngiants of their kind, are most remarkable.\u201d[4]\n\nThese few types of the flora of the ancient world clearly indicate the\ncourse and progress of creation. A dense vegetable covering already\nexisted over all the earth. No grasses, indeed, as yet are found to have\nclothed the plains. But marsh plants grew luxuriantly in the waters.\nFucoids and alg\u00e6 abounded in the seas. The hills and mountains raised\nhigh in air their pines, palms, and fern-trees; nor would creepers and\nparasites be wanting, climbing to their topmost branches and mingling\ntheir bright enlivening hues with the dark somber shades of the forest.\nEarth heard the voice of its Maker, and everything good and seasonable\nsprang from its teeming bosom.\n\nThe carboniferous limestones are everywhere loaded with ANIMAL remains.\nEvery member of the series, the ironstones, sandstones, shales, and\neven the coal itself, all abound in relics of the past; and, as was to\nbe expected, the fossils chiefly belong to marine forms of life. And in\nthese there is no great departure, as might likewise be inferred, from\nthe orders, and even generic types, we have been surveying in the lower\nformations. But there is an increase in the species of some of them, as\nwell as the introduction of new and distinct creations altogether.\n\n[Illustration: 1. Product. scabriculus; 2. Inoceramus vetustus; 3.\nBellerophon tangentialis.]\n\nThus the corals and encrinites remain with scarcely a change in\noutward form, but of increasing variety, and in countless myriads. The\ntrilobites are nearly extinct, while the annelid\u00e6, which appear not in\nthe devonian system, return to the stage in greater numbers and diversity\nof structure. The conchifer\u00e6 are likewise enlarged in every order; as\nalso the crustace\u00e6, which are more than quadrupled. Pteropod\u00e6 present\nfour genera in the silurian group, decline to one in the devonian,\nwhich genus is not found in the carboniferous, but a new one takes its\nplace. The brachiopod\u00e6 are again very abundant, as they were in the two\nformer groups. The most characteristic shells of the order and period\nare the productus, spirifer, terebratula. One genus of heteropoda,\nthe bellerophon, appeared in the silurian rocks, of which there were\neleven species. Eight species occur in the devonian system along with a\nnew genus, porcellia. The bellerophon numbers nineteen species in the\ncarboniferous rocks, and the porcellia, which occurs also, contains\nthree.\n\nThe cephalopods, the most predaceous of their kind, lose generically,\nwhile they multiply prodigiously in species during the latter epoch. Thus\nthe goniatites alone amount to fifty-four, the nautili to forty-two, and\nthe orthoceratites, which had declined to twelve in the devonian, swell\nto thirty-two species in the carboniferous series.\n\nBut the fishes in this group of rocks exhibit, unquestionably, the\nlargest amount, both in number and form, of new types. Here the sharks\nand sauroids appear, for the first time, not small, or attenuated in\nbulk, but vigorous, robust specimens of their kind, strong and expert\nswimmers, armed with enlarged destructive organs, and every way equipped\nfor maintaining the due proportion of numbers, and the free trade\nof the ocean. Thus of the order of placoids, there are twenty-eight\ngenera, and ninety-four species; of ganoids there are five genera, and\ntwelve species; and sauroids enumerate thirteen genera, and twenty-four\ndistinct and entirely new specific creations. A specimen of reptilian\nlife has here also been detected; and what is of still greater theoretic\nimportance, in tracing the course of creation, the immediately overlying\nsandstones have yielded up impressions of the winged tribes that \u201cfly in\nthe open firmament of heaven.\u201d This interesting fact will, in its proper\nplace in the order of superposition, be more fully alluded to.\n\nThe genus holoptychius, which began in the old red sandstone, again\noccurs in the carboniferous system, under eight new specific forms. Along\nwith the megalichthys, afterward noticed, these constitute the two great\nnatural families of fishes of carnivorous propensities, which give a\nmarked character to the period. The prodigious increase of the shark-like\ncreatures, of which not less than sixty species have been described from\nthousands of teeth, fins, detached vertebr\u00e6, and other fragments, is\nequally striking. Thus, in all, the faun\u00e6 of the carboniferous period\namount to upward of a thousand species, which have been either figured or\ndescribed.\n\nIn contemplating the period of creation under review, we are struck\nnot more with the forms of life which actually existed, than with the\nabsence of races which were afterward so abundant. No quadruped or true\nterrestrial animal is found so low in the series of rocks, or mixed up\nin any way with all this profusion of marine exuvi\u00e6. Fossil insects\nand indications of other winged tribes have been detected; but no bone\nnor foot-print of beast, or inhabitant of land, has anywhere been\ndiscovered. The fact is all-important, as showing not only a plan, but a\nprogress and succession in the work of creation. A vegetation, so rank\nand luxuriant as has been traced, trees towering hundreds of feet into\nthe sky, and branches of the densest foliage stretching on every side,\nwas amply fitted to afford shelter and food to families of terrestrial\ncreatures of every kind. But in the circumstance, that during this period\nthere were repeated alternations of marine and fresh water deposits,\nand consequently repeated submergence and elevation of land, we see a\nreason why the terrestrial races were not yet called into being. Great\ncontinents, comparatively speaking, did not exist; and there was no\nark of safety provided to float them over the billows. Race after race\nwould have violently perished during every shift or subsidence of the\nsea bottom: and hence, until the carboniferous series was completed and\na statical equilibrium established between the land and waters, few or\nnone of the races which afterward swarmed in our plains and forests were\nintroduced upon the scene.\n\n[Illustration: Fragment of Encrinital Limestone.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nGEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF COAL\u2014GREAT COAL FIELD OF PENNSYLVANIA,\nVIRGINIA AND OHIO\u2014COAL DEPOSITS OF ILLINOIS, INDIANA AND\nKENTUCKY\u2014ECONOMIC HISTORY\u2014CONDITIONS OF FORMATION.\n\n\nConsidered mineralogically, and now demonstrated beyond a doubt, coal and\nthe diamond are found to be one and the same in substance, and nearly\nalso in their modes of formation. Newton detected the properties of the\ndiamond in its refractive power over the rays of light, and inferred\nthat, like amber, it was an unctuous body crystallized. In the crucible\nhe reduced it to a state of pure carbon, burning, volatilizing, and\nresulting in the same elementary products as charcoal. Liebig goes a\nstep farther, and declares the diamond to be a crystalline residuum from\ndecayed vegetables. The action of fire could not produce the mineral, but\nwould rather have the effect of drawing out its inflammable tendencies.\n\u201cScience,\u201d he adds, \u201ccan point to no process capable of accounting for\nthe origin and formation of diamonds, except that of decay. And there\nis the greatest reason for believing that they have been formed in a\nliquid.\u201d Sir David Brewster, in his beautiful optical analysis, has\narrived at the same general conclusions.\n\nCoal is also a product of vegetable decay, collected and formed in a\nliquid. It has not crystallized, and therefore wants the sparkle and\nthe luster of the diamond. It retains all the carbon, and more of the\nhydrogen, and is in consequence infinitely more useful and valuable than\neven the precious gem. It is carefully incased and preserved among the\nrocks of the earth, and thereby in like manner akin to the glittering\nidol, whose true habitat has been found to be the sandstones[5]\nimmediately overlying the carboniferous formation. Thus far the parallel\ncan be traced between the two apparently very dissimilar and unequally\nprized minerals: in extent of substance and geographical distribution,\nthe history of each stands apart.\n\nI. THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE COAL METALS.\u2014Our knowledge on\nthis subject is increasing with every new geographical detail connected\nwith the history of the earth. Until very recently the carboniferous\nsystem was supposed to be of very limited extent. The return of every\nvessel, engaged in a voyage of discovery or otherwise, brings tidings of\nsome new island or continent on which it is found. The same tribes of\nplants and animals are everywhere observed to accompany the deposit\u2014all\npresenting the same generic and often the same specific characters\u2014and\nuniformly on the same great scale of development. This circumstance\nalone bespeaks a universal formation, when every region was capable\nof producing all the requisite conditions in climate, vegetables,\ncorallines, and sea-bottom, and prepares the mind for the ready admission\nof the existence of the mineral in every unexplored quarter of the globe.\nAccordingly, all the great continents of the old world abound in coal. In\nRussia, the carboniferous system occupies, betwixt the Dnieper and the\nDon, an area of about eleven thousand square miles. India, China, and the\nAustralian archipelago give up yearly more and more of the bituminous\nsubstance. Egypt is not destitute of the jetty mineral: for recently beds\nseveral feet thick have been discovered near Asuan, on the right bank\nof the Nile. The vast continent of America has it in proportion to its\nown vastness. And man, go where he will with the knowledge of the arts,\nand the diffusive blessings of religion and civilization, will always\nfind that a wise Providence has anticipated his wants, and prepared the\ntreasure for his use.\n\nThe coal formation in Scotland has been already traced as occupying the\ngreat central valley of the Lowlands, which separates the primitive\ncrystalline and feldspathic rocks of the north from the silurian series\nof the southern border, and traversing the mainland from sea to sea. The\nmiddle and northern coal basins of England have an average uninterrupted\nstretch of about two hundred miles in length, by forty in breadth.\nThe Bristol and Welsh coal-fields, are also very extensive. That of\nSouth Wales forms an immense double trough, comprised within a great\noval elongated tract, betwixt St. Bride\u2019s Bay, and Pontypool, with an\nanticlinal axis ranging east and west, and embracing an area of one\nthousand and fifty-five square miles. This is the largest coal-field in\nBritain, in which there are sixty-four seams of coal, of all qualities,\nfrom the highest bituminous to the purest anthracite, and having an\naggregate thickness of one hundred and ninety-feet. In Ireland the coal\nbasins are comparatively small, and isolated from one another: the\nprincipal workable seams are in the counties of Kilkenny, Tipperary,\nCork, Tyrone, and the northern extremity of Roscommon.\n\nThe coal metals immediately present themselves on the French coast\nat Boulogne, more inland at Mons, and in the central district at St.\nEtienne, betwixt the valleys of the Loire and Rhone. This last basin\nis of small extent, but possesses great geological interest from its\nposition among the primary and metamorphic rocks, and the materials of\nwhich the series is composed. The metals are inclosed in a long narrow\ntrough, of about twenty-five miles by less than a mile at its greatest\nbreadth. Granite, gneiss, mica-slate, underlie them throughout: instead\nof shales, and sandstones of the usual kind, the coals are imbedded in\nmicaceous grit, and the detrital alluvia of the crystalline rocks. It has\nbeen described as a self contained repository, with its own furnishings\nand equipments all, as it were, self-originating: the vegetable matter\nis of native growth, the trees are still vertical, and in one part of\nthe field present the appearance of a suddenly petrified forest; the\niron, too, is native, and seems to have been actually smelted on the\nspot, by subterranean self-combustion. The coal, underlying one of the\nbands of ironstone, has undergone fusion, and been changed into coke;\nwhile sulphur and crystals of sulphate of lime have been separated in the\ncrucible by the process of sublimation, as if to complete this scene of\nmarvels.\n\nIn the low countries, at Namur and Liege, and other places along the\nbanks of the Meuse\u2014in Germany, Silesia, Moravia, Poland, the Carpathian\nMountains\u2014on the banks of the Volga, the Dnieper, and the Don, the\ncoal-measures are found to occupy tracts of greater or lesser extent.\nThese are sometimes accompanied with the usual alternating series entire\nand unbroken, sometimes with the absence of one or more members. In\nRussia the metals are imbedded in the middle mountain limestone series in\none field, while in another district they are situated in the lower part\nof the series, or beneath the calcareous deposit, as in the thin beds of\nFifeshire. The Liege coal-basin is of a remarkably complex structure\u2014the\nmetals lying in small hollows of contorted strata, which are bent and\ntwisted like a sapling\u2014elevated into every varying position and degree of\ninclination\u2014and thus, by obtaining cross or horizontal sections, you pass\nrepeatedly over the edges of the same beds. An enterprising Scotchman has\nlong been lessee of one of these coal-fields, out of whose iron bands\nhe has molded cannon and ball for every nation in Europe; and whose\nlocomotives, forged from the same strata, now ply in pleasure excursions\nalong every railway of the Netherlands and vine-clad banks of the Rhine\nand Moselle.\n\nThe American coal-fields, like its interminable forests, endless rivers,\nand everything in that vast continent, are all on the gigantic scale.\nThe basin of the Mississippi, extending from the Rocky Mountains to the\nAlleghanies, forms an area equal to two-thirds of the states of Europe,\nalmost every part of which is covered with the carboniferous limestone,\nsupporting the coal metals and the newer pal\u00e6ozoic rocks. The great\ncoal-field of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio, extends, according to Sir\nCharles Lyell, continuously from north-east to south-west for a distance\nof 207 miles, its breadth being in some places 180 miles. The basin of\nIllinois, Indiana, and Kentucky, is not much inferior in dimensions to\nthe whole of England, while another coal deposit, 170 by 100 miles, lies\nfarther to the north, between lakes Michigan and Huron. Mr. Logan,\nin his report on the geology of Canada, states that the coal-measures\noccupy nearly the whole of New Brunswick, a great part of Nova Scotia,\nCape Breton island, and the south-west district of Newfoundland. And\nin the most remote northern regions, along the shores of the frozen\nsea, and the various rivers and their tributaries which fall into it,\nthe carboniferous rocks with their inclosed beds of coal, some of\nconsiderable thickness, are found to prevail. A single seam, of an\naverage thickness of ten feet, occurs in Pennsylvania, in the district of\nPittsburgh, covering a superficial extent of about 14,000 square miles;\nwhich shows how inexhaustible the resources, and how limitless the means,\nof social advancement, of progress in the arts and sciences, garnered up\nfor the generations to come in that mighty continent.\n\nUpon the authority of Sir Charles Lyell we learn, that all the floral\nfossil phenomena are substantially the same as in Europe\u2014a great\npreponderance of stigmari\u00e6, ferns, lepidodendra, and calamites\u2014some\nconsisting of trees in an erect position, and of broken trunks, with\ntheir rootlets attached, and extending in all directions; and the\nsame grits or sandstones, are found, as those used for building near\nEdinburgh and Newcastle. Of forty-eight species of fossil plants or\ntrees, detected in the strata of Nova Scotia, thirty-seven are identical\nwith those discovered in the British beds; and, in the United States,\nthirty-five out of fifty-three species are described as specifically the\nsame with the European fossils. But the most remarkable of Sir Charles\u2019s\ndiscoveries is that, in the prodigious thickness and singular structure\nof the coal-basin in Nova Scotia, there are the remains of more than ten\nforests which rose up successively one over the other, and which, with\ntheir interposed layers of clays and solid stone, deposited at intervals,\nconstitute a series of beds, whose vertical thickness is 14,570 feet.\n\nII. THE ECONOMIC HISTORY OF COAL.\u2014It does not appear, from any well\nauthenticated records, at what precise period man availed himself of\nthis useful mineral, either for the purposes of art, or of domestic\ncomfort. The early history of nations is traditionary; but there is no\ntradition from very remote times, in any of them, as to the discovery of\ncoal\u2014no philosopher speculating about the importance of the fact and its\nbearings on the progress of civilization\u2014no poet extolling the genius of\nthe new Prometheus, that brought up the fiery combustible from the bowels\nof earth. The aborigines who dwelt amidst the primeval forests had no\noccasion to seek farther for fuel, when every hill and plain supplied\nthem with all that was needed, and more than was convenient, as the\ncultivation of the soil engaged attention. Accident, doubtless, would\nfirst lead to the knowledge of the virtues of the hidden treasure. As the\nground was cleared, and cities became populous, and the arts advanced,\nmore diligence would be exercised in its search; and in proportion as it\ncame, from the destruction of the woods, to be regarded as a necessary\nor luxury of life, coal would be sought for as an article of barter,\nor of commerce. Thus many ages might elapse before coal was introduced\ninto general consumption, and though stored up specially for man, it was\nwisely ordered that the supplies and incumbrances on the surface should\nfirst be exhausted or removed, ere the inner chambers of his habitation\nwere broken into and explored.\n\nBituminous matter, if not the carboniferous system itself, exists\nabundantly on the banks of the Euphrates. In the basin of the Nile coal\nhas been recently detected. It occurs sparingly in some of the states of\nGreece: and Theophrastus, in his \u201cHistory of Stones,\u201d refers to mineral\ncoal (_lithanthrax_) being found in Liguria, and in Elis, and used by the\nsmiths; the stones are earthy, he adds, but kindle and burn like wood\ncoals (the _anthrax_). But by none of the oriental nations does it appear\nthat the vast latent powers and virtues of the mineral were thus early\ndiscovered, so as to render it an object of commerce or of geological\nresearch. What the Romans termed _lapis ampelites_, is generally\nunderstood to mean our cannel coal, which they used not as fuel, but in\nmaking toys, bracelets, and other ornaments; while their _carbo_, which\nPliny describes as \u201cvehementer perlucet,\u201d was simply the petroleum or\nnaphtha, which issues so abundantly from all the tertiary deposits. Coal\nis found in Syria, and the term frequently occurs in the sacred writings.\nBut there is no reference anywhere in the inspired record as to digging\nor boring for the mineral\u2014no directions for its use\u2014no instructions as\nto its constituting a portion of the promised treasures of the land. In\ntheir burnt-offerings, wood appears uniformly to have been employed;\nin Leviticus, the term is used as synonymous with fire, where it is\nsaid that \u201cthe priests shall lay the parts in order upon the wood, that\nis, on the fire which is upon the altar.\u201d And in the same manner for\nall domestic purposes, wood and charcoal were invariably made use of.\nDoubtless the ancient Hebrews would be acquainted with _natural_ coal, as\nin the mountains of Lebanon, whither they continually resorted for their\ntimber, seams of coal near Beirout were seen to protrude through the\nsuperincumbent strata in various directions. Still there are no traces of\npits or excavations into the rock to show that they duly appreciated the\nextent and uses of the article. Their term \u05d2\u05d7\u05dc, which properly signifies\n_charcoal_, appears to have passed into the northern languages, as in\nthe Islandic _gloa_; the Danish _gloe_; the Welsh _glo_, a coal, _golen_\nto give light; the Irish _o-gual_; and the Cornish _kolan_\u2014terms all\nexpressive of the act of burning or of giving light.\n\nFor many reasons it would seem that, among modern nations, the primitive\nBritons were the first to avail themselves of the valuable combustible.\nThe word by which it is designated is not of Saxon, but of British\nextraction, and is still employed to this day by the Irish, in their form\nof _o-gual_, and in that of _kolan_ by the Cornish. In Yorkshire stone\nhammers and hatchets have been found in old mines, showing that the early\nBritons worked coals before the invasion of the Romans. Manchester,[6]\nwhich has risen upon the very ashes of the mineral, and grown to all its\nwealth and greatness under the influence of its heat and light, next\nclaims the merit of the discovery. Portions of coal have been found under\nor imbedded in the sand of a Roman way, excavated some years ago for\nthe construction of a house, and which, at the time, were ingeniously\nconjectured by the local antiquaries to have been collected for the use\nof the garrison, stationed on the route of these warlike invaders at\nMancenion, or the Place of Tents. Certain it is, that fragments of coal\nare being constantly, in the district, washed out and brought down by the\nMedlock and other streams, which break from the mountains through the\ncoal strata. The attention of the inhabitants would, in this way, be the\nmore early and readily attracted by the glistening substance.\n\nNevertheless, for long after, coal was but little valued or appreciated,\nturf and wood being the common articles of consumption throughout the\ncountry. About the middle of the ninth century, a grant of land was made\nby the Abbey of Peterborough, under the restriction of certain payments\nin kind to the monastery, among which are specified sixty carts of wood,\nand as showing their comparative worth, only twelve carts of pit-coal.\nToward the end of the thirteenth century, Newcastle is said to have\ntraded in the article, and by a charter of Henry III, of date 1284, a\nlicense is granted to the burgesses to dig for the mineral. About this\nperiod, coals, for the first time, began to be imported into London, but\nwere made use of only by smiths, brewers, dyers, and other artisans,\nwhen, in consequence of the smoke being regarded as very injurious to\nthe public health, Parliament petitioned the king, Edward I, to prohibit\nthe burning of coal, on the ground of being an intolerable nuisance. A\nproclamation was granted, conformable to the prayer of the petition;\nand the most severe inquisitorial measures were adopted to restrict or\naltogether abolish the use of the combustible, by fine, imprisonment,\nand destruction of the furnaces and workshops! They were again brought\ninto common use in the time of Charles I, and have continued to increase\nsteadily with the extension of the arts and manufactures, and the\nadvancing tide of population, until now, in the metropolis and suburbs,\ncoals are annually consumed to the amount of about three millions of\ntons. The use of coal in Scotland seems to be connected with the rise of\nthe monasteries, institutions which were admirably suited to the times,\nthe conservators of learning, and pioneers of art and industry all over\nEurope, and in whose most rigorous exactions evidences can always be\ntraced of a judicious and enlightened concern for the general improvement\nof the country. Under the regime of monastic rule at Dunfermline, coals\nwere worked in the year 1291\u2014at Dysart, and other places along the\ncoast, about half a century later\u2014and, generally, in the fourteenth\nand fifteenth centuries the inhabitants were assessed in coals to the\nchurches and chapels, which, after the Reformation, have still continued\nto be paid in many parishes. Bo\u00ebthius records that, in his time, the\ninhabitants of Fife and the Lothians dug \u201ca black stone,\u201d which, when\nkindled, gave out a heat sufficient to melt iron.\n\nHow long will the coal-metals of the British isles last at the present,\nor even an increased expenditure of the fuel? So great has been the\ndiscrepancy, and so little understood the data on which to form a\ncalculation, that the authorities variously estimate from two hundred\nto two thousand years. For home consumption the present rate is about\nTHIRTY-TWO MILLIONS of tons annually. The export is about SIX MILLIONS:\nand yet such is the enormous mass of this combustible inclosed in one\nfield alone, that no boundary can be fixed, even the most remote, for its\nexhaustion. The coal trade of Great Britain is nearly in the proportion\nof three to two of that of all the other nations of the world; while in\nsuperficial area her coal measures are to those of the United States\nonly as 11,859 square miles to 133,132 square miles. What a vision of\nthe future is hereby disclosed! If rightly employed, if the arts and\nprogressive development of society at all keep pace with the means\nprovided, the human race in the New World have a destiny to run, and a\nwork of civilization to accomplish, to which the Old, in its brightest\nachievements, can furnish but a faint analogy. Scarcely two centuries\nhave elapsed since coal was employed as an article of domestic use, or\nintroduced upon the most limited scale into the manufactures; its now\nascertained extent and boundless latent powers were not dreamt of or\nimagined even but half a century ago; and very recently the lamentation\nwas general, that no coal-measures existed in the mighty continent of\nAmerica. Who now can fancy a limit to the social movement with which\nthat vast hemisphere is heaving all over\u2014the advancing tide of its\npopulation spreading in every region\u2014the forests cleared and covered\nwith a net-work of railways, the rivers bridged from end to end with a\nnavy of steamships\u2014and all vivified and in motion through the agency of\nthis long undiscovered product of the earth? Geological time rolled on,\nand the surface of our planet was replenished with the hidden treasure,\nand the man of science has no numbers to reckon the years that are past.\nMore agreeable far to look through the vista of coming events, where\na moral era has commenced out of which a mightier series of phenomena\nwill emerge, the purposes of a wise Providence be illustrated in so\ntransmuting and preserving the entombed relics of distant ages, and the\nglories of the latter day arise, when the desert place shall teem with a\nnew life, and the wilderness give praise to the Creator of all.\n\nIII. Universal, and shall we add, synchronous as a formation, there is\na very interesting question connected with this subject, namely, IS\nCOAL NOW FORMING? The general opinion among geologists leans to the\naffirmative side of the question, and that here, as in all the other\ncosmical arrangements going forward on the earth\u2019s surface, time is\nthe grand requisite. The necessary agencies are all at work, the other\nconditions are all admitted, and in the course of some future untold ages\na new bituminous product will arise, similar in all respects to the old.\nThe subject and the conclusions arrived at are not, however, free of many\nand great difficulties, to some of which we shall merely advert.\n\nReverting to all the circumstances connected with the geographical\ndistribution of the coal metals, we are inclined to think that the era\nwhich produced them was not only peculiar in the wide geographical\ndistribution of its families of plants, but equally, if not more so, in\nits limitation of all those physical conditions which were necessary for\ntheir conversion into coal. The basins, it will be observed, in which\nthe vegetable matter was deposited, were, as compared with the existing\nocean, small and shallow; for most of the plants and trees grew within\ntheir area or their immediate neighborhood, and are still found in their\nerect position, uninjured by roughing or transport in their smallest\nveinlets and even minute fructifications.\n\nThen it is highly probable, that the great continents were not yet\nformed, but that a series of islands, barrier reefs, and inland seas,\nprevailed generally over the earth\u2019s surface, being still chiefly\noceanic. Consequently no great rivers could, in such circumstances, be\nin existence, rolling down like the Ganges, Nile, and Mississippi more\nstony detritus and mud than arborescent matter, and all to be mixed and\nconfounded in one indiscriminate mass. Atmospheric influences, too,\nmust have been widely different from what they now are; for all the\ncast-off apparel of a summer\u2019s luxuriance is, we see year after year,\nspeedily dissipated by the droughts, or absorbed back as _humus_ into\nthe earth, and when spring returns the ground is parched and bare. A\ndifference of temperature must also be taken into the list of modifying\ncauses; for the plants, during the coal era, are nearly of a class\u2014a few\ngreat types with little variety of structure\u2014one and the same in every\nregion\u2014and approaching the characters, most of them, of the existing\ntropical flora. The climate, according to Mr. Bunbury, was characterized\nby excessive moisture, by a mild and steady temperature, and the\nentire absence of frost; and it has been established by Mr. Darwin\u2019s\ninteresting observations on Chiloe and other islands of the southern\ntemperate zone, that extreme heat is not necessary to the existence of a\nvery luxuriant and quasi-tropical vegetation. Mr. Austen, on the other\nhand, thinks that the temperature of Great Britain has not much changed\nsince the coal period, because few of the fossil-ferns, found in the\ncoal-measures, present any fructification, while those in more southern\nlatitudes possess it; and, by experiments made by himself, it appears\nthat the existing ferns of tropical climates would not fructify at a low\ntemperature. Still, the great general fact remains unquestioned, that\ntree-ferns during the carboniferous age grew gigantically and in vast\nforests, where they do not grow at present over all the zones of the\nearth; and where now growing, in three out of the four zones, that the\nwhole family are reduced to the size of small herbaceous plants.\n\nNow, is it not a legitimate inference from all this, that, out of so\nmany concurring circumstances, not one of which is similar in all\nrespects now, a determinate effect was INTENDED to be produced, and\nwhich cannot, in the altered condition of things, be produced again? The\nargument is cumulative, and bears the strongest presumptive evidence\non its side. The carboniferous series cannot be repeated\u2014not for want\nof vegetable or animal matter, for there is a hundred times more of\nboth at present on the surface of the earth than perhaps ever existed\nin any former period\u2014but because there are so many new causes now in\noperation, so many changes in the relative position of sea and land,\nto modify its distribution and qualities, and to influence its place\nin the system generally, that the same conservative arrangements and\nchemical appliances cannot occur, nor any similar bituminous compound as\na geological formation issue from Nature\u2019s laboratory.\n\nLeonard Horner, in enumerating the difficulties connected with the\nformation of the coal deposit upon the theory of the whole of the matter,\nvegetable and earthy, being spread over the sea-bottom, says\u2014\u201cThat the\nterrestrial vegetable matter, from which coal has been formed, has in\nvery many instances been deposited in the sea, is unquestionable, from\ntheir alternations with limestones containing marine remains.\u201d Such\ndeposits and alternations in an estuary at the mouth of a great river are\nconceivable; but whether such enormous beds of limestone, with the corals\nand molluscs which they contain, could be formed in an estuary, may admit\nof doubt. But it is not so easy to conceive the very distinct separation\nof the coal and the stony matter, if formed of drifted materials brought\ninto the bay by a river. It has been said that the vegetable matter is\nbrought down at intervals, in freshets, in masses united together, like\nthe rafts in the Mississippi. But there could not be masses of matted\nvegetable matter of uniform thickness, 14,000 square miles in extent,\nlike the Brownsville bed on the Monongahela and Ohio (the Pittsburgh\nseam): and freshets bring down gravel, and sand, and mud, as well as\nplants and trees. They must occur several times a year in every river;\nbut many years must have elapsed during the gradual deposit of the\nsandstones and shales that separate the seams of coal. Humboldt tells us\n(\u201cCosmos,\u201d p. 295),\u2014That in the forest lands of the temperate zone, the\ncarbon contained in the trees on a given surface would not, on an average\nof a hundred years, form a layer over that surface more than seven lines\nin thickness. If this be a well-ascertained fact, what an enormous\naccumulation of vegetable matter must be required to form a coal-seam of\neven moderate dimensions! It is extremely improbable that the vegetable\nmatter brought down by rivers could fall to the bottom of the sea in\nclear unmixed layers; it would form a confused mass with stones, sand,\nand mud. Again, how difficult to conceive, how extremely improbable in\nsuch circumstances, is the preservation of delicate plants, spread out\nwith the most perfect arrangement of their parts, uninjured by the rude\naction of rapid streams and currents, carrying gravel and sand, and\nbranches and trunks of trees?\u201d\n\nNor, according to Mr. Horner, are the objections to the lacustrine\ntheory, requiring so many oscillations of land and water, of less\nmagnitude. \u201cIn the theory,\u201d he says, \u201cwhich accounts for the formation\nof beds of coal, by supposing that they are the remains of trees and\nother plants that grew on the spot where the coal now exists, that the\nland was submerged to admit of the covering of sandstones or shale being\ndeposited, and again elevated, so that the sandstone or shale might\nbecome the subsoil of a new growth, to be again submerged, and this\nprocess repeated as often as there are seams of coal in the series\u2014these\nare demands on our assent of a most startling kind. The materials of\neach of these seams, however thin (and there are some not an inch thick,\nlying upon and covered by great depths of sandstones and shales), must,\naccording to this theory, have grown on land, and the covering of each\nmust have been deposited under water.\u2014There must thus have been an\nequal number of successive upward and downward movements, and these so\ngentle, such soft heavings, as not to break the continuity, or disturb\nthe parallelism of horizontal lines spread over hundreds of square\nmiles; and the movements must, moreover, have been so nicely adjusted,\nthat they should always be downward when a layer of vegetable matter was\nto be covered up; and, in the upward movements, the motion must always\nhave ceased so soon as the last layers of sand or shale had reached the\nsurface, to be immediately covered by the fresh vegetable growth; for\notherwise we should have found evidence, in the series of successive\ndeposits, of some being furrowed, broken up, or covered with pebbles or\nother detrital matter of land, long exposed to the waves breaking on\na shore, and to meteoric agencies. These conditions, which seem to be\ninseparable from the theory in question, it would be difficult to find\nanything analogous to in any other case of changes in the relative level\nof sea and land with which we are acquainted.\u201d\n\nWhile these statements show that we are still but imperfectly acquainted\nwith all the conditions and circumstances under which coal was formed,\ntwo deductions may be made from them, not only as against the rival\ntheories themselves, of Murchison and Lyell, but still more strongly\nagainst the application of either theory to existing causes in the\nformation of the true bituminous product. In the first place, the\nvegetable matter brought down by the rivers, and spread over the\nbottom of the sea, does not amount to an infinitesimal fraction of\nwhat constitutes the enormous compound of the carboniferous age; and\na different effect, according to the laws of nature of which we have\nexperience, will necessarily result from the causes now in operation.\nSecondly, whatever, as a question of fact, it may have been with our\ncoal-basins in the times gone by, certain it is that NOW there are no\nsuch oscillatory movements, causing the required changes in the relative\nlevel of sea and land, in those quarters of the globe the most densely\ncovered with forests and jungle, and out of which the new coal-measures\nare expected to rise. The thin accumulations of woody residuum, observed\nby Sir Charles Lyell, in the sections exposed along the banks of rivers,\nrailways, and other passages through American prairies and forests, are\nall unfavorably circumstanced\u2014firm as the everlasting hills on their\nrocky foundations.\n\nWe may be reminded of the numberless ages required for the production\nof coal, that man\u2019s experience is but of yesterday, and himself an\nephemeral of a moment as compared with the revolutions of time recorded\non the fabric of the globe. This record, we have reason to think,\nshould be vastly abridged. But grant it, for the sake of argument, in\nall its indefinite dimensions, and still the answer is, that a moment\nin a question of this kind is just as instructive as the lapse of a\nmillion of years. Time, while it witnesses change, does not create or of\nitself produce anything. It is rather a passive than an active agent.\nTime marks on its horoscope the effects of existing causes, but the\ncauses themselves it neither fashions or eliminates. Geologists enter\ninto minute calculations as to the annual decay of vegetables, and the\ntransporting powers of water, the waste of forests and the uptearing\nof hurricanes. Grant them all to be correct, and the data in these\nrespects to be unchallengeably sound, we again beg them to consider\nthat the Mississippi bears on its bosom the earthy spoils of half a\ncontinent\u2014that the Ganges mixes in its fabled flood the varied wreck of\nall the Himalaya,\u2014and when all are duly borne onward by these and the\nmighty rivers elsewhere on the globe, that the arrangement of the mingled\ncomposite has yet to be effected\u2014the clays, sands, coals, conglomerates,\nall in their serial superposition\u2014the separation of the clean from the\nunclean\u2014and where is the agency thus to dispose and to proportion? The\ndeep says, it is not in me. The rivers show it is not in them. Are there\nany cosmical affinities in the things themselves to cause each to each,\nkind to kind, to take their respective places?\n\nWhen we are told, that we know not what is going on in the depths of\nocean, and other hollow places of the earth, our answer is two-fold. For\nfirst we reply, there were depths and hollows, lakes, estuaries, and\nseas, during all the _intermediate succeeding_ epochs to the present\nage, and no true coal was produced: accumulation after accumulation of\ndetrital alluvia followed, lapidified, and was distributed over extensive\nareas, and common to every region of the globe; but the real bituminous\ntreasure has not been uniformly an accompaniment. A second answer is,\nthat when and where vegetable matter, in any quantity, did accumulate,\nthe result of the process was not COAL. The lignites of the tertiary\ndeposits, and many of the oolites, have been subjected to the first\nand second stages only in those changes which plants undergo in their\ntransition into the bituminous combustible. Nature in these instances,\nif we may use the expression, has made the effort, but the same results\nhave not followed; the process is incomplete, and the product is only in\npatches. If we are reminded of the great oolitic deposit of Richmond, in\nVirginia, re-examined and pronounced to be so by Sir C. Lyell, some may\nstill say non-content, that the problem is not yet solved as to the true\nposition of the coal there. Many anomalies in geognostic arrangements\noccur in that vast continent: many of the intermediate series up to the\nchalk are absent altogether, and the sandstones, discriminating the new\nfrom the old red, are not fully determined. Lignite, in considerable\nquantity, exists among the tertiary deposits of the Alps, and has\nrecently been found in the north-west provinces of India, in the vicinity\nof Kalibag; but all partaking of the usual qualities\u2014wood, only partially\naltered by inhumation, and imperfectly adapted for domestic purposes.\n\nOne overwhelming consideration with us, in the discussion of this\nquestion, is the position which MAN occupies, and the part he now plays\non the theater of creation. The beasts and quadrupeds of the earth do\nnot appear to have been formed so early as the carboniferous epoch.\nHad they existed at the period it is impossible to say what effects\nwould have resulted from their graminivorous propensities in modifying\nthe amount of the vegetable exuvi\u00e6. But man has appeared, modifying,\nchanging, controlling everything\u2014the earth and all its stores under his\ndominion\u2014and all submissive to his will. He has little influence, indeed,\nover the more solid departments or structure of the globe\u2014the form of its\ncontinents\u2014the direction of its oceanic currents\u2014the rise of islands and\ndepression of land\u2014the movements of the earthquake, and fiery torrents of\nthe volcano; but over all its living products, especially its vegetable\nand terrestrial animal tribes, his influence is immense\u2014increasingly\nincalculable. And, the geologist says, had this new denizen left the\nearth to itself, and nature to her own arrangements\u2014were there no\ntilling, draining, and reaping\u2014were the jungle and the wilderness to\nbe still uninvaded\u2014the marsh and the lagoon to welter in their dreary\ndesolation\u2014a vast coal deposit would be preparing in all the great lakes\nand seas of the globe. These postulates and conditions, however, can no\nlonger be granted. Every day and every season they are all curtailed and\nlimited in their influences. Man cuts down the forest, and applies it\nin its green, woody state to his own use.\u2014The waste is reclaimed. The\ndesert he makes his habitation; a place of beauty and civilization. The\nmoral triumphs over the material, the spiritual over the earthy, and his\ncharter-right is to subdue all things to himself. Thus the geologist\ncannot, if he would, forget or overlook the remarkable human epoch in\nwhich his own lot has been cast. As regards the future, there is a new\nelement to which a due place must be assigned in his speculations;\nand all the great revolutions, and after-phases of our globe, he must\nhenceforth read and interpret in the REVEALED destiny of his own race.\n\nFinally, let it be assumed, in the argument for the geologists, that vast\nmasses of vegetable matter are already stored up and duly arranged over\nthe sea-bottom, that more is continually accumulating, and that there\nis heat enough under the earth\u2019s crust to bituminize and indurate the\nwhole. A new coal epoch is thus approaching, or rather, even now, we are\nliving within its influences. But the question occurs, when completed,\nof what avail would it be to man, who would inevitably be swept off the\nearth in the elevation and breaking up of the strata from the depths\nbeneath? Geology makes known the undoubted fact, that our planet has\nbeen subjected to many and most extensive changes before it was reduced\nto its present condition. These, from the beginning, have been all found\nsubservient to the improvement and well-being of the human family. The\nnext, upon a similar scale of magnitude, would inevitably prove the\ndestruction of the race.\n\n[Illustration: 1. Sigillaria pachyderma. 2. Stigmaria ficoides. 3.\nLepidodendron Sternbergii.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nGEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF FIFESHIRE\u2014DIVISIONS OF THE COAL-FIELD.\n\n\nThe general remarks on the coal deposit, in which we have been led to\nindulge in the two last chapters, may be verified by, as they all receive\nthe most ample illustrations from, the admirable arrangement, position,\nand distribution of the metals in the counties of Fife, Clackmannan,\nStirling, Lanark, and Renfrew, which are extensions of one great basin.\nFifeshire alone contains an epitome of the system, divided as it is into\nnumerous compartments, the encrinital limestone cropping out and marking\ntheir several boundaries. Indeed, the whole series of the carboniferous\nrocks are here laid open for examination on every hill-side, in the\nnumerous ravines which intersect the district, and along the eastern\nand southern coast-lines. Approaching the coal-field from the north, a\npanoramic section at once fills the eye, and will rivet the attention,\nas, stepping from the strata of the antecedent epoch, you find, in\nimmediate superposition as well as contrast of color, the multiplied and\nmore diversified reliqui\u00e6 of the coal-measures.\n\nThe eruptive rocks will also be here studied to great advantage, where\nthey have played no insignificant part in giving shape and outline to the\nlandscape, and in laying open the inclosed minerals. It is impossible to\nconvey any adequate idea, in mere description, of the marvelous display\nof plutonic action of which this peninsula has once been the theater:\nsubterranean movements crushing and grinding into fragments the solid\nstrata, parting and heaving them asunder, or crumpling into complicated\nfolds the tougher and more unyielding beds, as if it had been some fabric\nof manufacture tossed and twisted by the wind. The bituminous breccia at\nPettycur, Elie, Balcarras Den, and which appears again at the Rock and\nSpindle near St. Andrews, affords a remarkable instance of the action of\nthe intrusive rocks in breaking, and transmuting into a composite paste,\nthe series of beds constituting the coal-measures, in which every one\nof the strata has its representative in fragments, from the size of a\ngarden pea to masses a foot in diameter or even upward. The storm lifts\nthe ocean into lofty curling billows, leaving long narrow troughs and\nfrightful yawning chasms beneath. Here, in like manner, and all over the\nsurface, the crust has been broken up, and the minerals tossed about, or\nagitated like wreck upon the waves, and, upon subsiding, have been cast\ninto the form of ridges, or broad tabular masses. The ridges, with their\nserrated outcrops, in the interior of the county, have been gradually\nrounded off and covered with soil; while, by the shore, they still\npresent the effects of the violent commotions to which they have been\nsubjected, exposed and laid bare by the action of the sea, upon the lower\nlevels of the disrupted strata. The Ochils, Lammermuirs, and Pentlands,\nwere already above the waters, calmly contemplating the troubled scene,\nas an inner circle of basalt and greenstone hills arose\u2014the Lomonds,\nLargo Law, the Binn, and Binnarty, on the north; Stirling rock,\nCorstorphine hill, Arthur\u2019s Seat, Berwick Law, and the Bass, on the\nsouth\u2014which were severally lifted into view, to be stationed as so many\nsentinels on the outposts of the field.\n\nThe coal metals shared in the general elevation of the hills, where they\nare either folded round their bases, or are depending, drapery-wise, from\ntheir tops. Thus the members of the inferior carboniferous series are\nraised about eleven hundred feet along the Lomond ridge, encompassing\nthe east and west cones, and training westward by Binnarty and the\nCleish hills. Largo and Kellie Laws have each their coal basins, of\nworkable minerals, stretched along their eminences, and dipping toward\nthe Teasses and Ceres basins. On the low grounds which skirt them on\nthe south, the metals dip rapidly into the Forth, and are collected in\nvarious hollows or independent bands by the shore. The intermediate\ncoal-fields, which occupy the center of the basin, are regulated in\ntheir strike and inclination by the dykes and outbursts of trap by which\nthe strata have been invaded. A limestone traverses the county at right\nangles from north to south, emerging at Ravenscrag, which forms a line\nof demarkation betwixt the number of the coal seams on its opposite\nsides. The Lochgellic, Cowdenbeath, and Dunfermline basins, on the west,\naverage about twelve to fourteen workable coal-bands, while on the east\nof the limestone, the Dysart, Wemyss, Teasses, and Ceres basins run from\ntwenty to thirty-three of various quality and thickness. The Clackmannan\ncoal-field recovers in numerical proportion, where there are twenty-four\nseams of coal, from two inches to nine feet thick, and two great slips,\nwhich raise the metals successively 700 and 1230 feet, as they abut\nagainst the Ochil range. In the Elgin basin there are twenty-seven beds\nof coal, with a thickness of fifty-six feet.\n\nFifeshire thus owes its diversified shape and contour, and access to all\nits vast mineral treasures, to the early disturbances by which it has\nbeen so thoroughly dislocated and furrowed. Every district has a section,\nseparate and independent, of its own. The ground you tread on is, every\nfoot of it, a cabinet of wonders\u2014literally a necropolis, a city of the\ndead. Go where you will, chronicles of the olden time are before and\naround you, while everywhere\u2014\n\n \u201cand at your side\n Rises a mountain-rock in rugged pride,\n And in that rock are shapes of shells, and forms\n Of creatures in old worlds.\u201d\n\nThe cuttings of the Edinburgh and Perth Railway give excellent sections\nof the various minerals of the county, from the gray sandstone to the\nuppermost coverings of the coal-field. Entering Fifeshire from the west,\nyour course lies deep among the detritus of the various members of the\nold red series already noticed. At the Newburgh Station, and under the\ncliffs of Clatchart, the gray sandstone and cornstone may be observed\u2014the\nlatter is regularly stratified; the former is embraced among the igneous\nrocks, broken, isolated, and inclined at every possible degree to the\nhorizon. Clatchart Crag itself has been stirred to its foundations; the\nhuge mass, reverberating now to the passage of other fires, rests on\nhighly inclined beds of the gray sandstone; the black transverse dyke\nof basalt, a few hundred yards on the west, may be conjectured to have\nbeen the instrument of upheaval, as in fancy we can still discern in the\nhalf-raised, half-suspended position of the rock, the enormous pressure\nrequired for its elevation.\n\nThe Lomonds and Cults hills are conspicuous objects in the landscape.\nThe line traverses for miles the yellow sandstone and overlaying grits\nwhich form their base. Greenstone and augitic trap in both ranges cap\nthe summits, bursting through the coal metals, and elevating the various\nbeds of limestone. The encrinital limestone sweeps round the peaks of\nthe Lomonds, filling up the intermediate plateau, in some places bare\nof herbage or any covering of soil, and the fossils are lying exposed\non the surface fresh as when washed by the waves, about eleven hundred\nfeet above their ancient sea-bottom. A vein of galena occurs on the south\nside of the hill, intersecting the limestone at right angles to the\nplain of stratification, and is described in the notices of the period\nof its discovery as rich in silver ore. But it has no great claim, we\nbelieve, to be regarded as _argentiferous_. Two similar veins traverse\nthe county, one already noticed in Dura Den, and the other in the parish\nof Inverkeithing, situated among the same series of rocks, and having\nthe same general line of bearing from nearly north-east by south-west.\nThe lead ore in all of them is partly massive, and partly in regular\nhexahedral crystals. Lead, copper, cobalt, and silver are likewise found\nin the Ochil range, but in no great quantities, in the culminating\nheights betwixt Dollar, Bencleugh, and Dalmyat.\n\nOn approaching the river Leven at Markinch, the out-crop of the central\ncoal-basin comes to the surface. After crossing the viaduct the line lies\ndeep among the metals\u2014a repetition of faults, upheavals, and depressions,\nwhere in succession the edges of the same beds are several times passed\nover. The dip is various, the strike generally to the south-east, and\nunder the sea at Dysart the metals are wrought at the depth of several\nhundred feet.\n\nThe igneous rocks along the coast will not fail to call forth surprise\nand admiration, unrivaled as they probably are in the number of\nalternations with the deposits of the carboniferous series, and all the\ninteresting phenomena which accompany their intrusion. No description,\nindeed, can do justice to the interlacings and alternations presented\nof the two classes of rocks, so different in their origin, as those of\nthe traps and coal-measures; where, through the agency of the former,\nthe latter series are bent, twisted, re-united, altered, and lying at\nevery angle betwixt the horizontal and perpendicular. Nearing Kirkaldy\nthe coal is split up, and the fused matter injected between the layers,\nconverting them into cinder. Within the distance of a mile, from Seaforth\nto Kinghorn, there are from forty to fifty alternations of the igneous\nand sedimentary rocks; and again, on the west, toward Pittycur, there is\na recurrence of as many, with examples of the jointed columnar basalt\nreposing on sandstones rendered quartzose, or converted into chert, and\non shales baked into brick. The outburst at the Burntisland terminus,\nin three parallel ridges, throws up the strata, inclining them toward\nthe north, whence trending round the town they dip under the Binn-hill.\nOrrock-hill, lying immediately to the north-east of Binn-hill, furnishes\na beautiful example of jointed basalt: the entire rock, three hundred\nfeet high, and nearly a mile long, by half-a-mile in breadth, is composed\nof regularly constructed columns, which divide into concretionary masses\nfrom one to three feet in length, and presenting generally the pentagonal\nor hexagonal form. The columns are grouped into distinct clusters, which,\ninclining at various angles, impart to the exposed face of the rock a\npleasing picturesque effect. The erosive action of water, or swell of the\nocean tide, is all that is required here to shape another Staffa\u2014\u201cthat\nwondrous dome\u201d\u2014out of these magnificent materials.\n\nA fresh-water, or rather perhaps an estuary, limestone is an object of\nconsiderable geological interest in this locality, mixed up and altered\nin many places by the igneous matter. The best sections occur a little\nback from Pittycur harbor, and on the western slope of Binn-hill, where\nit is extensively quarried. Scales of fishes and other ichthyolites\nare very abundant: also innumerable microscopic shells, belonging to\nthe order of entomostraca and the genus cypris. Several species of\npal\u00e6oniscus have been found in good preservation, namely, P. ariolatis,\nP. ornatissimus, and P. Robisoni. The Pygopteris Jamesoni and specimens\nof the Eurynotus and Crenatis have likewise been detected in the\ndeposit. Vegetable remains are very plentiful, especially of the fern\ntribe and the lycopodiums: the impressions of the sphenopteris, of which\nthere are several species, are extremely numerous, fresh, and beautiful.\nThis limestone is of a dull, earthy aspect, acquired obviously from the\nbituminous matter diffused through the mass; not crystalline, though very\ncompact in texture, and possessed of great hardness. Wardie beach, on the\nopposite shore, displays a bed having many points of resemblance, which\nabounds in nodular masses, inclosing coprolites and fishes; and inland,\nthe celebrated Burdiehouse limestone is an extension of the Fifeshire\ndeposit.\n\nThus varied and important is this small peninsula, a speck on the face\nof the globe, and affording so much room for speculation and detail.\nInclosed between the estuaries of the Tay and Forth are to be found\nsome of the most legible and remarkable chronicles of our planet\u2019s\nhistory. Fifeshire has been stirred and upheaved all over, abounding in\nall the life-moving and plutonic energies of the carboniferous age. The\nvegetable and animal kingdoms supply a vast proportion of the materials\nof the sedimentary rocks, while the fires of the interior have mainly\ncontributed to the production of the rest. Shall we look across the\nwaters, and replace them, in imagination, by the former continuity of\nland, when the center of the coal-basin was raised above them, and their\nnumerous islets were high and dry upon the surface? Certain it is, that\nthe erupted matter so abundantly scattered along the shores and piled\nup in such masses landward, would leave room for subsidence, while the\noutgoing of the deposits on both sides shows such an affinity in quality\nand strike as to demonstrate an ancient union and geological connection.\n\n[Illustration: Diplopterus\u2014new species.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nTHE CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS\u2014CONTINUED.\n\n\nThe geology of the northern division of Scotland is, almost in every\nparticular in the series of rocks that have been described, the\ncounterpart of the southern, which now falls to be noticed. The fossils\nso richly imbedded in the former are here repeated, more sparingly in\nsome, more abundantly in other families, and, in several instances,\nin the introduction of entirely new forms of organic life. Along the\nwest and south border counties, the granites, with their associated\ncrystalline group, are sparingly developed, stretching, at intervals,\nfrom the island of Arran through Galloway and Kirkcudbright into\nDumfries-shire. The silurians follow in their order of superposition,\noccupying an extensive area from sea to sea across the island.\nThe devonian system, chiefly in the upper and middle beds, wraps\nround the base of the older formation, and rests unconformably on\nits highly-inclined strata. The carboniferous deposits are widely\ndistributed, some in isolated basins, and enveloped by the old red, and\npregnant all of them with the fossils of the period. The ignigenous\nrocks, the traps and porphyries, are also very abundant, some in the form\nof detached cones, some in extensive ranges, and all demonstrative of\ntheir character as the agents that have lifted up, disrupted, and twisted\nthe strata of the district.\n\nIn passing over this section of our course, it will not be necessary,\ntherefore, to dwell in any minute or lengthened descriptions.\n\nI. The geological student, in commencing his researches at Edinburgh,\nis immediately arrested by the more prominent objects that everywhere\nrise into view\u2014the Castle Rock\u2014the Calton Hill\u2014Salisbury Crag\u2014Arthur\u2019s\nSeat\u2014and the Pentlands. A wondrous, glorious scene, every one\ninvoluntarily exclaims, upon reaching any of these heights, thrown, as\nif by the hand of an enchanter, in and around this lovely city. Geology\nhere has its favorite residence\u2014the birth-place and cradle of the\nHUTTONIAN THEORY\u2014Arthur\u2019s seat there to attest its truth. What a history\nof bygone times recorded in these two words! What a revolution produced\nin the sentiments of mankind as to the science of world-making! And,\nstill more, how deeply were men\u2019s minds agitated, and the foundations of\nreligious truth stirred, by the novel views which were then announced!\nThe assumption lying at the foundation of the rival, or Wernerian\ntheory, is, that the materials of which the various strata of the globe\nconsist were originally dissolved or suspended in water: they were thus\nin a condition to assume any form which their physical qualities and\nthe laws of matter might determine; and, accordingly, in this fluid\nmenstruum they were consolidated into various combinations, partly by\nmeans of crystallization, and partly by mechanical deposition. The\nHuttonian theory, on the other hand, employs the force of subterraneous\nfire as its principal machinery, which is placed at immense depths,\nand the materials on which it operates are under a vast pressure; and,\nconsequently, while they are indurated into limestone, sandstone, and\ncoal, along with their included fossils, their essential qualities are\nbut very slightly affected, and the arrangement and disposition of their\nparticles but little disturbed. The hills around, by which this theory\nwas to be tested, and to whose singular structure it owed its origin,\nconsist of an alternating series of tabular masses of trap and the\nsedimentary deposits, basalt forming generally the central nucleus, with\ntufa, greenstone, and sandstone variously disposed and folded over. All\nthe conditions of upheaval, tortion, angularity, induration, fracture,\nand dislocation, are amply furnished; the columnar, jointed structure is\nwell defined in Samson\u2019s Ribs; the very momentum of pressure, forcing\nthe sandstone into the perpendicular, may be studied as a nice dynamical\nproblem on the Castle rock; and when Sir James Hall brought from his\ncrucible a reconstructed whinstone, regularly jointed and with no\ntrace of vitreous fusion, the demonstration of the theory was felt and\nacknowledged, in its leading features, to be complete.\n\nPal\u00e6ontology has added its living wonders to the mere lithological\nspeculations which were then in vogue and engrossed all attention. And\ngeologists can now afford to smile at the misinterpretations, made by\nboth parties, of established facts and well-ascertained things\u2014nay, at\nthe eagerness with which they irrelevantly pressed facts to bend to\ntheir conflicting views\u2014the vehemence with which the Wernerian declared\nwhinstone to contain organisms, and to be no exception to the law of\nmechanical deposition; while the Huttonian as deliberately set himself\nto prove that the nodules in chalk could only be the product of fire\u2014the\nformation itself, as now determined, being merely a concretion of shells\nof the most perfect structure and undiminished luster. Truth, like\nlight, emerges slowly, feeble in its dawnings when objects are obscurely\nseen or readily mistaken, a portion of the view half in shade, and\nhalf in brightness. And thus it has happened with both systems, as in\nthe progress of the science errors have been detected and deficiencies\nsupplied, peculiar to each. The acrimony of the contest, too, has passed\naway. Theology has been disentangled, and declared by the divine to\nbe in no way affected by the issue. And while the scurrilities of the\nindiscreet abettors of both are utterly forgotten, the deductions of\nHutton and the masterly expositions of his illustrator are in the main\nadopted as the basis of the only true system of geology.\n\nII. In the general structure of the environs of the Scottish metropolis\nthis plutonic machinery is deeply impressed, as it has been most\nvigorously exerted. There is everywhere the greatest derangement\nexisting among the sedimentary deposits, everything is tossed out of its\noriginal place, and divided into small sections and detached groups. The\nconnections and relative positions are very difficult to trace. Still,\namidst all the disorder, the more general bearings of the different\nformations may be ascertained. Mr. Charles Maclaren, indeed, has examined\neverything with a pains-taking care, and described them with a minuteness\nand fidelity of detail, which cannot be surpassed, as they need scarcely\nbe repeated. His \u201cGeology of Fife and the Lothians,\u201d will be in every\nstudent\u2019s hands who desires to be acquainted with the structure of the\ndistrict, conversant more especially as this learned geologist is with\nthe position, fragments, and medal-stamp of every rock\u2014their relations to\neach other, historical value, and bearings in the science\u2014and illustrated\nwith such diversity of section and diagram, that we feel as we accompany\nhim,\u2014\n\n \u201cPanditur interea domus Omnipotentis.\u201d\n\nThe general contour of the city, so picturesque and remarkable in its\ngrouping of streets, may be taken as a pretty safe guide in determining\nthe nature of the geology. The town is built over two parallel ridges,\nwhich completely expose the character of the inferior minerals. The\nnorthern division rests upon a series of beds, which appear immediately\nto underlie the true workable coal seams; the Old Town ridge and Castle\nrock bear up the lower members of the carboniferous deposit, while along\nthe extended plateau on the south the yellow sandstone of the old red\nhas been brought to the surface. The whole would thus seem to occupy the\nupraised floor of the great coal basin of Mid Lothian, dislocated and\nseparated by the igneous matter of Arthur\u2019s Seat and the Calton, whence\nthe metals all plunge to the eastward.\u2014The flat, extending from Restalrig\ntoward Granton and Craigleith, consists of the same series of beds as\nthose upon which the New Town stands, and which have been elevated by the\ndykes and bosses of trap that so frequently intersect the strata.\n\nThe range of the yellow deposit, supposed to belong to the old red, is\nwell defined; it commences on the northern slope and face of Salisbury\nCrags, and covers nearly the whole eastern side, depending to the\nHunter\u2019s Bog. The same series of beds, readily distinguished by their\nreddish hue, train round by Samson\u2019s Ribs, thence proceeding by St.\nJohn\u2019s Hill, Heriot\u2019s Hospital, Burntsfield Links, they bear toward the\nNew Cemetery on the estate of Grange. The beds here, exposed in several\nquarries, consist of an alternating series of marls, concretionary\nlimestone, and sandstone, similar in all their lithological characters to\nthe deposits of Dura Den and Glenvale. Not a fragment, indeed, of scale\nor organism has yet, so far as we know, been detected in the locality\nnow defined, so as unequivocally to determine the position of the group\nin question. But is not the absence of the fossil test as fatal to its\nconnection with the carboniferous series? while, considering its remote\ngeographical distance from the undisputed domain of the new red, and its\nproximity to a surrounding belt of the true silurian, flanked with the\nold red, the presumption is that the deposit will yet be classed with\nthe upper or yellow sandstone division of the devonian family. Still we\nmerely indicate an unpresuming judgment, leaving it to so much gifted\nlocal research to confirm or disprove the correctness of the proposed\nclassification.\n\nIII. The Mid Lothian coal-basin, so rich in minerals, forms part of the\ngreat carboniferous valley of Scotland, and may be considered as simply\nan extension of the coal-field of Fifeshire, the metals dipping on both\nsides toward the middle of the Frith. The out-crop rises toward the\nLammermuirs and the Pentlands.\u2014The area occupied by the coal-measures\nincludes a space of about eighteen miles in length, by twelve in\nbreadth. The series of beds composing the formation, are nearly five\nthousand feet thick, or about a mile in depth from the upper to the\nlower strata, and the whole fractured and dislocated in every part of\nthe field. There are fifty-two slips, indeed, enumerated by the miners,\nwhich occasion a depression toward the north to the extent of 5,196\nfeet; the metals are again raised by a series of thirty-seven slips to\nthe height of 2,412 feet; thereby causing a change of relative level in\nthe strata, corresponding to the altitude of the highest points in the\nLammermuir range, namely, 2,757 feet. The disturbances above and below\nthus approximate to each other. Have they been directed and modified by\nthe same agencies, the silurian group rising higher and higher as the\ncarboniferous subsided into the depressions occasioned by the evolution\nof the igneous matter? The Bass, North Berwick Law, and Arthur\u2019s Seat,\nare the products of the change, though indeed these scattered points of\nigneous rock on the surface can give no idea of its subterranean extent,\nsince basalt and greenstone are met with at unvarying depths in a great\nportion of the coal district in question.\n\nThe whole field is prolific in organic remains. But BURDIEHOUSE LIMESTONE\nclaims a separate notice, not only from the abundance but the very\nremarkable characters of the fossils contained in it, many of them met\nwith for the first time in the progress of our sketches. This rock\nimmediately underlies the encrinital limestone beds of Gilmerton, and\nis about twenty-seven feet thick, of a dark dingy color, arising from\nso much bituminous matter mixed up with the calcareous. The vegetable\nremains are very numerous, and in a state of beautiful preservation.\nNowhere, indeed, in the best arranged herbarium, have we anything so\ngraceful, so minutely and skillfully delineated, as are the figures of\nthese plants upon the stone. There are several species of lycopodium;\nalso stigmaria, sigillaria, equisetum, calamus, and cyclopteris, in\ngreat abundance. The fronds of the fossil sphenopteris furnish exquisite\ntracings of nature\u2019s penciling. Nor are the relics belonging to the\nanimal kingdom less remarkable for their freshness and variety. Here\nare the extremes of organic life, microscopic shells innumerable, with\nthe claws, eyes, slender feelers of their occupants, all entire; and\nthe gigantic _Megalichthys_, with a body sixty feet long, teeth of four\nto six inches still sparkling with luster, and scales of corresponding\nmagnitude brightly enameled. There are also the bones and plates of\nanother huge creature, the _Gyracanthus_, along with the jaws of sauroid\nfishes, measuring from a foot to a foot and half in length, thickly\nstudded with teeth. And there, too, lovely trout-like animals, the\n_Pal\u00e6oniscus_\u2014with all the fins and organs and body fresh and glistering,\nas if ready to leap to their prey, strewed in countless myriads around.\nNor is the enumeration complete as to the kind and quality of the\nfossils of this curious deposit: there _coprolites_ mark the habits of\nthe predaceous monsters of the period\u2014f\u00e6cal excrements composed of the\nremains of their victims\u2014and in some places so numerous as to outweigh\nthe calcareous matrix in which they are imbedded.\n\nM. Agassiz, in his synoptical table of British fossil fishes, 1843, gives\nthe following list belonging to the Burdiehouse limestone. In the Order\nof Placoids, _Ichthyodorulites_, there is a Ptychacanthus subl\u00e6vis,\nSphenacanthus serrulatus, and Gyracanthus formosus: of _Cestraciontes_,\nOtenoptychius pectinatus and denticulatus, and Ctenodus Robertsoni:\nof _Hybodontes_, Cladodus acutus, parrus, and Hibberti, and Diplodus\ngibbosus, and minutus. In the Order of Ganoids the following occur:\nof _Lepidoides_, Pal\u00e6oniscus ornatissimus, Robisoni, and striolatus,\nand Eurynotus crenatus, and fimbriatus; of _Sauroids_, Megalichthys\nHibberti, Diplopterus Robertsoni, Pygopterus Bucklandi and Jamesoni; of\n_C\u0153lacanthes_, Holoptychius Hibberti, sauroides, and striatus, Uronemus\nlobatus, and a Phyllolepis tenuissimus. Since this list was drawn up,\nmany additional fossils have been obtained from the same locality; some\nof them exhibit characters which will establish, in all probability, new\ngenera as well as species. The collection in the Edinburgh College Museum\ncontains gigantic specimens in the highest condition of preservation,\nexciting our wonder at the strange forms which peopled our ancient\nseas, and admiration of those singular processes by which they have\nbeen embalmed by the chemistry of nature, surviving so many changes and\ndisturbances in the history of our planet.\n\nThe comparative history of the fishes enumerated, in relation to the\nsystems of rocks through which they extend, is both interesting and\ncurious. For example, the genus ptychacanthus begins in the devonian and\nends in the carboniferous period, one species peculiar to each formation.\nPal\u00e6oniscus begins in the carboniferous, and continues through the\npermian age, in five new specific forms. The megalichthys begins in the\ndevonian and becomes extinct in the carboniferous types; diplopterus,\nholoptychius, and phyllolepis have each the same terms of existence; and\nagain the pygopterus begins in the carboniferous, and survives, in two\nnew species, through the permian era. Thus five genera are common to the\ndevonian and carboniferous systems; two to the carboniferous and permian;\neight belong exclusively to and become extinct in the carboniferous.\nThese results clearly manifest an adaptation on the part of nature, as\nwell as some arbitrary principle in the order of her creations, and all\nspeak to the fact of progression in the course of events and of direct\ninterposition in the successive origin of organic existence. Look again\ninto these rocks. Consider the causes which so filled them with these\nmemorials of warfare and death. Two families only, the least predaceous\nof their kind, survived the age which produced them\u2014one wide revolution\ncovered with its spoils the surface of the earth\u2014the wreck is closed over\nand silted beneath the waves\u2014and the carboniferous era, teeming with\nanimal and vegetable life, forever passed away.\n\nThe deposit, so fruitful in these organisms, has, with much probability,\nbeen regarded as a fresh-water limestone, from the circumstance that it\ncontains no corallines or marine shells. The plants, too, are all of a\nterrestrial or fluviatile kind, and so perfectly entire as to warrant\nthe inference that they have not been tossed and drifted about in an\nocean nor transported from a distance, but have perished _in situ_, and\ndropped amid still waters. It may have been an estuary on the borders\nof an ancient sea, whither the Megalichthys resembling the crocodile\nfamily in bulk, and the Gyracanthi akin to the sharks in voracity, may\nhave roamed in quest of food, gamboled for pleasure amidst a luxuriance\nof tropical vegetation, or indolently reposed by the umbrageous shades\nof slimy lagoons. How different the scene over which they maintained\nundisputed sway from all that is now in these parts subject to man\u2019s\ndominion. Transpose the zones of the earth, and then only could there be\nan approximation to the more ancient condition of things.\n\n[Illustration: Basin Form of Coal-fields. 1.1. Mountain Limestone.]\n\nIV. The Mid Lothian coal-basin is bounded on the west and north-west by\nthe Pentlands, the Braid, and Blackford Hills. The Corstorphine Hills\nstand out in bold relief above the plain, and are remarkable of their\nkind; they consist of a sandstone basis, capped by an enormous mass of\ngreenstone, in which the groovings and polish of diluvial or glacial\naction have long been familiar to the geologist. The carboniferous beds\noccupy, at intervals, the district toward Falkirk and Stirling, much\nbroken and intersected by the igneous rocks. Stirling, like Edinburgh,\nis greatly indebted to its physical features, the Abbey-Crag, the\ndome-shaped and wooded rock of Cragforth, the Castle-Hill, and the\nGillies Hill, overlooking and sharing in the glories of the plain of\nBannockburn. These all consist of greenstone or dolerite trap, resting\non sandstone, or often alternating in nearly conformable beds with\nsandstone, ironstone, and limestone. The Pentlands stretch about sixteen\nmiles in length by six in their extreme breadth, the axis of the chain\nbearing almost due N. E. and S. W. The eastern division presents the\ndifferent varieties of feldspathic rocks\u2014in the center or middle group\nof hills the graywacke series are more developed\u2014and on the west the\nold red sandstone and carboniferous deposits prevail. The axis of the\nchain in some of the higher points is capped with the sedimentary rocks,\nand along the entire range the phenomena of upheaval, dislocation,\nsubsidence, and denudation all present themselves in turn, and in most\ninstructive forms. The Carlops and Kaim-Valley coal-basin exhibits some\nremarkable appearances; within a trough-shaped, narrow space, beds of\nfeldspar, porphyry, greenstone, and conglomerate are mixed up with the\ncoal metals, all less or more denuded, separated by transverse openings,\nand irregularly broken off at their outcrop. Fossils, though sparingly,\nare found in the graywacke, as trilobites and orthoceratites. The Braid\nand Blackford Hills are outliers of the Pentlands, and present the same\nvarieties of rock and general lithological structure.\n\nRapid and brief as the above sketch is, let the reader be assured there\nis much, very much, in the district to interest and instruct. Make the\ncircuit of the Pentlands when he may, and he will not be satisfied until\nhe has penetrated every valley, scaled every height, and become familiar\nas household words with every name and calling through the length and\nbreadth of their varied range. Habbie\u2019s How, a very pastoral in the\nsound, Carlops, Kaim-Valley, Mount-Maw, Deerhoperigg, Dalmahoy-Crags,\nthe Mendick Hills, how dear to every lover of nature in their sweet\nretreats and cool shady banks! And Tintock, rich in prophetic lore, to\nbe understood must be ascended, the eye ranging over the whole central\nvalley of Scotland, embracing both oceans in its field of vision,\nand numbering all over the lofty granite peaks of the Grampians.\nResting-spots like these impart a delicious charm to the geologist amidst\nhis wanderings. If pregnant with the materials of doubtful reasonings,\nperplexing arrangements, and intricate soundings, the science has its\nsunny sides and cheerful fields of recreation. And if compelled to\ntraverse regions of dangerous stepping, dark profound abysses, he is\nspeedily again by the side of sparkling rivers, among grassy holms and\npastoral dales, redolent with the bracing airs of crag and mountain.\n\nNor are the moral influences of such speculations of a less healthful\nand refreshing kind. Geology, which deals with the cycles of time, is\nyet the youngest of the sciences. One exclusively of observation, all\nits objects lie scattered around the daily pathways of men. And still,\nbut as yesterday, has it been looked upon with a favorable eye, as a\nmeans of investigating and establishing truth, and its truths themselves\nrecognized as of good character and tendency. Herein, until very\nrecently, the tree of knowledge was supposed to yield of its fruits of\ngood and evil, most abundantly of the latter, and men long pertinaciously\nrefused to partake of, or even to look at, the precious things that\ndropped from its numerous well-laden branches. Hume had attempted to\ndemonstrate that there was no external world at all. Researches into\nthe structure of mind, metaphysics, the domain of \u201ccommon sense\u201d as\ndistinguished from the abstractions of the ideal philosophy, engaged and\nconfounded alike the learned and the unlearned. Beneath, in the strata\nof the earth, lay the records and memorials, it was said, of vast untold\nages, and all shrunk from an abyss on whose brink it was perilous to\nwalk. The interior was literally regarded as unhallowed ground, from\nwhose Pandora recesses, open who might, nothing but evils could issue, at\nutter variance with every fixed and established principle.\n\n \u201cHic specus horrendum et s\u00e6vi spiracula ditis.\u201d\n\nReligion and science thus stood in direct antagonism to each other,\ndivorced by general consent from an unnatural alliance; and men, in\nthose days, in the Scottish metropolis, were grouped into coteries who\neyed each other with a bitter jealousy. Some more liberal mind, indeed,\na Blair and a Robertson, would pass occasionally into the hostile camp,\nbut returned again to his own ranks, to be received with no very cordial\nembrace or flattering approval.\n\nBut now, were one of the sages of scarcely half a century ago permitted\nto rise from the dust, and to take his place among the intellectuals\nof the present time, nothing would be more likely to excite his wonder\nthan the controversies, and their subjects, which figure in their\nworks. Theory there is scarcely any among those who now give law in\nModern Athens in letters and science.\u2014Whether in the regions of mental\nphilosophy, the walks of physical science, or the sacred precincts of\nreligion, men\u2019s minds are nearly at one as to the objects and distinctive\nprovince of each. They do not fear or dread the pursuits in which\nthey are respectively engaged, assured that skepticism, or any desire\nto maintain it, has now neither party nor standing; or come to what\nconclusion they may, the WISDOM FROM ABOVE will in its own pure and\nelevated region remain scathless against any or all the bolts with which\nit may be assailed. The everlasting hills are still there on their old\nfoundations\u2014the remarkable variety of structure, which, all around the\ncity they so marvelously present, still speaks in impressive language\nof order and disruption, stability and change\u2014and underneath, in the\nimperishable forms of buried generations, are the records of a history\nin which man has no part, and with which his destiny would seem in no\nwise concerned. But the language written thereon, and the leaves on which\nit is impressed, are divested of the awful sibylline mystery in which\nthey were then involved. The saint is scared not away by the frightful\ncharacters and dark meanings which the sage pretends he can trace in\nthem. Nor is the sage himself startled at the alchemy of his own art, and\nthe singular forms he can summon to his presence from his subterranean\ndomains.\n\nA delightful repose all this from the fierce personal controversies of a\nfew years ago. Healthful truths are brought to light. On one and the same\npage, penetrate as deep as they may, all professions and their abettors\njoin alike in admiration of the ineffaceable impress of the order,\nwisdom, and goodness everywhere to be traced in the structure of the\nglobe. There is no longer the metaphysician vainly attempting to resolve\nthe whole concrete mass into the ideal; or ridiculously striving to\nraise a structure of materialism, on the assumption that all our ideas,\nwhatever we know and all we excogitate about, are derived through the\nmedium of our sensations. The regions of infinite space are explored,\nand the devotional tendencies of the age have become the more decided and\nintense in proportion as the mental vision has been enlarged. The mind\nseizes with a firmer grasp, and advances with a steadier pace over the\nfields of creation, because there _is_ a Creator whose invisible Godhead\nis understood from the things which are made. And now, in search of\ntruth, one and the same through all things, religion and science go hand\nin hand, sanctified and enlightened by the union, and imparting the most\nsalutary lessons from the physical and moral revelations of Him whose\npath is in the deep places of the earth, and who for the display of his\nown glory has become the Instructor and Redeemer of the world.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nTHE LAMMERMUIRS\u2014THE BORDER LAND\u2014GENERAL STRUCTURE OF SCOTLAND.\n\n\nThe interest which attaches to this division of our sketches of Scottish\ngeology is in no degree impaired by the consideration that the rocks,\nall of them, belong to one or other of the systems which have already\npassed under review. A belt of undisputed Silurian deposit here meets\nus for the first time, flanked on all sides, and nearly throughout its\nlength, by the old red sandstone. Porphyritic hills, greenstone bosses\nand dykes, and the various phenomena of trap intrusion and dislocation,\nare again presented in many and very striking illustrative details. \u201cThe\nborder land,\u201d physically as well as morally, could not well be without\nits points of contention; and, accordingly, geologists have made \u201craide\nacross the marches,\u201d and claimed as of Scottish origin an extensive\ndomain of the English NEW RED sandstone, or Permian system. Corncockle\nMoor, too, and the quarries near Dumfries, unfold as curious a page in\nthe history of the old world as does the Crigup Lynn, hewn out of the\nsame family of rocks, of the stern warfare and fierce contendings which\nadorn, as they likewise disgrace, the annals of the seventeenth century.\n\nThe GENERAL STRUCTURE of the district, as now indicated, is determined\nin the main by the Lammermuirs, a high mountain-range of sedimentary\nrocks, which formed the northern barrier of an extensive inland basin\nor sea, and of which the Solway and Tweed occupy the central stretch or\ndepression. The old red sandstone was herein deposited, the strata of\nwhich rest unconformably upon the older rocks. The carboniferous beds\nsucceeded, but at a period when the floor of the basin was elevated,\nand the dimensions contracted; hence these beds, though reposing\nconformably for the most part on those of the old red and not separable\non physical grounds, do not occupy the same extent of surface. Creeks\nand bays existed around the silurian shores, into which the materials\nof the sandstone were carried, and thus along the southern slope, from\nSt. Abb\u2019s Head to Portpatrick, the old red is traceable in every opening\nand indentation, running up in long narrow tongues, or detached stripes,\namong the mountains. The coal series appear at various intervals in small\nisolated basins, forming on the west the coal-field of Whitehaven, which\ndips into the Solway, and on the east occupying from Kelso to Berwick,\nthe valley of the Tweed, where the metals lie in very thin bands, and\n_underneath_ the mountain limestone. Here are porphyries, which have\ndisrupted and broken through the old red sandstone, and therefore,\ncorresponding in age to those of the Sidlaws, Ochils, and Pentlands; and\naugite traps and greenstone, scattered over the coal-measures, which are\nas clearly the product of the movements that issued in the elevation of\nArthur\u2019s Seat and the Lomonds.\n\nThe Lammermuirs have an extent of nearly one hundred and fifty miles\nin length, by an average breadth of twenty-five to thirty miles. The\naxis of the chain runs from E.N.E. to W.S.W., broken at intervals by\nrivers and their divergent valleys, and constituting the great frontier\nbarrier of Scotland. The Lowthers, Corston-cone, Queensberry, and the\nhigh grounds along the upper right bank of the Nith, form outliers or\nextensions of the general mass. Long regarded as furnishing a true\ntype of _Graywacke_ rock, the Lammermuirs are now, by general consent,\nadmitted into the family of SILURIANS, bearing affinities both to\nthe Upper and Lower series, and partaking likewise in some of the\ncharacteristics of the Cambrian group. The eastern division of the chain\nconsists of very thick beds of a coarse brecciated rock, covered on the\nsouthern side by a fine-grained clay slate. In Kirkcudbrightshire, the\nslate-band and conglomerate, seen on the main land, and at White Bay,\nin Little Ross Island, are very closely allied in their mineralogical\ncharacters. And in the center division, about Innerleithen, the intrusive\ntraps constitute a marked and interesting feature, more particularly\nas they there assume a subcrystalline granite structure, and convert\nthe sedimentary deposits into hard flinty slates, or Lydian stone.\nThe organic remains are not abundant: they are scattered, too, at wide\nintervals, but still sufficiently characteristic of the formation. They\nconsist of graptolites, encrinites, trilobites, and several genera of\nshells. The list of conchifer\u00e6, in some beds, is almost entirely Lower\nSilurian, while the _smooth Asaphi_ would seem to connect this range of\nhills with the lower Silurian rocks of Tyrone and Fermanagh, in Ireland,\nwhich have furnished the only other specimens yet detected in Britain.\nThe fossil localities are the lime quarries of Wrae, near Broughton,\nGreiston slate quarry, near Traquair, St. Mary\u2019s Isle, Kirkcudbright,\nLoch Ryan, and Little Ross Island; and in certain graywacke beds\nin Liddesdale, Mr. Nicol records the discovery of \u201cfragments of\nplants, not unlike the broken reeds, and other imperfect vegetable\nremains, seen on some carboniferous sandstones.\u201d The collection of\nLord Selkirk, from the vicinity of his residence, consists according\nto Mr. Salter, of\u2014_Terebratula semisulcata_, _Lept\u00e6na sarcinulata_,\n_Atrypa reticularis_, _Bellerophon trilobatus_, _Natica_, _Turritell\u00e6_,\n_Murchisonia_, _Avicula lineata_, _Orthonaia cingulata_, _Phacops\ncaudatus_, _Beyrichia tuberculata_, and _Graptolites ludensis_. These\ncharacteristic Upper Silurian fossils are accompanied by a _Lept\u00e6na\nsericea_, and _Orthoceras tenuicinctum_ of Portlock, and appear to be\nof the date of Wenlock shale. Their latest historian, indeed, ascribes\na vast indefinite antiquity to the whole range, and considers that the\ndepository matter has been _twice_ reduced to a muddy arenaceous state:\nthat a chain of hills existed in these parts at an age long anterior\nto the Lammermuirs, and that another stratified formation has to be\nintercalated in this district, between the oldest existing strata and the\nparent rock, whence the sediment was derived. This opinion is founded\nchiefly on the circumstance, that in none of the beds have there ever\nbeen observed any fragments of granite, or the associated crystalline\ngneiss and schists, while fragments of clay-slate and graywacke are not\nuncommon amongst the conglomerate or coarser varieties. But, admitting\nthe truth of the statement, does it warrant the inference deduced? The\nclay-slates and graywacke of the Highlands are equally destitute of the\ninclosed granitoid portions so abundant in the superimposed conglomerates\nof the old red; and, upon the supposition of an intensely but unequally\nheated sea-bottom, and partial outbursts of irruptive matter, these\nappearances in the Lammermuirs, where certain strata contain included\nfragments of similar consolidated rock, receive an intelligible and less\nextravagant explanation. We more willingly accede to the conclusion\nof Mr. Nicol, that we have still here much of the original shape and\ncontour of this ancient land; that the rivers and valleys are all in\ntheir olden places, and that since the elevation of the group there has\nbeen no important change in their general character and physical outline.\nThe Lammermuirs, too, connected as they are with the great silurian\ndeposits of England, Wales, and Ireland, lend confirmation to the theory,\nrepeatedly adverted to, that these mountains, as well as those of the\npreceding epoch, formed the land on which grew part at least of the\nexuberant vegetation entombed in the coal formations of Great Britain. It\nmay have been a peninsula projecting into a sea, whose waves washed the\nGrampians on the north, covered all the midland and eastern districts of\nEngland on the south, and were bounded by the primary and silurian girdle\nof rocks on the west. Through these depths roamed the successive races of\nholoptychius, pal\u00e6oniscus, gyracanthus, and megalichthys; the shallows\nand bottom teemed with swarms of molluscs, trilobites, cephalaspes,\npamphracti; while the dense forests of ferns, palms, and pines, which\nclothed the shores and uplands, have been distributed among the various\nbasins of the coal-measures.\n\nAscend the Eildons, or, as the route may be, Carterfell, Hartfell, or\nCriffel, and witness the changes, as the different systems of rocks\nwere drifted into their places, and rose above that expanse of waters.\nCriffel, the loftiest mountain on the west, is composed of granite, and\nformed a solitary islet there, or one of a series of islands, of the\nprimary crystalline formation. The silurian chains, in their respective\npositions, are next elevated to the surface. The old red sandstones\ncollect and form along their bases, spreading over vast areas all\naround. These are lifted into day by the Eildons, and the numerous hills\nof claystone porphyry, which give such diversity of character through\nLiddesdale, Lauderdale, Cheviotdale, and the whole border landscape.\nCarterfell, which consists of a dark greenstone trap, resting on a white\nor light reddish sandstone, marks the upheaval of the carboniferous\nstrata, and probable retirement of the sea from these districts, where we\nfind no traces of any of the secondary or newer systems of rocks. Thus\nthe line of the Scottish Border, from Annan to Roxburghshire, consists\nof the _under series_ of the coal formation passing down the Tweed,\nby Kelso, Sprouston, Coldstream, to Berwick. The old red sandstone is\nlargely developed by Chester, Hawick, Melrose, Greenlaw, Dunse; and\nagain, after an interruption of trap and the coal-measures, it resumes\nits course by Chirnside, Foulden, and Mornington, to the sea. Scales of\nthe Holoptychius and Dendrodus are found in the strata at Prestonhaugh,\nnear Jedburgh, and likewise at the Knock Hill, in Berwickshire. On the\nhigher grounds, from the Eildons to Hartfell and Peebles, the graywacke\nand slate beds everywhere prevail, presenting at St. Abb\u2019s Head, Selkirk,\nand Ettrick Bridge, interesting specimens of crumpled and bent strata.\nRemarkable veins of trap and calc-spar are to be observed near St. Mary\u2019s\nLoch; silver and other metallic ores are said to have been found in the\nneighboring hills: near Moffat, gypsum, pyritous graywacke, and alum\nslate, are very abundant\u2014formations probably connected with the mineral\nwaters of Moffat Well and Hartfell spa. At Glendinning, in the parish of\nWesterkirk, an antimony mine has been long wrought, which is about twenty\ninches wide, and once rich in the valuable mineral. A vein of galena\nor lead, lined with heavy-spar, crosses the Esk at Broomholm, below\nLangholm, and here the usual series of shales, limestone, sandstone, and\nthin bands of coal, are developed for miles, resting on the graywacke of\nHermitage, Ernton, and Witterhope Burn hills.\n\nThe valley of the Nith, from the pass of Dalveen to Barjarg, incloses\na space of nearly ten miles in length by four in breadth, filled with\nred sandstone and beds of limestone, and exhibits one of those original\ncreeks or bays in the primary and silurian rocks which characterize this\nancient belt. The lower basin, toward Dumfries and the Solway, presents\nthe same series of extremely fine-grained strata. The small isolated\nbasin of red sandstone near Lochmaben, and which contains the celebrated\nimpressions of foot-marks in the beds at Corncockle Moor, as well as the\nvery limited patch of sandstone in the vale of the Annan near Moffat,\nare probably referable to one and the same system with the above. And\nwhat is that system\u2014the Devonian or Permian? The position of all these\nbeds, and of others in Annandale, has long formed a fruitful subject of\ndiscussion with geologists and practical engineers, whether to regard\nthem as an extension of the English new red, or to refer them to the\npredominant rock of the country. The latter view is borne out so far by\nthe fact, that no borings, which have been both numerous and deep, have\npenetrated to the coal metals. On Greenough\u2019s map, on the other hand,\nthe former theory is adopted, where the coal-measures are represented as\nextending _underneath_ from Canobie, through Annandale to Arkit Muir, and\nas again emerging at Arbigland near Criffel. It has likewise been argued,\nthat the foot-impressions on the slabs near Dumfries and at Corncockle\nMoor, have no analogues anywhere in the true old red of Scotland,\nwhile they are abundantly represented by the foot-prints of the newer\nsandstones of England and America. But now indeed such proofs are not\nwanting in America, that wide field of all organic things; the discovery\nhas been made and assented to by the most competent authorities, that,\nin the old red sandstone of Pennsylvania, and 8,500 feet below the\nupper part of the coal formation, reptilian foot-prints are numerously\nand distinctly impressed, allied in form to the tread of the existing\nalligator. Then the larger orthocer\u00e6 and other testace\u00e6, found so\nplentifully in the limestones of Closeburn and Barjarg, also at Linburn\nand Shielgreen, would seem to claim very clearly and decidedly for the\ndeposit in the middle basin of Nithsdale a Devonian origin.\n\nWe must refrain from entering upon the details of the extensive\ngeological fields which have just been glanced at. A volume would\nnot suffice to exhaust the subject. But, rapid as our sketch has\nnecessarily been, enough has been advanced to show how intimately\nconnected with the great fundamental principles of the science, and\nwith the original configuration of our planet more especially, are all\nthe deeply-interesting phenomena of the region in question. If at times\nthe reader, as well as explorer, is apt to complain of the dryness\nof particulars, that the nomenclature is harsh and scholastic, how\ndelightful to close, even in imagination, the day\u2019s excursion amid these\nlovely valleys, to be steeped in fairy lore by St. Mary\u2019s Loch, to dream\nof legends and minstrelsy until morning dawn by Newark\u2019s Tower. Nith,\nGala, Ettrick, Yarrow, Teviot, silvery Tweed!\u2014who, indeed, will ever\nassociate with the minerals, sections, and technicalities of geology.\nStill how refreshing to lie down, traveled and weary-worn, by their\ngreen pastures and pure waters. How beautifully do these rivers, all of\nthem with an origin so remote, hold on in their pebbly courses\u2014winding\nand gathering from so many rills amidst the pastoral uplands\u2014\u201cmaking\nsweet music with th\u2019 enameled stones\u201d\u2014and anon with all their affluents\nsweeping in placid majesty to the main. Hither will men of all\nprofessions and pursuits,\u2014the sportsman, poet, philosopher,\u2014eagerly and\nrejoicingly resort, each with his own object or his own care. Finely, in\nimperishable verse, has the truth been expressed of that many-colored\ntide of human life on which all are embarked\u2014\n\n \u201cWhich, though it change in ceaseless flow,\n Retains each grief, retains each crime\u201d\u2014\n\n\u2014but NOW these streams, dales, and hills retain no impress of strife or\nblood; and hence will the wish, age after age, breathe from many a heart\u2014\n\n \u201cBy Yarrow\u2019s stream still let me stray,\n Though none should guide my feeble way:\n Still feel the breeze down Ettrick break,\n Although it chill my withered cheek;\n Still lay my head by Teviot stone,\n Though there forgotten and alone.\u201d\n\nAnd so human life will glide away, a new epoch will come, and the\ndevelopment of man\u2019s immortal being will be accomplished in the new and\nbrighter earth that is to arise.\n\nWe here close our review, over Scottish ground, of the earliest lessons\nto which we have access of the mineral structure of our globe. All the\nprimary, pal\u00e6ozoic, and older class of the secondary rocks, are largely\ndeveloped, leading us, indeed, a very little way into the inner chambers\nof the earth, but back through periods of time into the records of its\nhistory, for which the science itself furnishes no real standard of\nmeasurement. Vast, inconceivable cycles pass before the imagination, and\nfascinate the speculatist, while the sober inquirer pauses, doubts\u2014nay,\nstartles\u2014at such remote undefined annals of creation. The legends and\nchronicles of Scotland are old indeed; but give geologists their own\nway, and what an antiquity would they assign to the mountains, valleys,\nand rivers of ancient Caledon! And yet, true it is, no rocks on the face\nof the earth can claim a deeper origin, an earlier arrangement, a more\nancient ascent above the waters, than those whose nature and position we\nhave so cursorily described.\n\nLeaving for the present the question as to Time, geology has this\nadvantage, in facilitating an acquaintance with its principles, that\nits lessons are as general as they are particular. Go where you will\nthe record is before you, so that, generally speaking, what is observed\nof its subject in one district or country, or even continent, has its\ncounterpart in some other place near or remote. The rocks of Scotland\nare all on the great scale, not solitary and individual specimens, but\nwide-spread formations along the face of the country. With scarcely a\nsingle exception, every class of rocks described in our course stretches\nfrom sea to sea over the island. The structure of Scotland is peculiar\nin this, that the bearing and the strike of the various strata, are\ncorrespondent and continuous. Hence the parallelism of the great straths\nand valleys. The principal rivers are observant of the same law. The\nseveral formations, from the primary crystalline to the coal and upper\nsandstones, have a common axis of elevation from nearly E. N. E. to W. S.\nW., partaking more of an equatorial than of a meridional direction. The\nporphyries and chains of the older traps maintain a similar direction.\nThe greenstones and basalts, polygonal and jointed, or otherwise, are\nfor the most part to be found _within_ the area of the coal measures, or\nrising along the out-crop of the basins. Hence a description of any one\nlocality will generally, in respect of the same series of rocks, be found\napplicable to another. The student may indifferently begin his researches\nas his convenience or sojourn for the time may direct. And whether it be\nthe granite on the coasts of Aberdeen or of Arran\u2014the schists of Glenisla\nor the Mull of Cantire\u2014the silurian of St. Abb\u2019s Head or Portpatrick\u2014the\ndevonian of Stonehaven or Girvan\u2014the porphyries of Dundee or Largs\u2014the\nshales and limestones of St. Andrews, Glasgow, or Ayr\u2014the columnar\nbasalts of Earlsferry, Orrock, Campsie, or Staffa\u2014the lesson throughout\nwill be one and the same, either as respects the mineral texture or\nthe geological position of the rocks examined. A section, therefore,\ncommencing at Ben Nevis and terminating at Kirkcudbright on the Solway,\nwould present the very same series in all the main phenomena of\nsuperposition, structure, dislocation, and fossil remains, as the section\nadopted from Ben-Mac-Dhui to the Cheviots. Granite, gneiss, quartz\nrock, mica schist, and clay slate, underlie the old red sandstone which\ntraverses the upper district of Stirlingshire. The traps of the Campsie\nHills have thrown up, and form the boundary of the great coal-basin, of\nwhich Glasgow constitutes the center, and within whose area and suburbs\nare exhibited all the most striking features of the basalt and greenstone\nfamily\u2014the elevation at the Necropolis beautifully showing the effects\nof their intrusion, and the induration of the sedimentary deposits. On\nthe south, the coal metals are again succeeded by the old red sandstone\nand the porphyries, which in their turn are replaced by the silurian or\ngraywacke rocks of the border counties. The section throughout is of\nthe most varied and instructive character, diversified by the grandest\nmountain scenery, the loveliest of the Scottish lakes, and a development\nof the arts and sciences over inexhaustible coal and iron treasures which\nhas rendered the name of the western metropolis illustrious among the\ncities of the world.\n\nShould the geologist desire to extend his researches along the\nwestern coast and among the islands, he will experience an additional\ninterest, arising chiefly from the numerous junctions of the different\nformations or sets of rocks which the constant erosion of the Atlantic\nhas everywhere exposed to view. Gigantic isolated portions of granite\nor syenite, bared all around, are to be seen on every headland. The\ntwistings and flexures of gneiss and the schists are frequent and\nremarkable. Columnar basalt, similar to Staffa, fringes the base of\nevery islet and promontory; and from appearances like these, he will\ninvariably infer the presence of the carboniferous deposits, which, in\nsmall detached patches are of common occurrence. Here, likewise, are\nto be found the lias and oolites, in marginal stripes on several of\nthe islands, easily distinguished by their characteristic fossils,\nand giving unequivocal indications of a far greater extension, and\ncontinuity with the main land, ere the inroads of the sea had broken up\nand parted so much of the aboriginal structure of the district. The _vi\net s\u00e6pe cadendo_ of geological agency\u2014the convulsions of subterranean\nforces, and the destroying powers of water\u2014are exhibited in all their\ngrandeur, where, in the face of cliffs exposed to their foundations,\nthe hardest rocks may be observed yielding to every wave, and the whole\ninner machinery of granitic and basaltic dykes which upheaved them from\ntheir basis traced in their most varying forms and complicity. Out of the\n\u00c6gean a finer group of islands is nowhere to be threaded\u2014some scarcely\nraised above sea-level\u2014some towering into the clouds, as in the lofty\npeaks of Mull, Jura, and Rum, with an altitude almost equal to their\nlength\u2014most of them glorying in names soft and euphonious as the choicest\nof classic Greece\u2014and yet, all fragmentary and disrupted, as if but\nyesterday shivered by the thunder cloud. Skye exhibits an epitome not\nof the islands only, but nearly of our whole British geology, in which\nthere is every variety of trap, combined with the primary series\u2014coal,\nwhite sandstone, and limestone\u2014the lias and oolites of secondary\nformation\u2014and mountains 3,300 feet in height, composed of Labrador\nfeldspar and hypersthene, whose crystals in the dark composite mass rival\nin structure, if not in beauty, the stalactitic concretions of the Spar\nCave itself. Rocks, too, are here, of metamorphic texture, to which a\nMacculloch did not venture to assign a name or position in his list.\nAnd the serrated jagged pinnacles of the Coolin ridge, with the black\nCoruisk inclosed as in a crater, who will attempt to describe\u2014unlike to\neverything else in bleak, naked, precipitous grandeur! The poet of the\nIsles has sketched the picture\u2014\n\n \u201cSuch are the scenes, where savage grandeur wakes\n An awful thrill that softens into sighs;\n Such feelings rouse them by dim Rannoch\u2019s lakes,\n In dark Glencoe such gloomy raptures rise:\n Or farther, where, beneath the northern skies,\n Chides wild Loch-Eribol, his caverns hoar\u2014\n But, be the minstrel judge, they yield the prize\n Of desert dignity to that dread shore\n That sees grim Coolin rise, and hears Coriskin roar.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nENGLAND.\n\nPART II.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nENGLAND\u2014GENERAL SKETCH.\n\n\nDiffering as England does in people, manners, language, laws, and\ninstitutions from Scotland, a still greater difference will be found\nto exist in the physical structure, the mineral qualities, the organic\nremains, and in all the other phenomena of her geological development.\nIn the ascending series of rocks, Scotland furnishes only a few steps of\nthe building\u2014the lower courses of a gigantic pyramid; across the borders,\nstrata upon strata follow each other in regular gradation, until they\nattain their apex of elevation in the center of the capital. Another\ndistinction exists in the quantity and extent of those rocks which are\ncommon to both countries. All the primary, transition, and igneous\nformations are more abundant in the northern division of the island,\nconstituting nearly three-fourths of its surface, while in the southern\ndivision they do not amount to a fiftieth part; but, on the other hand,\nthe secondary and tertiary formations, which in Scotland are scarcely\nrecognized, or only found in patches, form in England about two-thirds\nof its superficial area. Hence, on English ground, a new interest begins\nas a totally new series of mineral strata rises into view, and all\ncharged with types and families of creatures of equally new and marvelous\norganization.\n\nThe new series of rocks to be described, are termed the Permian,\ntriassic, oolitic, cretaceous, and tertiary systems. Some of these\ndeposits are of vast thickness and extent. They all abound in fossils,\nsome in the greatest profusion, others only in the rarest and most\nremarkable types. In consequence of these accumulations, England, as\ncompared with her sister kingdom, may be described as the full organic\nform in bones, muscles, and fleshy appendages, plump and rounded all\nover, where one sees little of the framework or internal ossification.\nThe great masses are so covered over, the ribs and members are so silted\nup, that the ridges and hills of the country, save on the outskirts,\ndwindle into insignificance. Every original depression has been\nconcealed, new increments of matter are everywhere added, layer upon\nlayer superinduced, until the older fabric is nearly obliterated, or only\nat wide intervals observed to rise above the surface. Scotland exhibits\nthe huge trunk, stripped and laid bare; every yielding thing has been\neroded and torn off; and little remains, except the giant skeleton, the\nlineamentary fragments of the primeval world.\n\nWhat is common to the two countries, among the primary and crystalline\nrocks, occupies the whole western line of coast. The eastern shores of\nIreland, correspond in mineralogical character with the opposite shores\nof Scotland, England, and Wales, where a great silurian belt covers,\nalmost continuously, both lines of coast. These districts have thus all a\ncommon origin, are all of the same geological epoch, and were probably at\none period more united than appearances now indicate. The Cumbrian group\nis isolated from the other portions of the system, and, as described by\nProfessor Sedgwick, comprehends the lowest fossiliferous beds in the\nisland, or perhaps as yet known in the crust of the globe. The elaborate\nwork of Sir R. I. Murchison on \u201cTHE SILURIAN SYSTEM,\u201d has made every one\nacquainted with the extensive deposits in Wales and Cornwall, in which\nthe divisions of the system are fully pointed out, their fossil contents\namply detailed, and their relations to analogous deposits in other parts\nof the world satisfactorily demonstrated. Through all these regions,\ntherefore, we are again carried back among the earlier records already\nnoticed. Coincident with the same are the old red sandstone deposits\nwhich stretch along the base of the more highly-inclined silurians,\ncovering the greater portion of Herefordshire and Devonshire; and here,\nas in Scotland, the sandstones and conglomerates are immediately\nsucceeded by the rich treasures of the carboniferous age. In the rocks of\nthe three families lie, in profuse abundance, the organic remains of the\nepochs which produced them\u2014cast like wreck among the silts and sands now\nhardened and upheaved into mountains\u2014the peaks of Skiddaw and Snowdon, of\nPlinlimmon and Helvellyn, once the beaches or floors of our ancient seas.\n\nThe Cumberland group of mountains, with its varied scenery and lakes, is\nsurrounded with the carboniferous rocks\u2014as bright and lovely a picture,\nset in a framework of jet or ebony, as the mind can contemplate. The\ngreat _scar_, or mountain limestone, constitutes the base of the coal\nseries, resting on the old red conglomerate. This calcareous deposit is\nof vast thickness, range, and extent\u2014a concrete mass of animal remains\nof five or six hundred feet. It presents the outline of a great coral\nreef which anciently fringed the center cluster of the lake mountains:\nand is still, with a few breaks, traceable along their wide and irregular\ncircumference. The sublime gorge of Gordale, the fine gray precipices\nat the foot of Ingleborough, the caverns of Chapel-le-Dale and Clapham,\nthe rocks of Kirby Londsdale Bridge, and the great white terrace of\nWhitbarrow, all derive their peculiar features from the effects of\nerosive action on this formation. Diverging from the great terminal group\nof the Cumbrians, the same deposit rises along the center of the district\ninto an independent ridge, taking up the most commanding positions\u2014the\ntowering summit of Cross Fell on the one hand, and the celebrated High\nPeak of Derby on the other, with all its wondrous caves and sparkling\nfluor-crystals. The intermediate range of the Penine Alps, so denominated\nby the Romans, is chiefly composed of the formation. The caves of\nKirkdale, the haunt of the British hyena and other extinct carnivora, are\nsituated in the same limestone, which is also the repository of numerous\nlead mines, distinguished for their splendid metallic concretions and\nfluor-spars. And here, too, are rivers which are lost in its dark\ncaverns; and that wonder of wonders, an astronomical paradox, where, from\nthe peculiar conformation of the hills and ravines, the sun does not rise\nupon the inhabitants of Narrowdale, until he has passed his meridian,\nand, as if to repair the loss, twice sets upon their horizon in the\ncourse of every evening.\n\nThe coal-measures on the eastern side of this chain consist of the\nNorthumberland, Durham, Yorkshire, Nottingham, and Derby fields; on the\nwest and north, Whitehaven, Lancashire, Manchester, and North Stafford;\nand on the south lie the basins of Ashborne, Loughborough, Wolverhampton,\nand Dudley. The limestone skirts the out-crop of the metals in all these\nlocalities, and thus serves to define the relations of the several\nbasins, and the cause of so many divisions in the field, occasioned by\nthe net-work of coral reef with which it has been originally penetrated.\nThe Wolverhampton basin is remarkable for the number of roots and stumps\nof fossil trees found \u201cin situ;\u201d in the Derby field the railway tunnel\nhas exposed to view a group of sigillaria, forty in number, standing at\nright angles to the plane of the beds, and not more than three or four\nfeet apart. Many of the tree fossils occupy a similar position in the\nNorthumberland and Newcastle coal-measures, reminding us of the submerged\nforests of which, within the modern epoch, our sea-coasts furnish so\nmany examples. The Newcastle coal-field embraces an area of nearly eight\nhundred square miles, being forty-eight miles in length by twenty-four\nin breadth; the depth of the shaft is about three hundred fathoms, from\nwhich are annually brought to the surface an average of six million tons\nof coal. Sixty thousand persons are employed in the mining operations;\nand fourteen hundred vessels are engaged in carrying the mineral to\nLondon and its environs. The iron trade, connected with the different\nEnglish coal-fields, is upon a corresponding scale of magnitude, there\nbeing little short of a million and a half tons of the metal annually\nsmelted and brought to the market, estimated to be worth, upon an\naverage, twenty millions of pounds sterling, and comprising within the\ndimensions of this small island, as much as is exhumed by all the other\nnations of the globe. The Newcastle coal-measures have been singularly\ndisturbed. A basaltic dyke, in some places eighteen yards wide, crosses\nthe southern part of the field, throwing down the metals on one side\nninety fathoms, and reducing the coal, at the distance of fifty yards,\nto a state of cinder. This great dyke is traceable through a course of\nseventy miles. As an example of the prodigious power with which these\nsubterranean forces have acted in the district, suffice it to mention,\nthat the limestone which underlies the coal metals has been elevated\nnearly to the summit of Cross Fell, a mountain three thousand feet in\nheight; and estimating the thickness of the formation at four thousand\nfeet, the limestone, it will thus appear, has been raised above its\noriginal position upward of six thousand feet.\n\nThe \u201cgreen rock,\u201d or basaltic greenstone of the South Staffordshire\ncoal-field, presents an interesting subject of geological research.\nThe center of the formation, as also that of the eruptive agency of\nthe tract, may be considered to be in the Rowley Hills, from which the\nlatter diverges on all sides, setting off innumerable veins or vertical\ndykes, which are subdivided into smaller veins of a white color, and\neverywhere penetrating and altering the shales, sandstones, and coal\nmetals. This igneous mass is more of an underground than super-surface\nrock, occupying an area of twenty-five square miles, and rising only\ninto slightly-elevated and detached ridges. It corresponds, in mineral\ncharacters and position, with another extensive effusion of trap in the\nnorthern coal-fields, termed the \u201cWhinsill.\u201d This consists of a bed of\nbasalt, which has been injected among the strata of the coal-measures,\nor, as some conjecture, has been poured over them as a cotemporaneous\nformation\u2014an overflood of lava produced during the deposition of the\nmountain limestone group, and overlaid in turn by the succeeding series\nof upper strata. Nearly the entire coal-measures of the north of England\nhave been more or less influenced by the eruption of the Whinsill, from\nwhich dykes are thrown off in every direction, accompanied by phenomena\nprecisely similar to those exhibited in the coal districts of Scotland.\nIn both countries the same agencies are thereby demonstrated to have been\nat work, originating in the same causes and producing similar effects,\nand doubtless cotemporaneous in their operations over these and other\nimmense areas of the globe.\n\nThe rocks which constitute the SECONDARY and TERTIARY DIVISIONS in\nthe great geological series remain to be described. These, generally,\nall range eastward from the older formations, to which they succeed\nin the order of superposition. The line of section of the whole bears\nfrom Whitehaven on the north-west, to Newhaven on the German Ocean by\nsouth-east, where, along this course, every formation in the island is\nintersected, ascending from the granite of the Cumbrian mountains through\nall the intermediate series to the London clay and upper tertiaries. The\nstrata of which these formations consist are all, more or less, inclined\nto the horizon, dipping under each other, and emerging in succession to\nthe surface. The outcrop is at right angles to the line of section, so\nthat each class of rocks rises to and faces the north-west, meeting the\neye of the geologist as they are in turn approached, and narrowing in\nextent and receding in proportion as they are vertically removed from the\nolder systems.\n\nHence, were our researches to begin here, instead of in the Grampian\nrange, the starting point would necessarily be in the Lake mountains.\nThe crystalline primary rocks are developed, though sparingly, in this\ndistrict; and these, again, are surrounded and overlaid by the lowest\nfossiliferous deposits, termed by their explorer and historian, \u201cThe\nCumbrian System.\u201d All the driest details of the science are here too\namply relieved by the charming and magnificent scenery amidst which\nthey fall to be wrought out, where the inner and outer arrangements\nof Nature, in the disposition of her works, are alike fitted to call\nforth our admiration and delight. The author of \u201cElia,\u201d who had spent\nhis days in a city life and had a prejudice against every other mode\nof consuming time, upon his first excursion so far into the country,\ndescribes Coleridge as \u201cdwelling upon a small hill by the side of\nKeswick, in a comfortable house, quite enveloped on all sides by a net\nof mountains; great floundering bears and monsters they seemed, all\ncouchant and asleep.\u201d It was enough; the soul of the man of genius was\nstirred. He clambered up to the top of Skiddaw; and he waded up the bed\nof the Lodore; and he satisfied himself, \u201cthat there is such a thing as\ntourists call _romantic_.\u201d But Lamb was never meant for a geologist, and\nfor science of any kind he had no aptitude. The athletic Wordsworth is\nof a different mold, compacted of different elements, a mind stored with\nthe loveliest images; an understanding capable of sounding the depths of\nany subject, and a thirst after knowledge from all and every source of\nvisible creation; and yet, mark how disparagingly he pronounces judgment\nupon the student of unquestionably the most poetical of all the branches\nof physical inquiry\u2014\u201cthat fellow wanderer\u201d\u2014\n\n \u201cHe who with pocket hammer smites the edge\n Of luckless rock or prominent stone,\n The substance classes by some barbarous name,\n And hurries on;\n and thinks himself enriched,\n Wealthier, and doubtless wiser, than before.\u201d\n\nBut men, it would seem, can no more command their moods of thought than\ntheir prejudices. The poetical vein, like the geological, will burst\nthrough all restraints to illustrate and vindicate the principles of\ntruth. We have often repeated, recalling them from memory, as the index\nof our own frame of mind, while searching in the crypts of the primeval\nworld, the beautiful lines\u2014a hymn to Nature\u2019s works, and the study of\nthem\u2014\n\n \u201cThese barren rocks, our stern inheritance,\n These fertile fields, that recompense our pains,\n The shadowy vale, the sunny mountain top,\n Woods waving in the wind their lofty heads,\n Or hushed; the roaring waters, and the still.\n They see the offering of my lifted hands\u2014\n They hear my lips present their sacrifice\u2014\n They know if I be silent, morn or even.\u201d\n\nNor does it rest here, for directly is our science under a deep debt\nof gratitude to the author of the \u201cExcursion,\u201d who sought for and\nobtained the aid of the geologist\u2019s pencil to fill up the outline\nof his own sweet picture of the \u201cScenery of the Lakes.\u201d Read side\nby side, one may well ask, whether the descriptions of the poet, or\nthe sketches of the philosopher, are the more buoyant in diction,\ndiversified in illustration, or pregnant with devotional inspiration.\nThe work of Wordsworth and Sedgwick as a companion of travel is without\na rival, in which, and out of the darkest pages of creation, we see the\nlight of science falling upon, as if intending in verity to produce,\nan illuminated volume, and over which, at one and the same moment\nimagination is throwing her gayer and softer colorings. The physical\nstructure of the district, in fact, furnishes the key to all its\npicturesque and delicious scenery. The geology and the poetry are the\ncounterparts of each other. Wordsworth has drank deep at the fountains,\nand told the story of the one: the lessons of the other have been read\nby a kindred spirit, who has heard the mighty voice muttered in the dark\nrecesses of the earth, and, in his own eloquently impassioned diction,\nSedgwick has recorded the truths \u201cof wisdom, of inspiration, and of\ngladness; telling us of things unseen by vulgar eyes\u2014of the mysteries\nof creation\u2014of the records of God\u2019s will before man\u2019s being\u2014of a spirit\nbreathing over matter before a living soul was placed within it\u2014of laws\nas unchangeable as the oracles of nature.\u201d And out of all the apparent\nconfusion, and multiplicity of objects so blended together, he has\nbrought \u201charmonies\u201d to light, which are to have \u201ctheir full consummation\nonly in the end of time, when all the bonds of matter shall be cast away,\nand there shall begin the reign of knowledge and universal love.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: Structure of the Cumbrian Group.\n\n 1. Granite.\n 2. Skiddaw Slate.\n 3. Green Roofing Slate, Porphyry, &c.\n 4. Coniston Limestone.\n 5. Silicious Grits.\n 6. Ireleth Slates.\n 7. Slaty Flagstone.\n 8. Old Red Sandstone.\n 9. Carboniferous Limestone.\n 10. Magnesian Limestone, and New Red Sandstone.]\n\nThus, as seen in the preceding section, four geological systems are, in\nthis charming district of lakes and mountains, all clustered together\nand rolled up for the convenient inspection of a few days\u2019 rambles: The\nSilurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian: and to these are to be\nadded the Granites, Porphyries, and Plutonic family of greenstones and\nbasalts.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nTHE PERMIAN SYSTEM\u2014NEW RED SANDSTONE.\n\n\nThe geological formations described are succeeded in the ascending order\nby the PERMIAN system of deposits\u2014a term borrowed from the department of\nPerm in Russia, where the strata cover an area about twice the size of\nFrance. This constitutes the new red sandstone of English geology, and\nhas many equivalents in other countries. Thus, in the lower division of\nthe group or true Permian, there occurs the Zechstein and Lower Bunter\nseries of strata: in the upper or triassic division, the equivalents\nare the Upper Bunter and Gr\u00e9s Bigarr\u00e9, or variegated sandstone, the\nMuschelkalk and Keuper of French and German authors. The system is\nlargely developed in America, Africa, India and China; where, as in\nBritain, the deposits are of extremely varied mineral characters,\nconsisting of grits, sandstones, marls, limestones, gypsum, and\nrock-salt, each presenting its own family types of vegetable and animal\nlife.\n\nThe new red sandstone extends across England without interruption,\nthrough the medial or central counties, and ranges nearly north-east by\nsouth-west. The two great divisions of which it consists are everywhere\nwell marked, the dolomitic or magnesian limestone forming the base, and\ngiving character to the lower permian group; the upper triassic group\nis sufficiently distinguished by the rock-salt deposit which is wholly\nincluded in this part of the formation. Each, too, has its own peculiar\nset of fossils. Those of the former are allied to animals that flourished\nduring the carboniferous period; two genera of fishes, the pal\u00e6oniscus\nand pylopterus, are common to both. The fauna and flora of the triassic\ngroup are regarded as entirely new, neither borrowing from nor imparting\nanything to illustrate the organisms of the older families of rocks.\nThe one series of strata thus represents the coming of a new, the other\nrecords the departure of a past state of things.\n\nIn the central counties of England this deposit expands into a great\nplain, surrounded on all sides by the coal-measures, while within its\nown area several basins\u2014as those of Leicester, Warwick, and South\nStafford\u2014are included, being completely isolated by the new red. An\ninteresting economic question hence arises\u2014Do the coal minerals occupy\nthe whole or any considerable portion, of the extensive area covered by\nthis formation? An equally important geological problem is connected\nwith the solution of the question\u2014namely, What are the general relations\nof the older to the newer deposits of the district? The researches of\nSir R. I. Murchison, and more recently, of the geological survey, have\nshown that the three groups of stratified rocks in South Staffordshire,\nthe new red sandstone, coal-measures, and silurian beds, are each\nunconformable to the other\u2014that the upper rests indifferently upon the\ntwo lower formations\u2014and that where the old red occurs, the new is\nsometimes in immediate contact. It is inferred from this, that there was\nan uplifting of the silurian rocks, along with considerable denudation,\nprevious to the deposition of the carboniferous strata. Mr. Jukes has\nobserved pebbles of coal, in great abundance, in the lower beds of the\nnew red sandstone, and thence deduces the following conclusions:\u20141. That\nthere was a movement and denudation of the coal-measures, amounting,\nin some localities, to their entire destruction and removal, before\nthe deposition of the new red sandstone. 2. That, subsequently to the\ndeposition of the new red sandstone, there was a very great movement of\nall these rocks, producing their present faults and inclined positions.\n3. That the boundaries of the South Staffordshire coal-field, as far\nas examined, present examples of three kinds of relation between the\ncoal-measures and new red sandstones; _i. e._, by conformable succession;\nby fault, the coal-measures being present on the downcast side; and,\nthirdly, where the destruction of the coal-measures has brought the\nnew red sandstone into immediate contact with the silurian strata. The\nauthor of this paper is farther of opinion that, while there is a great\nprobability that the larger part of the new red sandstone plain conceals\nproductive coal-measures, there is the presumption that these will not be\nfound at a depth of less than 500 or 600 yards below the surface.\n\nCorresponding with these views it will be remembered that, after the\ndeposition of the coal-measures, there succeeded a period of violent\nplutonic action, whereby the formation was dislocated, broken up\ninto smaller sections or basins, and pierced by the igneous rocks.\nThere would, consequently, during this season of paroxysm, be a vast\ndestruction of animal and vegetable life. The indurated crust would\neverywhere undergo great trituration. Gravel, sand, and mud of every\nquality would be cast along the shores, or silted up in the deeper\nhollows. And then again would come a term of general repose, as the\nangry elements subsided, exhausted by their own violence. The scene was\nactually or nearly as described; and, in the aspect of the older denuded\nand uplifted rocks, as above represented, there are the most striking\nevidences of the agitations of the period. The exuberant flora of the\ncarboniferous age, suffered prodigiously, or became utterly extinct.\nConglomerates were formed which exhibit few traces of organic life.\nTo these succeeded the vast areas of the fine-grained sandstones, and\ngypseous and saliferous marls, everywhere nearly horizontal, and still\nundisturbed on their ancient beds. The tribes of animals were abridged\nin numbers, changed or modified in structure, so as to suit the altered\nstate of things. The rain-drop, ripple-mark, and foot-print are all\nwitnesses to be adduced of the mighty change, as they are all proofs of\nthe doings of Him who holds the waters in the hollow of his hand, makes\nthe clouds to distill in showers, issues his command to the hurricane and\nthe earthquake, and restores in renovated beauty the face of nature.\n\nThe lowest bed of the formation is the magnesian limestone, which derives\nits name from the quantity of carbonate of magnesia distributed through\nthe matter of the rock, amounting in some instances to as much as sixty\nper cent. It is likewise called the _dolomitic_ limestone, from M.\nDolomieu, who first investigated its granular crystalline structure. This\nlimestone is generally of a yellow color, glimmering luster, passing\noccasionally into blue and brick-red varieties, and exfoliates in thin\nplates, or breaks up in large botryoidal masses. In this form it occurs\nat the cliffs of Durham, where it assumes the grouping and arrangement\nof chain-shot; and, as the beds are distinctly stratified, the face of\nthe rock has a very striking and pleasing effect. In the more southern\ncounties, this formation exists generally in the form of a conglomerate,\nsupposed to be derived from the debris of the older carboniferous\nlimestone united by a dolomitic paste; thus illustrating the source and\nmode of the deposit, while in the organic remains there has been traced\na regular gradation between the types of the older sub-carboniferous and\nthe successive newer strata.\n\nLet us consider some of the more remarkable forms, tracings, and\ningredients of the formation.\n\nI. THE ORGANIC REMAINS are scanty as compared with those of the age\nimmediately anterior. The vegetable forms, as yet detected, are new and\ndistinct. The fishes consist of six or seven genera, and about as many\ndifferent species. And here commences, it is supposed, the singular\nchange in their ossification, for which science can assign no reason,\nas it cannot detect the least appearance of graduation into the new,\nfor the first time, begun and completed change. The fishes of the\nformation present the HOMOCERCAL\u2014that is, the equally-lobed, or one-lobed\ntail-fin,\u2014a structure peculiar to existing races, with the exception\nof the shark, sturgeon, and a few others, and form a striking contrast\nto those in the antecedent groups, which were all possessed of the\nHETEROCERCAL, or unequally-lobed tail-fin.\n\n[Illustration: Heterocercal. Homocercal.]\n\nThe Permian system of strata has hitherto been noted for the introduction\nof walking, air-breathing animals; hence it has been a canon of the\nscience, that in these deposits lie entombed the last links of that\nancient chain of organic life which prevailed from the beginning,\nand also the first terms of the new series which attained to such\nmonstrosities and prolific exuberance in the succeeding epoch. Doubtful\nas to the existence of reptilian and ornithic creatures during the\ncarboniferous period, both forms of creation are here distinctly\nmanifested; and, in the higher members of the triassic group, birds and\nreptiles have left traces of their path. Thus remarkably defined, in an\ninvariable chronological series, was the new red sandstone formation; all\nthe ancient types of organic life were disappearing; completely new forms\nhad just begun to replace them. But, while we are writing, the discovery\nhas been announced that, so old as the devonian age, reptiles existed;\nalligator-like foot-prints, in regular alternating order, have been found\nimpressed in the old red sandstone, near Pottsville in Pennsylvania, and\nby Mr. Lea, their discoverer and American conchologist, the animal which\nowned them has been named the SAUROPUS PRIM\u00c6VUS. A revolution in geology\nis decreed in the words. Many divisions in the systems of rocks will have\nto be revised, many distinctions altogether obliterated, theories of\ndevelopment and of many other things are now sadly misplaced, and out of\nkeeping with the newly-declared order and progress of organic life.[7]\n\nBut without venturing at present to enter upon the consequences to\npal\u00e6ontology involved in this important discovery, we proceed with the\nknown and recognized history of the formation in question.\n\nThe organic remains contained in the upper, or triassic group, differ\nconsiderably from those of the lower division of beds.\u2014While the same\nfamilies of vegetable fossils are preserved which characterized the\ncoal-measures, the particular species and genera have disappeared.\nAbout twenty species of ferns and conifer\u00e6, a few calamites, several\nfucoid plants, and a gigantic genus named _Voltzia_, and resembling\nthe Araucaria or Norfolk Island fir, comprise the thinly-scattered\nspecimens of the flora of the period. The quarries at Coventry yield some\nundetermined stems of trees, and leaves like those of our thick-ribbed\ncabbages have been found in the strata near Liverpool. The animal remains\nare more numerous as well as varied in their structures; some, indeed,\naltogether anomalous in their organization, and foot-prints of the most\npuzzling characters and dimensions. There are several new types of\nmollusca and crinoidea, among the latter the _Encrinus formosus_, one of\nthe most beautiful forms in any department of the animal kingdom. The\nfishes of the placoid order consist of seven genera and fourteen species,\nof ganoids three genera and seven species. The REPTILIA supply the\nmarvels of the period. Prof. Owen has described six distinct genera from\nthese singular fossils, in which he has established an affinity to the\nbatrachia. From the curiously-complicated texture of the teeth, the term\n_labyrinthodon_ has been given to one genus, while the same authority\nsuggests, that the foot-impressions to which the term _cheirotherium_\nhad already been applied, might belong to this animal. The two genera,\n_claydyodon_ and _rhyncosaurus_, are remarkable specimens of organic\nstructure, the latter combining the lacertian type of skull, with\nedentulous jaws, which impart to the forepart of the head the profile of\na parrot.\n\nII. The ICHNOLITES, or foot-prints, constitute a marked feature of the\nformation. These geological phenomena were first introduced to the\nnotice of the public, about twenty years ago, by the late Dr. Duncan\nof Ruthwell, when his announcement of the tracks and foot-marks of\nanimals along the ancient shores of Dumfries-shire created a sensation\namong all classes hitherto unprecedented in the history of the fossil\ndepartment of the science. Robinson Crusoe was not more moved at the\ndiscovery of a human foot-print on the sands of his lonely island in\nthe distant main, than were men of science, that traces of organic life\nshould thus be stereotyped in a deposit believed to be utterly destitute\nof fossil relics. The creatures which had traced them, so like to\nexisting walking things, greatly increased the interest and the wonder\nexcited by the picture\u2014the tread in all the freshness of yesterday of\nthe inhabitants of the antediluvian world! The phenomenon, however,\nis now one of very general and common occurrence, several quarries in\nthe same locality\u2014various places in England\u2014in Saxony\u2014in the states of\nConnecticut, Massachusetts, and Virginia\u2014having since been found to\nyield the impressions in the greatest abundance, and of numerous types\nand forms. And so well delineated and perfect are the impressions,\nthat, in the absence of any other reminiscence of the animal, these\ncharacters have supplied the same aid to the skillful pal\u00e6ontologist that\nthe fragment of a bone, a fin, or a scale, did to Cuvier and Agassiz,\nin the reconstruction of their organic models, and determination of\nextinct genera and species. Birds and reptilian quadrupeds have all\ncontributed their share in the production of these curious lithographs.\nSmall toe-looking scratches, deep-palmy impressions, cloven hoof-like\nindentations, and large gigantic hollows, have all been pictured in clear\ndistinct outline, covered up, and now again laid patent before you as\nby the removal of the coverlit of your album. The Boston \u201cJournal of\nNatural History\u201d communicates the following interesting account of the\nresearches of Dr. Deane:\u2014\u201cI have in my possession,\u201d he says, \u201cconsecutive\nimpressions of tridactyle feet, which measure eighteen inches in length,\nby fourteen in breadth, between the extremities of the lateral toes.\nEach footstep will hold half a gallon of water, and the stride is four\nfeet. The original bird must have been four or five times larger than\nthe African ostrich, and therefore could not have weighed less than\n600 pounds. Every step the creature took sank deep, and the substrata\nbent beneath the enormous load. If an ox walk over stiffened clay, he\nwould not sink so deeply as did this tremendous bird.\u201d Sir C. Lyell has\nexamined most of the foot-print districts in America, and found the\nmarkings so numerous in some places as to resemble the puddled stand of\na sheep-fold or market-place; the very spots, doubtless, whither the\nanimals had resorted to quench their thirst, or screen them at mid-day\nfrom the scorching heat. The various tracings become more distinct in\nproportion to the distance from the scene of common rendezvous, and the\nseveral routes by which they would return to their respective haunts, or\nfields of pasturage, are clearly defined.\n\nA considerable doubt hung over the accounts from time to time detailed\nin the American journals and other publications, concerning these novel\nand extraordinary discoveries, until they were more than matched by the\nactual exhumation of the entire skeletons of the feathery tribes, far\nexceeding in dimensions anything hitherto dreamed of in the science of\nornithology. The collections of Mr. Williams, and of Mr. W. Mantell,\nfrom the alluvial deposits of New Zealand, utterly confounded all\nprevious calculations as to the size and bulk attainable by the bird\ntribe. The tibia of a Dinornis, in the collection of the University\nof Edinburgh, measures thirty-one inches in length, a femur seventeen\ninches, the average circumference of both being nearly twelve inches.\nFrom the foot to the top of the clavicle, the animal must have stood\nat least thirteen feet in height. With the strut of the turkey, or the\npride of the peacock\u2014head and neck of corresponding altitude\u2014what a\ndenizen for the wilds and forests of this region of the new world! When\nanimals of similar dimensions, but of an earlier epoch, frequented the\nbeaches of Great Britain, we have to imagine the Cumbrian mountains,\nthe Penine chain, Derby Peak, and the lofty cliffs of Avon, surrounded\nby an inland sea stretching by central France, the Black Forest, and\nthe Hartz mountains, and the shores all round silted with the materials\nwhich now constitute the triassic group. Tortoises, turtles, bird-headed\nlizards, birds themselves, salamander and frog-like creatures larger than\ncrocodiles, resorted as now to the sea-shore, in the cool fresh of the\nevening or as tide-mark permitted, and regaled themselves at will on the\nfood which an ever-bounteous element furnished to their various wants.\n\nThe science which, from such _indicia_ as these, has succeeded in\ndetermining not only the class, but the very form and habits, of the\nanimals which impressed them\u2014no other traces remaining than those\npetrified footsteps, covered up and hidden for ages\u2014presents subjects of\nstudy to the inquiring mind, which may well rank among the most valuable,\nas well as curious, of human research. Is it not wonderful enough, that\norganic impressions merely should have been transmitted so fresh and\nentire, as to admit of classification, equal in scientific precision\nto that of the families of living things? What matter of suggestive\nreflection, inscribed on every page of that history? The tribes which\nwere created and flourished during the Permian-triassic age perished,\ntheir earthy parts in most cases were all again absorbed by the earth,\ndissipated or melted into the viewless air. Still there are memorials of\ntheir existence, enduring and indelible, not of bones and sinews, but of\nactions and habits, which the waters cannot obliterate, nor the floods\nwash away! Man, a being of a different mold,\u2014and with him\n\n \u201cWill all great Neptune\u2019s ocean wash this blood\n Clean from my hand?\u201d\n\nwas the cry of instinctive dread\u2014the foreboding of an assured conscience,\nthat the foul and guilty deed could never be effaced from the memory,\nnor blotted from the records of creation. The foot-tread of the robber\nhas tracked him to his den; the minutest stain of blood has established\nthe crime of murder; a dream or vision of the night has pointed to the\nmangled corse; a word uttered years after all was forgotten, or a rude\nditty chanted, have recalled the pictures of infancy, and the wanderer to\nhis home. Here we behold, stamped upon the rock, legible as the law upon\nthe tablets of the heart, intimations of the great universal law, that\nan act once committed cannot be canceled; that a cause will be followed\nby a sequence of effects; indefinite and ever-extending; and that the\nDivine Spirit, which drew illustrations from the fields and taught wisdom\namong the rocks of Horeb, still points the moral in these ineffaceable\nmemorials\u2014that the recording angel so traces in the book of life the\nstory of every age, of every generation, of every individual, never to\nbe lost nor forgotten in that eternity whither their works do all follow\nthem.\n\nIII. Other singular records of the age under review have been preserved\nin a similar manner; for the ocean itself has not failed to impress its\nown movements on the sands laved by its waters. Hence the RIPPLE-MARK\nhas been detected, a recognized object of the science, and a phenomenon\nto be seen in the sandstones of all ages and in all countries. The new\nred, from the stiller waters perhaps in which it was formed, contains\neverywhere beautifully minute and perfect delineations of the kind. The\n_furrowed_ sandstones form a class by themselves, being selected in\nthe neighborhood of Brighton, as paving-stones for the streets, and in\nthe stable-yards as a protection for the horses against slipping. The\ntraces often of the more destructive violence of the sea, even of recent\ndate, in leveling villages, sweeping down plains, undermining cliffs,\noverwhelming proud navies, are completely obliterated or forgotten, while\nhere the records of its still voice are indelibly engraven on the rock.\n\nObserve other markings as you walk along the sea-shore on a summer\u2019s\neve; how every wavelet that breaks upon the beach leaves its tiny\nindentation, until the whole surface becomes furrowed as the reflex\nof the ever-shifting flood; there spring up on every side innumerable\nhillocks of sand, little blisters through which you detect the movements\nof a creature within, and then the trail of the sea-worm is visible\nall over. These were _vermes_ and _annelides_ burrowing in the sands,\nin those ancient times, with instincts and habits precisely the same.\n\u201cWe find,\u201d says Dr. Buckland, \u201con the surface of slabs, both of the\ncalcareous grit, and Stonesfield slate, near Oxford, and on sandstones of\nthe Wealden formation, in Sussex and Dorsetshire, perfectly-preserved and\npetrified castings of marine worms, at the upper extremity of holes bored\nby them in the sand, while it was yet soft at the bottom of the water;\nand within the sandstones, traces of tubular holes in which the worms\nresided.\u201d Nature here has changed little from her first models; the same\nelement, which is now chaffing upon the same materials of sand and rock,\nhas possessed through all time the same ingredients of life-stirring\naction.\n\nIV. Nor has the atmosphere\u2014that twin ocean of upper earth\u2014failed to give\nevidence of the properties and laws by which it was then governed. The\nRAIN-DROP, a singular unmistakeable marking, has also been detected upon\nthe sandstones of the period. These impressions have been described and\nadopted by men of science as the true veritable indices of the showers\nand cloud-falls of the old world. The very size of the drop may be\nmeasured, the thick pattering of the rain compared with the scanty or\ncopious showers of the present day, and the very point detected from\nwhich the wind blew on the day that these showers fell. What a curious\ntale is thus disclosed, by a record, no modern version of which any one\nwill stay to read a moment longer than he can escape to shelter from\nits influences. Astronomers tell us, upon the faith of the Herschels,\nthe measurements of Str\u00fcve, Bessel, and M\u00e4dler, that, notwithstanding\nthat light travels at the inconceivable speed of two hundred and\nthirteen thousand miles in a second, the light from Uranus, one of our\nown planetary system, does not reach our earth until two hours after\nit has been emitted from its orb; that, from the edge of the Milky\nWay, a star of the twelfth magnitude, careering in all the effulgence\nof that luminous ether, cannot be descried until four thousand years\nafter the ray has begun its journeyings; and yet more, as the results\nof the most rigid induction, it is revealed to us that the spots of\nclouds, which under the resolving power of the best telescopes seem\nmore oval flakes or small specks of whiteness, are really distinct and\nindependent systems, floating at such an immeasurable distance that the\nlight has to wander millions of years before it can break in its faintest\nmorning-streak upon our horizon. Mark the analogy, therefore, ere you\nscoff at the credulity of the geologist, or the power of the rain-drop\nto transmit an image of itself through so many revolutions and ages of\nthe earth\u2019s history. How impalpable a substance is light! how readily\neffaced its impressions, or intercepted its brilliant colorings, by the\ninterposition of the frailest creation of matter\u2014an insect\u2019s wing, the\ncovering of a leaf, the disc of a flower-petal. But the light, thus\neasily obliterated or dimmed on earth, has been maintaining its own\nsolitary independent course through every medium, every change, of upper\nand netherworlds. The moment of its efflux from remotest orb, in depth\nof infinite space, gave to every particle of that feebly or intensely\nluminous beam, a separate being and direction, with no return back to\nits parent source. And now, says the intelligent astronomer, as it drops\ngently into the searcher of his telescope, that is a ray from yon far\ndistant unresolvable cluster of stars, or of astral systems, for millions\nof years traveling through these incalculable heights, when as yet the\nChaldee sages had pointed no instrument to the heavens, nor the learned\nof Memphis recorded an observation. Can you deny to other matter, argues\nthe geologist, a similar tenacity of self-preservation, the vitality of\nimpress which merely records the uniformity of the laws and constitution\nof nature, and which intimates that, through all past time, there\nwere showers to cheer and to refresh the products of the earth? Truth\nbecomes more marvelous than fiction when traced in researches such as\nthese\u2014showing the illimitable range over time and space permitted to\nhuman inquiry\u2014and producing, at the same time, things both of heaven and\nof earth scarcely to be dreamt of in human philosophy.\n\nV. But the economic and practically useful, no less than the speculative\nor fanciful, form constituents of the new red sandstone formation. The\nstrata are not only indented with impressions of strange and doubtful\norigin; they inclose, like those of the carboniferous system, treasures\nof the greatest value; and nature, in ceasing to abound in one kind of\nproduct, has been no less exuberant in others, equally contributive to\nthe comfort and convenience of man. In this class of rocks are situated\nour great deposits of ROCK-SALT and gypsum, of the former of which,\nbeside supplying the demands of the home market, the mines of Cheshire\nalone export from Liverpool upward of half a million of tons weight.\nThe distribution of the saline mineral is very general over the earth,\nand by no means constant in its geognostic position; as, for example,\nin Galicia, it is found among the tertiary deposits; in New York, it\noccupies the middle of the silurians; while in Hungary, Poland, and\nEngland, it is uniformly associated with the new red sandstone. Rock-salt\nhas been long known to and prized by mankind; it became an object of\ntaxation or tribute six hundred and forty years before the Christian era,\nas narrated of Ancus Martins, \u201csalinarum vectigal instituit;\u201d and hence\ncenturies afterward, when Great Britain was in possession of the Romans,\nthe legions received salt as part of their pay or \u201csalary.\u201d Our richest\nmines are in Cheshire, and along the districts watered by the Dee, the\nWeaver, and the Mersey. The beds, or rather masses, are imperfectly\nstratified, and vary in thickness from a few inches to 120 feet and\nupward: gypsum and variegated marls may be regarded as _constants_ in the\nformation, the gypseous deposits sometimes attaining the enormous depth\nof 150 feet.\n\nWe speak of the beds of gypsum as _deposits_, in common with those of\nthe sandstone matrix in which they are imbedded. It appears, however, on\ninquiring into the theory of their origin, that they are not strictly\nsuch in the true sense of deposits\u2014originally as gypseous deposits\u2014but\naltered limestones, metamorphosed by the action of gases which have\nescaped from beneath, and permeated the calcareous mass. The carbonates\nof lime have been converted into the sulphates of lime, by means of\ngaseous emanations produced in unknown volcanic depths. Even the\ndolomitic member of the group is supposed to have a like metamorphic\norigin; the needful elementary agencies having entered into the parent\nlimestone, and converted it into the magnesian type. Why nature should\nnot have done these things directly, at the first off-throw, science\ncould not, perhaps, very satisfactorily answer the skeptically inquiring\nmind; but, as the ingredients are all chemically well known, and more\nespecially as there is a vast laboratory ever at work, filled with\nall kinds of elements, in her subterranean regions, any hypothesis of\nformation is as rapidly established as it is conceived, and the interest\nof the subject humanly speaking augmented. The celebrated Berzelius,\nwhen questioned on the point, had his ready solution of the problem,\neasily derived from his unparalleled stores of chemical knowledge:\u2014\u201cGive\nme a substance containing sulphur\u2014admit the presence of the vapors of\nsulphur, or sulphurous or sulph-hydrous vapors,\u2014let limestone be also\npresent, and water on the surface or in the atmosphere, AND WE SHALL\nREADILY HAVE GYPSUM.\u201d The origin of the saltness of the ocean is still a\nmystery in science; equally involved in doubt and conjecture is that of\nthe other member of the series, the rock-salt formation. The generally\nadopted theory, however, is, that it was dependent on volcanic agency\nfor development, as it both contains, and is uniformly associated with,\nthe acids, and other materials found in connection with volcanoes. The\nchlorides of sodium and gypsum, for example, are at present sublimed\nfrom volcanic vents; vapors charged with sulphuric acid are constantly\nissuing from the same sources; and these passing through or associated\nwith the saline waters of the period, must have aided in the formation\nof rock-salt and gypsum, which occur more frequently in irregular\nmasses than in true stratified deposits. An additional corroboration\nof the theory is inferred from the circumstance, that the gypsum\naccompanying the rock-salt is anhydrous, that is, free from water before\nexposure to the action of the atmosphere. Hence the conclusion, that\nthe consolidation of both the rock-salt and the gypsum must have been\neffected by the agency of heat, as, by means of aqueous deposition, a\nhydrometric influence would have been sensibly perceived.\n\nWonderful certainly is all this\u2014the inclosing, the consolidation, the\narrangement of these remarkable substances. The sea, in the first\ninstance, may readily and abundantly have supplied all the elements\nof the formation; but how collected and retained, crystallized and\nincrusted, layer upon layer, over the rocky bottom and volcanic inner\nchambers, are points still of nice geological inquiry. The celebrated\nsalt mines of Cracow, in Poland, are wondrous operations of the art of\nman, into the still more wondrous products and recesses of nature.\nHere the entire arrangements of a city are almost perfected; the\nstreets, marketplace, chapel, rivers, reservoirs, grottoes, and all the\nrequirements of comfort and safety gleaming in a blaze of saline crystals.\n\n \u201cScoop\u2019d in the briny rock long streets extend\n Their hoary course, and glittering domes ascend;\n Down the bright steeps, emerging into day,\n Impetuous fountains burst their headlong way,\n O\u2019er milk-white vales in ivory channels spread,\n And wondering seek their subterraneous bed.\n Long lines of lusters pour their trembling rays,\n And the bright vault returns the mingled blaze.\u201d\n\nThe deposit near Cracow is worked on four different levels or stories,\ndivided into innumerable compartments, with thousands of excavations in\nevery direction, and descending to the vast depth of one thousand feet\nbelow the surface. The length of the several passages, in their windings\nand turnings, is calculated to be nearly three hundred miles; about two\nthousand men are constantly employed in the mining operations; and,\nthough the operations have been carrying on for the known period at least\nof six hundred years, the mass of rock-salt in the locality is still of\ninexhaustible extent.\n\nThe mines in our own land are equally remarkable after their kind, and\ncannot fail to interest, if not to astonish, the neophyte who ventures a\ndescent. From the mode in which they are worked, the huge pillars left\nto support the roof, the thousand lights that illuminate the caverns,\nthe reverberations from the blasting which at intervals ring through\ntheir depths, a grandeur and impressiveness are imparted to a scene which\nscarcely any other combination of objects could produce. And another\nworld\u2014a world of coal and iron\u2014in all its magnificence and riches, lies\ninterred under these glistering stores of lime and salt! How strangely\ncontrasting in their qualities and structure the two formations. But\nexcept that a wise and far-seeing Providence collected and garnered\nup the waste and decay of both for man\u2019s use, no principle have we to\nguide us when speculating on their mineral properties and arrangement\u2014no\nnatural law certainly, self-acting upon matter and evolving new creations\nof its own, organic or inorganic, to reveal His inscrutable purposes.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nTHE OOLITIC OR JURASSIC SYSTEM\u2014AGE OF REPTILES.\n\n\nWhen one is about to travel, or to undertake a journey of any distance\nfrom the daily beat of home, it is very seldom indeed that he puts into\nhis pocket a book of science. Voyages, travels, a review at most, or the\nnewest novel, may fill up a spare place in the portmanteau: anything\nthat requires study, or would draw upon the reflective faculties, can be\nno fitting companion for the occasion, with at least nine-tenths of our\nmoving public.\n\nIf the preceding pages have been perused with any attention at all, it is\nto be hoped that other things will be considered as worthy of a passing\nglance, as sure we are they cannot fail to be replete with lessons of\ninstructive wisdom. On the ground of mere ephemeral curiosities by the\nway, geological matters claim consideration. They are exhaustless, too,\nand ever varying as you proceed. When you imagine that the last mountain\nrock or quarry contained the whole catalogue of Natural History, and\nshowed you more than Goldsmith, or Buffon, you find that over the next\nridge, or in the neighboring field, there are new subjects for study, and\nstill renewing matters for wonder.\n\nIf you have taken up your abode for the night at classic Rugby, at\nsporting Melton-mowbray, or among the academic bowers of Oxford, there\nare objects all around, in every hill-side, ravine, or railway section,\nto fill you at once with admiration and astonishment. Go, inquire of that\nrock. It is the _lias limestone_; beyond it, and at no great distance,\nlies the _oolite_; and there, in the immediate vicinity of both, you\nhave the _Stonesfield slate_. We invite you to examine any one of these\ncommon-place looking stones; and not in Gulliver, not in the history of\nthe Knight of La Mancha, not in all the Mysteries of Udolpho, not in the\nRomance of the Forest whose harmonious periods so charmed our youth, will\nyou find anything to compare with the marvels therein to be disclosed.\nThe machinery of a tale may require the aid of giants and genii, but\nhere is \u201ctruth without fiction,\u201d more startling, marvelous, and so\nbeyond the bounds of nature as now felt and seen, that the most daring\nfancy is utterly outstripped in its loftiest flights into the regions of\nthe ideal. The series of beds which constitute the mineral features of\nthis extensive district contains the full development of the reptilian\ntype to which we were introduced in the last chapter. Animals there are\nin these rocks, with forms and features, so fantastic, and apparently\ndisproportioned, that the tales of the most unscrupulous traveler would\nsuffer in comparison. And in truth, there is no page in the book of\nnature\u2014none, certainly, in all the works of man\u2014so fraught with wonders,\nor remarkable for stirring incident, as the epoch of animal life whose\nhistory is there inscribed.\n\nI. THE NATURE OF THE ROCKS. The oolitic or Jurassic system, like that\nof the new red sandstone, comprises the subdivisions of two well-marked\nnatural groups, in which the lias or lower series is included. In point\nof geographical range, the oolite formation is extensively distributed\nover the surface of the globe; in mineral character it is varied in every\npossible degree of texture and composition; in geognostic arrangement\nthere are intercalations, without end, of marine and terrestrial\ndetritus; the organic remains are in the greatest profusion, both as to\ndiversity of type and increase of new creations; and, locally, such has\nbeen the appreciation of its various members, that there is scarcely\na town or parish in the south-eastern part of England, that has not\nreceived from or given habitations and name to, some one of its numerous\nsubdivisions.\n\nResting upon the triassic formation, there are bands of lias shales,\nlimestones, sandy and ferruginous strata, and upper shales, including\nnodular concretions and beds of limestone. This series is distributed\nover the counties of York, Northampton, Somerset, and Dorset. The next\nare the lower oolites, which comprise an extensive series of calcareous,\nconcretionary sands and sandstones, limestone, thin seams of coal and\nligneous clays, and the Cornbrash limestone, which in many localities is\na mere aggregation of shells and other marine exuvi\u00e6. The Stonesfield\nslate, the Forest marble, and the Fuller\u2019s earth beds, are included\nin the group, ranging along the Yorkshire coast, through Northampton,\nOxford, and Gloucester shires; and in Scotland we have their equivalents\nin the Brora coal and oolitic limestone of Sutherlandshire, Skye, and\nthe adjacent islands. The middle oolite succeeds, which includes the\nOxford clay, the Kelloway rock, and the coral-rag, all more or less\ndistinguished by their profusion and peculiarity of fossils, chiefly\nshells, echini, and corals. The whole formation terminates in two well\nknown deposits, the Kimmeridge clay and Portland oolite, with its bands\nof green and red sands, layers of chert and drift-wood. This group\nprevails in Oxfordshire, Berks, Wilts, Bucks, and the Isle of Portland;\nthe matrix of fossilized reptilia, fishes, and cycadeous plants.\n\nThe term OOLITE or roestone, as applied to the whole of the groups\nenumerated above, is derived from the resemblance between the small\nrounded grains of which the limestones are generally composed, and the\nroe of a fish. The Jura mountains, which divide France from Switzerland,\nconsist mainly of these deposits, and hence Jurassic\u2014the _Terrains\nJurrassiques_ of continental geologists. The word lias is simply a\ncorruption of liers (layers), and has from time immemorial been applied\nto the rocks of this group. Their relation and order of superposition are\nfully brought out along the sections of the Great Western Railway from\nLondon to Bath. The Birmingham line from Derby by Rugby to the metropolis\nintersects nearly every member of the series, until they are covered\nabout Wallingford by the chalk.\n\nWhen one looks at these innumerable bands of rock, and the great\ndiversity of earthy matter of which they are composed, the mind becomes\nutterly overwhelmed by the rapidity and vastness of the changes which,\nduring this epoch, occurred upon the surface of the globe. A turbid, and\noften agitated, condition of the waters in which they were deposited is\nvery clearly indicated. The animals of the period were manifestly of a\nclass peculiarly adapted to the impregnated element, the slimy banks,\nand shallows which prevailed. The flora was abundant, of a kind, and\nproduced in circumstances, favorable for the formation of a lignite\ncoal. The spasmodic action which prevailed after the deposition of the\ncarboniferous beds had not entirely subsided at the Permian period. The\nchange was of too violent a kind to have been brought about without\ngreat internal, as well as external, commotion. We find, accordingly, in\nmost districts, that the rocks of this class are upturned and disrupted.\nThe detritus of the new red sandstone and magnesian limestone, thereby\noccasioned, would go to form new land during the submergence of such\nportions of the surface as were retained beneath the waters. The\noscillations were numerous and frequent, corresponding with the aggregate\nof beds which compose the system; while the quality and arrangement\nof the sediment point to changes and alterations in sea-levels, river\ncourses, land boundaries, estuaries, the size and distribution of the\nbasins into which the alluvia were transported. The geographic extent,\ncombined with the frequently insulated position of the oolitic series,\nclearly demonstrates a vast alteration in the bed of the ocean, as well\nas in the ridges and elevations which gave diversity to the land. The\noolites, in fact, constitute vast calcareous reefs, raised upon the\ninverted strata of the older formations, which formed the cliffs and\nheadlands of a sea swarming with lizards and crocodilians, and over\nwhose thick umbrageous banks roamed the flying pterodactyle, watching or\nperhaps escaping from, the singular saurians that reposed in the thickets\nbeneath. The substitution of the pyritous clays for the saliferous marls;\nthe dark argillaceous oolites and blue mottled lias for the yellow\ncrystalline dolomite, is in harmony and keeping with the plants and\nanimals which now, for the first time, sprang into existence.\n\nII. THE ORGANIC REMAINS are very abundant, and in both plants and animals\nthere are various new kinds. Of the former are the cycade\u00e6, allied to\nthe existing pine-apple; also the lilace\u00e6, and some other undescribed\ngenera. With regard to animals, this has been emphatically called \u201cthe\nage of reptiles,\u201d along with which there are new families of fishes,\ncrustacea, mollusca, and corals. The warm-blooded animals now for the\nfirst time appear, of which there are two genera, the _Amphitherium_\nand _Phascolotherium_, found in the Stonesfield slate near Oxford, and\nconsidered, by analogy of structure, to be allied to the marsupials\nthat inhabit the Australian continent. The same interesting locality\nhas furnished two new genera of insects, the _Prionus Ooliticus_ and\n_Coccinella Wittsii_; in the lias, of different places, eleven genera\nand species have been discovered, but of which only wings and fragments\nhave been obtained. A perfect specimen of this order has recently been\nfound, by the Rev. P. B. Brodie, in the upper lias, near Cheltenham,\nresembling the genus _diplax_; but so shattered in the head, that its\nprecise character cannot be determined. The reptilians supply alike new\nterrestrial and marine tortoises and turtles\u2014lizards, whose arms and\nlegs were provided with a filmy membrane, like bats, to enable them\nto fly\u2014amphibious saurians, and water saurians unlike anything now in\nexistence.\n\nContrast this catalogue with the few organic remains to be met with in\nthe preceding period, and ask what called such a newly-inhabited world\ninto being? The face of nature, so remarkably elaborated out of the\nwaste and decay of these old stony materials, is moving all over with\nlife\u2014replenished, so far as yet discovered, with seventy-five generic\nand specific forms of new vegetation\u2014a hundred and ten new forms of\nhard-working corallines\u2014seven hundred and thirteen genera and species\nof the shelly tribes, from the simplest to the most complicated of the\nchambered orders\u2014a hundred and sixty distinct races of fishes, placoids\nand ganoids\u2014three varieties of the most strangely constructed mammalian\nquadrupeds, with thirteen kinds of insects to titillate and keep them in\naction\u2014and all this array of organic life moving side by side with forty\nfamilies of gigantic reptiles, herbivorous and carnivorous, creeping,\nswimming, and flying! The wonders of art have nothing to compare with\nthis. The structure of a blade of grass will not suffer an atheist to\nlive. During the six thousand years of man\u2019s existence, one new living\nthing, of any order or type, has not been called into being. Astronomy\nis daily adding to her achievements, and penetrating farther among\nthe systems of the universe; but the nebular theory of creation is\ngone, and the new-world germs will not expand at its fanciful bidding.\nGeology nobly bears testimony in every page to the rule of one supreme\nintelligent Creator\u2014an exuberance of life and forms which announces the\nauthoritative interposition of Him\n\n \u201cWhose word leaps forth at once to its effect;\n Who calls for things that are not\u2014and they come.\u201d\n\nAnd the mandate goes forth, in that awful simplicity of OMNIPOTENCE,\nwhich learning cannot mystify nor ignorance overlook.\n\nThis formation abounds in the remains of radiata, mollusca, and\ncrustacea,\u2014all of them differing specifically from those of the older\nsecondary strata. The gigantic _crinoidea_ of the carboniferous age\nhave disappeared, succeeded only by a few dwarfish specimens of the\n_apiocrinite_ and pentacrinite, while the _ammonites_ mark an increase of\nnearly two hundred species, preserved in the most perfect state in the\nshales and limestones of the lias and oolite.\n\n[Illustration: 1. Ammonites obtusus; 2. Section of Ammonites obtusus,\nshowing the interior chambers and siphuncle; 3. Ammonites nodosus.]\n\nThe term Ammonite has been bestowed upon this remarkable shell-fish from\nits fancied resemblance to the curved horn on the head of the statue\nof Jupiter-Ammon. The spiral form of the shell is divided into several\nchambers or compartments, all of which are connected by means of an\ninterior tube or siphuncle. It belongs to the order of Cephalopoda, among\nwhich are included ancyloceros, belemnites, nautilus, orthoceratite,\nand other many-chambered shells. Like the nautilus, the ammonite was\ngifted with a singular apparatus by which it could pursue its instincts\neither at the bottom or on the surface of the element in which it lived.\nThe organs of motion were arranged round the head (hence the name\n_cephalopoda_); and, by the nicely adaptive arrangements of nature,\nthe outer chamber of the shell was capable of retaining the entire\nbody of the animal, while the interior chambers were hollow, thereby\nrendering the whole structure of nearly the same specific gravity with\nthe waters in which it moved. An elastic tube passing through the\nsiphuncle connected the cavity of the heart with the extremity of the\nshell, which enabled the animal to contract or expand itself as its\nexigencies required. Being filled with a dense fluid, excreted by the\nglandular organs, the creature, when alarmed or wishing to descend,\nwithdrew itself within the outer chamber, whereby the contraction of the\ntube forced the fluid from the heart into the siphuncle, and increasing\nthe gravity enabled it to descend to the bottom. Upon a reversal of the\nprocess\u2014the simple projection of the arms of the head, and the consequent\nexpansion of the body\u2014the ammonite rose with equal facility to the\nsurface, disporting itself at will in its native element. With a view to\nresist the pressure, when at the bottom, a provision was made by means\nof the _arch-form_ in the structure of the shell; and, additionally, by\nthe insertion of a series of transverse ribs, which comprise all the\nmechanical contrivances for giving strength and solidity which are sought\nby the divisions and subdivisions in the vaulted roofs of our Gothic\narchitecture. The geographical distribution of the ammonite partakes of\nthe universality so marked in the vegetable economy of the carboniferous\nage, the same species even being common to Europe, Asia, North and South\nAmerica; and always, along with all its numerous congeners, manifesting\nthe most striking examples of that adaptation of means to ends which\nprevails in every department of creation.\n\nWe shall now select a few details of the more remarkable of the reptilian\ntypes of this period, referring the reader to the ample and graphic\ndescriptions of Buckland, Conybeare, Mantell, Phillips, and more\nespecially to the Reports of Professor Owen, in the volumes published by\nthe British Association in 1840-\u20191.\n\n[Illustration: Ichthyosaurus communis.]\n\n1. The first genus to be noticed is termed the Ichthyosaurus, which\npartakes at once of the characters of crocodiles, lizards, and fishes.\nSo lavish has nature been in providing for the accommodation and wants\nof this anomalous creature, that to the paddles of a whale, is added the\nsternum of an _ornithorhynchus_; the head of a lizard is joined to the\nvertebr\u00e6 of a fish; and the snout of a porpoise is combined with the jaws\nand teeth of a crocodile. The magnitude of the eye is prodigious, and\nthe jaws, sometimes exceeding six feet in length, are studded with an\napparatus of teeth, amounting in some instances, to a hundred and eighty.\n\u201cFrom the quantity of light admitted in consequence of the prodigious\nsize of the eye,\u201d says Dr. Buckland, \u201cit must have possessed very great\npowers of vision: we have also evidence that it had both microscopic\nand telescopic properties. We find on the front of the orbital cavity,\nin which this eye was lodged,\u201d\u2014a cavity sometimes fourteen inches in\ndiameter,\u2014\u201ca circular series of petrified thin bony plates, ranged\nround a central aperture, where once was placed the pupil; the form and\nthickness of each of these plates very much resembles that of the scales\nof the artichoke. It also tends to associate the animal in which it\nexisted, with the family of lizards, and exclude it from that of fishes.\u201d\nThese bony plates gave strength to the surface of the eye-ball, which\nrequired protection above and below, from the dashing of the waves when\nit reared its head to the storm, and from the pressure of deep water\nwhen it scoured the bottom. The nostrils, it would seem, were placed so\nclose to the anterior angle of the eye, as to render it impossible to\nbreathe without raising the organs of sight to the surface of the water.\nAn ocean, peopled with such monsters! Imagine so many eyes, larger than\na man\u2019s head studding its surface, and illuminating, as with fire-balls,\ntheir terrific jaws, glaring out from the briny flood; and what a scene\nto gaze upon, so different from all that now covers these rich alluvial\nplains!\n\n[Illustration: Plesiosaurus.]\n\n2. The Plesiosaurus is allied in some respects to the former, but in\nother points differs so materially, and possesses characters so strange,\nas to claim for it a degree of monstrosity unparalleled, even amid\nthe ruins of the old world. Here we have the union of the serpent and\nchameleon, with a trunk and tail having the proportions of an ordinary\nquadruped. The mechanism of the lungs and ribs is peculiar, showing\nthat the animal must have breathed with such force and rapidity, as to\nhave rendered the color of the skin changeable, like the chameleon or\ndying dolphin. The neck bore a resemblance to that of the swan; the feet\nand motions were allied to those of the turtle; and, from the varied\nintensity of its inspirations, it is conjectured that the creature\ninhabited the shallow pools and marshy waters along the coast. The body\nwould thus be concealed among the rank vegetable aquatics; while, with\nits long flexible neck, it would be prepared suddenly to pounce upon its\nprey. Mr. Conybeare compares the Plesiosaurus to a turtle stripped of its\nshell; and the ribs, being connected by transverse abdominal processes,\npresent a close analogy to those of the chameleon. Ichthyosauri and\nPlesiosauri have been found in the secondary strata, from the lias to the\nchalk inclusive; of the former, twelve species are known and described,\nand nearly twenty of the latter. The most remarkable of the enalio-saurii\nor marine reptiles, is the Plesiosaurus-dolichodeirus, discovered in\nthe lias of Lyme-Regis, and which is fertile in the remains of all the\nanimals of that remote and wonder-producing epoch.\n\n[Illustration: Pterodactyle.]\n\n3. Another example, taken from the lias, is of its kind even more\nstartling than either of the preceding. This consists of the remains of\nan animal called the Pterodactyle, or flying reptile, which, more than\nanything ever conceived or bred in poet\u2019s brain, resembles what Milton\nmust have intended, when to the great arch-fiend he gave a form and\nflexibility of body, that\n\n \u201cSwims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flies.\u201d\n\nCertainly each and one of all these evolutions the Pterodactyle could\nexecute, and he was amply provided with the fitting instruments to\nperform them. This animal possessed a head intermediate betwixt that of\na bird and a reptile, which in both cases is comparatively small, and\noffering the least resistance to the medium through which it passed, in\nquest whether of pleasure or subsistence. The hands were of the most\nprehensile character, adapted by the claws attached at once to fix and\nfirmly grasp its prey, and, when needed for pursuit, to swing itself\nsquirrel-like from branch to branch, and from tree to tree. The wings\nresembled those of the bat, but in length and size allied to nothing\nin existing nature, and finding their match only among the dragons of\nromance. Then, as to feet and limbs, these were of such a construction\nas to allow the animal safely to repose after its toils in a standing\nposition on the ground, or to perch on trees, or to climb on rocks, or\ndisport from cliff to cliff. The eyes were large; the wings terminated\nin fingers, from which projected long hooks; the beak was furnished\nwith about sixty sharp piercing teeth. No wonder that naturalists were\nastonished at such heterogenous combinations, as they rose upon their\nsight\u2014\n\n \u201cThat look not like the inhabitants o\u2019 the earth;\n And yet are on\u2019t;\u201d\n\nand knew not whether to ascribe them to the air, or the earth, or the\ndomain of waters. But, in the hands of Cuvier, the entire structure and\nrelations of the several parts of the framework have been explained\nand developed; the libellul\u00e6 and other insects on which they fed have\nbeen detected in the same rocks with their own relics; and out of that\napparent mass of inconsistencies and contradictions, the genius of the\nskillful anatomist has produced one of the most striking examples of the\nharmony that pervades all nature, that has been extended through all\nages, and that manifests the bounteous care of the common Creator in\nadapting all living things, each after its kind, to the conditions of its\nexistence.\n\n4. The Stonesfield strata belong to the lower division of the great\noolite. The slate of the district has been long known and prized for\nroofing purposes. The village of Stonesfield lies about twelve miles to\nthe north-west of Oxford, beautifully situated on the brow of a valley,\nboth sides of which have been deeply excavated for the extraction of\nthe slate. Woodstock and Blenheim are both in the vicinity, neither of\nwhose remarkable heroes ever dreamed of the mighty wars, waged in a far\ndistant age from their own, by the fierce assailants whose remains have\nnow been disturbed by these operations. Here are abundant the remains of\npalms, aborescent ferns, seed-vessels, leaves, stems of several genera\nof conifer\u00e6, and traces of reeds and grasses. Wings and their cases, the\n_elytra_ of beetles, and other relics of insects, are mingled with the\nteeth, scales, fin-bones, rays of fishes, in the greatest profusion. And\nhere, on the site of this ancient menagerie or battle-field, are the only\nknown vestiges of mammalian animals in the secondary formations. One\nset of these remains resembles the Wombat, a marsupial didelphys of New\nSouth Wales; the other remains indicate a small insectivorous mammal, the\nAmphitherium, with thirty teeth in the lower jaw. Australia, therefore,\nsupposed to furnish evidence of an entirely new order of things, has\nbeen long anticipated in all its types of plants and animals by the\ndenizens of our own land\u2014our waters swarming with cestraceonts, trigoni\u00e6,\nand terebratul\u00e6\u2014and our fields clothed with araucari\u00e6 and cycadeous\nplants\u2014when perhaps but little of that continent rose above the waters.\n\n5. The DINOSAURIA constitute a tribe or sub-order of the lacertians,\ncharacterized by the large development of the sacrum, the dorsal\nvertebr\u00e6, the bones of the extremities, which are all provided with\nlarge medullary cavities. Of this tribe there are three well established\ngenera\u2014the Megalosaurus, the Hyl\u00e6osaurus, and the Iguanodon. These were\nthe gigantic crocodile lizards of the dry land, whose peculiarities\nof osteological structure distinguish them as clearly from the modern\nterrestrial and amphibious sauria, as the opposite modifications for an\naquatic life, characterize the extinct enaliosauria, or marine lizards.\nThe Dinosaurians belong properly to the Wealden fresh water formations,\nwhich may be regarded as the true habitat of this order of terrestrial\nfossil reptiles.\n\nThe Megalosaurus was first described by Cuvier, and the family\ndetermined; he calculated the dimensions of the animal at from forty to\nfifty feet in length. Professor Owen, from better preserved specimens,\nhas reduced it to thirty feet long: the head is five feet, the length of\ntrunk with sacrum thirteen feet, and the tail about the same, allowing\nthe Megalosaur to have had the same number of caudal vertebr\u00e6 as the\ncrocodile. The sacrum consisted of five anchylosed vertebr\u00e6, new in\nsaurian anatomy: the hind-legs measure two yards, a metatarsal bone\nthirteen inches; the teeth are of corresponding dimensions, and curve\nbackward in the form of a pruning-knife. The structure of the jaw\nindicates a long projecting snout, while the curvature of the teeth\nfitted them to retain like barbs the prey which they had once penetrated.\nAll the organs of the monster declare the Megalosaur to have been a land\nanimal, of carnivorous propensities, and in all probability performed,\nas headsman the same office upon the smaller herd of reptiles, sometimes\nmaking a snatch at a Plesiosaur, as both in turn did upon fishes and\ncrustaceans. The sport of an Indian jungle is child\u2019s play compared\nto the onslaught of these grim kings amidst their ancient preserves.\nThe remains occur in the deposits at Malton in Yorkshire, Cuckfield in\nSussex, Bath, the Purbeck limestone, Tilgate Forest, and the Wealden.\n\nThe next genus of the land reptiles was remarkable for the size\nof the horny plates by which the body was protected. This is the\nHyl\u00e6osaurus\u2014that is, forest-reptile\u2014about twenty-five feet long, and\ncovered with a series of large, flat, and pointed bones. These vary in\nlength from five to seventeen inches, and are from three to seven and a\nhalf inches in breadth. In addition, as showing the kind of warfare to\nwhich he was exposed, a ridge of thick thorny scales pass along the back,\nand form an enormous dermal fringe, like the spines on the back of the\nliving iguana tribes. The skeleton of the Hyl\u00e6osaur has been found nearly\nentire, and all the parts in almost natural juxtaposition. The Wealden of\nTilgate Forest, the deposits at Bolney and Battle of the same formation,\ncontain the remains in considerable abundance.\n\nWhat shall be said of the next figure that crosses the tragic stage,\nduring this age of tyrant prodigies? The Iguanodon\u2014a gigantic herbivorous\nlizard\u2014is related to a family of harmless creatures (_Iguana_), which\nswarm in the West Indies, and in all the tropical forests of America,\nin certain peculiarities of the teeth greatly differing from those\nof other reptiles. The largest of living Iguanas, do not exceed five\nfeet in length: the extinct genus attained a longitude of upward of\ntwenty-eight to thirty feet. The caudal member was about thirteen, head\nthree, trunk with sacrum twelve, and the girth of the body about fifteen\nfeet. The teeth resemble the teeth of the rhinoceros as to bulk and\ngeneral appearance, and, consisting as they do of incisors and molars,\nwere recognized to belong to the order of herbivorous quadrupeds. The\nthigh-bone exceeds that of the largest-sized elephant, being from four\nto five feet in height, and presenting a circumference of nearly two\nfeet in its smallest part. This animal, at its first discovery, was\nsupposed to have attained the exaggerated proportions of nearly a hundred\nfeet in length. But even under the reduced dimensions and more accurate\ndeductions of Professor Owen, confirmed by those of Dr. Mantell, there\nis still size sufficient, as well as peculiarities of structure, to\nlead us to regard it as one of the wonders of geology. One femur of a\nrecently-discovered Iguanodon is twenty-seven inches in circumference,\nand must have been nearly five feet in length; and a tibia, found with\nthe same, is four feet long. Dr. Melville has established the important\nphysiological fact, that the cervical and anterior dorsal vertebr\u00e6 were\nconvexo-concave,\u2014that is, convex in front and concave behind, as in\nthe existing pachyderms; while the reverse form, the concavo-convex,\npredominates in the existing crocodilians and lizards. It is farther\nestablished, that in the Iguanodon, as in many fossil and recent\nreptiles, the anterior extremities were much shorter and less bulky\nthan the posterior. As in the existing family, so in the extinct, the\nhuge body was ornamented with a horn of bone which projected from the\nnose. This nasal organ seems to have been worn more for decoration than\nfor use; unless, perhaps, to assist in perforating its way through\nthe thickets of vegetation on which it subsisted, to push aside an\nunwelcome intruder upon his pasturage, or as a mere set-off against\nthe unprecedented length of tail. Imagine a herd of these monsters\nfeeding in a prairie\u2014the denizens of a period when all things partook\nof the gigantic! \u201cThe concurrence of peculiarities so remarkable,\u201d says\nBuckland, \u201cas the union of this nasal horn with a mode of dentition\nof which there is no example, except in the Iguanas, affords one of\nthe many proofs of the universality of the laws of co-existence, which\nprevailed no less constantly throughout the extinct genera and species\nof the fossil world, than they do among the living members of the animal\nkingdom.\u201d Professor Owen writes\u2014\u201cNo reptile now exists which combines a\ncomplicated and thecodont dentition with limbs so proportionally large\nand strong, having such well-developed marrow-bones, and sustaining the\nweight of the trunk by _sychondrosis_ or _anchylosis_ to so long and\ncomplicated a sacrum, as in the order _Dinosauria_. The Megalosaurus and\nIguanodons, rejoicing in these undeniably most perfect modifications of\nthe reptilian type, attained the greatest bulk, and must have played the\nmost conspicuous parts, in their respective characters as devourers of\nanimals and feeders upon vegetables, that this earth has ever witnessed\nin oviparous and cold-blooded creatures. They were as superior in\norganization and in bulk to the crocodiles that preceded them as to those\nwhich came after them.\u201d\n\n6. We close our enumeration of these fossils by simply stating, that\nthe CROCODILIANS also flourished at this period. The living species\nare twelve in number, all remarkable for the size of their mouth, and\ntheir exuberant abundance of teeth. The extinct species were nearly as\nnumerous, but all more allied to the gavials of New Holland than to the\nother members of the family. They seem chiefly to have subsisted on\nfishes, while their modern congeners are furnished with powers which\nenable them to prey upon mammalia and other quadrupeds. When Hobbes, the\nphilosopher of Malmesbury\u2014the old haunt of all these monsters\u2014adopted the\ntitle \u201cleviathan\u201d for his political and anti-Christian views, he did it\nmore in derision of the name than from any belief that such things as the\nterm represents had ever or could ever have existed \u201cin rerum natura.\u201d\nPersons, even now, to whom the subject is presented for the first time,\nwill turn with aversion from its details under the influence of the very\nopposite feelings from those of the infidel metaphysician. The evidence\nof facts however, will yield neither to prejudices nor to theories. And,\nwhile we dream not of representing the patriarch of Uz as drawing his\ninferences from geology, still his mind was alive to convictions of the\ngrandeur and diversity of the works of creation\u2014to a sense of his own\nignorance\u2014and filled at the same time with awe and veneration at the\nunsearchable wisdom of the ways of Providence. \u201cSTAND STILL AND CONSIDER\nTHE WONDROUS WORKS OF GOD. HAST THOU ENTERED INTO THE SPRINGS OF THE SEA?\nHAST THOU PERCEIVED THE BREADTH OF THE EARTH? DECLARE, IF THOU KNOWEST IT\nALL.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nTHE WEALDEN FORMATION.\n\n\nThe Wealden formation is more local than any of the deposits we have yet\nconsidered. The term has a particular reference to the district features\nof Kent, Surrey, Sussex, and Hampshire, known as the _Wolds_, from\nthe German _wald_, signifying a wood or forest: and as the geological\nposition of the group is in immediate _superior_ connection with the\noolites, and _inferior_ to the chalk, the character and history of the\nWealden fall to be given in this place. The Specton clay of Yorkshire,\ndisplayed along the cliffs adjoining Filey Bay, is considered to belong\nto the same series as the _gault_ or blue and gray marls of Cambridge,\nKent and Sussex; but it contains some characteristic indications of the\nKimmeridge clay, and, therefore, we should expect that, in Yorkshire,\nthese two strata are not separated as in the south of England.\n\nI. NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE DEPOSIT. The Wealden is a fresh water or\nestuary formation, as is clearly established by its fossils as well as by\nits lithology. The group consists of layers of clay, sand, shale, with\nsubordinate beds of limestone, grit, and friable sandstone. The Hastings\nsands, Tilgate Forest beds, Tunbridge Wells deposits, and the Ashburn\nlignite shales and ferruginous sands, are all constituents of the series.\nThe Dover Railway traverses the formation between Red Hill and Ashford:\nthe branch leading to Tunbridge Wells affords excellent sections of the\nclay and sands. Thus occupying, in an irregular triangular form, the\nsouth-east of England, the wealden again emerges in the principality of\nHanover, and other places in the north of Germany: continuing in the same\ncourse, it is again found on the British shores, occurring at Linksfield,\nnear Elgin.\n\nIt would not be easy to restore, in imagination, the surrounding aspect\nof the superficial area now occupied by patches of the wealden formation.\nTake your station on the Peak of Derby, or Shotover Hill, or the heights\nof Ivanhoe\u2014not so perilous adventure as that of the heroine of the tale\non the battlements of Malvoisin\u2014and you overlook a vast extent of vale\nand woodland, all then one broad expanse of water. This inland sea\nfilled the whole intermediate district traced above, studded, in all\nprobability, with islands, and fringed with shallows and rich arborescent\nheadlands. Sharks prowled and darted in every direction; pterodactyles\nmay be descried looming along the waste; while in terror or in joy, the\nplesiosaurus reared aloft his far-stretching neck, and then withdrew into\nhis fenny retreats. The saurians, with their strong muscular jaws, are\nactively engaged, each according to his kind, by the shores or in the\nwaters; while over the busy scene, the fierce-weltering ichthyosaurus\nlooks in wild amazement, his large eyes leaping in their sockets, and\nspreading dismay among the tenants of the deep, as even now, when a kite\nenters a thorny brake, or pursues his stealthy flight over the meadows\nand green fields of timid nestling bird.\n\nNor would the land animals be less actively employed in maintaining the\nlaws of their creation. No skeletons of birds have yet been detected; but\ntheir foot-prints, we have seen, are numerous. These clouds of insects,\nand other brilliant objects that flit with such rapidity across the sky,\nhave all been stirred, and are leaping they know not whither, for the\ntread of a monster\u2019s feet is heard through the forest, mailed in plated\nhorn thicker than Ajax\u2019s shield, and, pursued by another, presses and\nplunges onward in reckless haste. Imagine the many encounters during a\nsingle season between one set of the terrestrials only, the saurians;\nof the class, there are the remains of the megalosaurus, the great\nsaurian\u2014of the geosaurus, the land saurian\u2014of the hyl\u00e6osaurus, the forest\nsaurian\u2014of the teleosaurus, the perfect saurian,\u2014all fitted with jaws\nand teeth, most cruelly bent on mischief, and restrained by no brotherly\nsympathies when accident or bold defiance bring them in the way of each\nother. The fell onslaughts of generous man, tribe against tribe, clan\nto clan, nation to nation, for some inconceivable nothing or unintended\nprovocation, recorded within the brief historical epoch, may reconcile\none to a picture of the irrationals similarly engaged, and throughout\nperiods of time sufficient for the deposition of the entire oolitic\nseries, before which the rule of earthly dynasties shrinks into utter\ninsignificance.\n\nThese depositions accomplished, and successive races entombed within\nthem, there is evidence that the floor of the ocean was raised above\nthe waters, and that central Europe presented, all around, a breast of\nhigh land. There are various intercalations, in the series of marine\nand terrestrial deposits as well as of fresh and salt water fossils.\nViolent internal convulsions prevailed throughout the period, and the\nanimals were all of a kind to care little for the war of the elements.\nMeanwhile a fresh water formation is completed in many places a thousand\nfeet in thickness, and consisting of a series of beds; not continuous\nall round the shores of the oolitic detritus, but confined to a few\nlocalities, and characterized everywhere by its own group of organisms.\nThis is the wealden formation. And the question arises, How this series\nof fresh water clays, and sands, and grits, was produced at a time when\nthe sea prevailed so universally over the whole of continental Europe,\nand the eastern division of Great Britain? The solution is simpler than\nat first sight might appear, when viewed in connection with the existing\ndistribution of all our great primary formations. The extent of dry land\nwas such as to furnish watershed for numerous rivers. The mountains\nsupplied the detrital matter. This was brought to the river\u2019s mouth,\nwhere it formed deltas; or spread out on the floor of estuaries, where it\nreceived the few marine fossils which are found in the formation. Cast\nyour eye along the geological map of western Europe, and\u2014in the mountains\nof Wales, the silurian district of the north-west of France, the primary\nrocks of the tributaries of the Elbe, the Hartz mountains, and the gneiss\nand granites of Sutherland and Caithness\u2014we have all the materials and\nrequisites that are necessary for the silting process of the wealden, its\naccumulation, and geographical distribution as referred to in its range\nand extent.\n\nThe continuity of the coasts of France and England is herein supposed,\nand, upon geological data, this is a matter of far simpler inference than\nthe framing even of a political constitution that will stand a decade of\nthe years of our fleeting pilgrimage. The vision of Plato\u2019s Atlantis in\nthe great ocean becomes in the geologist\u2019s creed a reality, who believes\nthat a vast continent must have existed on our south and west, all\nnow sunk and whelmed in the deep abyss. A chain of islands would just\nindicate the positions of the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Carpathians, and\nthe Caucasian ranges, all then overlooking central and eastern Europe,\nnot yet elevated above the waves. \u201cAt this period,\u201d says Professor\nAnsted, \u201cit is most probable that no great east and west subterranean\nmovement had acted on the part of the earth\u2019s crust now above the water\nin the northern hemisphere, and possibly the first intimation of such a\ndisturbing force, may be traced, though faintly, in the existence of a\nconsiderable estuary, in which our wealden beds were deposited. From the\ncondition of the upper Portland beds, we find, that, just at the close\nof the oolitic period, there were very numerous changes of level induced\nover a small area in the south-east of England, then, most likely, not\nfar from the coast line of a large continent.\u201d\n\nIt may seem to many presumptuous, and beyond all the usual latitude of\nexaggerated description to attempt to dwell thus minutely on physical\narrangements, and a vegetable and animal economy, so remote and beyond\nthe sphere of observation. Remarkable enough that our great healing\nsprings of Bath, Cheltenham, Leamington, Tunbridge, and Harwich, are all\nsituated among, or have their origin in, the series of deposits we have\nbeen considering. But the judgment, more than the fancy, is employed in\nstudying the geography of the ancient world, in looking out from the\nheights around, and trying again to unite the waters and the dry land, to\nrecall the vanishing traces of former sea-marks, and from the disinterred\nremains of the remarkable races that inhabited the island, and swarmed\naround its coasts, to contemplate the ways and doings of\n\n \u201cThat Eternal Mind,\n Who built the spacious universe, and decked\n Each part so richly with whate\u2019er pertains\n To life, to health, to pleasure.\u201d\n\nAnd these three blessings all are striving to maintain, to restore,\nor to acquire. Life, health, pleasure\u2014these are the great stimulants\nto all human exertion, and how best to promote them ought to be the\naim of human study. The suite of rocks which compose the carboniferous\nsystem is one clearly of pre-arrangement, and designed for man\u2019s use.\nThe strata, now beneath us, as undeniably evince a like beneficent\npurpose. The treasures of saline rock, gypseous marls, iron sands, and\npyritous clays, may be mysterious all, in their origin: but their uses\nand their ends, human wants and frailties have long since established.\nThe cravings of appetite satisfied, every creature has an instinct, which\nunerringly leads it to seek a remedy against injury and disease; and a\nprovision for the one equally with the other, has been made by Him who\nnotices the sparrow in his fall, and careth for the ravens of the desert.\nSlow of apprehension the mind, that cannot discern in the strata under\nreview, a striking instance of foresight, a gift of benevolent wisdom,\nrecesses long since stored with medicaments and restoratives for human\nfrailties; and, though no angel now is there to trouble the waters, a\nkind Providence has designed them, and a good heart will use them, as\ntokens of its love.\n\nII. THE ORGANIC REMAINS are chiefly of a fluviatile and terrestrial\ncharacter. The beds in which they occur were deposited in the channel, or\ndelta, of a river of great breadth, and demonstrate the existence of a\nlarge extent of neighboring country. These beds range from Hastings into\nDorsetshire, but are not found to the north of the Thames. In Portland\nand the Isle of Wight they likewise exist with all their peculiar\norganisms in the greatest abundance. In the latter locality, the wealden\nbeds form the cliffs between Atherfield Point and Compton Bay; they\nalso overhang the Bay of Sandown. The Purbeck beds and sands are well\ndisplayed at Durdle Cove, Warbarrow, and Swanage Bays; and in the Vale of\nWardour the same strata are developed. In every one of these beautiful,\npicturesque, accessible, and very limited districts, you have congregated\nspecimens of the fauna and flora of rivers, groves, forests, and plains,\nwhich have no longer a place on the terraqueous globe. Compared with the\nliving or extinct races they constitute a chapter in natural history\nnowhere else to be seen or studied.\n\nThus of eight genera of plants in the wealden, there are only four\ncommon to it and the oolites, but not a single species. Of the hundreds\nof zoophytes in the older formation, not one occurs in the newer.\nTwenty genera of insects existed in the period of the wealden, one\nonly of which is prolonged from the antecedent period of oolitic life;\none new genus of Crustacean (the Cypris), and five species; while the\nconchifera have little in common, save the mytilus and unio, and both of\nwhich, generically, have been transmitted from the carboniferous era.\nThe fishes of the wealden consist of seven genera, of which only one\nis new, the Sphenonchus. The reptilians amount to eleven genera, three\nof which present remains in the oolitic group, Cetiosaurus, Chelonia,\nand Megalosaurus\u2014same species in both. The Cetiosaurus belongs to the\nwhale race of animals, and it is singular to find the tribe exhibiting\nthe same stupidity, or hardihood it may be, in forsaking, then as now,\ntheir briny element, and seeking a grave in the clays and sands of fresh\nwater shoals! The Hyl\u00e6osaurus and Iguanodon were both found in the\nTilgate Forest beds, but have been noticed under the fauna of the oolite\nseries, as probably living in the age of, as they approach so closely in\nstructure and size to, the reptilian types of the deposit; frequenting\nthe woods and pastures, while their mighty cotemporaries were following\ntheir instincts in the seas and lakes of the district.\n\nIt would thus appear that the close of the oolitic period of the\nearth\u2019s history resembles the close of the carboniferous period, in\nthe sudden transition from an exuberant to a remarkably barren display\nof vegetable fossils. In the comparative scantiness of the sauroid\nfamily of fishes, by which the outgoing of the coal era is likewise\ndistinguished, we may fancy another point of analogy in the diminution\nof the monstrous reptilians that appears to have taken place after this\nseries of deposits. May it be inferred that these two periods enjoyed\na higher degree of temperature than has prevailed, either before or\nsince, generally over the earth\u2019s surface, and more certainly in these\nnorthern latitudes? Interred among the strata of both lie the remains of\nraces, vegetable and animal, which have perished: and what we describe\nby kindred names are confined to climes and regions basking near the\nequator, and enlightened by other constellations. Then the alternating\ndeposits of clay, lime, ironstone, coal, salt, gypsum, speak of lakes\nand estuaries, rolling rivers and high lands no longer existing in these\nparts. A few leaves of their annals are inscribed with forms of grotesque\nlife, and stirring activities, which are there to attest the majesty\nof their revolutions. Geology, in little more than twenty years, has\nmade the discovery, collected the facts, arranged and systematized the\nknowledge of the character and habits of the successive generations whose\ndomain, whether of land or water, was so different from ours, and now all\npassed away.\n\nA higher temperature, from central heat, will not explain these facts,\nfor that should have prevailed more in the devonian, and still more\nin the silurian periods,\u2014and of this we have no evidence. Appearances\nwould rather support an opposite conclusion. The sweep of the comet\nagain, resorted to upon occasions, may have destroyed, but could not\nmaintain, such a state of things. A change of the polar axis, of the\nmost inconsiderable extent, is demonstrated to be highly improbable, or\nalmost impossible. And now, in the unwearied march of science, often\nbaffled but never cast down, it has been announced as the probable\nsolution of all the changes of the past, THE PROGRESSION OF THE WHOLE\nSOLAR SYSTEM, whereby the earth, and all the sister planets, are dragged\nthrough infinite space, and brought successively within the sphere\nof new constellations\u2014now in a hotter and now in a milder efflux of\nether\u2014combining its own with a more general movement in a universal\nwhirl\u2014and thus constantly subjected, in all its parts, to ever-varying\nexternal influences! This, at least, is the ingenious theory of M.\nPoisson, which, he thinks, will account for the central heat of the\nglobe, dipped for a time into a burning atmosphere, and cooling off more\nrapidly on the surface, and will give a no less plausible explanation as\nto the extent and frequency of change effected on the surface. Geology\nand astronomy become, when viewed in this light, correlative sciences,\nand impart an illustrative interest to the researches of each other. The\nlofty flights of the one are brought down, as it were, to more earthly\nthings; while the geologist, on the other hand, is lifted from his miry\npit and downward studies, to meditate on the \u201csweet influences and bands\u201d\nthat harmonize and link all the planets in their orbits, and rejoices to\nsee his own earth taking part in the eternal music of the spheres. He is\npleased to believe, according to the view of the astronomer, that this\nball of stone and clay enjoys at times a vitality all over, which warms\nand cherishes into life natant forms, and creeping things, and flying\ndragons, whose development of powers could not have been sustained, on so\ngreat a scale, in the lower and less favored regions.\n\nBut while the cause may be adequate to the effect\u2014and in the\napproximation to the truth there is a feeling of satisfaction, an\nelevation of vision and elasticity of thought, as\n\n \u201cRays divine dart round the globe,\u201d\n\n\u2014still the speculation referred to belongs rather to the poetry than\nto the philosophy of science, influencing the imagination more than\nthe judgment, and trenching on relations that lie beyond the field of\nlegitimate research.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nTHE CRETACEOUS SYSTEM.\n\n\nThe history of our globe during the deposition of the CHALK FORMATION,\nand the changes therewith connected, have now to be considered. By\nwhatever causes effected\u2014from whatever sources derived the materials\u2014the\nline of demarkation is here complete. The sands of Africa, suddenly\nconverted into or drifted over by the snows of the Alps, would not\npresent a greater diversity of outline than is the transition to the\ngeologist, when for the first time he steps into a chalk district,\nand marks the obvious contrast with all the surrounding scenery. From\nGloucester into Wiltshire we pass, as it were, into a new zone of\nlatitude.\n\nThe details contained in the two last chapters are in strict conformity\nwith the laws of nature: the animals connected with the epoch possessed\nfunctions of life and an external adaptation of things suited to each\nother. Similar arrangements exist at present under nearly similar\ncircumstances: the tropical animals bear a close affinity to the extinct\nraces; and show that, however nature may contrive to display her\nexhaustless powers of invention in her forms of living creatures, she\nstill conforms to a type, and has her limits of divergence. The past and\nthe present so agree in all essential points as clearly to demonstrate\na wise and controlling agency, a measure of enjoyment combined with\nan adjustment of figure, which, though approaching the marvelous, has\nresulted from design and the profoundest intelligence. Accordingly,\nthe symptoms of the change we now witness are cotemporaneous. With the\ncretaceous system are introduced new mineral conditions, and along with\nthese there are new forms of existence.\n\nThe animals of the chalk and oolite periods are essentially\ndifferent\u2014still generically shading, indeed, into each other\u2014but so\ndiffering in species, and the appearance for the first time of new\ncreations, as again to announce to us that we tread on sacred ground, and\nwitness in its arrangement and contents the direct agency of Omnipotence.\nWe can form no opinion, no notion whatever, in these changes, of the\n_modus operandi_. We remark simply the effects; and science, amidst all\nits otherwise barren and useless details, then achieves its loftiest\npurposes when it thus traces the footsteps and actings of the Great First\nCause.\n\n1. RANGE AND STRUCTURE OF THE CHALK FORMATION. Considered\nmineralogically, this rock can never fail to arrest attention or\ninquiries, even among the least observant, as to its nature and origin.\nThere is no trace of it in the northern portion of the island; and when\none for the first time sees whole mountains of it, his sensations are not\na little exciting. For our own part, we felt as if we entered a new world\nwhen we gazed upon hills, and their long-furrowed escarpments, of this\ncalcareous snow-drift. Our acquaintance with the mineral had hitherto\nbeen limited to the fragments with which we were wont to trace the lines\nof our schoolboy pastimes. We got no deeper into its mysteries when, on\na higher scale of action, we saw it delineate the diagram, or run over\nthe fluxional problem on the black-board in academy and college-hall. But\nhere! and half an island is covered with these stores of knowledge and of\nindustry. Nine or ten counties on a stretch, from Dorset to Flamborough\nHead, and from Bridport to Deal, are covered over, and for hundreds of\nfeet in depth, with the milk-white earth; and, whichever way you turn and\nbend toward the Capital, there are ample opportunities for the study of\nthis curious page of geological history.\n\nThe chalk beds are not composed of one uniform compact mass of the\nuseful mineral itself, which consists of nearly pure carbonate of\nlime, of soft earthy texture. Geologically considered, the cretaceous\nsystem comprises a series of green and ferruginous sands, clays, marls,\ngray and white limestones; and these again are arranged under three\nleading groups\u2014chalk, gault, and green sand. The _chalk_\u2014properly so\ncalled\u2014is subdivided into the upper and lower,\u2014containing in the upper\nnumerous veins and nodules of flint, and varies in color through several\nintermediate hues, until, in its contact with trap, it assumes a deep\nred. The _gault_ is an argillaceous deposit of stiff, dark blue clays,\nhighly calcareous, and effervesces freely with acids. The _green sand_ is\na triple alternation of sands, cherty limestone, and friable sandstone,\nwith beds, in some places of ocher and Fuller\u2019s earth. The whole series\nmay be estimated at nearly two thousand feet in thickness, formed in\na deep sea basin, the materials floating in very still waters, and\naggregated successively through the combined influence of mechanical,\nchemical, and organic agencies.\n\nThe _mechanical_ influence is very apparent in the sands and marls,\nwhich are evidently the spoils of islands and continents, washed down by\ncurrents and floods of fresh water, and deposited over an ancient ocean\nbed. The _chemical_ composition of the flints or concretionary nodules,\nwhich give such a remarkable character and appearance often to the chalk,\nis equally demonstrable; from fifty to a hundred beds of chalk, pure\nand beautifully white, will sometimes be seen alternating with as many\nbands of dark-colored flints, all regularly arranged as cannon-shot of\nall sizes on a floor, and presenting, for miles along the cliffs of the\nsea-shore, lines of beautifully defined fortifications. The _organic_\nagent is visible in the nucleus of these round masses, which consists\nof an animal or vegetable substance, as a coral, a shell, a piece of\nflustra, or sponge. The nodules assume various shapes, that seem to\nbe molded according to the cavities of the matrix in which they are\nimbedded, but are actually the forms of the bodies or organic substances\nto which they are attached. The explanation given is, that a chemical\nattraction has taken place between the vegetable or animal remains,\nstrewed abundantly through the waters, and the silicious matter held\nin solution. The silex in solution gradually incrusts, or incorporates\nwith, the organized substance,\u2014and thus were produced at once the flinty\nconcretions and the wonderful petrifactions contained in them. Break\nany one of these nodular masses, and minute drops of moisture will, if\nimmediately inspected, be seen to ooze out from its pores: thus clearly\nfurnishing a proof of the state of solution in which it originally\nexisted, and the watery menstruum in which it was produced.\n\nThe mineralogical history and arrangement of the chalk group of rocks\nare therefore in many respects very interesting. The chalk overlies\nthe wealden, which was a mere delta at the river\u2019s mouth. The bed of\nthe river suddenly disappears, and now there rests upon it a deep sea\nformation. How stupendous and overwhelming the forces of nature through\nall her operations! How vast her affluence and prodigality, which could\nso thoroughly alter all her exterior and interior arrangements, and fill\nthe seas with this new matter.\n\nII. THE ORGANIC REMAINS display the boundless profusion of animal life\nwhich prevailed during the cretaceous period. The wealden furnishes no\ngrounds of comparison, as that is simply a local fresh water deposit,\nand consequently can furnish no test of the general condition of life\nupon the surface of the globe. But when we go back to the oolitic period\nwe obtain a standard by which to measure the doings of nature in the\ninterval, what new creations started into being, and what provisions\nwere made for their subsistence. The state of the temperature cannot be\ndetermined, as the products, with the rarest possible exceptions, are\nwholly marine, and therefore affected by atmospheric influences in a\nvery small degree. Neither can much be conjectured concerning the state\nof the land, as scarcely a fragment of true terrestrial life has been\ndetected in the deposit; and yet, from the stillness and comparatively\nsmall dimensions of sea-basins into which the earthy ingredients were\nfloated, the probability is that the land was both lofty and widely\nextended. One mammalian, and the remains of a solitary bird, and a meager\nsprinkling of vegetables, constitute the whole, and even dubious, amount\nof contributions from this department of nature. To Neptune, therefore,\nthe pal\u00e6ontologist turns his undivided attention; and, comparing one\nperiod with another, he finds the following results:\n\nThe cretaceous deposits all lie WITHIN THE AREA of the oolites. They\nare _conformable_ generally in position, and display, in proportion to\ntheir extent, a like superabundance of calcareous earth. Hence a return\nto polyp and shelly types of life, which we find so characteristic and\ndiversified in both epochs.\n\nThus of the first order, Amorphozoa, the oolitic age produced only one\ngenus; in the cretaceous we find thirteen genera, in the list Spongia,\nwhich is common to both. Of Zoophytes, there are twenty-three genera in\nthe former, and seventeen in the latter\u2014of which nine are common to both\nperiods. The Echinodermata number eighteen in the oolite, and twenty-five\nin the chalk\u2014five only common. The genus Foraminifera is entirely new\nin the latter formation, and consists of twelve ascertained genera, and\nnearly double the number of species. Of Annelida there are four genera in\nthe oolite, and six in the chalk, in which the new order of Cirrhipeda\noccurs likewise. The Astacus is the only crustacean in the oolitic group:\nthis and three new genera are found in the chalk. The Conchifera are\nvery numerous in both deposits; forty-six in the older, and thirty-eight\ngenera in the newer, of which eight are peculiar to the chalk. Monymaria\nare nearly in the same relative proportions. _Rudistes_ occurs, as a new\norder, for the first time in the chalk, while again the Brachiopods,\nGasteropods, and Cephalopods, are about equally abundant in both\nformations, with additions in the chalk to the generic models. And here\ntoo the new order Pteropoda, of a single genus and species, is introduced\nto our contemplation. Ammonites and Belemnites do not pass this age.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n 1. Pecten quinque-costatus.\n 2. Plagiostoma Spinosum.\n 3. Hamites intermedius.\n 4. Spatangus cor-anguinum.\n 5. Galerites albogalerus.\n 6. Scaphites Striatus.\n 7. Belemnites mucronatus.]\n\nThe fishes of the two periods are equally striking in their contrasts;\nthe two orders of Ganoids and Placoids are common to both, while the\nCtenoids and Cycloids appear for the first time in the history of\nour planet, and which were afterward to contribute so largely to the\nsustenance and comforts of man. The Reptilians show a declension in\nthe latter period in numbers, with the introduction, however, of four\nnew genera\u2014one of which (the Iguanodon Mantelli), is also found in the\nwealden.\n\nThe Cimoliornis Diomedeus, described by Professor Owen, is the only\nspecimen of the order Aves or bird-tribe that as yet appears over this\nwaste of waters. The term _cimoliornis_ means simply the chalk-bird,\nand is allied, in some of its osseous processes, to the albatross, but\nalso differs in too many points to be regarded as the ancestor of that\ncourageous storm-braving animal. The claims of this fossil, indeed, to\nits true place in the system, have not yet been fully established. \u201cOf\nthe few actually fossilized remains of birds,\u201d says Professor Owen, \u201cthat\nhave been discovered in England, the most complete and characteristic\nare those from the London clay. Some fragmentary Ornitholites have been\ndiscovered in the older pliocene crag, and in the newer pliocene fresh\nwater deposits and bone caves. Extremely scanty have hitherto been the\nrecognizable remains of birds from the chalk formations. The fossil from\nthe wealden, which I formerly believed, with Cuvier and Dr. Mantell, to\nbelong to a wading bird, I have since adduced reasons for referring to\nthe extinct genus of flying reptiles called Pterodactyle.\u201d The fossil\nbones of the Cimoliornis were obtained by the Earl of Enniskillen from\nthe chalk beds near Maidstone, and resemble the humerus of the albatross\nin form, proportions and size; there are no distinct traces of the\nattachments of the quill-feathers in any of the fragments; but in other\npoints there are analogies to the osseous structure of birds; and there\nare bones so gigantic as will assign them a place, if the proofs are\ncompleted, among the enormous foot-print class of the permian age, and go\nalmost to realize the fabulous \u201croc\u201d of the Arabian romance.\n\nOur attention in this group of deposits, however, is riveted more by\nthe little than the great\u2014by the microscopic than the gigantic forms of\nlife. It is astounding, indeed, to contemplate the myriads of creatures\nwhich swarmed in the seas during this period. A fragment of chalk, the\nsize of a garden pea, contains thousands of perfect shells; these shells\ninclose still, in many instances, the pulpy animal matter; and consist\nof a series of distinct well-defined chambers. In a cubic inch of the\nrock it is calculated that there are upward of a million of infusorial\nanimalcules. Yet their orders are determined, their genera fixed,\ntheir very species are described, so perfect is the structure, and so\nthoroughly preserved all the parts of their minute shelly coverlets. The\nmicroscope has restored, under the action of certain dilute acids, the\ncontour and shape of entire hosts of these creatures. Some specimens,\nso positively can it speak of them, appear to consist of tubes placed\nedgewise,\u2014one projecting sometimes beyond another. Others are seen to\npossess a series of tubular organs placed parallel, and disposed in long\nlines of fragile reticulated riband. Some are oblong figures. Others\nare complicated, exhibiting numerous projecting processes, and of every\nvariety of shape. Some resemble the shell of the nautilus; others are\nstill detected with the skin adhering to the skeleton; while in the\nstomachs and digestive sacs of others the more minute infusoria, which\nthe diminutive monster had swallowed, are made palpable to the sight.\n\nAll this may be called trifling, a misapplication of talent, a waste of\ningenuity. What terms too grand to describe the lofty speculations of\nthe astronomer, who points his telescope to some dark point in the blue\nsky, and descries in its infinite depths a cluster of closely aggregated\nshining particles, minute as the motes in the sunbeam, and hails it as\nthe discovery of a new system of worlds. He cannot count them, for they\nare innumerable. He cannot measure them, for they have no dimensions. He\ncannot tell their relations, nor describe their orbits of motion, for\na sparkling heap of star-dust is all that flits before the reflector.\nBut the boundaries of knowledge are enlarged, and though man nor any of\nthe arts may ever be benefited thereby, the fortunate discoverer will\nhave his name inscribed in that distant region of the universe, and\ntransmitted from generation to generation with increasing luster.\n\nThe discoveries of the geologist may be inferior in grandeur, but\nare they practically less illustrative in their bearings on existing\narrangements? He sees the past in the present, the near and the distant\nin time brought together. A charm is thereby thrown over studies and\nspeculations which would otherwise be useless. Thus, in the mineral\nstructures resulting from the agencies of these invisible organic bodies,\nthe mind is struck with the resemblance to similar processes that may\nbe now going forward in the ocean: it sees in the discoloration of\nthe waves, as the voyager steers his vessel over the main, a light by\nwhich to decipher the story of an age; and, while no voice issues from\nthe countless myriads of animals which thicken the waters, rocks are\nelaborating and depositions made that will yet be raised into islands or\ncontinents. \u201cOn the coast of Chili, a few leagues north of Conception,\nthe Beagle,\u201d says Dr. Darwin, \u201cone day passed through great bands of\nmuddy water, which, when taken up in a glass, was found to be slightly\nstained as if by red dust, and after leaving it for some time quiet, a\ncloud collected at the bottom. With a lens of one-fourth of an inch focal\ndistance, small hyaline points could be seen, darting about with great\nrapidity, and frequently exploding. Examined with a much higher power,\ntheir shape was found to be oval, and contracted by a ring round the\nmiddle, from which line curved little set\u00e6 proceeded on all sides; and\nthese were the organs of motion. The animals move with the narrow apex\nforward, by the aid of their vibratory cilia, and generally by rapid\nstarts. Their numbers were infinite, and in one day we passed through two\nspaces of water thus stained, one of which alone must have extended over\nseveral square miles. The color of the water, as seen at some distance,\nwas like that of a river which has flowed through a red clay district;\nbut under the shade of the vessel\u2019s side, it was quite as dark as\nchocolate.\u201d\n\nThese are the foundation-builders of future islands, of the very color\nand size, it may be, as those which piled up these masses of the\nbrick-red chalk. In an ounce of sea-sand, from three to four millions\nof these minute bodies have been enumerated. Twenty-two thousand can be\nplaced side by side on a linear inch of surface. One single individual,\nin the course of a month in summer, will produce as many as 800,000,000.\nIn a globule of water, a cubic inch contains more inhabitants than are\nnow existing of the human family on the face of the globe. The skeletons\nof the animalcula are transported through the air in the form of a\nfine impalpable dust, covering the decks of vessels, and darkening the\natmosphere many hundred miles distant at sea. The eye can trace nothing\nof structure\u2014not even of granular form\u2014and while clothes, rigging, and\nevery crevice is filled and discolored with the organic nebul\u00e6, it is\nnot until the highest microscopic powers are applied, that it becomes\nresolvable and demonstrated to be a system of living creatures, moving\nthrough space, and fulfilling their destiny!\n\nThe views of nature thus opened up are boundless and infinite, in either\nterms of the scale, ascending or descending. The immensity of things\non the one side, and their minuteness on the other, carry them equally\nbeyond the reach of direct observation, and the intervention of means\nmust in both cases be provided, ere they can become the subjects of human\nperception and examination. But what is it to me, some will reason, if\nthere lie within the depths of space myriads of rolling worlds, when I\nsee them not, and whose revolutions can in no way affect my condition\non earth? These rocks around are but obstacles in my way, or stones for\nwhich I have no regard, as I can apply them to no useful purpose. I\nknow that every blade of grass, every leaf in the forest, every drop of\nwater, every grain of sand, teem with living creatures. And, in the air\nI breathe, systems more, beyond the ken of human view \u201cboth when we wake\nand when we sleep,\u201d revel in the irresponsible enjoyment of sentient\nexistence. Science, viewed in this light, and calculated upon the rule of\nmere statistical enumeration, may be reckoned as utterly valueless, and\nknowledge as but a term for MATERIALISM.\n\nBut neither astronomy nor geology will permit our speculations thus to\nterminate. A principle of causation is involved in both, and to trace\nthis through a chain of sequences and effects, whether in the great or\nlittle, in the remote or near, is the one grand aim of philosophy. If\nI can perceive no bounds to the vast expanse in which natural causes\noperate, and can fix no border or termination of the universe; and if\nI am equally at a loss to discern things in their elements, and to\ndiscover the limits which terminate the subdivisions of organic matter,\nmy inquiries will not here cease. The mind will not be satisfied so to\nclose and to shut up the thesis propounded. I am compelled to advance\nonward, even as the objects recede from the view, or expand in magnitude\nbeyond the grasp of comprehension. The soul is filled with the idea\nof immensity, as it familiarizes itself to the thought of the highest\nmountains of the earth being but specks on its surface\u2014the terraqueous\nglobe as an atom compared with the sun\u2014the sun itself dwindling to a\nstar from some point in the distant fields of space\u2014and even all the\nsystems that sparkle in the clearest sky only as faint streaks of light,\nor not discernible even for millions of years after their creation,\nin the systems that replenish and shine in the still remoter void.\nSpeculations, lofty as these, do leave something behind\u2014something nobler\nthan arithmetical calculation\u2014and knowledge becomes SPIRITUALIZED by them.\n\nThe same result follows, when we descend in the scale of nature toward\nthe other limit, when we perceive a like gradation from minute bodies to\nothers incomprehensibly more minute, and are led as far below sensible\nmeasures of perception, as we were before carried beyond them, until\nvision is lost in utter vacuity and obliteration of all organic form. But\nthe more attenuated and fragile the structure, the more the manifestation\nof Omnipotence and superintending care. If from microscopical observation\nwe discover animals, thousands of which scarce form an atom perceptible\nto unassisted sense\u2014each of which are endowed with a system of vessels,\nand fluids circulating in those vessels\u2014if we can trace the propagation,\nnourishment, and growth of these animals\u2014observe their motions,\ncapacities of action, limits and conditions of existence\u2014all this through\ncountless millions and multiplications of tribes and generations\u2014and,\nfinally, after their term of being ended, now find them entombed in\nrocks, and elaborated into useful minerals;\u2014knowledge thus pursued\nbecomes again the handmaid of RELIGION, and terminates in the conviction,\nthat we live in a universe over which the eye of Omniscience and love has\nbeen ever wakeful and predominant. The telescope leads to one verge of\ninfinity, the microscope brings us to another; and in the discoveries of\nboth there is the firmest assurance, that as nothing is too distant and\nvast for the Creator\u2019s control, so nothing is too minute for His wise and\nfatherly care.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nTHE TERTIARY SYSTEM.\n\n\nThe Tertiary System forms the last great subdivision of the rocky\nstrata of the earth\u2014the last in the creative, as well as geographical,\ndistribution of organic and inorganic matter\u2014antecedent to the human\nepoch. All the European and partly Asiatic chains of mountains were again\nfarther elevated toward the close of the preceding period. Europe itself\nassumed a more distinctive shape and contour, a bolder coast-line, higher\nplateaux, deeper and more extensive lakes. Great Britain was rounded into\nform, settled upon new foundations, and already stood out, in her western\nand northern belt of granitic and primary rocks, the empress of the ocean.\n\nIn thus recalling the features of the old world, and marking the\nconfiguration of a newer state of things, geology furnishes indubitable\nevidence upon which to establish these and other more general\nconclusions. The physical geography of the globe is inseparably connected\nwith the series of changes we have been contemplating. The elevation,\nsmall and isolated as it appears, of the formation termed the wealden,\nsupplies a key by which to measure the rivers and deltas of our own\nisland. The chalk, forming at the time the bed of the ocean, remained for\na period in undisturbed repose, as evidenced by the hollows and erosive\naction seen on its surface. Then a series of convulsive movements, over\na vast area, are indicated by the disrupted and altered position of the\nstrata, when the bottom of the sea was lifted up, and its whole marine\nfauna completely changed. The secondary era passed away: the new tertiary\narrangements, animate and inanimate, from henceforth commence.\n\nThus rolls on the mighty course of time. A continent is the gift of one\nage: half a globe is shattered and wasted in the next. All living things\nbecome extinct and entombed in this quarter: in that, there are new\nand more abundant creations. The face of nature is again redolent with\nbeauty: life, profusion, and enjoyment are everywhere abounding.\n\n \u201cLook down on earth. What seest thou? Wondrous things,\n Terrestrial wonders that eclipse the skies.\n Nor can the eternal rocks His will withstand\u2014\n What leveled mountains, and what lifted vales!\n High through mid air, here streams are taught to flow\u2014\n Whole rivers there, laid by in basins, sleep\u2014\n Here plains turn oceans; there vast oceans join,\n Through kingdoms, channel\u2019d deep from shore to shore.\u201d\n\nThe geological district upon which we now enter, embraces London as\nnearly the center of its range, from which in every direction, along\nevery line of railway, sections of the tertiary deposits are laid open:\ncabinets of conchology are to be met with in every pit for forty miles\naround; and what facilities to visit and examine them all with the speed\nof the wind. Not a spot but may be reached at a wish, sections more than\ncan be numbered are in every locality, and in half the time one makes the\nascent of Schehalion, he has taken the circuit of several counties.\n\nLondon! what can it be likened or compared to? Nothing is so unlike as a\nsimile, and we need not try to describe this emporium of the world by a\ncomparison. It is not Rome nor Thebes, nor Nineveh, nor Babylon, but more\nthan them all in the stirring activities of mere animal existence\u2014more\nboundless in wealth\u2014more dominant in conquests\u2014more all-embracing in\ncommerce; as deep in its sins, arrogant in its pride, haughty in its\nsupremacy, as Queen City of the nations. About twelve hundred souls are\nevery week added to that dense mass of human beings. As many, nearly, are\nevery week blotted from the sum of mortal existence. No metropolis on\nthis mundane scene ever stood in a similar relation to all other nations\nand cities of the world, whose every wish, for weal or woe, so affected\nthe destinies of all the families of men. A part of every one of them\nis therein concentrated. Not a tribe but has its representative. Not a\nspecimen or production of human skill but is borne thither. Genius, wit,\nindustry, ingenuity, are in all their most beautiful creative efforts\nindelibly embalmed; and were that mighty pile to be ingulfed in the bosom\nof the waters, out of which its foundations were recently lifted up, the\n_genus homo_ would, in all its entireness, be conserved together\u2014the type\nand wonder of our own geological epoch.\n\nThis city, too, contains everything else that the world contains. A\nspecimen of every living thing is here; and things which cannot live,\nbut pine and die away from their native haunts, have been carefully\npreserved and skillfully arranged for the inspection of the curious.\nThe kaleidoscope, in all its phantasmagoria of change and infinite\ndiversity of hues, can display nothing half so various as the realities\nof nature; and types of the entire modern era, from the extinct Dodo to\nthe recently-discovered Moas of Wanganui, are before you in all their\ndiversified forms, from the misshapen and fantastic to the loveliest of\nearthly creations. When Adam gave names to the creatures of the field,\nthey are simply said to have been \u201cbrought unto him to see what he would\ncall them;\u201d every tree pleasant to the sight grew out of the ground; and\nEve, Milton beautifully represents\n\n \u201cwent forth among her fruits and flowers,\n To visit how they prosper\u2019d, bud and bloom,\n Her nursery; they at her coming sprung.\u201d\n\nHere are all things once more assembled, and as the tree of knowledge no\nlonger bars from the tree of life, we can innocently search into all the\nmysteries, and see all the qualities and shapes, of every earthly object.\n\nNor is London less privileged and distinguished by its geological\ntreasures and multifarious condition of things beneath. The capital\nstands on the tertiary _Eocene_ strata, or last of the rocky series of\nthe island. The pre-Adamic arrangements all here cease, the boundaries\nbetwixt the old and the new world are here drawn. The age of HUMANITY\ndawns. And, interred in the deposits immediately below, lie the last\nof a series of monsters which preceded man\u2019s introduction upon the\nstage, and between whom and all his race an unequal war of merciless\nextermination must have prevailed. The reasoning animal, indeed, at once\nthe most helpless and most potent of nature\u2019s offspring, could but ill\nhave existed under a constitution of the elements which fostered the\nPal\u00e6otheriums and Ch\u00e6ropotami of the tertiary age.\n\nNeither the romance of geology nor the era of prodigies, therefore,\nare yet over. The curtain once more requires to be lifted from the\ndark regions of the past, ere we approach the arrangements, forms, and\ndistribution of animal and vegetable life, of the epoch in which our own\nlot has been cast.\n\nI. THE TERTIARY GROUP consists of a series of well-marked and closely\nconnected beds of clays, sands, gravel, brecciated conglomerate, marls,\nand limestones; some of which are of marine, and some of fresh water\norigin\u2014points only to be determined by their respective fossil remains.\nSome lithological distinctions may also be established; the marine\ndeposits are less minutely laminated than those of the fresh water;\nand also, in general, the beds are thicker, and their sediments more\nconfused in their arrangement. \u201cLimestones, and fine light-colored\nclays,\u201d says Mr. Phillips, \u201cconstitute the principal mass of the fresh\nwater sediments; while sands, and blue and variously-colored clays, more\nparticularly mark the marine depositions. The latter appear like the\nproducts of littoral agitation, as if the wearing of cliffs of older\nstrata had furnished the materials of these newer rocks; while the\nformer resemble the accumulations from the wasting surface of chalky and\nargillaceous countries.\u201d\n\nThese deposits lie in hollows and depressions of the chalk formation, and\nconstitute what is termed the London basin. A similar series of materials\noccur in Hampshire, separated from the former by the upraised edges of\nthe subjacent strata, which, cropping out in like manner on the south,\ninclose them also in a basin-shaped area. The same arrangement prevails\nacross the channel, where a suite of rocks referable to the same age lie\n_within_ the chalks, and constitute the well-known Paris basin, whose\nremarkable remains were first brought to light from their tomb of ages\nin Montmartre by M. Brongniart and Cuvier, upward of thirty years ago.\nThe Auvergne basins, in central France, are equally well characterized.\nAnd, stretching onward through southern Europe, the tertiary deposits\noccupy positions nearly similar; and all composed, with slight local\nvariations, of kindred fossils and sediments.\n\nGeology has been compared to history. We also see how it embraces the\nwhole range of physical geography, restoring the land-marks of the past,\nand presenting pictures of the earth\u2019s surface which the mere traveler\ncan no longer detect. The rolling Thames, with town, spire, and villa\nnestling in every slope, and tunnel, bridges, and\n\n \u201cCrowded ports,\n Where rising masts an endless prospect yield,\u201d\u2014\n\nwe seek in vain for on the geological map of the period. There were\nspice islands, with aromatic gales, palm trees, dates, turtles lazily\npacing the sands, and crocodiles heavily climbing the banks, or plunging\nand gamboling in the deeper pools. A Polynesia, with a tropical climate\nand corresponding luxuriance of vegetable and animal life, occupied\nthe intermediate regions of Europe and Western Asia. On the south and\nwest a vast continent loomed over the main, whence, in part at least,\nthe detrital matter of the several basins alluded to was derived; and\nthere, too, in all probability, the source of the spasmodic action which\nsuccessively elevated and depressed the bed of the sea on which were\naccumulating the tertiary deposits, and whose throes finally terminated\nin its own submergence, and upheaval of the south-east coast of Britain,\nand the whole of central Europe. Gulliver returned with a report of\nstrange people, flying islands, and fertile descriptions of impossible\nmonstrosities. Geology deals in a simple shifting of the scenes, new\narrangements in the drama of creation, and is entitled to credit in its\nboldest assumptions, furnishing proof, as it abundantly does, from the\nexisting wreck of those vanished realities to which it now assigns local\nhabitation and name. London occupies the bottom of an ancient sea, whose\nspoils, six or seven hundred feet in thickness, are there to attest\nthe fact; and for miles around, every excavation into the marine mass\nmultiplies the evidence, and repeats the story of its existence.\n\nThe plastic and London clays constitute the lower beds of the series\nimmediately above the chalk, and are nearly co-extensive in their range.\nFrom Reading on the west, these sediments stretch eastward through the\nvalley of the Thames along the right bank to Margate; on the left,\nthey cover the entire district to Ipswich; and constitute a very large\npart of the soil of the adjacent counties from Norfolk to Hampshire,\nprevailing more especially through the central and eastern districts.\nMr. Prestwick has recently shown, that the lower English tertiaries form\nseveral distinct subdivisions, each marked by different conditions, and\nthese conditions indicating ancient hydrographical and pal\u00e6ontological\nchanges of importance. A conglomerate bed of round flint pebbles, mixed\nwith yellow, green, or ferruginous sands, extends almost uninterruptedly\nfrom the Isle of Wight to Woodbridge, in Suffolk; this bed underlies the\nLondon clay, intercalated betwixt it and the plastic clay, and forms\na well-marked geological horizon, dividing this formation from the\nolder Eocene deposits. It contains thirty known, and eight or ten still\nundescribed species of testacea, twenty of which are not found in the\nlower deposits, while all are nearly identical with those of the superior\nand London clay beds. The plastic formation thus embraces the London\nclay, as the chalk does both, which again in its turn is embraced by the\noolites; whence the older and _inferior systems_ all widen, and extend\nsuccessively as the bed of the sea was elevated; and hence the basins\nwere gradually narrowed and contracted as they approached the last and\nclosing ante-human epoch.\n\nA kind of convergency in all this can be distinctly traced in the\nsuperficies of the earth to the state which it has now assumed. A similar\napproximation in its living inhabitants, as will immediately appear, can\nas clearly be pointed out to its present occupants. Intelligent will and\ndesign are equally manifest in the arrangements; for, however great the\namount of change, the restraining hand of foresight is visibly present\nin them all, and, in every successive advance to the present order of\nthings, a purpose is discernible in making the more effectual provision\nfor the permanent stability of the human system.\n\nII. THE ORGANIC REMAINS of the tertiary deposits, if they possess not\nso much of antiquity as those which have already passed in review, are\nall the more interesting and worthy of attention, as they admit of a\ncloser comparison with the established order of things, and the laws now\nregulating the distribution of animal and vegetable life. The locality\nmost fertile in the organic remains of this period is the small island\nof Sheppey, situated near the mouth of the Thames, which is not more\nwelcomely descried by the home-bound mariner as a Pharos of light and\nsafety from the howling waste of waters, than it has proved to the\npal\u00e6ontologist a repository and beacon-light for determining the most\nrecondite mysteries connected with almost every living thing, in sea or\nland, during the Eocene age. It consists entirely of the London clay\ndeposit, of an average thickness of five hundred feet, and displaying\nin the cliffs vertical faces two hundred feet high. The fossils in both\nlocalities are almost identical; in the isle of Sheppey they are more\nabundant, as well as accessible; and, in consequence, they have been more\nminutely and generally described.\n\n1. The shells are very abundant. A few genera have survived the changes\nand disturbances succeeding the upheaval of the chalk, and a single\nspecies of Gasteropodes (Act\u00e6on elongatus), is common to both formations.\nThe Belemnites and Ammonites, swarming in the seas of the secondary\nperiod, are now entirely withdrawn. The Nautilus is but sparingly\nrepresented. The new genus Cerithium is introduced, a long, tapering,\nspiral-formed shell, and apparently of strong predaceous habits. Lobsters\nresembling existing species are very abundant. The Nummulites, of which\nentire rocks were formed during the secondary age, still survive. And,\nas an index to the state of temperature, it requires to be mentioned,\nthat many species, now found only in tropical seas, are mixed with the\ntestaceous fossils of these localities.\n\n2. The fishes are equally peculiar and characteristic of the era upon\nwhich we enter. Nothing can more strikingly show the violence and\nuniversality of the change that was cotemporaneous with the tertiary\narrangements, than the total disappearance of the old tribes of fishes,\nand their replacement by entirely new specific, and a large infusion\nlikewise of new generic, types. The change is no less remarkable when\nviewed in its relation to existing races, every one of which, with the\nsolitary exception of the salmon family, have here their representatives.\nPerch, cod, herring, mackerel, eels, had all become occupants of the seas\nof this period, and their remains deposited in the clays of Sheppey\nare in the greatest profusion. \u201cThe number of fossil fish from the\nLondon clay,\u201d says Agassiz, \u201camounts to ninety-two in the one single\nlocality of Sheppey, without counting ten species to which I have not yet\nassigned names, not having hitherto been able to characterize them in a\nsatisfactory manner.\u201d The difficulty arises from two causes\u2014the imperfect\nand fragmentary state of the fossils themselves, and the new principle\nadopted by him for their classification.\n\nMost of the fishes belonging to the tertiary era are of the Cycloid and\nCtenoid orders, with thin fragile scales, which, unlike the Ganoids whose\ncuirassed bodies were protected by a thick covering of plates, have\nbeen unable to preserve the integrity of their form and outline. The\ngreater number of these interesting remains, accordingly, have rotted\nin the matrix, their bones separating, and the soft parts all replaced\nby clay. The scales are _disaggregated_ (leur s\u00e9cailles d\u00e9sagr\u00e9g\u00e9es),\nand the cranium alone of the osseous structure remaining entire, owing\nto the soldering of the pieces composing it, the ingenious naturalist\nhas adopted this single organ as the basis of the new system. \u201cThe\ncharacteristic features of the skulls of the mammalia and reptilia are\nknown; the variations which such a bone, such a crest, such a groove\nmay undergo in such and such a family are understood; and already, at\nthe first glance, it is possible to ascertain whether the animal under\nconsideration is carnivorous, ruminant, or solipedal. But nothing is\nmore variable than the forms of the cranium and of the heads of fish.\nThe multitude of bones and of spines which serve for the attachment of\nthe muscles, the infinite variety of forms in the families themselves,\nimpart such a diversity to the crania of the fish, that the ichthyologist\nfrequently despairs of being able to reduce them to their respective\ntypes, and in fact a comparative craniology of fish does not exist. There\nis no one, that I know, who can tell at first sight, whether such and\nsuch a cranium belongs to a percoid, to a sparoid, or to a chetodontal\ntype.\u201d[8]\n\nIsolated crania and detached vertebr\u00e6 are nearly all that remain of the\nSheppey fossils, and the conclusions established from them by M. Agassiz,\nare as follows, throwing new and important light upon the two last great\nand approximating geological epochs.\n\nThe English coasts, at present, are inhabited by one hundred and\nsixty-three species of fish, of which there are eighty-one genera,\ndivided among six predominant families, while two or three are only\noccasionally domiciled. Sixty species belong to the order of Ctenoids,\nfifty to that of the Cycloids, and eleven to the Ganoids. The fossil\ndistribution establishes the following results: of Ctenoids twelve\nspecies, eleven genera, and three families, of which the perch tribe is\nthe most numerous; three genera of the Teuthi\u00e6, a family essentially\nmeridional, and occurring only in southern seas, a fact which shows\na higher climatic condition of temperature than now exists in this\nlatitude; thirty-two species of the Cycloid order, twenty-six genera,\nand eleven families\u2014of these the cod and mackerel tribes are the most\nnumerous. While no trace of the family Salmonid\u00e6 has been detected in\nthe tertiary deposit, a family exclusively tropical, the Characid\u00e6,\nis found to have had congeners of very considerable size in the more\nancient epoch. The haddock, cod, and ling races are very abundant\u2014a fact,\nsays Agassiz, which proves that, notwithstanding the more meridional\nphysiognomy of the Sheppey deposit as a whole, there is nevertheless\nalready an approximation in the fish of this interesting locality toward\nthe actual character of the ichthyological fauna of England.\n\nThe living representatives of most of these fossils are, if anywhere, to\nbe looked for in southern and tropical latitudes; for, notwithstanding\nof an approximation, there is not much of real identity of type between\nthe existing and extinct races of the British seas. In fact, there are\nbut four genera, _Megalops_, _Cybium_, _Tetrapterus_, and _Myripristis_,\nwhose families are still known in the current epoch; and but very few\nspecies, from the rich prolific beds of Sheppey, have been as yet\nrendered into living forms.\u2014The fishes most nearly related to the present\ninhabitants of warmer climes are those which are obtained from the fossil\ntertiary deposits of Monte Bolca in northern Italy, and in the little\nexplored region of Mount Lebanon. Much remains to be done, therefore,\nbefore wider generalizations can be fully established. The knowledge\nalready acquired in this department of ichthyology confirms every\nprevious inference relating to periodic physical changes of the globe,\nand their convergency to the order and arrangements of nature which now\nprevail over the earth.\n\n3. The reptiles and semi-natants of the tertiary period lead to the same\ngeneral conclusions. The intercourse now so closely established betwixt\nthis country and Borneo throws new light, every day more and more, upon\nthe ancient condition of our island. The resemblance, both in the fauna\nand flora of these remote places, is striking throughout; when, for\n_space_ on the one hand we substitute _time_ on the other, we have nearly\na transcript of their respective conditions. The northern swarmed with\nthe crocodiles of the southern hemisphere: the boa constrictor has his\nrepresentatives in the serpents of the London clay; and turtles, both of\nmarine and fresh water characters, are equally abundant. The Pythonic\nmonster is also there, represented by reptilians which now only inhabit\ntropical countries, and prey on quadrupeds and birds, both of which\nbecame abundant during the tertiary age.\n\n4. The mammalia consisted of large pachyderms or thick-skinned animals,\nnow represented by the rhinoceros, tapir, and elephant. Wolves, foxes,\nand raccoons, mice, rats, rabbits, hogs, even monkeys, began also to flit\nover the stage of stirring life. The existence of the order Quadrumana\nand the ape genus Macacus, during the earlier tertiary period, was\ndetermined by the discovery of the fragment of a lower jaw, including\nthe socket of the last molar tooth, in a stratum of blue clay in\nSuffolk, and described in the \u201cMagazine of Natural History,\u201d for 1839,\nby Professor Owen. Other remains have been detected of the same animal\nin France, the East Indies, and South America, establishing beyond a\ndoubt the co-existence of four different genera of apes and monkeys\nwith the extinct mammalians of the English tertiary deposits.\u2014That\nthese creatures were anterior to MAN, in point of creation, is in\naccordance with all geological evidence regarding the animal kingdom.\nThe progressive development theory avails itself of the fact, but can\nestablish less upon it than if it took the example of the bat\u2014which,\nin anatomical structure, resembles the human family scarcely less than\nthe monkey! But geographically considered, it furnishes a striking\ninstance of the wonderful revolution which this island has undergone\nsince the comparatively recent epoch of the tertiary formation. Images\nand pictures of life are thus called up in the vista of the past, which\nat once transport the mind into the bosom of the wilderness or remote\nAfric forest; and long ere man had betaken himself to cities, or a stone\nof all that huge capital had been dug out of the earth, or a sail of\nall its vast commercial greatness had been wafted over the waters, the\nvery spot on which he has developed the greatest resources of his power,\nenterprise, and genius, was tenanted by those tribes which approach\nhim nearest in form, which philosophers have mistaken for his type,\nbut in which the semblance of external figure is lamentably contrasted\nby the absence of all that moral framework, mind, and spirit, which\npre-eminently distinguish and glorify the human race!\n\nA remarkable peculiarity in the mammalian remains of the tertiary period\nis the total absence of the ruminating animals, which do not appear\nuntil the modern epoch, when we recognize them at once as the companions\nand useful contributors to the comforts of man. These still retain \u201cthe\nnames\u201d which Adam bestowed upon them. The more ancient creations rejoice\nin the mythical nomenclature of science, of which between fifty and sixty\nspecies have been determined. The greater proportion are from the Paris\nbasin; but the district under review contains, in its lower and middle\ndivisions, the remains of some of the more remarkable of the group\u2014as\nthe _Pal\u00e6otherium_, _Anoplotherium_, _Lophiodon_, _Ch\u0153ropotamus_,\n_Didelphis_, _Bal\u0153enodon_, and the huge _Mastodon_.\u2014These animals are\nspecifically different from everything now in existence; even Macacus\nEocenus will find no lineal descendant in Ceylon, Madagascar, or the\nCape; and no Celtic pedigree will meet the case. The race have left our\nisland, and departed from the earth; and to restore them in imagination,\nwe must seek their nearest analogies in the impenetrable fastnesses and\nprairies of unreclaimed nature.\n\n5. BIRDS are distinctly traceable in this formation. The Eocene clays of\nthe Isle of Sheppey have produced materials sufficiently indicative of\nthe class, in which the true affinities of the aerial inhabitants are\ndetected, and a new genus completely established. The specimens found\nbear a resemblance to the osteology of the smaller kinds of vultures,\nand one has been designated Lithornis Vulturinus. The \u2018Icones fossilium\nsectiles\u2019 of K\u0153nig contains a description of some other ornitholites\nfound in the same locality, considered by the author as belonging to a\nnatatorial or long-toed bird, and denominated Bucklandium Diluvii. The\nParis basin is more fruitful in these fossils than the London; from these\nseveral species have been determined\u2014more or less allied to the pelican,\nthe sea-lark, curlew, woodcock, buzzard, owl, and quail; thus clearly\nestablishing the link in the chain of being, but still at a wide interval\nfrom the gay choristers and domesticated tribes which minister so much to\nthe solace and happiness of man. The geologist traces the connection, and\nsees in the expanse of ages, as race after race emerge upon the scene, a\ngradual preparation and tendency of all things to a final result; sea,\nearth, and air successively possessed by creatures approximating as they\nadvance to those of the human epoch; and man proudly or presumptuously\nconcludes, that all has been \u201cworked solely for his good.\u201d But as the\npoet has sung\u2014may we not ask, and ask concerning the humblest life which\nman often despises and as often terribly destroys, but which is never\noverlooked by Him who made man and all things, and whose tender care is\nover all his works?\u2014\n\n \u201cIs it for thee, the lark ascends and sings?\n Joy tunes his voice, joy elevates his wings.\n Is it for thee, the linnet pours his throat?\n Loves of his own, and raptures swell the note.\n Is thine alone, the seed that strews the plain?\n The birds of Heaven shall vindicate their grain.\u201d\n\n6. And in the Flora which then decked the plains, fringed the marshes, or\nclothed the heights, \u201cthe birds of heaven\u201d had ample provision in seed,\nfruit, and herbage for all their wants. Remarkable indeed the adaptation\nof the animal tribes referred to in the previous section to the\nlacustrine condition of the surface which still so generally prevailed.\nThe plants of the period are such as are now exclusively confined to warm\nor tropical latitudes. The palms and cocoa-nut bearing trees are abundant\nand of different kinds. One family belongs to the _Nipadites_, which\nare found in Japan and the Spice Islands, generally in the estuaries of\nrivers, or along the tracts of damp marshy grounds. The lovely Acacia was\nhere naturalized. Pepper, dates, and cucumbers added to the variety of\nthe sylvan banquet, which tall branching pines shaded from the scorching\nheat. If we are no longer in possession of the luxurious fruits and\ncondiment-bearing plants of this early age, the change has led to other\nand better productions. For deep lakes we have these verdant meadows and\ncorn plains; the stagnant marshes are drained of their mephitic vapors;\nthe theroid monsters are supplanted by the laboring ox and the industrial\nhorse; and with all the arts flourishing, and carried to the highest\npitch along her borders, the proudest achievements of science wafted on\nher bosom\u2014the \u201cfruitful Thame\u201d may challenge the nations of the earth for\nevery product which climate yields or genial suns ripen.\n\nSuch was the dawn or introduction to the present order of things. In the\nlanguage of geology it is called the EOCENE AGE of the world, because it\napproaches in its organic productions to those which are now existing,\nand containing a very few recent species, not more than three or four\nper cent. Nature did not all at once leap from one epoch to another. In\nthe tertiary deposits there is evidence of successive creations, rests\nand pauses, as it were, before the final and crowning consummation of\nher works. More and more analogies begin to manifest themselves in the\nascending series of the group. The Miocene, or middle period, develops a\nyet larger proportion, though not a majority, of the present inhabitants\nof the sea. The Pleiocene arrangements follow; and in the shells and\nterrestrial products of this group the modern characters and types are\nstill more clearly discernible. When we reach the highest members, the\ndifficulties of separation from the modern deposits begin to multiply;\nthe mineral qualities and mere earthy beds are not distinguishable;\nwhile, on the other hand, in all the animal forms and huge colossal\nproportions of Mastodons and Theriums, there are the unequivocal markings\nof an extinct anterior age.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nTHE MAMMOTH PERIOD.\n\n\nThe tertiary deposits are referable to three great divisions, containing\nsubdivisions, some of marine, some of fresh water origin, and severally\ncharacterized by their fossil remains. The terms Eocene, Miocene,\nand Pleiocene, are applied to them in their respective order of\nsuperposition, as the lower, middle, and upper groups. The London basin\nbelongs to the first of these divisions. When these congeries of beds\nwere completed, and the bottom of the sea was elevated, a fresh water\noccupation of the district appears to have prevailed. And during the\nsupremacy of this reign of the Na\u00efads it was, that England was tenanted\nby herds of large quadrupeds, tigers, hyenas, and the companions of\nthe untamable class, whose haunts are now in the Indian jungle, or the\nforests and prairies of America.\n\nThis has been denominated the Mammoth Epoch, when the elephant race\nliterally swarmed over northern Europe, from Italy to the Arctic regions.\nGreat Britain at this era formed part of the continent, or rather of the\ngreat series of lakes and marshy swamps which then prevailed. Hence only\ncan geologists account for the identity of fossils scattered over this\narea. The organisms are all of a type, all of the remarkable orders now\nconfined to warmer climes. And when we find these fossils cast up in\nevery field from the same series of deposits\u2014in Switzerland, on the banks\nof the Danube, through the plains of Siberia, and northern Russia\u2014in the\nbasins of the Rhine, and the whole of lower Germany\u2014in the Netherlands,\nover central and northern France, the entire south and east coasts of\nEngland\u2014we decipher in all this, not only the organic characters of\nthe same period of time, but the connecting links of one and the same\nsuperficial portion of the globe.\n\nThis is a very remarkable chapter in the history of our island, whether\nwe consider the mineral or animal arrangements that prevailed, and\ntheir relations to continental Europe. Here we contemplate the relics\nof herds of the larger mammals which then ranged over a quarter of the\nearth\u2019s surface, all now extinct; while, toward the close of the epoch,\neverything conspires to favor the notion, that our insular position was\nthen, for the first time, established.\n\nThe type of the period is the Mammoth, or the Elephas Primogenius. There\nare only two existing species, namely, the Asiatic, which is limited to\nwithin 31\u00b0 north latitude, and the African, whose range extends to the\nshores of the Pacific, as far south as the Cape of Good Hope. America,\nthrough all its forests and boundless wastes, possesses not a single\nindividual of the modern family, while the remains of the extinct race\nare to be found in every prairie, along the banks of the Missouri, and\nabundantly in the great salt marshes, whither they had resorted in\nvast herds in quest of the salt, and been mired, as heavy animals are\nfrequently at the present day. The intertropical plains of the new world,\nand the polar regions of the old, were equally congenial to their habits.\nNay, so adaptive were they in their nature and tastes\u2014these gigantic\npachyderms of the middle tertiary period\u2014that in every intermediate\ncountry, they have left in their huge skeletons unequivocal traces of\ntheir sojourn or migration.\n\nFrom the British strata alone, no less than three thousand and upward\nof fossil teeth have been dug up belonging to this colossal animal.\nThese are found chiefly in the drift along the east coast of England,\nfrom Robin Hood\u2019s Bay, near Whitby, to Holderness. In a period of little\nmore than thirteen years, the fishermen of the village of Happisburgh\nhave dragged up more than two thousand grinders of the mammoth. In the\nvalley of the Thames the relics have been discovered very numerously,\nat Sheppey, Woolwich, the Isle of Dogs, Lewisham,\u2014in the gravel beneath\nthe streets of London,\u2014at Kensington, Kew, Wallingford, Oxford,\u2014and all\naround the south-east coast from Brighton to Lyme-Regis, in Dorsetshire.\nThe central counties of Stafford, Northampton, Warwick, and York, are\neverywhere strewed a few feet under ground with these remains. At Stroud,\na railway section laid open a tusk, measuring nine feet in length; and\neverywhere in the British Channel the fishery of the extinct quadruped is\nas ardently pursued, and often is as remunerative, as the fishery of the\nfinny tribes themselves now existing on our shores.\n\nThese animals, once filling the plains of England with herds equaled only\nby those of the buffalo race which now darken the prairies of America,\nhave fulfilled their destiny, and have perished from the earth. \u201cThe\ndifference,\u201d says Professor Owen, \u201cbetween the extinct and existing\nspecies of elephant in regard to the structure of the teeth, has been\nmore or less manifested by every specimen of fossil elephant\u2019s tooth\nthat I have hitherto seen from the British strata; and those now amount\nto upward of three thousand. Very few of them could be mistaken, by a\ncomparative anatomist, for the tooth of an Asiatic elephant, and they are\nall obviously distinct from the peculiar molars of the African elephant.\u201d\nCuvier ascertained like distinctions between the extinct and the existing\nIndian elephants; and concluded, from the reconstruction of the complete\nframework, that the mammoth type is no longer in being.\n\nThe proof that the elephant race actually inhabited this country is as\nsatisfactory, and as well established, as that the species were different\nfrom any now existing. Little, indeed, can it be wondered at, upon the\nfirst discovery of their remains, that the accounts given by geologists\nand others were received with the greatest distrust. Their appearance, in\nthese high latitudes, was attributed to the inroad of armies rather than\nto any indigenous connection with the soil that covers them. C\u00e6sar, it\nwas remembered, brought many elephants with him into Gaul. According to\nPolin\u00e6us, one at least was transported across the channel into Britain:\nhence an easy and ready explanation of the fossils, as Voltaire, in\nhis time, fancied the shells found on mountain tops to be the stray\nspecimens dropped by pious pilgrims or superstitious monks on their\njourneyings. But as their numbers increased\u2014some from Ireland where the\nsoldiers of Rome never set foot, along with the bones of the rhinoceros\nand hippopotamus which could be instructed in no military tactics, and\nall over the length and breadth of the land bones and entire skeletons\nbegan to be exhumed\u2014all grounds for skepticism against their aboriginal\nnational descent were forever swept away. And Britain, it was admitted,\nliterally and truly, had once been stocked, among its most recently\nextinct families, with these monster tenants of the wilderness.\n\nAn entire carcass, it is well known, covered with long woolly hair, was\nfound at the mouth of the river Lena, as far north as the 74th degree of\nlatitude, imbedded in ice. This discovery opened up more enlarged and\ncorrect views as to the history and habits of these animals. Subsequent\nyears increased prodigiously the stock of fossils, entire and perfect\nin hide and fleshy muscle; and now, so abundant are the remains of the\nfossil mammalia in the arctic regions, that they have not only become\nan article of commercial traffic to man, but serve as an unfailing\nrepository of food to the present denizens of those countries, the hordes\nof marauding wolves, foxes, and bears, which prey amid the polar regions\nand sterility. It has farther been ascertained that, where the lichen and\nthe scanty moss now only grow, a rich arboreal vegetation once flourished\nin these latitudes; birch trees, of large dimensions, are everywhere\nimbedded in the sandy cliffs; and it is conjectured, with the greatest\nprobability, that herds of elephants migrated from the warm interior,\nduring the summer months, to the embouchures of the rivers and borders of\nthe arctic sea, covered as they were with sheltering forests, or shrubby\nbrushwood steppes. \u201cAs we advance,\u201d says Murchison, \u201cinto the plains of\nSiberia, or descend into the valleys of Tobol and the Obe, the bones\nare in greater quantities, and in a better state of preservation; and\nthe farther the Siberian rivers are followed to their mouths, the more\ndo the mammalian remains increase, until at length whole skeletons, and\neven carcasses, are found. The single fact of the very wide diffusion of\nthe mammoth bones, over enormous regions, in itself indicates that those\ncreatures had long been inhabitants of such countries, living and dying\nthere for ages; while their final destruction may have resulted from\naqueous d\u00e9bacles dependent on oscillations of the land, the elevation of\nmountain-chains, and the formation of much local detritus.\u201d\n\nThe same causes will account for their destruction in this\ncountry\u2014causes, whose effects are still traceable over the whole of\ncontinental Europe. Doubtless, these causes extended across the channel,\nand may have been cotemporaneous with the movements which resulted in\nseparating us from France, occasioning d\u00e9bacles by the alternate upheaval\nand depression of the sea-bottom, which even the largest animals would be\nunable to contend against. In the midst of these movements, multitudes\nwould resort to the higher protected grounds, in quest of food, or retire\nfor shelter to caves and other concealments that were elevated above the\nwaters. Remains, accordingly, of nearly all the quadrupeds of the period,\nthe rhinoceros, hippopotamus, lion, tiger, hyena, bear, elk, are to be\nfound in such places, associated with bones of the elephant family, and\nmixed, for the most part, with the alluvia and detrital gravel of the\ndistrict. These animals appear not to have perished simultaneously or\nsuddenly; but from the condition of the celebrated Kirkdale caves, when\nfirst discovered, it would rather seem that they had long haunted these\nplaces, the caverns being generally at a considerable elevation, with an\nentrance on the side of the valley. The floors were entirely covered with\nmud, teeth, bones, and stalagmitic incrustations, several feet deep\u2014a\nden of monsters that were devouring each other, while the common enemy\nof destruction was approaching to seal the fate of all! The \u201cReliqui\u00e6\nDiluvian\u00e6\u201d of Buckland, which first introduced the notice of these caves\nto the public, assumed the Mosaic deluge as the cause of the catastrophe:\nother hypotheses have been resorted to, as that certainly would not\napply to all the circumstances of the case. Bones of a species of hare\nor rabbit, the water-rat, mouse, weasel, with fragments of the skeletons\nof ravens, pigeons, larks, and ducks, are also included among the relics\nof the fiercer tribes; and many have supposed that these were drifted in\nby subaqueous currents, or dropped through the fissures, which are both\nnumerous and large in the limestone in which the caverns, for the most\npart, are situated.\n\nThe Mastodon, that is, the mammillary-toothed elephant, was another of\nthe extinct pachyderm class then inhabiting the island. Remains of this\nanimal have been found in the Norwich Crag; there are several species,\nall of gigantic proportions, some of which have been detected in North\nAmerica only, and others in Europe. The tigers of the period were larger\nthan the largest of the Bengal race, as is proved by the fossil teeth and\nbones of the extremities that have been discovered, both at Kirkdale and\nother places. And so, generally, of all the extinct carnivora, in the\nqualities of strength and size, superior to all existing types, and cast\nin the mold of, as they had to contend with, the mammoths and monster\ntheria among which their destiny was cast.\n\nAnd again, and again, will the questions recur to every curious reader\nof these details\u2014when, and how, were these huge quadrupeds exterminated,\nor driven from this island, some of them now utterly extinct, and some\nof them only generically allied to existing tropical races? The epoch\nof their rule, according to the geological testimony, verges on the\nhuman age, if it does not actually run into it. Terror-stricken, shall\nwe suppose, by the terrene and subaqueous movements which severed\nGreat Britain from the continent\u2014the rush of waters\u2014the rending of the\nrocks\u2014and the drying up of lakes, consequent on the change\u2014they sought\na refuge above the general wreck, where the weak were preyed upon by\nthe strong, and a fierce carnival, for a season, was maintained? On\nthe continent, while similar alterations were taking place over large\nsuperficial areas, and the tertiary deposits were being drifted up, many\nof the animals, and whole families, would escape into southern and warmer\ncountries, and some of the species, in consequence, might long survive\nthe destruction of others. But here, insulated and deprived of the means\nof performing their annual migrations, the races of every kind would all\nmore speedily perish, preying more easily upon each other, and weakened\nby alteration of habits, and the great physical changes to which they\nwere subjected. On the Ararat of Yorkshire, and other favored heights,\nthey found a temporary resting-place! But, it was only temporary; for, as\nthe island approximated to its present condition, it proved no longer a\nsuitable dwelling to creatures of their mold\u2014their course was run\u2014and a\nnew creation was to occupy their place.\n\nIn closing these sketches of the geology of Great Britain, one may well\nmarvel at the vast changes over the face of this island and of all its\nproductions, as read in the varied and multiform disclosures which the\ninterior structure, formation upon formation, makes known to us.\n\n1. Mark the distinct character of the geological evidence of all the\nchanges, organic and inorganic, to which the island and its inhabitants\nhave been subjected. The evidence rests upon direct observation. The\nregisters are graven as with a pen of iron, and in characters which to\nbe understood have only to be read. The historical period, beyond two\ndecades of centuries, is an utter blank. When C\u00e6sar came into the island,\npainted savages peopled the land, Druids immolated in thousands their\nhuman victims, and, the brief occupation of the invaders past, we are\nagain involved in the darkness of barbarous annals and exterminating\nwars of unknown tribes. Whence the migrations of its first inhabitants?\nwho were the Cymri that spoke the language of Cwm Llewelyn, and of\nCefn y B\u00eadd? who were the Silures, the Trinobantes, the Cantii, and\nthe Atribates? and whither and what the ever-conflicting lines betwixt\nthe territories of Picts, Celts, and Scots?\u2014questions these that will\never puzzle and disturb the slumbers of the unhappy wight who deals\nin chronicle lore and arch\u00e6ological history. What now of the oldest\ncivilized states of the old world who gave law, literature, science, art,\nlanguage, and blood, to all the families of the earth, as the tide of\npopulation rolled westward, and the Quadrumana and the Bimana contended\nfor mastery amid the dense aboriginal forests on the banks of the Danube,\nthe Rhine, the Rhone, the Seine, the Thames, the mountains of Cambria and\nCaledonia? Rome sits in ruined majesty by the waters of the Tiber. Greece\nknows not, and mourns not, the buried ashes of her mighty dead. Carthage\n_has_ been blotted out. Tyre has fulfilled her destiny\u2014\u201ca place for the\nspreading of nets in the midst of the sea.\u201d The shepherd kings of the\npyramids have not a name even among men; and Thebes, Luxor, and Carnac,\nlie as fossils in the desert. What of Babylon and her Tower on the plains\nof Shinar, that was to reach unto the heavens? and of Nineveh, \u201ca city\nof three days\u2019 journey\u201d to be compassed? Mounds of earth and rubbish,\nover which the Arab has pitched his rude tent, and into which the prying\nantiquary, at the risk of his life, digs for fragments, while the Tigris\nand Euphrates pursue their heedless course through the waste slimy\nborders of Uz and Mesopotamia. Thus mark how many illustrious heroes,\nscholars, lawgivers, who once filled the world with their fame, have,\nwith all their splendid or useful benefactions to their race, passed\nunder the thick cloud of oblivion! The very names of the most noted of\nthem is matter of dispute. And of the multitudes who panted after glory\nin these ancient days, not an incident in the life of millions has\nreached the present times.\n\nBut geology, as HISTORY, is truthful in the oldest as in the most recent\nof its narrations. How generally accurate in its family genealogies:\ntheir relations, kindreds, alliances, and individual peculiarities;\nthe length and strength of body, contour of face, size, structure, and\ncapacity of head, eye, and stomach\u2014all as precisely determined and\ndescribed in regard to the \u201chabitans\u201d of the most ancient fossiliferous\nrocks, as the living possessors of earth, sea, or air. Look into our\nmuseums, cabinets, monographs, and pal\u00e6ontological lists, and types of\norganic life are there, from which not only to number the tribes, but\nto tell of their own varying states and conditions. Wonders there are\nin geology. But its most seeming fables are realities. The placoids and\nganoids of the silurian and devonian age, the exuberant flora of the\ncarboniferous, the giant birds of the triassic, the matchless reptilian\nforms of the oolite, the microscopic organisms of the chalk, the\ncolossal mammoths and mammalia of the tertiaries, were all as veritable\nproductions of the island as the most familiar grains, grasses, and\ndomesticated breeds which minister to our daily wants. How obscure,\nuncertain, and limited the range of human history! How extensive, and\nboundless, and minute the pursuits of geology, which touches on the\nhistory of all creatures that ever lived through all their species,\ngenera, orders, and classes, and even remounts to the primeval condition\nof the planet itself during all the periods, phases, and revolutions of\nits existence! But of man there is no trace. No voice from the past,\nissuing out of the solid framework of the globe, intimates the existence\nof the human family anterior to the last of those great physical changes\nwhich we have been contemplating, and over the wreck of whose organic\ntribes the epoch of the tertiary sections of its crust closes.\n\n2. The teachings of this science in physical geography are no\nless definite than the astounding disclosures which it makes in\nhistory\u2014shadowing out, where mountain chains now rise, the seats\nof ancient sea bottoms\u2014creeks and bays by lines of mudstones and\nconglomerates\u2014continents that have been formed from islands, and islands\ndisrupted from continents\u2014lakes, estuaries, and rivers displaced and\nsilted up, and now become the richest depositories of our mineral\ntreasures. The connection of Great Britain with France is a matter\nalmost of demonstration. A zone of primary crystalline rocks encompasses\nthe western coast of both countries, whence geology follows them from\nWales and Cornwall into Brittany and Normandy. The silurian, devonian,\nand carboniferous systems are arranged in the same order on both\nsides of the channel. Their chalk coasts are identical. A succession\nof elevating movements, depressions, and dislocations, is traceable\neverywhere along the southern counties of England, where the line of\ndisturbance, from east to west, has separated the chalk on the north and\nsouth, and elevated the Wealden into an anticlinal axis on the Sussex\ncoast. The Isle of Wight has been so shaken by the convulsion, as to\nhave been literally tumbled over, the whole cretaceous formation, and\nevery inferior deposit subjacent to the tertiaries, being in an inverted\nposition. The existence, too, of a vast connecting stretch of land in the\nAtlantic is far from being improbable, whence the rivers of the Wealden\nmay have issued, as well as much of the detrital matter been transported\nwhich now constitutes, with their remarkable and varied organic exuvi\u00e6,\nthe basins of London, Hampshire, and Paris.\n\nVery recently botany has come to the assistance of geology, in a manner\nas remarkable as it was unsuspected. It appears that, along the coast\nline of Great Britain and Ireland, there are several distinct floras or\ngroups of plants, and all geographically related to existing families on\nthe opposite coasts of the Continent. The flora of the west of Ireland\ncorresponds to that on the north-west of Spain\u2014the south-west of England,\nand also of Ireland, presents groups allied to those on the north-west\nof France,\u2014and, again, one is common to the north coast line of France,\nand south-east of England,\u2014while the fourth and fifth have their types\nin the alpine flora developed in the Scottish and Welsh mountains,\nand the mixed and diversified tribes more generally distributed over\nIreland, England, and Germany. The assumption implied in this botanic\nspeculation is, that these are the remains of a state of things no\nlonger enduring, proofs of the existence of hotter or colder climates\nthan now prevail, and the indications of a configuration of land and sea\nwhen a great mountain barrier extended across the Atlantic from Ireland\nto Spain. The distribution of the second and third sets of vegetation\ndepended on the connection of England with France and Germany, when a\nsea covered a large portion of the south of Europe, and the upheaval\nof whose bed, which constitutes the latest of the tertiary deposits,\ngave rise to a vast continent, comprising Spain, Ireland, the north of\nAfrica, the Azores, and the Canaries. The alpine flora of Scotland and\nWales was effected during the glacial period\u2014to be afterward noticed\u2014when\nthe mountain summits of Britain were low islands or members of an\narchipelago extending over the Frozen Ocean, and clothed with an arctic\nvegetation which, in the gradual upheaval of those islands and consequent\nchange of climate, became limited to the summits of the still existing\nmountains. Professor Edward Forbes, adopting in this curious speculation\nthe views of Mr. Hewet Watson, finds a corroboration of them in the\npeculiar distribution of _endemic_ animals, especially of the marine\nand terrestrial mollusca. And he justly concludes that all the changes\nrequired for the events which he would connect with the distribution\nof the British flora, are borne out by the geological phenomena that\nprevailed during the epoch of the several tertiary deposits.\n\n3. Geology, moreover, in deciphering the evidences of those stupendous\noperations which resulted in the statical, mineral, and organic\narrangements merging in the modern epoch, inculcates some important\ntruths connected with the science of natural theology. The mind, indeed,\ncan never escape, in these investigations, from theistic conclusions.\nStep by step, as we ascended through the component strata of the globe,\nwitnessed the modifications to which they were subjected, and observed\nthe successive introduction and extinction of so many types of animal\nand vegetable life, we were just furnished with so many incontestable\nproofs of the direct interposition of Almighty power. If, indeed, I can\nread anything more clearly than another in these constantly recurring\ngeological phenomena, termed epochs and formations, it is that of\nINTERFERENCE with the established order of things. I am conscious that\nmatter did not originate itself. I can see no power in what is termed\na law of matter to constitute organic bodies. The originator of matter\nmust be the disposer of all its forms. And when I see these forms so\nrepeatedly changed, assuming new shapes, and giving new scope for varied\nand multiplied degrees of enjoyment, I have only the more evidences\nand illustrations before me, that creation and change are, in these\ninstances, correlative terms. The quadrupeds of the tertiary age are\nlike nothing that preceded them in any of the orders or sections of\nanimal existence. Their size, structure, and abundance, equally rivet the\nattention. And, however long or short the period assigned them on earth,\nthey constitute a group of organic statuary, too remarkable to have been\nslid in and out by the simple operations of material law. The geological\nfact, of formation after formation, and of life after life, lies at the\nfoundation of the sublime truth, that God is potentially in, arranging\nand disposing anew, the entire series of his works: and when I see this\nmundane scene shifted in all its parts, one system subverted, and another\nso very different introduced; and, again, the organic and inorganic\ncondition of things readjusted, and in keeping as before, I at once rise\nin the contemplation of the change \u201cfrom nature up to nature\u2019s God.\u201d\n\nGeology, I should thus conclude, admits us a step nearer than any of the\nother sciences, even than astronomy itself, to the actings of the divine\nArchitect. The revolution of every season demonstrates a providence\u2014the\nworkings of a perpetual miracle\u2014in its sustaining energies. But geology\nshows us, not the mere annual renovation of things already existing,\nbut the circumstances under which they BEGAN to exist. The fiat of\nOmnipotence peals through the bounds of creation. The earth and the\nseas obey. We see new things starting into being. We are present, as it\nwere, at the moment of their birth. We see the molds out of which they\nare fashioned, and the first provision made to sustain them. Geology, in\na word, hangs up before us one of the brightest and most diversified\npages in the book of nature, inducing habits of thinking, and constantly\nreminding us of the facts and relations, that bodily and vividly keep\nbefore the mind the ever-active impress of the Divinity at whose bidding\u2014\n\n \u201cAwakening nature hears\n The new creating word, and starts to life\n In every heighten\u2019d form.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nFRANCE AND SWITZERLAND.\n\nPART III.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nGEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF FRANCE\u2014BASIN OF PARIS. ORGANIC REMAINS.\n\n\nOn the continental side of the Channel it will not be necessary to dwell,\nin minute details, upon any of the systems of rocks which are here\npresented. What is France? The tourist will say\u2014A two hours\u2019 voyage from\nthe sister isle\u2014a salt lake separates them\u2014a pleasure trip is the measure\nof their estrangement. The geologist will add\u2014And when safely landed, one\nfinds himself among the sights and objects, the rocks and fossils, which\nengaged his attention on the coast of Albion, the cliffs and downs of\nboth countries being composed of the self-same materials.\n\nI. THE PHYSICAL UNION OF FRANCE AND ENGLAND, although already adverted\nto, falls again to be noticed.\n\nThe geographical distribution of the respective rocks of France and Great\nBritain forms a remarkable coincidence in giving shape and contour to\ntheir general outline. Thus, the primary systems in both stretch along\ntheir western shores, presenting a vast barrier-wall of the oldest\nand hardest rock against the incessant encroachments of the Atlantic.\nBritanny and Normandy consist almost entirely of granite, gneiss,\nmica-schist, and silurian rocks; on these repose the upper suites of\nthe secondary strata,\u2014the lias, oolite, and chalk\u2014training to the south\nand east. On the tertiary formations rest the secondary, narrowing in\ntheir basins, and preserving the same general line of bearing with the\nEnglish beds, and in both cases reaching their maximum of thickness and\nexuberance of fossils around the capitals of Paris and London. The old\nred sandstone is not indicated on the maps, nor is it clearly ascertained\nto possess a habitat in the district in question. The coal-measures\nare of very limited dimensions, but in their due order of position at\nHardinger, near Boulogne, and passing under the chalk and green sand,\ncontinue in an easterly direction by Valenciennes, Mons, Namur, and\nLiege, to Eschweiler, near Aix-la-Chapelle. The new red sandstone, of\nboth divisions, is amply developed along the eastern boundaries from\nSemoy in Ardennes to Langr\u00e9s and the borders of Switzerland. On the west\nagain, the tertiaries prevail from the mouth of the Gironde to Bayonne\non the Adour, where they are exposed to the constant tearing and erosion\nof the rude surges of the Bay of Biscay, while in the interior, and over\nthe district of Auvergne, the granites and gneiss are widely overlaid by\nthe overflowings of the most recent extinct volcanoes; the oldest and the\nnewest plutonic rocks thus lying in immediate superposition and contact.\n\nThe rocks on this side of the channel are not indeed everywhere so well\ndisplayed, nor do they crop out with the same successive regularity\nas in Britain. Over extensive districts some disappear altogether,\nwhile in other places patches are seen lying out of their due order of\nsuperposition; not that in these instances the order is ever violated,\nbut that some of the intermediate members seem to be wanting, and the\nremoter ones are in consequence found in contact. Still they conform to\neach other in their great line of section, and occupy the same constant\nrelative position in their respective basins. Here, as in England,\nthe Oolitic system embraces the Cretaceous, and extends in a larger\nsemicircle round Paris as a common center, stretching from Ardennes\nto Normandy. The Lias, again, is inferior to the Oolite, and, filling\na wider space, reposes on the transition slates of Virreville on the\nwestern coast. The Plastic clay, London Clay, and freshwater beds emerge\nin succession, and maintain each their corresponding dimensions. A\nremarkable grouping of rocks, illustrative of the order of superposition,\noccurs within the circuit of a few miles in the immediate vicinity of\nBoulogne, where resting upon the mountain limestone the following series\nmay be observed: Coal, Oolitic marble, Purbeck and Portland stone,\nIron-sand, Wealden clay, Chalk marl, Green sand, and Chalk. The Plastic\nclay reposes upon the chalk at Calais on the east of this group, and on\nthe west stretches along the coast from Etaples to Treport.\n\nThe period during which the two countries continued to be united\nsuperficially, extended down at least to the last great upheaval of the\nbed of the ocean, subsequent to the Pleiocene deposits, and probably even\nafter the establishment of the current epoch. The different formations we\nhave been tracing are geologically connected over vast tracts of country;\nthese tracts once formed basins or inland seas, into which their several\nsuites of materials were drifted; the extensive regions of the older\nformations were amply fitted to inclose them; and, when the _uppermost_\nor pleiocene series of the English beds were deposited, one and the same\nshores and waters must have been common to the two countries\u2014to the now\ninsular as well as to the continental basins of the closing tertiary age.\n\nOne feels a real and enhanced pleasure in his researches, and his\nspeculations assume a wider and a loftier range, as he casts a glance\nback to the white shores of Britain, and around upon the aspect of the\ncountry before him, and sees that he is still treading the same soil,\nthreading his way among the same rocks, ascending and descending the\nslopes and valleys of the same earthy accumulations, varied only by\nslight local causes. Embarked upon the Seine, and along the banks of that\nlovely river, there is laid open for inspection a series of deposits,\nwith every one of which we are already acquainted. The resemblance is\neven more striking when we examine the vast undulating plains around, and\nfind the depressions, elevations, hills, and general outline of surface\nall of a class; and when we observe also the rocky foundations beneath\nto be one and the same\u2014extensions merely of the same series of deposits,\nand forming at no very distant geological period integral portions of one\ngreat continent.\n\nCombined with the subterranean movements which occasioned the\ndislocations, and inversions often, of the strata on both sides of\nthe channel, the action of oceanic currents and incessant beating of\nthe waves may be looked to as the instruments which produced their\nseverance. The proofs are ample of the encroachments of the sea upon the\neastern coast of England, the sites of towns, villages, and extensive\nfields, as marked on maps, now forming sand-banks, islands, and marshy\nswamps. The promontories and cliffs of Yorkshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk\nare still, as they were in Pennant\u2019s time, \u201cperpetually preyed on by\nthe fury of the German sea;\u201d the whole site of ancient Cromer is now\nunder its waves; the towns of Shipden, Wimpwell, and Eccles, have\nentirely disappeared; large manors and even parishes have, piece after\npiece, been swallowed up; nor has there been any intermission, from\ntime immemorial, in the inroads of the sea along a line of coast twenty\nmiles in length, in which these places stood.[9] The ravages, from the\nsame cause, have been equally if not more violent on the shores of the\nchannel, the Straits of Dover, and the whole south coast; where slips\nof enormous magnitude are frequently recorded, cliffs undermined, and\nlands of considerable extent carried into the sea. The Isle of Wight,\nthe peninsulas of Purbeck and Portland, the promontories of Devonshire\nand Cornwall, have all received their shape from the destructive agency,\nas they are still preyed upon and consumed by the tides and currents\nto which they are incessantly exposed. The French coast bears similar\ntestimony to the inroads of the sea. From Calais to Cherbourg, with\nits magnificent dock-yard, the line of shore is everywhere indented\nand stripped bare, the strata undermined, and huge masses toppling\nover the abyss or rising into lofty pyramids of the most grotesque and\nvaried forms. Britanny lies open, on every side, to the full swell of\nthe Atlantic, where very recent as well as more ancient history attests\nthe ravages of the waters in the destruction of towns and woods, the\ninundation of whole parishes, the severance of the hill of St. Michael\nfrom the main land, and, according to tradition, in the obliteration of\nthe south-western district, of unknown extent.\n\nFamiliarized to facts such as these, and their necessary deductions, the\nmind no longer startles at the notion of the former physical union of the\ntwo countries. The agency seen in operation is demonstrably adequate to\nthe effect. The straits are narrow. Their greatest depth between Dover\nand Calais is twenty-nine fathoms. The bed throughout is composed of\nthe same stratum of chalk-rock, while a submarine chain extending from\nBoulogne to Folkestone is only a few fathoms under low water. Accordingly\nthe wave of the mighty \u201cocean stream,\u201d parted on the western coast, met\ntide after tide on the opposite banks of the connecting peninsula or\nnarrow tongue of land, the one portion winding round by the Orcades and\nrolling up the German Sea, and the other portion beating on the line\nof cliffs facing to the west. The softer sedimentary deposits of the\ntertiaries would rapidly yield to the constant erosive action; the harder\nstrata of the chalk, bared and undermined, would speedily follow; and\nthus, in a period comparatively short, the entire mass would be carried\naway, and the gulf of separation be irrevocably effected.\n\nAs a proof that France and England were united, and that these operations\nwere continued _within_ the human epoch, M. Desmarest, in his prize\nessay on this subject, proposed in 1753 by a society at Amiens, adduces\nthe fact, that the noxious animals in both countries are identical,\ncreatures which were not fitted to swim across the straits, and were not\nof a kind to be willingly introduced by man. But Desmarest in this only\nfollowed the views of an older writer, and from whose work, \u201cRestitution\nof Decayed Intelligence,\u201d all his facts and reasonings are obviously\nborrowed. This curious volume is the production of Richard Verstegan,\nwritten about two hundred and fifty years ago, and dedicated to James I.\nof Great Britain. The principal object of the author is to trace out the\norigin of the western nations, and more especially of \u201cthe most noble and\nrenowned English nation,\u201d as discoverable in their language and other\nantiquities. The fourth chapter of this quaint work is entitled, \u201cHow\nthe Isle of Albion is showed to have been continent or firm land with\nGallia, now named France, since the Flood of Noah.\u201d Verstegan holds the\ndoctrine that \u201cin whatever manner and form it pleased Almighty God, in\nthe beginning of the world, to divide the sea from the dry land, is unto\nus wholly unknown; but altogether unlikely it is that there were any\n_isles_ before the deluge;\u201d and to this event he ascribes the disruption\nof much of the dry land and the formation of islands. The connection of\nFrance and England continued long after this, and their severance, he\nbelieves, was produced by the operation of existing causes. The narrow\nisthmus by which they were conjoined extended across the Straits of\nDover, just as Africa is united to Asia by the Isthmus of Suez, or North\nand South America by the Isthmus of Panama. This isthmus was breached\nby the action of the sea on both sides, but the sea being _lower_ on\nthe west side, the current swept with greater violence through this new\nchannel, \u201ctoward the most huge Western Ocean, the greater divider of\nEurope and Africa, from the late found America.\u201d He notices the identity\nof cliffs on the opposite sides of the straits, the submarine ridge which\nextends from Folkestone to Boulogne, the existence of marine shells\nall over the Netherlands and adjacent countries, and their consequent\nsubmergence before the sea was permitted to retreat through the new\ncourse produced in the isthmus, \u201cand no way is there else to be found or\nimagined, whereby these seas might be drained or drawn away.\u201d He refers\nto the identity also of the noxious animals in England and France, when\nour isle, continuing since the flood fastened by nature to the great\ncontinent, these wicked beasts did of themselves pass over; nor is the\nearthquake omitted by the writer, in his enumeration of causes whereby\nthe sea, first breaking through, might afterward by little and little\nenlarge her passage; and the labor of man, too, had its share, when the\ninhabitants of the one side or the other by occasion of war did cut it,\nthereby to be sequestered and freed from their enemies.\n\nSuch is the train of illustration employed by Richard Verstegan, at a\ntime when the state of the science of geology could furnish him with few\nhelps; and but little indeed has been added by subsequent observers,\nexcept a few additional facts and inferences, which serve to confirm his\nconclusions. He remarks that such too had been the opinions of others,\nas of Antonius Volscus, Marius Niger, Servius Honoratus, the French poet\nBartas, and our own countrymen, John Twin and Dr. Richard White; but\nthese simply held the connection of the two countries as a matter of\nopinion, without laboring to find out \u201cby sundry frequent reasons, that\nso it was indeed.\u201d[10] England long dominated in France, crowned her\nprinces Sovereigns of Navarre and the adjacent provinces, and Agincourt,\nCressy, and Poictiers tell where man waged war against his fellow-man,\nover the remains of races long extinct, denizens of the same land, and\npropelled by instincts fierce alike for mastery or destruction. What\na moral effect has been produced by the physical severance of the two\nnations, not only to themselves, but to the rest of the world! Great\nBritain, freed from the connection, can well afford to repose in peaceful\nmajesty on her own shores, improving the arts, extending her commerce,\nand communicating, as the most noble and renowned nation the blessings of\nreligion to the remotest parts of the globe.\n\nII. ORGANIC REMAINS. There are three districts in France which claim the\nspecial consideration of the geologist. The first comprises the basin of\nthe Seine, of which Paris may be regarded as the center; the second is\nthe basin of the Loire, extending in the direction of the rivers Gironde\nand Adour; the third is the volcanic district of Auvergue, embracing the\ntertiary and lacustrine formations, which have excited much geological\nspeculation. The Silurian beds of Britanny are in many places absolutely\nloaded with Trilobites, which have found an able expositor in M. Marie\nRouault; and the New Red Sandstone, which skirts the Vosges mountains, is\nequally remarkable for the fossils, vegetable and animal, peculiar to the\nPermian system.\n\nTHE BASIN OF THE SEINE. The series of rocks included in this district,\nare described as the Paris basin formation, where, amidst their\nfossiliferous remains, the genius of Cuvier shone forth and captivated\nthe world by his wonderful disclosures in the science of comparative\nanatomy. The deposits occupy a depression in the chalk upon which\nthey rest unconformably, like those of the London basin: they agree\ngenerally in their organisms, but differ considerably in the quality\nof their respective materials. Blue clay with imbedded calcareous and\nargillaceous bands characterize the London formation, while that of Paris\nis distinguished by a superabundance of white limestones, marls, and\ngypsum. These rocks range over a vast extent of superficial area, being\nin their greatest length from N. E. to S. W. about one hundred and eighty\nmiles, and from E. to W. about ninety miles. They belong to the Eocene\nperiod, consist of alternating groups of marine and fresh water strata,\nand have been arranged in the following order, according to the corrected\ndiagram of M. Constant Prevost, who has considerably modified the earlier\ntabular arrangements of Cuvier and Brongniart:\u2014Plastic clay, Calcaire\ngrossier, Calcaire silicieux, Gypsum, Marls, Marine and fresh water\nstrata.\n\n_The plastic clay and sand_ consist of intercalating argillaceous and\ngritty beds, containing a considerable quantity of lignite and fresh\nwater shells. This deposit is not continuous throughout the basin, nor\nis it always lowest in position. In some places it rests upon a marine\ncalcaire grossier, and in other places it is mixed up and imbedded in it,\nclearly showing that a river charged with argillaceous sediment entered a\nbay of the sea and drifted down, from time to time, wood and fresh water\nshells. No remains of mammalia have been detected in the plastic clay\nreposing on the chalk. _The Calcaire grossier_ is composed of a coarse\nlimestone, often passing into sand, and extremely rich in testacea,\na locality near Gignon alone furnishing about four hundred distinct\nspecies. _The Calcaire silicieux_ is a compact silicious limestone,\nalmost destitute of organisms, and from its strong resemblance to the\nprecipitates of mineral springs, as well as the fact that the few fossils\ncontained in it are all of the land and fresh water species, it is justly\ninferred that the deposit is of fresh water origin. _The Gypsum_, with\nits associated _Marls_, is a saccharoid rock of considerable thickness,\nand constitutes the hill of Montmartre and other elevations toward\nthe center of the basin. Here occur the remarkable variety as well as\nabundance of those organic remains which have given so much celebrity\nto the Paris basin. Fishes, reptiles, crocodiles, tortoises, birds,\nbats, mice, squirrels, opossums, gigantic mammoths, Anoplotheriums, and\npalm-wood, are all interred in this receptacle of the extinct dead. The\nremains of about fifty species of quadrupeds alone have been detected in\nthe deposit, some of them, to the minutest organ, in the highest state\nof preservation\u2014all of them extinct\u2014and nearly four-fifths belonging to\na division Pachydermata or thick-skinned animals. Immediately above the\ngypseous formation is an oyster-bed, of great superficial extent; this\nis succeeded by beds of sand, entirely destitute of fossils, forming a\nsuitable covering to the countless millions which lie interred beneath.\n\nReader! pause and reflect upon this enumeration of the rocky strata, and\ntheir contents, which compose the Paris basin. What vast accumulations,\nnow of terrestrial floods, now of inroads from the ocean\u2014here a deposit,\ntestifying to the fact of some great inland lake, with huge monsters\nbrowsing on its banks or reposing in its shallows\u2014there another, bearing\nwitness to \u201cthe strength of a mountain river,\u201d combating with the waves\nof an estuary, and each wearying of the conflict and mingling their\nspoils from land and sea in one common mass. Neptune is again triumphant,\nand leaves as the trophies of victory whole families and tribes of his\nown domains. Silvanus now asserts and establishes his reign, and the\nGenet, Raccoon, Opossom, the Squirrel, Woodcock, and Buzzard are there\nto proclaim his sway. The Nereids too had their doings, and both genera\nand species of seven extinct nondescript fishes show their powers. And,\nlast of all, come the Na\u00efads of the streams, presenting you with their\noffering in the Quail, Curlew, and Pelican, along with Tortoises and\nCrocodilians. Count and enter upon your list, as found in the gypseous\nformation alone, eleven or twelve species of the Pal\u00e6otherium, an animal\npartaking of the respective structures of the rhinoceros, the horse,\nand the tapir; of the Anoplotherium five species, commingling the light\nand graceful form of the gazelle with the conformation of the camel;\nfifteen species of the Lophiodon, closely allied to the former, but\npartaking also of the qualities of the hippopotamus; seven species of\nthe Anthracotherium, a creature whose dimensions through the various\nmembers of the family swell out from the size of the hog to that of the\nhippopotamus; the Ch\u00e6ropotamus, allied to the suid\u00e6, and forming a link\nbetween the Anoplotherium and the existing Peccary; and, lastly, as\nclosing the list of this remarkable race of thick-skinned animals, we\nare presented with specimens of the Adapis, of hedgehog appearance, but\nin size three times larger, and uniting in characters the insectivorous\ncarnivora with the Pachydermata.\n\nIt is recorded of Newton, that, toward the close of his wonderful\ncalculations, when it seemed that the arithmetical results were to be\nin harmony with the dynamical problem to be solved, when he felt on the\nverge of determining one of the most important laws ever discovered by\nman, and which forever would bind the heavens to the earth\u2014the nerves\nof the calculator gave way for a time, and he was unable to finish his\ntask. He called in the aid of a friend, pacing the room in tumultuous\nagitation while the few last terms were being added. It is impossible for\nany other mind to realize the intensity of the geometer\u2019s feelings when\nthe result was announced! Knowing how trifling a novelty will at times\nagitate the finest minds, no wonder need be that Newton was affected by\nan uncontrollable tremor, when he saw that the discovery was made and\ntested, not only of the law that binds together the particles of matter\nwhich compose our earth, but also that which unites the heavenly orbs\nin all their majesty with the simplest of terrestrial phenomena; and\ndemonstrates that, over the descent of a leaf in the forest\u2014the drooping\nof a blade of grass\u2014a pebble tossed upon the shore\u2014a mote rising and\nfalling in the sunbeam\u2014a drop issuing from the rain-cloud\u2014there is the\nsame regulating power as that which retains the planets in their orbits,\nand determines their course through infinite space. Cuvier, in simple\nbut eloquent words, has recorded, in the Introduction to his \u201cOssemens\nFossiles,\u201d the state of _his_ feelings as he established his discoveries,\nand proceeded in his task of reconstructing his singular menagerie\nfrom the dry bones of Montmartre in the basin of Paris. \u201cI at length,\u201d\nhe says, \u201cfound myself as if placed in a charnel-house, surrounded by\nmutilated fragments of many hundred skeletons, of more than twenty\nkinds of animals, piled confusedly around me; and the task assigned me\nwas to restore them all to their original position. At the voice of\ncomparative anatomy, every bone and fragment of a bone resumed its place.\nI cannot find words to express the pleasure I experienced in seeing, as\nI discovered ONE CHARACTER, how all the consequences which I predicted\nfrom it were successively confirmed; the feet were found in accordance\nwith the characters announced by the teeth; the teeth in harmony with\nthose indicated beforehand by the feet; the bones of the legs and thighs,\nand every connecting portion of the extremities, were found set together\nprecisely as I had arranged them before my conjectures were verified by\nthe discovery of the parts entire; in short, each species was, as it\nwere, reconstructed from a single one of its component elements.\u201d\n\nCuvier proceeded upon the principle, that every organized individual\nforms an entire system of its own, all the parts of which mutually\ncorrespond, and that none of these separate parts can change their forms\nwithout a corresponding change on the other parts of the same individual\nbody. Where the viscera, for example, are so constructed as only to\nbe fitted for the digestion of recent flesh, it is requisite that the\njaws should be so formed as to fit them for devouring prey\u2014the claws\nfor seizing and tearing it to pieces\u2014the teeth for cutting and dividing\nits flesh\u2014the limbs or organs of motion for pursuing and overtaking\nit\u2014and the organs of sense for discovering it at a distance. But under\nthis general principle in the structure of carnivorous animals, the\ningenious anatomist further discovered that there are several particular\nmodifications, depending upon the size, the manners, and the haunts\nof prey for which each species is destined or fitted by nature; and\nthat, from each of these particular modifications, there result certain\ndifferences in the more minute conformations of particular parts. Hence\nit follows, that there will exist distinct indications in every one of\ntheir parts, not only of the classes and orders of animals, but also of\ntheir genera and species.\n\nThus, in order that the jaw may be well adapted for laying hold of\nobjects, it is necessary that its condyle should have a certain form;\nthat the resistance, the moving power, and the fulcrum, should all\nhave a certain relative position with respect to each other. To enable\nthe animal to carry off its prey when seized, a corresponding force is\nrequisite in the muscles which elevate the head; and this again gives\nrise to a determinate form of the vertebr\u00e6 to which these muscles are\nattached, and of the occiput into which they are inserted. The teeth of\na carnivorous animal require to be sharp, in proportion to the greater\nor less quantity of flesh that they have to cut; their roots to be solid\nand strong, in proportion to the quantity and the size of the bones that\nhave to be broken; and these conditions of structure will necessarily\ninfluence the development and form of the several parts that contribute\nto move the jaws.\n\nThe strength of the claws, in like manner, and the mobility of the\npaws and toes, have a necessary relation to the forms of the bones in\nthe feet, and the distribution of the muscles and tendons by which\nthey are moved. As the bones of the forearm are articulated with the\nhumerus, no change can be made in the form and structure of the former\nwithout occasioning correspondent changes in the form of the latter.\nThe shoulder-blade also, or scapula, requires a correspondent degree of\nstrength in all carnivorous animals, while the play and action of the\nseveral parts are dependent on the muscles which set them in motion,\nand the impressions formed by these muscles still further determine the\nforms of all these bones. Again, the shape and structure of the teeth\nregulate the forms of the condyle, of the scapula, and of the claws,\nin the same manner as the equation of a curve regulates all its other\nproperties;\u2014and, as in regard to any particular curve, all its properties\nmay be ascertained by assuming each separate property as the foundation\nof a particular equation, in the same manner a claw, a shoulder-blade,\na condyle, a leg or arm bone, or any other bone separately considered,\nleads to the discovery of the characters of teeth to which they have\nbelonged; and reciprocally from the teeth we are enabled to discover the\nstructure and forms of the other bones.\n\nThus, conducting his investigations by a careful survey of the bones and\norgans individually and separately, the skillful anatomist was enabled\nto reconstruct the whole animal to which they severally had belonged.\nThe orders likewise and subdivisions of herbivorous, ruminant, hoofed,\nand cloven-hoofed animals, he determined with equal precision, and found\nto result from the same constant laws of organization. By employing the\nmethod of observation, where theory was no longer able to direct his\nviews, Cuvier was furnished with other astonishing results. The smallest\nfragment of bone, even the most apparently insignificant apophysis,\nhe found to possess a fixed and determinate character, relative to\nthe class, order, and genus of the animal to which it belonged;\ninsomuch that, when he observed merely the articulating extremity of a\nwell-preserved bone, he could at once ascertain the species as certainly\nas if the entire animal had been before him. Proceeding after this\nmethod, assisted by analogy and exact comparison, Cuvier has been enabled\nto determine the fossil remains of seventy-eight different quadrupeds, in\nthe viviparous and oviparous classes. Of these, forty-nine are distinct\nspecies hitherto unknown, twenty-seven of which are referable to seven\nnew genera, and the other twenty-two new species belong to sixteen\ngenera, or sub-genera, already known; while the whole number of genera\nand sub-genera, to which the fossil remains of quadrupeds investigated\nbelong, are thirty-six, including those both of known and unknown\nspecies; some hoofed animals not ruminant, and some ruminant\u2014others\n_gnawers_ and others carnivorous\u2014two, of the sloth genus, toothless\u2014and\ntwo, amphibious animals, of two distinct genera.\n\nSuch are the triumphs of science, which always lead to a profounder\nadmiration of the works of Nature, in the immensity and constancy of\nthose laws that have prevailed through all time, and where her wisdom\nand foresight are demonstrated by a series of systematic contrivances\nand mutual adaptations to which she invariably adheres. In the remote\ninvisible depths of space, slight oscillations have from time to time\nbeen detected, and following up the researches, astronomy, as announced\nbeforehand, is rewarded by the discovery of a new planet. The earth gives\nup its dead, entombed for ages in its stony matrix. At the bidding of\nscience their figures are restored, their habits determined, their very\nfood ascertained, their characters for ferocity or otherwise brought to\nlight, and they are all, each after their kind, called by their names.\nWhat a mastery in all this over the extinct forms of organic nature,\nas Newton manifested in a different way in his wonderful deductions\nand calculations respecting the molecules of inorganic nature and the\nphysical heavens!\n\nIII. The Paris basin, which consists of the lower or eocene series of\nthe tertiary system, is inclosed nearly on all sides by the middle or\nmiocene group of strata. These, however, are most fully developed along\nthe district of the Loire and its tributaries, as the former are chiefly\nconfined to the water-shed of the Seine and the environs of Paris. We\nthus advance a step upward in the Course of Creation, while so far as\ngeology has been able to mark the progress, the last stages of the\nstupendous work, prior to the introduction of its noblest inhabitant,\nare to be discovered in the PLEIOCENE deposits that immediately succeed,\nstretching over the western shores from Bordeaux to Bayonne.\n\nTHE BASIN OF THE LOIRE. The rocks which compose these upper layers of the\nearth\u2019s crust, have all a family resemblance to the tertiaries already\ndescribed. In the district of the Loire the _miocene_ beds consist\ngenerally of quartzose sand, gravel, and broken shells, mostly loose and\nearthy, but in many places agglutinated by a calcareous or ferruginous\ncement, so as to be fit for building purposes. The \u201cfaluns,\u201d as they are\nprovincially termed, resemble the crag of England, abounding in shells,\nand mammiferous remains incrusted with serpul\u00e6, flustra, and balani, The\ndeposit is seldom above seventy feet in its greatest thickness. Betwixt\nSologne and the sea, patches are found to rest successively upon gneiss,\nclayslate, the coal-measures, Jura limestone, greenstone trap, chalk,\nand the upper beds of the eocene series. The _pleiocene_ beds are not\nmaterially different in their lithological characters from those of the\nmiocene group: blue clays, marls, and osseous breccias are among the\nprevailing strata; and siltings of sand and gravel, only distinguishable\nby their organic remains from the alluvia and superficial drifts of\nthe current era. Volcanic products are often largely mixed up with\nthese pleiocene beds, and in districts where, in addition to the fossil\nevidence, they clearly establish that they belong to the class of extinct\nvolcanoes, as the sedimentary deposits are themselves determined to\nbelong to the pleiocene age.\n\n[Illustration: Restored Form of Dinotherium.]\n\nThe interesting peculiarity connected with these two groups of the\ntertiary system is, that here all animal as well as vegetable life\napproaches a step nearer to the existing family types. Analogous species\nof molluscs are more numerous, the testacea in many instances being\nidentical with those of our modern seas. The mammalia are likewise more\nakin to those of our domesticated tribes, where the horse is strikingly\nprefigured in the hippotherium, the dog in the agnotherium, and the\ncat in feline forms as large as lions. The glutton and the bear have\nalso their compeers, nor are the fox, hare, and mouse, without their\nrepresentatives. But the marvel of the formation is the DINOTHERIUM\nor gigantic tapir, whose dimensions in every organ and member are\nstupendous. The dinotherium was seemingly possessed of powers which\nenabled him at once to exercise the digging propensities of the mole and\namphibious habits of the walrus, a trunk projecting nearly as long as\nthat of the elephant, and two enormous tusks depending from the lower\njaw. This animal was partly terrestrial and partly aquatic, and hence,\nsays Dr. Buckland, the tusks may also have been applied to hook on the\nhead to the bank, with the nostrils sustained above the water, so as to\nbreathe securely during sleep, while the body remained floating at ease\nbeneath the surface. Thus would he repose, moored to the margin of a lake\nor river\u2014the huge body, of eighteen feet in length, with a corresponding\nthickness, indolently basking in the sun-beams, or quietly cooling after\nexertion in the limpid wave\u2014and these enormous tusks, ready to release\nhim at a bound, when attacked by the enemy beneath. The dinotherium\nexisted during the miocene period, and constitutes an intermediate link\nbetween the tapir and the mastodon. It has left abundant remains in the\nbasin of the Rhine, in Bavaria and Austria, and in several districts of\nthe formation in France.\n\nThe tertiaries have a wide geographical distribution, and cover a vast\nextent of superficial area. Stretching from the Rhone to the Danube,\nthey are found in every part of central and southern Europe, along the\nJulian Alps, and over the interior of Italy, from Ancona to Turin.\nThe eocene group is ascertained, from the character of its fossils,\nand especially by its nummulites and echinoderms, to extend from the\nMediterranean, through Egypt, Asia-Minor, and Persia, to Hindostan, and\nthere to occupy large regions forming the western and northern limits of\nBritish India. This enormous mass of tertiary strata was drifted into\nlakes or estuaries, whereby the mind is carried back to a period when\nEurope was chiefly lacustrine, and all these countries eastward were as\nyet submerged in their waters. What explanation can geology give of their\nelevation to the surface? A scene of volcanic agency, now and _before_\nthe modern epoch extinct, remains to be noticed, which in part at least\nwill furnish a probable solution of the changes then in operation or\ncompleted.\n\nCENTRAL FRANCE, consisting of the districts of Auvergne, Velay, and\nViverais, is universally admitted by geologists to be of volcanic\norigin. The most cursory glance at the dome-shaped hills, the basalt,\ntrachyte, and scoriaccous ingredients of which they are composed, at\nonce satisfies the student of nature as to the class of rocks among\nwhich he here treads. This region lies upon the river Rhone, nearly\nin the angle formed by it with the Mediterranean, and covers an area\nof forty or fifty leagues in diameter. Here are associated, perhaps,\nthe earliest and the latest products of Plutonic action, the primary\ngranites, and the basaltic lavas of comparatively recent times. The\ngranite is flanked on the south and west by immense overliers of gneiss.\nIt may be described as the highlands of the country, whence all the great\nrivers, the Seine, the Loire, the Gironde, and their principal feeders,\ntake their rise. The mountains, though not remarkable for elevation,\nnow that we are approaching true Alpine peaks, reach the height of\nfour, five, and six thousand, and the Aurillac group to nearly seven\nthousand feet above the level of the sea; but what a geological series\nof events is embraced within the period of their physical history! The\ngreat depository arrangements of the globe have, one and all, succeeded\nto those paroxysmal movements that raised their tops above the primeval\nseas. Race after race of living creatures have enjoyed their span of\nexistence, to be mixed up with the strata which during the interval have\nbeen collected and arranged in their various systems. The crust of the\nearth from time to time was disrupted. The depressions and fissures were\nas repeatedly replaced with new matter. The tertiary period dawned upon\nCreation, when plain, lake, and seas, were all teeming with an exuberance\nof terrestrial and aquatic life,\u2014and when again all in the region of\nCentral France was disturbed, and these newer molten rocks were erupted\nfrom beneath. The subterranean fires, wherever seated, were thus, after\nthe lapse of geological epochs, still glowing with intense vigor. And,\njust bordering on the advent of man, the two classes of rocks would\nseem to have been placed in the closest proximity, as if to remind him,\nthat the same Omnipotent agency which created every single atom of his\nearthly habitation, likewise determines every movement and advance of the\nstructure, and makes the near and the remote equally manifest the thunder\nof his power.\n\nThere cannot exist a doubt that the district in question was the seat\nof an extensive chain of lakes, imbosomed amidst the primary rocks, and\nsilted up during the currency of the tertiary age, partly by sedimentary\nand partly by igneous matter. The unstratified masses which encircled\ntheir waters, still stand out in bold relief from the well-defined strata\nthat now occupy their basins. A walk up any one of these valleys\u2014and\nthey are innumerable\u2014or among the cones, hundreds of which are scattered\nover the high grounds in the vicinity of Gergovia, will present to you\nin striking contrast these extremes of natural masonry. One can almost\ntrace, in some localities, the very fissures which opened in the sides of\nthe granite rocks, whence issued the molten flood that first perturbed\nthe waters of the pure silent lakes. No straining of the imagination is\nindeed required to trace the whole progress of their silting\u2014now in the\ndark lava-current from the bowels of the earth, and now in the collected\ndebris from the mountain sides, hurried down by the torrent or by their\nown convulsive throes\u2014here the fine comminuted sand, gently carried in\nby the stream, and there the waste of animal life forming entire beds\nof calcareous marls of still unsullied freshness. In the whole range of\ngeology there is not, in fact, to be found anything more instructive\nand interesting than is displayed in these lacustrine deposits, the\nextreme thinness often of the beds, and the beautiful regularity of their\nsuperposition. The lavas intermix, and alternate repeatedly, with the\nalluvial and organic strata. A myriad of trickling rills fling themselves\nfrom the upheaved ridges, so green and flowery to their summits; they are\ncollected into streams in the different ravines, and sweeping through\nthe deep-cut gorges, lay open the interior to the depth of many hundred\nfeet. Here the various igneous and aqueous groups can be read and studied\nin detail, as they were quietly deposited or violently strewn upon one\nanother.\n\nThe hill of La Roche, in the Puy de Jussat, presents a face of a\nvariegated quartzose grit of nearly seven hundred feet in thickness. At\nChamali\u00e8res, near Clermont, the same deposit is equally well exposed.\nGreen and white foliated marls are very abundant, attaining a thickness\nsometimes of six to seven hundred feet, and consisting chiefly throughout\nthis immense depth of the shells of _Cypris_, a genus which comprises\nseveral species, some of which are recent, and still existing in the\nwaters of our stagnant pools and ditches. The structure of these beds,\nin this volcanic region, is as remarkable as the materials of their\ncomposition. The strata divide into plates thin as paper, which are piled\nup into laminated masses of several hundred feet, of various colors,\nbut the white and green prevailing, and the whole sometimes covered by\nrocky currents of trachytic or basaltic lava. Gypseous marls, similar\nto those of Montmartre, have also contributed to the silting up of the\nlakes, where, as at St. Romain, they are worked, and extensively used\nfor ornamental purposes. A remarkable deposit occurs among the series,\ntermed the _indusial limestone_, from the circumstance of its containing\nthe cases or _inducia_ of a tubular-form species of insects; a creature\nthat not only assisted individually toward the increment of the rock,\nbut possessed the power, like its existing analogues, of attaching\nto its body a load of shelly molluscs, in some cases no less than a\nhundred of these minute shells being arranged around one tube, while\nten or twelve tubes are packed within the compass of a cubic inch. Some\nbeds of this limestone are six feet thick, and may be traced over a\nconsiderable area, showing the countless number of insects and molluscs\nwhich contributed their integuments and shells to compose this singularly\nconstructed rock. The fibular coralline rocks of the Keelan islands bear\nsome faint resemblance to these ancient organic deposits, where the\ninsects build from beneath, and gradually mount to the surface of the\nocean when their work is done, and they perish. The _Phrygane\u00e6_ of the\ntertiary age enjoyed their brief hour in the sunshine, fulfilled their\ndestiny, sank into the waters, and contributed to form rocks over their\nbottom. They weaved not, like the existing races of builders, their own\nshroud, though the materials in which they are entombed are mainly of\ntheir own construction\u2014concretionary plates of the finest texture, and\nindestructible as marble.\n\nThe lacustrine deposits in the department of the Haute Loire are nearly\nidentical with those now described, but concealed very much by the lava\nand scori\u00e6 that have flowed out in immense quantities in the trough of\nthe river. The best sections are exposed near the town of Le Puy, where\nthe sedimentary and erupted rocks are beautifully interstratified.\nThe Aurillac basin, in Cantal, is filled with similar materials,\nalthough there is a greater proportion of silicious strata mixed with\nthe calcareous marls. Indeed, so much in this district does the silex\npredominate, that a bed of tertiary limestone is covered with nodules\nof flint, and resembling in appearance the upper chalks of England. The\nfossil remains, however, clearly mark the distinction, where we have the\nshells of the _Planorbis_ for those of the _Echinus_, and other fresh\nwater testacea instead of the marine types of the Cretaceous formation.\n\nIV. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. This district has been the theater of great\nvolcanic action. The epoch of its activity is clearly determined by the\nundoubted tertiary character of the formations with which its porous\nlavas and scori\u00e6 are intermixed. Basalts and trachytes, of the same\nage, texture, and qualities, are to be found in the various countries\nthrough which the deposits have been traced. The granites, porphyries,\nand greenstones we have seen successively employed in raising up the\nsymmetrical rocks of the grand pal\u00e6ozoic systems, and thereby giving\nshape, stability, and access to the economic and gradually-augmenting\nvolume of the crust of the globe. Can we see in these last extinct\nthroes of the interior, the operations of the same great FINAL\nCAUSE\u2014the overruling hand of power, wisdom, and goodness in the mineral\narrangements and diversified ingredients of our earthly habitation?\n\nTake a glance at the extent and geographical situation of this family of\nrocks. Everywhere among the Andes and Cordilleras, there are evidences of\nthe elevation of large mountain-tracts, through the agency of volcanoes\nnow extinct, and probably of the age in question. A volcanic region in\nthe north of Spain, extending over twenty square leagues, from Amer to\nMassanet in Catalonia, is situated among the lower beds of the system,\npenetrating a nummulitic limestone and other strata, conjectured to\nbelong to the age of our green sand and chalk. The Drachenfels on the\nRhine and the Eifel chain of hills near Bonn, are likewise referable to\nthis class of volcanic ejections. The Katakekaumene tract of mountains,\nin Asia-Minor, is composed of comparatively recent volcanoes, where Mr.\nHamilton conceives the great cones of Mont Dore, the Cantal, and Mont\nMezen in central France are represented by Ak D\u00e0gh, Morad D\u00e0gh, the\ntrachytic hills east of Takmak, Hassan D\u00e0gh, and Mount Arg\u00e6us. Similar\neruptive indications have been traced by Mr. Grant in the district of\nCutch, situated near the eastern branch of the Indus, and consisting of\nlarge tracts of tertiary deposits. The elevated regions of the Tyrol,\nthe flanks of the Bernese and Swiss Alps, have been the scene of violent\ndisturbance, during and since the deposition of the tertiary formations;\nand, in the peninsula of Italy, there are numerous groups of volcanic\norigin, as in Tuscany the igneous rocks of Radicofani, Viterbo, and\nAquapendente, and those of the Campagna di Roma, which are of the same\nchronological series, or probably not later than the pleiocene period.\nThe West India Islands, the Azores, Iceland, Owhyhee where the peaks of\nMauna-Roa and Mouna-Kaa rise to the height of between 15,000 and 16,000\nfeet above the sea, belong to the same class of phenomena. Thus in every\nquarter of the globe there have existed Phlegr\u00e6an fields of ancient\nas well as of modern date, whose convulsions anterior to all historic\nrecords are still traceable in the submergence and closing up of lakes,\nthe drainage of large tracts of land, the upheaval of mountains, and the\nreduction of the earth to existing superficial arrangements.\n\nThe products of these tertiary extinct volcanoes are indeed vastly\ninferior in amount to the ejections of the more ancient periods,\nwhose stupendous monuments are seen in the primary and secondary\nmountain-chains of granite, porphyry, and greenstone; but still they\nhad force enough to influence very extensive tracts of country, to\nconvulse and move large portions of the crust of the earth. Even now it\nis impossible to guess through how wide an extent, in the subterranean\nregions, the shock of earthquakes is simultaneously felt. Not less than\n100,000 square miles of country were permanently elevated by the Chili\nearthquake of 1822, from two to six feet above its former level, and\npart of the bottom of the sea remained dry at high water, with beds of\noysters, muscles, and other shells adhering to the rocks on which they\ngrew. The contemplation of volcanic phenomena in South America, has led\nMr. Darwin to remark that, in order to comprehend the vast surface which\nwas affected by the earthquake in Chili, and which destroyed Conception,\nin February 1835, it had a north and south range equal in extent to the\ndistance between the North Sea and the Mediterranean\u2014that we must imagine\nthe eastern coast of England to be permanently raised, and a train of\nvolcanoes to become active in the southern extremity of Norway\u2014also\nthat a submarine volcano burst forth near the northern extremity of\nIreland\u2014and that the long dormant volcanoes of the Cantal and Auvergne,\neach sent up a column of smoke. It need, therefore, excite no wonder\nthat geologists have felt themselves warranted to ascribe the elevation\nnot only of the sedimentary formations in central France to the volcanic\nmovements of the district, but likewise those of the Paris and London\nbasins, as well as the general rise and dislocation of the strata along\nthe southern and eastern coasts of England. The cause, as compared with\nrecent and still daily observed phenomena, was abundantly adequate to\neffect the results. Other districts would be simultaneously influenced;\nthe tertiary deposits in their various successive groups were all\narranged under similar circumstances and exposed to similar changes; and\nhence a doubt can scarcely exist, that all these geological basins, and\nthis vast superficies of tertiary matter, were cotemporaneously elevated,\nas well as subjected to one and the same range of subterranean convulsion.\n\nAs an approximation to the period when this district was last subject to\nvolcanic action, it may be noticed that the craters of Auvergne and the\nCantal had all ceased to emit fire or were just expiring, when those of\nEtna and Vesuvius _began_ their operations. From whatever cause, it would\nappear that the incandescent elements had here parted with their caloric\nor had shifted their position, and that new vents were opened for them\nin the basin of the Mediterranean. These latter volcanoes may have been\nin activity _before_ the historical epoch, although the evidence must\nstill be regarded as inconclusive, and the violent efforts to fasten\na collision upon revelation have utterly failed. But in Auvergne, on\nthe contrary, little doubt exists of the priority of all the volcanic\nemissions to the human epoch. When C\u00e6sar encamped among these narrow\ndefiles, his Commentary is silent as to any eruptions save the irruption\nof his own legions. The inhabitants, as now, were cultivating the vine\nor peacefully engaged in rural occupations, as little dreaming of any\ndisturbances from the interior, as they were unprepared to resist the\ntorrent of mail-clad warriors that poured through their valleys and\ndevastated their fields. The poet Sidonius Apollinaris had his residence\non the borders of Lake Aidat, but he sung not of the \u201csublime\u201d in these\nupthroes of his native province. Nevertheless, an immense degree of\nhistoric interest must ever attach to these volcanic rocks, inasmuch as\nthey are infinitely modern when compared with the primary and secondary\nformations, the granites and the traps of Britain. They keep continually,\ntoo, before our eyes the fact of a succession of igneous operations, and\nremind us that plutonic agencies have prevailed through all time, and\nover regions which have only recently been liberated from their ravages;\nthat at any moment, and at any place, they may again burst forth, when\nislands will be raised, continents submerged, the fertile plain laid\nwaste, and lakes, estuaries, and seas converted into dry land.\n\nNor are there evidences wanting, in existing volcanoes, of the intensity\nof the fires which still glow within the interior of our earth. There are\nat present more than TWO HUNDRED volcanoes in active operation; these\nare not confined to any particular zone, but are distributed like those\nof the older families through the different quarters of the world. The\ngreater centers of action are situated in the mountain-ranges of South\nAmerica, along the western coast of North America, and in the numerous\nislands of the Southern Pacific; but at the same time there is scarcely\na portion of the earth\u2019s crust that is not subjected to the shock of\nvolcanic influence and the movement of earthquakes. There are two\ntheories by which all volcanic phenomena are attempted to be explained.\nThe more prevailing one among geologists is that which connects them\nwith one great source of central heat\u2014interior lakes of molten stone\u2014the\nresidue of that incandescent condition in which the globe originally\nappeared, and out of which the primary crystalline strata were formed.\nThe other mode of explanation is that which supposes the internal heat\nto be the result of chemical and galvanic action among the materials\ncomposing the earth\u2019s crust. The metallic and earthy bases, upon contact\nwith water, everywhere transmitted through fissures and apertures on\nthe surface, burn, melt, and are converted into lavaform matter, and\nwhich acting again as fuel, serve to fuse the rocks among which they\noccur. Hence various gases will be generated sufficient to occasion much\nlocal disturbance; though certainly not upon a scale to correspond with\nthe magnitude, universality, and perpetuity of those changes that have\nresulted in the igneous products of the primary, secondary, or even\ntertiary formations.\n\nBut whatever be the source or cause, the heat and the elements of\nheat have been in constant activity, volcanoes and earthquakes, like\nthe hurricane and disease, subserving important necessary purposes in\nthe economy of nature. Humboldt was the first to remark the linear\ndistribution of volcanic domes, which he considered as vents placed along\nthe edge of vast fissures, communicating with reservoirs of igneous\nmatter, and extending across whole continents. Lyell, considering that\nthe earthquake and the volcano are probably the effects of the same\nsubterranean process, and that the subterranean movements are least\nviolent in the immediate proximity of volcanic vents, observes, \u201cthat\nif the fused matter has failed several times to reach the surface, the\nconsolidation of the lava first raised and congealed will strengthen the\nearth\u2019s crust, and become an additional obstacle to the protrusion of\nother fused matter during subsequent convulsions.\u201d Thus, needful in all\npast time, these igneous phenomena are needful still\u2014in supplying and\nindurating new lands\u2014in repairing the waste and continual encroachments\nof the sea\u2014in keeping up a salutary degree of heat over the earth\u2019s\ncrust, and thereby perhaps essential toward maintaining the necessary\nvolume of the earth\u2019s bulk. Nor will the fires within have fulfilled\ntheir law and purpose of inclosure until the ordinance of Heaven in its\ncreation be completed, when the earth and the works therein shall be\nburnt up.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nTHE ALPS\u2014MONT BLANC.\n\n\nThe Pennine or Western Alps constitute the loftiest group of mountains\nin Europe. They consist of a vast chain of isolated peaks, all of which\nare elevated above the region of perpetual snow. Mont Blanc, Mont Cervin,\nand Mont Combin attain respectively to the heights of fifteen thousand\nseven hundred and thirty-two feet, fourteen thousand eight hundred and\nfifty-five feet, and fourteen thousand one hundred and twenty-five feet,\nabove the level of the sea. This group is succeeded by that of the\nBernese Alps, of which the Jungfrau is the most conspicuous, reaching\nthe altitude of thirteen thousand seven hundred and eighteen feet. The\nHelvetian Alps lie to the east and south of these two ranges, rising in\nMont Rosa to the height of fifteen thousand one hundred and fifty feet\ninto the same aerial frozen regions. The rivers Rhine and Rhone spring\nfrom the glaciers which occupy the valleys intermediate betwixt the\nBernese and Helvetian mountains, while the Po, rising among the Cottian\nAlps on the south-west, derives its principal tributaries from the same\nalpine sources with its larger twin-sisters.\n\nSwitzerland, thus bounded on the south, is walled in along the entire\nnorthern frontier by the range of the Jura mountains, whose loftiest\npoint, the Le Reculet, is five thousand six hundred and twenty-seven feet\nabove the sea level. The mountains of Savoy stretch along the left bank\nof the Lake of Geneva. Mont Pilatus, the Rigi, and other noted hills\nof tourists, occupy the eastern central division of the country, among\nwhich are situated the largest cluster as well as the most celebrated\nof the lakes. The great valley of Switzerland, the territory proper of\nthe cantons Vaud, Fribourg, Berne, and Soleure\u2014within which lie all the\nprincipal towns, those of the old Roman and all of modern times\u2014forms\nan extended plateau or basin, inclosed by an amphitheater of mountain\nland, diversified at intervals by low swelling ridges, undulating hills,\nprecipitous ravines, the deep-set channels of turbid streams, and lovely\nlakes imbosomed in orchards, vineyards, and meadows of the most luxuriant\npasturage.\n\nThe two great rivers, embracing the entire drainage of the country and\nof all the lakes, debouch through narrow gorges at opposite sides of\nthe Swiss territory, and pursue, nearly at right angles to each other,\ntheir respective courses until they mingle their waters\u2014the one in the\nMediterranean, and the other in the Northern Ocean.\n\nThe little town of Neufch\u00e2tel, so often alluded to, lies on the north\nbank of the lake of the same name, the Jura mountains gently sloping up\nbehind. In the suburbs, forming one of a row of detached unpretending\nhouses, is situated the neat ch\u00e2teau of M. Agassiz in the middle of\na small garden, which rests against the hills, and is bounded on the\nsouth by the waters of the lake. A most fitting habitation for the great\nichthyologist, surrounded as it is with the noblest scenery, and replete\nin every locality with the richest treasures of his favorite study. I\nvisited the place in the autumn of 1846, unfortunately when M. Agassiz\nhad just left for America: in a beautiful evening strolled through the\ngarden and adjoining inclosures, and was pleased to observe numerous\ntraces in the rocks, and in some fossil relics lying about, of his\nstudies and researches.\n\nThe geology of the Alps, the last stage in our self-elected course, is\nof the most complicated character. The researches of Studer, Escher,\nand Brunner, natives of the country, have served to establish the\ngeneral superposition and normal arrangement of the various groups of\nstrata, as those of the illustrious De Saussure had long before been\ndirected to determine their mineral distinctions, and chiefly their\nclassification upon mineralogical principles, into separate crystalline\nmasses. The labors again of Brongniart, Deshayes, Agassiz, D\u2019Orbigny,\nand Brown, have been mainly employed upon their organic remains, with\na view to ascertain the geological epochs within which the several\nsuites of rocks have originated. Our own countrymen, Buckland, Lyell,\nSedgwick, and Murchison, have attempted to systematize still further\nthe alpine deposits, as well as those of Italy and Germany, by showing\ntheir relations to the well-marked divisions of our British systems; and\nthe result is, that over all these widely-extended regions, and amidst\nall the metamorphism, contortion, dislocation, and upheaval of such\nlofty ranges, there is a true transition from the Silurian, Devonian,\nand Carboniferous rocks existing in the eastern Alps into the higher\nsecondary and tertiary strata of the western or Swiss Alps.\n\nIt would be impossible within our limits to furnish even a moiety of the\ndetails and evidences by which the intricate structure of the Alps has\nbeen so successfully unraveled, and the arrangement of nature in the due\norder of superposition so persistently maintained. We shall simply advert\nto the equivalents of the English strata which have been satisfactorily\nascertained, and shall then consider some of the more interesting\nphenomena connected with the age, elevation, erratic blocks, and glaciers\nof this Alpine country.\n\nI. GENERAL STRUCTURE. The great central axis of the Alpine region,\nstretching from the Rhone to the Danube, consists mainly of the primary\ncrystalline rocks. The granite is everywhere accompanied by gneiss,\nmica-schist, chlorite-schist, silicious and serpentine limestones. The\nupper silurian, devonian, and carboniferous systems are distinctly\nrepresented in the eastern Alps; but no traces of the Permian deposits\nhave been detected in them or in any part of southern Europe; while\nagain in following the central parts of the chain from Austria into\nSwitzerland and Savoy, all fossil evidences of the four sedimentary\nsystems disappear. The conclusion arrived at by geologists, therefore,\nis that for these pal\u00e6ozoic and triassic formations there exist no\nrepresentatives among any of the vast piles of strata of the western\nAlps; or, if they ever had a place in this part of the chain, that they\nhave been obliterated by the powerful transmuting action of metamorphism,\nor plunged to inaccessible depths beneath the upraised edges of the\nprimary series. Coal plants, and anthracite coal itself, have both indeed\nbeen found in the valley of the Arve in Savoy, at Tarentaise, Maurienne,\nand along the base of Mont Blanc; but as they occur in connection with\nbelemnites, these beds have been referred by M. E. de Beaumont and others\nto the Lias formation, which is clearly determined by its numerous animal\nfossils to exist in this part of the chain. The remarkable picturesque\nrocks of Varennes, Duron, and the Col de Balme belong to the lias\ndeposit\u2014the grandest specimens, perhaps, of natural architecture anywhere\nto be seen.\n\nBut, making allowance for all the uncertainties of their lithological\ncomplement, and quitting all points of a doubtful character, it has been\nsatisfactorily established that the flanks of the Swiss Alps are covered\nby a series of sedimentary deposits of vast thickness, which form a true\ntransition from the newer secondary into the older tertiary strata. The\nnormal arrangement of rocks within these limits is complete, beginning\nwith the lias and terminating in distinctly recognized beds of the\ntertiary pleiocene group.\n\nThe lias formation is largely developed along the northern, eastern, and\nsouth-western side of the chain, forming an immense belt from near the\nfoot of the Jungfrau, in the central district of Switzerland, to Savona\nin the Gulf of Genoa. The oolitic formation succeeds, on a scale of still\ngreater magnitude, having a continuous stretch from the Mediterranean at\nToulon to Vienna, on the Danube; again constituting an enormous deposit\nalong the Jura range of mountains; and then by Ulm, Altmuhl, and Amberg,\nto Beyruth, with its celebrated bone caves, in the heart of Germany. The\nOxfordian group are represented by the \u201cNeocomian\u201d limestones, a series\nof hard subcrystalline strata, abounding in fossils of the gault and\nupper green-sand. To these succeed beds of red, gray, and white marly\nlimestones, containing _Gryph\u00e6\u00e6_, _Inocerami_, and _Ananchytes_, and\nregarded as the equivalents, as they are undoubtedly in the position,\nof the white chalks of England. A supercretaceous group, consisting of\nnummulitic and shelly rocks, the \u201cflysch\u201d of the Swiss, constitutes the\nclose of the secondary, and graduates conformably and insensibly upward,\nby mineral and zoological passages, into the eocene system. The vast beds\nof strata, which are termed the \u201cmolasse\u201d and \u201cnagelflue,\u201d contain in the\n_lower_ series a large proportion of living species of marine shells,\nwhile the associated and _overlaying_ strata of terrestrial origin\nare loaded with forms all of which are extinct. In this group there is\nnevertheless shadowed forth a type of rocks characteristic both of a\nmiocene and pleiocene age; but so anomalous is their arrangement, that\nthe younger are often found to dip under the older rocks out of which\nthey have been formed. And as of these, so generally of the entire Alpine\nseries now referred to, the position of the various groups in particular\nlocalities can only be unraveled in their flexures, dislocations, and\ndisplacements, by means of the organic remains with which they severally\nabound.\n\nII. The SUPERFICIAL ACCUMULATIONS embrace a wide-spread class of\ngeological phenomena. These have originated in causes some of which are\nstill in active operation, others are dormant, and others again may be\nconsidered as belonging to agencies which may be termed extraordinary, or\npermitted only at intervals to display themselves. The effects of their\noperations are visible, less or more, in every part of the surface of the\nglobe. They have been termed the PLEISTOCENE group, and consist of both\nmarine and fresh water materials. To these are referred the bowlder-clay\nformation, the vast deposits of sand and gravel heaped up in valleys, the\nerratic blocks spread over hill-tops, and the various kinds of detrital\nmatter which, although often laminated, is loose and unstratified, and\nclearly distinguishable from the more indurated and subjacent beds\ncomposing the earth\u2019s crust. Nor in gathering up the links of this\nextended field of review, will it be possible to omit all mention of\nglaciers and their moraines, so intimately connected with Alpine scenery.\n\nThe sand, gravel, and drift accumulations of every kind are common to\nevery country where waters flow or valleys exist. They cover the great\nstraths of Scotland, the low steppes of Russia, the lofty gorges of the\nHimalaya, the desert wastes of Africa, and the elevated plateaux of\nNorth and South America. Among the Rocky Mountains they are of the most\nvaried character, and are spread over extensive areas in those sterile\nregions, high up among the sources of the great American rivers. Wherever\na stream falls into another stream, a stream into a lake, a lake into\na river, or a river into the sea, bars, gravelly shoals, and deltas\nare found to exist, or to be in the act of formation. Accumulations of\nthis class, therefore, are to be regarded as of various periods, as they\nare evidently the results of causes of continual operation, ordinary as\nwell as extraordinary. Many of such phenomena, however, are as clearly\nthe indication of a state of things which no longer exists. Whether by\na subsidence in the sea-bottom, or an elevation of the land, they are\nnow raised far above the influence of the element within which they\nwere collected, and to whose abrading powers they owe their laminated\nstructure. Such, in particular, are those regular-shaped terraces as\nwell as detached hillocks of sand and gravel, several hundred feet in\ndepth, so common in the straths of Scotland and valleys of Switzerland,\nthrough which arms of the sea or of great inland lakes once penetrated,\nand over whose shores and bottoms the debris of the mountains gradually\naccumulated. \u201cThe Sea Margins,\u201d the work of the accomplished Robert\nChambers, contains a minute and interesting detail of these facts,\ngleaned from varied sources of reading and most extensive personal\nobservation, and clearly warranting the inference that the sea at no very\nremote period covered vast districts of country from which it has now\nreceded.\n\nTHE BOWLDER CLAY immediately underlies the gravelly beds which have\nbeen noticed. Betwixt the two classes of drift there is a clear line of\ndemarkation, although both sand and gravel are often in considerable\nmasses included in the plastic mud which chiefly characterizes the\nbowlder clay. This formation is of great extent, covering the whole of\nthe north of Europe, a large portion of northern Asia, and in America\nextending from the Arctic Sea to Boston; massed up in every ravine, and\nranging from the lowest valleys to two thousand feet on the mountain\nslopes, where it is often accumulated to a great depth. One striking\npeculiarity of the bowlder clay is, that huge blocks of stones of all\nages are imbedded in the mass in every region and country where it is\nfound: hence the name. The bowlders are not always of local origin;\non the contrary, the parent rock is more generally situated at remote\ndistances, even from five to eight hundred miles. Thus the Scottish\nGrampians furnish the greater proportion of the huge blocks which\nare scattered over the lowland and midland counties of Scotland. The\nLammermuirs, the Cheviots, the Lake Mountains of Cumberland, have strewed\ntheir wreck over the vales of the Tweed and Northumberland, through\nYorkshire and the midland plains of England. The chalks of Denmark and\nNorway are spread out on every shoal and bank in the German Ocean to the\nBritish shores; while again, through all Friesland and central Germany,\nthe primary rocks of Scandinavia are as distinctly to be traced. The\nerratic-block family have in like manner traveled over France, those of\nBritanny and Normandy penetrating to the basin of the Loire; the Cantal\ndown even to the shores of the Mediterranean. Switzerland, perhaps,\ncontains the most interesting specimens of this universal drift-wreck;\nas, on the sides of the Jura, at an elevation of four thousand feet, at\nMonthey, where they give a feature to the landscape, and on the east\nbank of the lake of Geneva, lies the celebrated _Pierre de Gout\u00e9_, which\nfigures in the Huttonian controversy, measuring about ten feet in height\nby fifteen to twenty in breadth and length. Mont Blanc is conjectured\nto have been the source of most of these _pierres roul\u00e9s_, which have\nbeen transported across the valley of the Rhone, or lifted sheer over\nthe mountains of Savoy, and are now at the distance of sixty and seventy\nmiles, lying in all the passes and ridges of the Jura.\n\nVarious explanations have been given of the origin and deposition of\nthe bowlder-clay formation, as well as of the erratic block-drift, for\nthe two can scarcely be separated in the question of cause and effect.\nThe bowlders, for example, are sometimes in the mass of clay itself,\nsometimes they are lying loose on the surface, in many instances they are\nspread over areas where no clay exists; but in most cases maintaining\ntheir unmistakable character of being water-worn, rounded, and covered\nwith stri\u00e6. Both classes of phenomena, therefore, are supposed to be\nreferable to the same period of time, as they probably have originated\nin the same series of causes. One theory advanced in explanation of\nboth, is the agency of powerful currents that swept over Britain and the\nadjacent continents, generally in a north and north-westerly direction,\nbearing along with them soil, gravel, and the larger debris of rocks;\nand as obstructions occurred, or the violence of the currents subsided,\nthe heterogenous materials were deposited in the various countries and\nat the different elevations in which they are found. The direction of\nthe currents, often from different centers, is indicated clearly by the\nposition and lithology of the mountains from which the blocks have been\ntransported, no less than by the fact that the greatest accumulations of\ndrift and bowlders are to be observed at the south-eastern extremities\nof such gorges and valleys as were open to the diluvial action. But the\nhypothesis fails in giving a satisfactory account of the transport of the\nlarger blocks, often of sixty to a hundred tons weight, over a course of\nmany hundreds of miles, plunging through hollows, and now stranded on\nmountain slopes several thousand feet above. The theory of icebergs, as\nthe transporting agency, meets this difficulty; and accordingly, in one\nform or other, such a cause or agent, of widely-prevailing influence,\nis almost universally adopted into the creed of geologists. This theory\nimplies, that those portions of Europe now covered with the bowlder-clay\nformation were submerged after the deposition and consolidation of\nthe tertiary strata\u2014that this submergence was the result of a change\nin the earth\u2019s axis or some extraordinary alteration in its planetary\nrelations\u2014that a great arctic glacial continent subsided and disappeared\nbeneath the waters\u2014and that vast floating masses of ice, inclosing\nrock loosened from the sinking land, penetrated southward, grazing and\npolishing the harder substances that lay in their course, or carrying\nalong with them the more yielding and transportable materials. Admit\nall or even a limited number of such assumptions, and we know from what\nis occurring in recent times, that the cause is quite adequate to the\nproduction of the effect. Sir James Ross, in his late humane exploratory\nexpedition, encountered in the polar regions icebergs from a hundred\nto three hundred feet in height, and from a quarter to half a mile in\nlength. Two-thirds of every iceberg float beneath the water. What a\ncarrier power, at once for erosion and transport, in every one of these\nfrozen floating mountains! The Polar ocean still maintains its great\nsouthward current to the equatorial seas, modified by the headlands and\ninequalities of bottom which occur in its progress; and then, as now, the\nicebergs driven along this highway of waters would drop, at intervals,\nportions of their stony load, to take up at other stations whatever was\nprepared to adhere to them. Hence the difficulty vanishes as to the large\ndetached blocks so often found on the elevated sides of mountains. Hence,\ntoo, the explanation of those collected groups which are entirely free\nfrom any admixture of clay. And hence, upon the retreat of the waters and\nthe elevation of the land, it is reasonable to infer that many districts\nwould be swept bare again of their mud, while the bowlders would remain,\nand that in other quarters ridges and the deeper accumulations would be\nformed. \u201cBoth theories,\u201d however, as stated by Mr. Page in his excellent\ntreatise, \u201cRudiments of Geology,\u201d \u201care beset with difficulties; and\nthough the latter accounts more satisfactorily for most of the phenomena\nof the erratic block group, still there are many points respecting the\ndistribution and extent of the deposit to be investigated before either\ncan be finally adopted. All that can be affirmed in the present state\nof the science is the composition and nature of the clay, gravel, and\nbowlders\u2014the course of the currents concerned in their deposition\u2014the\nfact of the land having a configuration of hill and valley, not differing\nmuch from what now exists\u2014and the peculiar scantiness, if not total\nabsence, of organic remains.\u201d\n\nWhether this mysterious cataclysm occurred before or within the modern\nepoch is a question which, as yet, has not by any means been determined.\nThe few organic remains detected in the deposit are of marine origin\u2014one\nor two species of shells\u2014but all identical with species now existing.\nThe presumption is that the climate which prevailed over these northern\nregions during the period was extremely low. But how long it lasted, and\nwhy there are no types preserved, in all that congeries of materials\nof the _terrestrial_ fauna and flora of the period, are points both of\nthem of a very perplexing kind. Whether just dawning upon the advent\nof man, or within the actual era of his history, certain it is that\nthese are the results of a chaotic condition over a large portion of\nour planet, of which, if we except the deluge, we have no record nor\nmemorials in any of the after changes and modifications of its surface.\nShall we add, as indicative of a FINAL CAUSE appearing in and overruling\nthe tumultuous agitation, that to this source is to be traced great\npart of the soil which covers the valleys and mountain sides of all the\nsubmerged districts? that hereby extensive lakes were silted up, the\nflinty rock concealed by fertile earth, and the steep acclivity made\naccessible to the husbandman? One thing is clear, that all the latest\ntertiary strata in this alpine region have, after their consolidation,\nbeen disturbed and broken up: it is upon their inverted edges that the\nsuperficial accumulations have been deposited and now rest: and whether\nthe submergence of Europe, and other parts of the globe, was simultaneous\nor not with the cause of their movement and overthrow, a superintending\nwisdom and purpose are unquestionably discernible in those accessions of\nsoil and other economic arrangements that resulted from the change.\n\nThere is another theory, however, which has been applied to the\nexplanation of these phenomena\u2014namely, the THEORY OF GLACIERS, as\nillustrated in the works of Venetz, Charpentier, Agassiz, and Forbes.\n\nA glacier is a moving stream of ice formed in the transverse valleys\nand furrowed gorges of alpine chains. They are of great depth and\nindefinite length; and as they proceed slowly but progressively in\ntheir courses they carry along with them all the loose and prehensible\nmountain debris with which they come in contact. On their surface they\nbear every falling splinter, small and great, from the overhanging\nrocks. The sides and bottom of the ravines through which they pass are\nstripped, polished, and striated. The avalanche breaks upon them with\nits accumulated load; and every mountain rill, upon the melting of the\nsnows in summer, deposits over their flanks the materials with which\nthey are charged. Immense masses of matter are, in these various ways,\ncollected and transported from the higher into the lower valleys: these\nat the outgoing of the glacier generally assume a ridge shaped form, and\nare termed _moraines_. The underlying blocks are all rounded and grooved:\nthose borne on the surface are sharp and angular, until they are swept\naway by the torrents into the rivers, where they are in turn subjected\nto their smoothing operations. There can be no doubt, therefore, either\nas to the disintegrating or transporting power of this mighty agent.\nWhen I stood upon the Mer de Glace I saw before me, in one gorge of the\nmountain, a continuous stretch of icy machinery fourteen miles in length\nby two to three in breadth, and several hundred feet in depth. The whole\nwas in motion; and, whether we adopt as the principle of translation\nthe mechanical pressure of Agassiz, or the hydraulic law of Forbes, the\ninstrument of an incalculable carriage-power was there. And yet, upon the\nfirst glance, it shrank into a span, or appeared but as a small lake, as\nwe viewed the glacier pouring down that deep gorge of Mont Blanc; a sheer\ndepth of dark perpendicular rocks rising on its edges many thousand feet\nin height; several of the sharp-pointed Aiguilles, the Grandes Mullets,\nand above all, the Peak de Dru, unrivaled in symmetrical grandeur,\npenetrating still higher into the clear sky above. How many such glaciers\nare dispersed through that vast alpine chain; and how immense, upon any\nrule of calculation, have been the earthy and rocky materials which they\nhave borne downward in the lapse of time!\n\nFamiliarized to such gigantic operations among his native Alps, M.\nAgassiz came to the conclusion that not only the bowlder drift of\nSwitzerland, but nearly all the superficial accumulations of northern\nEurope, were to be ascribed to glacial action. In the straths and glens\nof Scotland he fancied a moraine in every talus of a mountain, and in\nevery bar of a river. He saw the polishing of glaciers in the pass of\nKilliecrankie, on the sides of Ben Nevis, and the steep promontories\nof Morven. The parallel roads of Glenroy originated in the same cause.\nFrom the Mediterranean to the Arctic zone a polar climate universally\nprevailed, and the whole was covered with a mantle of ice; vast fields\nof ice, too, depending from the mountains penetrated into the adjacent\nvalleys; the plains in succession were invaded, and erratic blocks were\nscattered in every direction; when at last, upon a change of temperature\nconsequent upon other changes in the planetary relations of the earth,\nall these erosive influences were for a time increased, and the glacial\npower attained its maximum. Not only the upper and transverse furrows\nin the Alps but all the lower and great longitudinal valleys of the\nCantons were the seats of glaciers during this period. Along the passes\nof the Rhine, the Rhone, the Drance, the Doire, the Arve, and the Is\u00eare,\nthe irrepressible tide of ice maintained its course, leaving portions\nof the drift at different elevations, and dropping bowlders on the\nintermediate hills and on the more distant and loftier barriers of the\nJura. Sir R. Murchison opposes all these speculations of Agassiz and\nothers. The elevation of the alpine chain, of which there is abundant\nevidence in comparatively recent times, he regards as cotemporaneous\nwith the translation of the bowlder-drift, and considers that during the\nsub-aqueous condition of northern Europe, the Alps and the Jura were from\ntwo to three thousand feet below their present altitude. He finds that\nthe famous blocks of Monthey opposite Bex are composed exclusively of\nthe granite of Mont Blanc\u2014that they have been transported on ice-rafts\nthrough the gorge of St. Maurice to their present locality\u2014and reasons\nwith justice that had they formed part of a moraine the debris of all the\nintervening rocks, along the valley through which the glacier passed,\nmust have been associated with them. None of the glaciers of the Alps, he\nthinks, could have been of the extent implied in the transport through\ntheir agency of the Jura blocks, nor have ever the upper longitudinal and\nflanking valleys around Mont Blanc been filled with general ice-streams.\nThe materials, likewise, of true glacier moraines he conceives can be\nreadily distinguished, on the one hand, from the more ancient alluvia,\nand, on the other, from tumultuous accumulations of gravel bowlders\nand far-transported erratic blocks. And, looking at the various causes\nwhich have affected the surface, Sir Roderick concludes, that all the\nchief difficulties of the bowlder-clay formation are removed, when\nit is admitted that frequent and vast changes of the land and waters\nhave taken place since the distribution of large erratics\u2014that a great\nnorthern glacial continent has subsided\u2014that the bottom of the sea over\nBritain and the adjacent continent has been raised into dry land, while\nthe Alps and Jura, formerly at lower levels, have been considerably and\nirregularly elevated.\n\nThe elevation of this stupendous chain of rocks, not by one but by a\nsuccession of upheavals and depressions ere they assumed their present\nposition and grouping, is a point generally admitted, and not difficult\nto demonstrate. The Alps, for example, are folded all round with\nsuccessive belts or zones of sedimentary matter, marking, as so many\nmilestones at different points of altitude, the measure of increment\nattained during the intervals of their deposition. These belts contain\neach their own peculiar class of fossils which determine their relative\nages. In succession, the several suites or families of rocks rest upon\nthe inverted outcrop or inclined edges of the older groups. Thus the\nhistory of organic life upon the globe, the incoming of new races and\nthe extinction of old ones, as contained in these deposits, becomes a\nscale of measurement of the elevations, disruptions, and ever-varying\nconditions of the inorganic crust, while in the inverted, dislocated\nstate of the crust itself, we mark the several throes by which it was\nlifted above the waters. Not one of the fossiliferous beds enveloping\nthe granitic and crystalline nucleus of the chain of the Alps but has\nbeen shifted out of its original horizontal position, and the shift of\nthe subjacent having always preceded the deposition of the overlying\nformation, it follows that, in addition to the intumescence of the chain,\nthere must have been a series of oscillatory and elevatory movements\nbefore attaining its final altitude. But after the consolidation of the\nwhole rocky strata, and while the waters were still many thousands of\nfeet in depth, the superficial accumulations were being deposited\u2014the\nbowlder drift, and erratic blocks, either by icebergs or other causes,\nwere floated into position\u2014and it was not until every one of these\ntraveled stones, fresh even now as when torn from the living rock, were\nquietly settled down into the bottom of the sea, that Mont Blanc had\ndisplayed a moiety of its massive outline, or towered to one-half of its\npresent colossal grandeur. The elevation of Ben-Mac-Dhui dates from the\nera of the old red sandstone formation. Mont Blanc was invaded on all\nsides by a sea that received the latest of the tertiary deposits. Both\nwere submerged during the cataclysm which produced the bowlder clay; but\nas no increment to its bulk was derived from this cause, Ben-Mac-Dhui\nfalls geologically to be reckoned a completed, and therefore a far older,\nmountain than Mont Blanc, which had not attained its full altitude and\nbulk until the expiration of the Pleiocene age!\n\nSuch are the mighty agencies contemplated by the geologist in the various\nlater changes which have affected the surface of our globe. The rill,\nthe river, the torrent, the glacier, the earthquake, the volcano, are\nstill in operation, but only as faint images of the enormous powers which\nin the more ancient times have been at work. That the earth has been\nrepeatedly encroached upon by the waters every principle of his science\ngoes to establish; but out of every convulsion he sees a better and\nmore stable condition of things to have emerged. If the bowlder drift\nand the cold plastic clay formation point to a continuance of sunless,\nlifeless seasons, he forgets not, as the products of the period, that\ntwo-thirds of the soil of Great Britain and of the grain-bearing lands of\nthe continent, have been derived from these accumulations\u2014the industrial\nmonuments of their invasion in every quarter of the world.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nTHICKNESS OF THE EARTH\u2019S CRUST\u2014CENTRAL HEAT.\n\n\nThe question arises, since upon geological grounds it is demonstrable\nthat the crust of the earth has been repeatedly upheaved and broken, have\nwe reason to conclude that similar states of paroxysm and convulsion\nmay not again return? This brings us to the consideration of two very\ninteresting problems, namely,\u2014THE THICKNESS OF THE EARTH\u2019S CRUST\u2014And THE\nDOCTRINE OF CENTRAL HEAT. Have we any means of determining either of\nthese points? The doctrine of the igneous origin of granite and other\nrocks proceeds upon the assumption of a vast reservoir of heat existing\nsomewhere within the interior; and the question to be solved is\u2014What is\nthe thickness of the solid crust beneath which the molten rocks have\ntheir origin? and what the cause of their fusion?\n\nI. An opinion has long prevailed among geologists of a certain school,\nthat the crust of the earth is of very limited dimensions. A thin coating\nof primary crystalline rock is interposed betwixt the sedimentary strata\nabove, and the intensely incandescent mass of which the interior is\ncomposed. The experiments of Fourier establish a formula of increasing\ntemperature of the strata in a descending series, and from the rate of\nthis increase, it is inferred, that about one hundred miles below the\nsurface the entire nucleus is in a state of complete fusion. Some have\neven assumed the melting point to be less than thirty miles, when \u201cthe\nnext contiguous matter is in a state of fusion, at a temperature probably\nhigher than any that man can produce by artificial means, or any natural\nheat that can exist on the surface.\u201d[11] Sir John Leslie attempted a\ndemonstration of the ultimate resolution of the materials into light,\nas the only element capable of resisting the vast pressure of the outer\ncrust; and, erroneously assuming the _modulus_ of compressibility of air,\nwater, the metals, and all known earthy substances to be invariable,\nhowever greatly the pressure may be increased, this ingenious philosopher\ncame to the conclusion, that, instead of Tartarean darkness, the\noffspring of superstition, the inner chambers of the earth are filled\nwith luminous ether, the most pure, concentrated, and resplendent. Darwin\nbelieves that much of the vast continent of South America is suspended\nover an inner sea of liquid fire, and says, that, \u201cdaily it is forced\nhome on the mind of the geologist, that nothing, not even the wind that\nblows, is so unstable as the level of the crust of the earth.\u201d\n\nWith the fires of Etna and Vesuvius raging on the one side, and the\nrecent though extinct volcanoes of Auvergne and the Cantal seated so near\non the other side, what security is there, amidst so many undoubted facts\nof the mobility of the land, that these vast piles of Alpine mountains\nmay not again, through mere mechanical weight, break through the film\nof crust on which they rest, and sink into the abyss from which they so\nlately emerged! The doctrine of central heat, it may be replied, does\nnot necessarily imply the universal _fluidity_ of the central mass, an\nopinion supported by Lyell, Poisson, and other eminent philosophers;\nwhile there is reason to infer, as repeatedly stated, that there is\nno identity of scale and mechanism between volcanoes now active, and\nthe igneous causes which gave birth to these and other stupendous\nmountain-chains.\n\nBut astronomy gives a different and more comfortable solution of the\nproblem. The influence of the moon alone, it would appear, acting upon\nour planet, requires a thickness of crust of at least ONE THOUSAND MILES,\nto prevent the fabric of the globe from being severed into fragments. The\nearth, considered in connection with its own planetary system, has three\ndistinct motions in space, a fact in science usually illustrated by the\nmovements of the common spinning-top. A more striking illustration may be\nseen in the steam-vapor which has aided you onward, that living cloud of\nlight and heat which towers and floats away in these beautifully curling\nwreaths. Like the trail of the comet, how gracefully it sweeps over the\nplains in its forward movement: then it turns to the right or left in the\ndirection of the wind: and then, in a third convolution, every globule\nof the airy mass is twirling on an axis of its own. Equally buoyant is\nthe earth, hung upon nothing, and cleaving the liquid firmament. It\nturns on its axis, causing the vicissitude of day and night; it moves\nthrough its orbit, making the circuit of the sun and the diversity of\nthe seasons; and, in addition, there is an oscillatory motion like the\nunsteady zig-zag twistings of the carriage-train, occasioned by the\nexcess of the equatorial over the polar diameter. This excess amounts\nto about a three-hundredth part. But, small as it is, it exerts an\nassignable influence over the cohesion or attraction of the solid\nframework. Now, by a nice mathematical demonstration, resting on the sun\nand moon\u2019s attraction, Mr. Hopkins infers, as indicated by the phenomena\nof _precession and nutation_, that the minimum thickness of the earth\u2019s\ncrust cannot be less than one-fourth or one-fifth of the earth\u2019s radius.\nThe theorem is of too abstract a nature to be here introduced; but it\nappears from it that the observed amount of _precession_ requires this\ndegree of solid matter, which gives a clear depth of solid arch over\neither vacuum, resplendent light, or fiery fluid, of from eight hundred\nto a thousand miles. This may well allay the fears of the most timid as\nto the stability of the ground beneath his feet, whatever be the state of\nthe interior, or under whatever modifications the materials therein may\nexist.\n\nII. But if this thickness of crust is required now, it must have been\nequally required in all past time: hence, it may be argued, no security\nis thereby afforded against the bursting out of the pent-up fires, or\ndisruption of the outer crust? Now, it has been questioned whether there\nbe such a thing as a CENTRAL fluid heat at all, while the solidity of\nthe earth throughout has been maintained as more in unison with the\nprinciples of established science.\n\nThe doctrine of a central heat is as old as the days of Bishop Burnet,\nwho imagined that the internal fire, pre-existent in the bowels of the\nearth, was the agent employed in breaking up the fountains of the deep\nfor the production of the deluge. Leibnitz and Buffon regarded the\nearth as an extinguished sun or vitrified globe, which, according to\nthe calculations of the latter, required seventy-five thousand years\nto cool down to its present temperature; and that, in ninety-eight\nthousand years more, the heat will be utterly exhausted, and productive\nnature extinguished. Whiston fancied that the earth was created from\nthe atmosphere of one blazing comet, and deluged by the humid tail\nof another. And Whitehurst, one of the oldest of modern geologists,\nregarded all the strata of every formation, as concentrically arranged\nover the surface of the globe, and then employed the expansive agency of\ninternal fire to account for their upheaved disrupted condition. These\ncosmogonies, it is needless to remark, all now rank with the speculations\nof the alchemists, and that Behmen and their authors are considered as of\nequal authority in the sciences of chemistry and geology.\n\nThe searching tests of experiment, as already noticed, have been\nbrought to illustrate the subject of internal heat, but the results\nhave not been decisive, nor very satisfactory. It has been stated, as\na general rule in the mines examined, that, in proportion to their\ndepth, the heat increases as we descend; and the mean result of all the\nbest observations, as given by Cordier, amounts to one degree of heat\nfor every forty-five feet of depth. Different mines, however, it has\nbeen ascertained, vary in their degrees of downward temperature; as in\nthe Durham and Newcastle coal-pits, the increase is estimated at one\ndegree for every forty-four feet,\u2014in the Cornwall iron-mines at one in\nseventy-five feet,\u2014and in Saxony some of the mines give an increase of\nonly one degree in one hundred and eighty or one hundred and ninety feet\nof perpendicular descent. Much of this difference may, indeed, be readily\naccounted for by the nature of the contents of the mines themselves,\ntheir position in the system, and the quality of the rocks among which\nthey are situated. But a difficulty will remain, how to dispose of the\nincreasing ratio of temperature, and the changes that must necessarily\nresult from it in the bowels of the earth. Thus, assuming it to be a\nuniformly increasing ratio in proportion to the depth, it will follow\nfrom this law of increase that we reach a point, about twenty-four miles\ndown, hot enough to melt iron: at double that distance, such a heat as\nwill fuse every substance with which we are acquainted: and at a hundred\nmiles, that a temperature will exist, of whose resolving powers we have\nno experience, and cannot even conjecture. The astronomical theory of\na thousand miles of crust melts into airy nothing in its presence, and\nthe formula of Fourier, before it has reached the required hundred, will\nhave found a nucleus in complete fusion, acting intensely upon the thin\nexternal crust, and seeking through every crevice of these \u201cflagrantia\nm\u0153nia mundi,\u201d to issue forth in torrents of fire.\n\nIt has been farther objected to a central fluidity, that such a fluid\nmust be in constant circulation by the cooling of its exterior\u2014a fact\nascertained in the case of all fused metals. Tides too, it has been\nargued, would be produced in the fluid matter, however deeply seated,\nthrough the influence of the sun and moon, and which _tides_ would\nnecessarily occasion such oscillatory and expansive movements as\nastronomy has neither noticed nor accounted for. Again, the supposition\nof a central heat of the earth, prevailing from the beginning and through\nall the phases of its history, implies that its cooling is still going\non; and that, in consequence, a contraction in the mass or bulk of the\nearth will follow the law observed by all other bodies in parting with\ntheir heat. Hence this contraction might lead to the shortening of\nthe day and other mechanical results. But Laplace satisfied himself,\nby reference to ancient astronomical records, that there had been no\nalteration in the length of the day, even to the smallest calculable\ndegree or point of a second; and that thence, the hypothesis of a fluid,\nor even primitive heat of the earth, had here no confirmation.\n\nAn objection to the theory has likewise been urged, from the well-known\nproperty and tendency of heat to become equally diffused through all the\nparticles of any body in which it exists. Thus, it is an established\nprinciple, that heat not only diffuses itself on all sides, but passes\ncontinually from bodies in which the temperature is greater to those\nin which it is less; and that if a body be placed in a medium having\na temperature different from its own, the momentary variations of its\ntemperature will be as the differences between the temperature of the\nbody and of the medium. Hence, when the heat beneath the surface of the\nearth, at whatever depth, becomes of sufficient intensity to melt iron,\nit cannot pass beyond this until the whole surrounding mass is heated to\nthe same degree of intensity. The law of increment and transmission of\ncaloric, it is argued, must be the same below as above; and, assuming the\nnucleus of the earth to be fluid, no solid crust could thus be formed\nupon the surface until every particle of the heated fluid mass was cooled\ndown to the point of consolidation. This principle is well understood\nin the formation of a crust of ice upon water. If extendible to other\nbodies, and to subterranean distances, then the simple fact of an\nexisting outer crust, solid and cooled down to the existing temperature,\nmilitates against the probability of a central fire, and is utterly\nrepugnant to the hypothesis of a liquid central mass.\n\nIt is maintained, however, on the other hand, that the central caloric,\nhowever intense at any depth, has long ago arrived at the point at which\nthe conducting power of the rocky crust has either entirely ceased or\npermits no further sensible decrease; that this point was reached some\ntime before the creation of man, when the process of cooling had acquired\na maximum or stationary condition, and that it formed a part of the\nprocesses by which the earth was adapted to its high destination among\nthe works of God. But may not the adaptation have been effected by the\ngradual conduction of the heat outwardly, not by suffering it to remain\nand glow in opposition to its known properties in the inner regions?\nIt may be maintained as a safe principle in physical science, that if\nthere be heat in the center of the globe, it must have the properties\nof heat and none other. No geologist hesitates to admit, upon evidence\namounting to demonstration, that a vast source of heat exists in the\ninterior of the earth, widely spread beneath the stony pavement, and\nthat it has existed at all times. But whether that heat is local or\ngenerally diffused\u2014whether it is central or infra-superficial\u2014whether\nit is constantly maintained, or is excited at intervals by certain\ncombinations\u2014are questions as yet of mere speculation, and for the\nsolution of which we have no data to lead us, beyond probable inferences.\n\nUpon the whole, as the known density of the earth is considerably\ngreater than that of a solid sphere, composed of any such rocks as we\nare acquainted with, the presumption is, that heavier materials, in an\nincreasing ratio, than any constituting the superficial crust, enter\ninto the composition and structure of the central parts. All the great\nmountain systems in the different zones of the globe are the product\nof pal\u00e6ozoic times. The fires which cast them out have gradually\ndiminished by every succeeding effort. A steadier equilibrium betwixt\nthe conflicting elements of the upper and the lower world, appears\nto have taken place\u2014once only disturbed, at the deluge, since man\u2019s\noccupation\u2014and for the repetition of which there exists no preparation\nin the established course of nature. The very convulsions which have\nshattered the earth to its foundations, while they are evidences of\nbenevolent wisdom, furnish, at the same time, the best guarantee against\nblind fortuitous derangements to come; the result, as they are, of\nperiodical causes, acting in a way and with an intensity of which we have\nno experience, and for which, indeed, we have no expression in any of the\nsciences.\n\n\n\n\nGENERAL PRINCIPLES.\n\nPART IV.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nR\u00c9SUM\u00c9.\n\n\nGeology, as will be seen from the preceding details, is among the most\ncomprehensive of the sciences. It invades the province of every one\nof them, and lays them all under contribution while following out its\nown peculiar researches. A dry description of rocks, in their simple\nmineral qualities, does not limit or exhaust its ample resources. Botany,\nzoology, meteorology\u2014a part, in short, of every branch of natural\nhistory, as well as chemistry, physics, and astronomy, are severally\nenlisted in its service, and all give interest and importance to its\ndiscursive investigations. And thus, receiving gifts from every walk of\nscience, geology gives back in turn, and imparts to each, illustrations\nnew and rare, from its own wonderful storehouse.\n\nGeology, considered in itself, may be pursued in three different ways, as\nit resolves into three great leading branches of investigation. Observing\nthe arrangement and superposition of rocks, as exhibited in the crust of\nthe earth, along with their mineral distinctions and fossil contents,\nwe embrace all the objects included in _descriptive_ or _phenomenal_\ngeology. The exposition, again, of the general principles by which such\nphenomena can be produced, constitutes what has been termed _geological\ndynamics_,\u2014by which are traced the laws of action of known causes, and\ntheir relation to such changes as those which geology considers. The\nlast branch leads to a consideration of the causes in which the phenomena\nhave originated and the doctrines deducible from them. This has been\ncalled _physical geology_, and embraces all that is theoretic in the\nscience. These three branches, while thus definitively distinct in\nthemselves, are yet frequently combined in the works of writers on the\nsubject; nor is it easy, or even possible, in practice, to separate them,\nas few will be content to describe without attempting also to explain.\n\nIt has been no part of our vocation in these investigations to inquire\ninto the _origin_ of a material universe;\u2014what was its pre-existent\nstate, and by what process this globe at first was brought into an\nearthy concrete form. Astronomy has tried various solutions. But\nwhether by the splintering of other worlds, or the evolution of matter\nfrom a Saturnian ring, or by the condensation of gaseous star-dust\ndiffused through infinite space, no astronomical hypothesis has proved\nsatisfactory. Geology is better employed when she assumes a beginning\nto her researches upon the visible crust of the globe. The mystery of\n_creation_ is not within the range of her legitimate territory; and,\nwhile the investigation of laws and of the influence of secondary causes\nfalls within the province of both, it may be safely admitted that neither\nastronomy nor geology are, of themselves, capable of giving us any real\nor precise account of the origin of the universe, or of any of its parts.\n\nThat we have begun with the primary rocks of the Grampians, as the most\nancient division of systematic lithology, was more with a view to have\nsome \u2018principia\u2019 for description than assumptions for theory, and because\nno geological research has penetrated deeper. The crust of the earth,\nas far as observation extends, is proved to consist in its lower parts\nof a series of crystalline rocks, some of which are stratified, and\nothers unstratified, intercalating one with another, and maintaining the\nsame relative position, each to each, as a system, in every region of\nthe globe. Granite, gneiss, micha-schist, quartz-rock, and limestone,\nconstitute these first outwork courses of creation; one uniform cause\nacting simultaneously over the earth, appears to have placed them all\nin position; and as no breathing animal or blossoming plant witnessed\nthis morn-dawn of nature, the rocks belonging to the period are termed\nthe primary or azoic series. The fossiliferous deposits follow in their\ndue order of superposition, arranged into groups and systems according\nto the organic remains by which they are respectively characterized,\nand preserving, in their geographical distribution, the same uniform\nand persistent vertical arrangement as the former. Amorphous rocks, of\nall ages and extent, are distributed among the stratified portions of\nthe crust, whether crystalline or sedimentary, whereby the latter are\ndislocated and upheaved, and the inequalities of the surface, and all the\npleasing diversity of plain, hill, and mountain have been produced. It\nis the special object of descriptive or phenomenal geology to note all\nthe facts connected with these appearances and changes, to collate and\ncompare them one with another, and finally, to systematize them according\nto their natural affinities and relations.\n\nDynamical and theoretical geology, again, inquires into the supposed\nprinciples and causes in which all these arrangements have originated,\nand by which they have been modified. The agencies, processes, and\nchanges which we now observe in the existing course of nature, furnish\nthe grounds and analogies by which alone we can speculate respecting the\npast condition of things, subject always to the consideration that, in\nproportion to the difference of effects and changes in the two periods,\nso are the causes and agencies which produced them, as well in relation\nto time as to force. The enormous magnitude of the results witnessed\nduring the more ancient geological epochs, demonstrates the intensity of\nthe causes then in operation; and, admitting these causes to be the same\nin kind with such as prevail at present, we are yet warranted to infer\ntheir more violent activity, as likewise to assume a more rapid increment\nin their effects. Thus the geologist, from observation of the laws of\ncrystallization now manifested in the aggregation of the elementary\nparticles of bodies, reverts to the existence of similar forces, whatever\nthey be, which produced the crystalline texture of the primary rocks,\ntheir fissile structure, and the separation of all those materials which\nexist among them in the form of gems, agates and metalliferous veins.\nIgneous causes he still finds in operation, as volcanoes, earthquakes,\nand chemical agencies closely connected with both; and the same forces\nhe hesitates not to connect with the elevation of mountain-chains, the\nvast masses of plutonic matter everywhere diffused through the earth\u2019s\ncrust, and the disturbance, dislocation, and other changes produced upon\nall the stratified rocks through which this matter has penetrated. A\nmighty power in continual action, he further perceives in the waters of\nthe ocean, of the atmosphere, of the rills and rivers that issue from\nthe mountains\u2019 side: and to such aqueous causes, operative in the past\nas in the present day, he refers the transport, lamination, and detrital\nstructure of the materials of all the sedimentary deposits. Nor does he\nleave out of estimation the effect of assumed cosmical changes upon the\ntemperature of the planet, and the laws that regulate the distribution of\nheat over the surface: causes such as these the geologist sees greatly to\ninfluence, at present, the conditions of organic life in every quarter of\nthe globe; and hence, he justly calls for their assistance in explaining\nthe history of those remarkable organic remains which characterize the\nseveral geological epochs.\n\nWhen the geologist proceeds systematically to trace the series of these\nphenomena, to ascertain their causes, and to connect together all the\nindications of change that are found in the organic and inorganic\nkingdoms of nature, he attempts the structure of a THEORY OF CREATION,\nwhich shall embrace the whole course of the world, from the earliest to\nthe present times; and which, it may reasonably be concluded, may be\nresolved into one great cycle, yet unfinished. But for this the materials\nof the science are by no means prepared, nor is its progress sufficiently\nadvanced.\n\nThe history of organic remains forms an interesting branch of descriptive\ngeology, where, it may be said, we find the medal-stamps of creation in\nthe first forms of organic life that came from the hands of the Creator.\nThe fact is all important, and the science is prepared to announce\nit, that in the lowest fossiliferous strata of the earth, VEGETABLES\nappear among the first of all living things: the impressions of plants,\nand entire beds of carbonaceous matter, are found in the most ancient\nstrata of the Silurian group of rocks. Nor less important is the fact,\nthat the fossils which next arrest the attention are the remains of\nmarine animals, myriads of shells, and vast numbers of fishes. Then,\nin the ascending series of strata, the foot-prints of birds are lower\ndown than the impressions of the beasts of the earth. The sea, it is\nnext discovered, swarmed with huge reptilian bodies, before mammalian\nquadrupeds and cattle had yet a place on dry land; and man, the noblest\nspecimen of organic structure, the crowning apex of the pyramid of\nterrestrial being, is, according to the geological narrative, precisely\nin his place\u2014no bone nor fragment of his kind, having been detected in\nthe solid frame of the globe.\n\nSuch is the vista into the past opened up through these rocky\nentablatures of the globe. Compared with other branches of knowledge,\nin point of mere exciting topics of interest, geology occupies a\ndistinguished position. Nay, the truth here, to those not conversant\nwith the science, is even more incredible than fiction. As a study into\nthe records of creation, geology has disclosed views, and elicited\ndiscoveries, of the works of the Divine Architect of the world, which\nthe religious inquirer will as cordially embrace, as ignorance only\ncan overlook or misapprehend.\u2014Newton imagined, so porous is all earthy\nmatter, that this terrene globe could be crushed into the size of two\nor three cubic inches of solid substance. Geology now shows that the\nmost concrete rocks, chains of hills and even of mountains, the soft\nclays of Virginia, and loose floating deserts of sand, are many of\nthem composed of the shields and skeletons of animalcules; evidences,\nthrough all past time, of the wondrous prodigality of nature, and of\nthe superabundant goodness of its Author. Nothing, indeed, at first\nsight can appear more barren of every point of interesting illustration\nthan the rocky masses of the earth. Tear off the grassy covering which\nconceals, while it freshens, the outer crust of the globe, and to mere\ndisorder and confusion there seems to be superadded the more repulsive\nfeatures of sterility and death. But examine a little deeper, and you\nwill see order, symmetry, and beauty; what is now frigid and motionless,\nwas once animated with the breath of life; these stony chambers beneath,\nthe necropolis of a buried world. The study of the Course of Creation,\ntherefore, when read aright\u2014whether in its organic or inorganic\nlessons\u2014cannot fail to present the most varied and sublime illustrations\nof the power, wisdom, and goodness of Him who reared the stupendous\nfabric, and made our earth one of the bright rolling planets of the\nuniverse.\n\nThere are many points, however, and questions of the deepest importance,\nthat are far from being satisfactorily determined.\u2014The progress of\nvegetable and animal life, for example, is supposed to correspond with\nthe varying conditions and changes of the earth\u2019s surface, when the races\nare summoned into existence, not at once, nor after short intervals, but\nsuccessively, and after ages of unfathomable extent. The record, even as\na chronicle of mere life and death, is a marvelous one, full of singular\nrevelations, and disclosing types of organized being that have long been\nobliterated. But when as yet there was no rational head in this mundane\nscene, the assumption is, that the inferior tribes were for MILLIONS\nof years the sole living occupants of the planet! Can all the data be\nsound, rightly understood, and properly interpreted, that lead to such\nconclusions? The epic of this lengthened series of events is yet, it may\nbe said, without a hero. The tragedy of wild revolution and carnage lacks\nromance in the very monotony of its devastation. And destitute alike of a\n_moral_, and of a fitting audience, the brilliancy of the representation\nloses half its attractions in losing all its humanity.\n\nOne established principle of the science connected with this point is,\nthat there are certain groups of animal species found fossil in the\ndifferent sets of strata which compose the earth\u2019s crust, and that these\ndemonstrate something like a series of distinct faunas corresponding\nto the number of formations. Seven or eight sets of rocks, at least,\nare as distinctly characterized by particular sets of fossils. But the\nexceptions to the law are likewise very numerous, inasmuch as both\nspecies and genera have been carried forward, and are identically the\nsame, from one formation and epoch into another. Hence, points neither\nof difference nor of resemblance, from age to age, are absolute, and\ncannot very minutely be applied as regards the several formations and\ntheir organic contents. The types of one formation are repeatedly mingled\nwith those of another. And the value of all the evidence collected from\nfossil remains, while it establishes undeniably a succession in the\nmineral deposits, leaves the question as to the limits of the epochs, and\ntheir relation to Time, still partially undetermined. The theory too\nof progressive development, or that of independent acts of creation\u2014the\ncauses of the extinction of old, and the introduction of new races\u2014the\nextent of time implied or indicated in the whole series of events\u2014and\nthe all-important point involved in this chronology, whether all or\nany of the geological series are alluded to in the Mosaic account of\ncreation\u2014are questions that necessarily press upon the attention, as\nwe would solve or not the inquiries suggested. The sounding-line of\ngeology is not to be despised, or cast at once aside, should it fail in\nfurnishing a just estimate and measure of such profound investigations.\nEvery failure will only prove a stimulus to renewed exertion, as every\ndiscovered path of error leads one step in advance toward the path of\ntruth, and that in turn to harmony with the Book of ALL TRUTH.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nTHEORIES OF ORGANIC LIFE.\n\n\nAfter inquiring into their _order_ of succession, the _relation_ which\norganic fossils have to each other, as genera and species, falls\nnaturally to be considered. How have these various families of creatures,\nbrought to light by geology, been formed? In what manner have they become\nextinct? Have they all proceeded from a few original types, which have\nbeen modified by circumstances, increased in variety, and perfected in\nform, as they advance from the older to the newer formations? And does\ngeology furnish any data on which to build a theory of their extinction\nas the higher and succeeding kinds emerged into being? A learned author,\nProfessor Pictet of Geneva, has spoken of these speculations in terms of\na rule or law, as follows:\u2014\u201c_The faunas of the most ancient formations\nare made up of the less perfectly organized animals, and the degree of\nperfection increases as we approach the more recent epochs._\u201d\n\nThis was long held as a favorite dogma among geologists, when, in\nproportion to the scantiness of facts, there was an increasing\neagerness to magnify their value, and to build upon them the widest\ngeneralizations. But now, since accurate observations are more and more\nmultiplied, and the principles of pal\u00e6ontology are better understood,\nthe doctrine of a gradual advance of animal organization toward higher\nand more perfect forms as we ascend through the successive deposits of\nthe earth\u2019s crust, is daily losing ground among the cultivators of the\nscience. The notion is based upon the theory of _a scale of beings_, in\nwhich all animals are supposed to form a series, or to constitute links\nof an unbroken chain, whereof each species is more perfect than that\nwhich precedes it, and the varying degrees of perfection constantly\nincreasing until they reach their maximum in man, the highest link in the\nchain. M. Pictet himself regards this theory as vague and unsupported\nby facts, as well in the organization of the extinct as of the existing\nraces of animals. These beings, he says, are divided into a certain\nnumber of groups, each of which exhibits a peculiar type; but while some\nof the groups are manifestly superior to others when we consider their\norganization generally, it happens also that the result of a comparison\nsometimes fails to establish any real superiority. The faunas of the\nmore ancient formations he holds to be far less imperfect than has been\noften supposed, where the vertebrate type is represented by the fishes,\nand whose structure is as complicated and finished as the most recent of\ntheir kind; while the invertebrate again furnishes numerous examples of\nfossilized gasteropoda and cephalopoda, the most perfect orders of the\nmolluscous class. As with these, so with the relics of every succeeding\nepoch, in which all the types, the genera, and species of every family of\nthe animal kingdom, are represented by organic structures as perfect as\nthose of the present day.\n\nWe quote the following important cautionary remark by the same\nauthor:\u2014\u201cWe ought not,\u201d says Professor Pictet, \u201cto be too hasty in\nassuming the absence of certain more perfect types in the older faunas,\nmerely because we have not yet discovered any remains of them. We\nhardly know anything of these faunas, except with regard to some of\nthe inhabitants of the sea; and it is well known, that in the present\ncondition of the globe, those animals living on land exhibit the higher\nforms of structure. Is it not possible that in these first ages of the\nworld, terrestrial animals also existed, more highly organized than\ntheir marine cotemporaries, although their remains either have not been\npreserved, or are still to be discovered? The existence of didelphine\nmammals in the oolites has been made out by the discovery of a very small\nnumber of fragments; and the remains of land animals generally are hardly\nfossilized, except by sudden deluges and inundations, which are always\ntrifling in their results, compared with the slow but unceasing deposits\nfrom the water of the sea. May we not yet expect new discoveries in these\nancient strata, revealing to us the existence of primeval animals at\npresent little suspected?\u201d\n\nThe same mode of reasoning may be extended to the ancient floras, or\nterrestrial plants of the primeval ages. What a revelation, for instance,\nis made in the recently discovered coal deposits of Oporto and the Upper\nDouro, where, along with the orthides, trilobites, and graptolites of the\nlower silurian rocks, are found vegetable impressions strongly resembling\nthe ferns of the carboniferous age? The Cromarty fossil pine, from the\nlower old red sandstone, has been already noticed. While these pages\nhave been passing through the press we have to record the discovery of a\nspecimen, nearly two feet in length and half a foot in thickness, from\nthe beds of the middle old red and immediately underlying the yellow\nsandstone of Dura Den. This fossil is considerably flattened and furred\nwith the scars or markings so characteristic of the decorticated trees\nbelonging to the coal formation. Does not this warrant the expectation\nof a richer harvest to be yet gleaned in these ancient fields than the\nmarine fuci and alg\u00e6 that have hitherto been mainly gathered in by the\ngeological sickle?\n\nAnother mode of accounting for the succession of organized beings on the\nsurface of the globe, and consequently also their successive extinction\nand outgoing, as seen in the fossiliferous rocks, is that which is\ntermed THE THEORY OF DEVELOPMENT, or the doctrine of the transmutation\nof species. The same has been a very ancient and favorite notion among\nmankind. Early in this century it assumed the form of a system, under\nthe adaptive principle of Lamarck, who conceived that animals, according\nto the circumstances in which they are placed, by the use or disuse of\ncertain organs, the frequency and degree of exertion or strain upon\nparticular parts of the body, were themselves the agents in inducing\nall the variety of structures by which they are distinguished into so\nmany orders and families. The aquatic fowl, for example, is attracted\nto the waters in quest of food, and so in time becomes web-footed. The\nheron dislikes to plunge into the flood, or will only venture into the\nshoals, and hence he becomes a wader, and is equipped with long legs. The\nwoodpecker rejoices in those little aphides and creatures that nestle\nunder the bark of trees, and thus, from constant exercise, acquires his\nstrength of bill. The eagle seeks the blaze of the sun, and soars to\nthe gates of heaven, and hence his penetrating eye and speed of descent\nupon his all-unconscious victim beneath. And, in like manner, through\nthe whole range of animated nature, and in all past ages, genera and\nspecies have all acquired their adaptive powers, and distinctive forms\nof organization, arising from a certain plastic character in their\ndifferent constitutions, and their own voluntary attempts to supply\ntheir constantly increasing wants. There were a few great leading stamps\nor dies of nature\u2019s own molding; but all the rest\u2014even man himself\u2014are\nmerely offsets from the primitive type, with such extension of organs and\nmodification of excrescences as were required in each particular case;\nsucceeding races always retaining a strong affinity to their immediate\npredecessors, and a tendency to impress their own features on their\nkindred which succeed them. There is a limit of divergence; but within\nthat limit, the human family have their place assigned them among the\nmonkeys and wild men of the woods.\n\nIt is the same extravagant idea, _that of a constant progression toward\nanimal perfection_, which has become so popularized in \u201cThe Vestiges\nof the Natural History of Creation.\u201d This author, indeed, has taken a\nwider and bolder flight than even the French philosopher, M. Lamarck.\nHe brings the rudimentary elements and molecular forms of all creation\nbefore him. He expatiates through infinite space, and amidst the original\nfire-mist of the astral worlds. He finds but one grand law pervading the\nwhole universe of being, operating in the self-same way in the production\nof planets and suns, as in the germination of insects and animalcules,\nthe life-impregnating principle in the one being only a modification of\nthe aggregating and rotary tendencies that rule in the other\u2014the blind\nand casual evolution of some agency of a material system, substituted\nfor the creative will of an intelligent ever-active First Cause. \u201cA\nnucleated vesicle\u201d is the fundamental form of all organization, as nuclei\nof luminous matter are the sources of the stars; this is the meeting\npoint between the organic and the inorganic, the end of the mineral and\nbeginning of the vegetable and animal kingdoms; whence they start in\ndifferent directions, but in a general parallelism and analogy. Assuming\nthe vast indefinite periods of the geological epochs to be correct,\nthe author makes great account of time, and the mighty changes which\nwill be produced in the lapse of countless ages, and thus rebuts the\nargument against his theory that is so obviously furnished from the fixed\nunaltered characters of organization that have prevailed throughout the\nentire modern epoch. This he argues is merely a point, an infinitesimal\nfraction, when compared with the epochs of geology. The eye detects\nnot the changes which all specific forms are slowly but unceasingly\nundergoing within limited portions of time, even as the nicest\ninstruments cannot always enable the astronomer to note the changes of\nposition among the heavenly bodies. Hence the _appearance_ of so many of\nthe stars as unchangingly fixed in their relations to each other. The\nwhole solar system, too, upon the ground of imperfect unrecording vision,\n_seems_ to be anchored in one portion of space. And hence likewise the\nargument against the motion of the earth itself, which so long prevailed,\nderived from the fact of there being no sensible parallax, and now so\neasily accounted for by the insignificant smallness of its orbit, as\ncompared with the remoteness of the stars. Limited, in like manner, to\nthe narrow field of observation afforded within the human period, the\nmodifications of species and their transmutations into the higher grades\nof animals are not appreciable, _because_ its six thousand years are as a\nmoment, in comparison with those incalculable ages of geology which have\nbeen concerned in the phenomenon!\n\nThus does the author of the \u201cVestiges\u201d revel amidst the sublimities and\ncopious materials of his subject. Time and space, the elements of the\nastral heavens and the earth, are alike indefinitely in his grasp. That\nhe has failed to frame a better system of things than the one we see\nactually around us, is a necessary consequence of the restraints imposed\non human investigation. Facts will not be supplanted by any heights, or\ndepths, or ingenuities of speculation. And as existing nature is all\nagainst the doctrine of transmutation and development, so the discoveries\nof geology through all its formations are equally opposed to such views\nof creation. A short sketch of both will abundantly illustrate this.\n\nAs to the course of living nature, the development theory is there at\nonce repudiated in the now clearly established fact, that the first\ngerminal vesicles are different in the different tribes of animals.\nA non-identity of type is discoverable in the minutest microscopical\nbeginnings of organic life. And \u201cby no change of conditions can two\nova of animals of the same species be developed into different animal\nspecies; neither by any provision of identical conditions can two ova\nof different species be developed into animals of the same kind.\u201d\nCorresponding to these differences in their f\u0153tal forms, there are in all\nthe stages toward parturition a similarity of progress in the various\norgans and appendages in the same kinds of animals. Fishes, birds,\nquadrupeds, all manifest a divergence from each other in the first action\nof the respirating organs\u2014in the nervous system\u2014and in all the apparatus\nconnected with the movements of the heart and blood-vessels. There is\nno structural interchange, in the minutest part, that distinguishes the\norders of the perfect animal in any of the antecedent f\u0153tal conditions;\nthe organic contrivances within the egg being as complete and as\nthoroughly prospective to the future use and habits of the bird, as are\nthe petals of the flower inclosed within the bud, the arms of the giant\noak within the acorn, or man in his evolving capacity toward intellectual\nbeing.\n\nWhat is thus true in all the rudimentary stages of organic development is\nstrikingly confirmed by the unalterable condition of all living nature.\nPlants and animals never diverge, beyond small ascertained limits, from\nthe fixed characters of their families, resisting the effects of every\nkind of influence, whether proceeding from natural causes or human\ninterference. The lapse of three thousand years has left the embalmed\ncarcasses of men and animals, in Egypt, wrapped and swathed in a material\nwoven from the same species of plants which still flourish on the banks\nof the Nile. The crocodile and the ibis still drink of its waters.\nNothing changed in form or appearance, the swarthy Arab repairs to its\ncooling fountains to quench his thirst. Nature has been tortured in a\nthousand ways, to cause her to depart from her long beaten paths; but she\nis obdurate on every point. Man would improve her kinds, and hybrids are\nproduced; but there the variety ends. Crosses are constantly attempted;\nbut \u201cthe hitherto and no farther\u201d is soon approached. Our fruit-bearing\ntrees are coaxed with all the appliances of horticultural skill; and\nyet in all their seminal and floral organs, the texture of their leaves\nand bark, the structure of their roots and stem, the rudimentary stock\nremains one and the same. Domestication has, indeed, wrought wonderful\nchanges and improvements in the breed of many creatures. Horses, oxen,\nsheep, pigs, dogs, and poultry of all sorts, are increased in bulk,\ntamed, ameliorated in habit and disposition. But the skeletons of all\ncontinue essentially as they were in their natural state; and even\nthe individuals the most widely removed from the primitive type, as\nexemplified in the canine race, never present any real difference of form\nin the important organs.\u2014When again abandoned to their own guidance, and\nthe restraints imposed by man are removed, the domesticated animals,\none and all, return to their former condition, and speedily resume the\ninstincts and appearance of the jungle and the forest.\n\nIf such are the unvarying laws of physiology now, the presumption is that\nthey have been the same in all past ages. Creatures are brought from the\nextremities of the earth\u2014the polar, temperate, and tropical denizens,\nall mixed up and crossed with each other\u2014food, climate, and treatment,\nall changed\u2014and, through all, the type of every species continues as\nbefore\u2014no transmutation of one kind into another under all the violent\ntutoring agencies to which they have been subjected. For thousands of\nyears such has been the unswerving course of nature. Would it not clearly\nbe a solecism in reasoning to argue differently over the geological\nepochs, however indefinite in extent, because, in the far-off regions of\nspace, our eyes can note no change in the relative position of the stars?\nThe things will not compare. Time and space are not co-ordinate terms.\nAnd an appeal from positive knowledge to supposed, assumed ignorance does\nnot meet the question.\n\nMeanwhile, the amplitude of the current epoch, if we may so speak, gives\nscope and verge enough for all the requirements of the problem to be\nsolved, the conditions of the argument to be established, the process\nof reasoning to be employed. An experience not merely of six thousand\nyears, but an experience embracing a uniformity of results in all the\nhundreds of thousands of instances into which animate nature is divided,\nin all the countless species of plants and animals which have existed\nsuccessively throughout the whole of that period, furnishes proof of\nsuch a cumulative kind as approaches, if not to demonstration, at least\nto the nearest possible degree of certainty. There is no instance of a\nsingle transmutation of a vegetable species into another species, of\nalg\u00e6 into fuci or conversely, of grasses into cereals, of endogens into\nexogens, of the pine into the oak; and the same of animal species, where,\nthrough all the living tribes, the fixity of family law has maintained\nits steady, unchanging course since Adam gave names to them, down to the\npresent hour. What link in the chain is wanting? The course of creation\nis verified and complete. The exception would be a miracle. And we are\nnot at liberty, upon just principles of ratiocination, to refuse our\nassent, where all the facts, indefinite as to number, are exclusively on\none side, and none upon the other. Our belief in the case is defined and\nrestrained by the absolute uniformity of stubborn, unbending nature; and\nan appeal from the known to the unknown, from the human to the geological\nepochs, is just to relinquish reason for the dominion of imagination, the\nevidences of the senses for the visions of fancy. The shark, rapacious as\never, holds the empire of the seas\u2014the lion, the domain of the forest\u2014the\neagle, the region of the air\u2014and man, progressive man, alone looks unto\nthe heavens and blesses his Maker.\n\nHume was so impressed with the force of this argument, as to maintain,\nupon the ground of it, the absolute impossibility of establishing the\ntruth of a single _miraculous_ event, or of any event that did not\nharmonize with the existing course of nature. The Laws of Nature have\nbeen so uniform, within the entire range of human experience, as that\nno testimony or reasoning of man, says that subtile dialectitian, can\ninvalidate their authority, or render credible any alleged case of\ndiscrepancy or of deviation.\u2014The author of the \u201cVestiges,\u201d for the first\ntime, has cast the whole weight of this evidence aside, or holds it as\neven scarcely relevant in a question of proof. And thus outstripping, as\nhe does, both the measure and the requirements of the Christian\u2019s faith,\nhe may be safely left to the logic of its most merciless adversary in\ndealing with the phenomenal or imaginary transmutations of the geological\nepochs.\n\nBut the facts of geology, from its remotest periods, are in themselves\nno less strongly opposed to this extravagant, untenable hypothesis. This\nmight be presumed from the distinct teachings of geology, as already\nstated, against the theory of a scale of beings becoming more perfect as\nwe ascend from the faunas of the older to those of the newer formations.\nThe families of the various formations are distinct, and consist of real\nnon-interchanging forms of structure, whether they die out and disappear\nwith a particular formation, or are carried forward and intermixed\nwith the fossils of another. The fishes of the silurian rocks, are as\nperfect after their kind as those of the Devonian, Carboniferous, or\nCretaceous deposits; and not less perfect than they are genuine types\nof all their successors. The _sauroids_ of the old red sandstone have\nreptilian resemblances, but yet the _saurians_ of the oolite age have no\naffinities of true kindred descent; while, again, of all the mammalia of\nthe tertiary period, there is not one that boasts a likeness, in habit or\norganization, to a single creature of an antecedent or posterior epoch.\n\u201cThus between the _pal\u00e6otherium_ and the species of our own days,\u201d says\nCuvier, \u201cwe should be able to discover some intermediate forms: and yet\nno such discovery has ever been made. Since the bowels of the earth have\nnot preserved monuments of this strange genealogy, we have a right to\nconclude, that the ancient and now extinct species were as permanent in\ntheir forms and characters as those which exist at present: or at least,\nthat the catastrophe which destroyed them did not leave sufficient time\nfor the production of the changes that are alleged to have taken place.\u201d\nAgassiz, in his own department of fishes, is equally opposed in all\nhis deductions to the transformation of species from one formation to\nanother, which he asserts, \u201cthe imagination invents with as much facility\nas the reason refutes.\u201d Professor Owen, after minutely examining the\norganic structure of the nine orders of fossil reptiles, declares no less\nstrongly against the theory, and adds\u2014\u201cThe nearest approximation to the\norganization of fishes is made by the _Ichthyosaurus_, an extinct genus\nwhich appears to have been introduced into the ancient seas subsequent\nto the deposition of the strata inclosing the remains of the thecodont\nlizards. But by no known forms of the fossil animals can we diminish\nthe wide interval which divides the most sauroid of fishes from an\n_Ichthyosaurus_.\u201d[12]\n\nThe development theory is not more at fault in the rudimentary structure\nand primitive size of animals, as brought to light by the deepest\nresearches of geology, than it is in the perfection and complication\nof the several organs with which they were endowed. These organs in\nthe earlier types ought, upon the principles of this theory, to have\nall partaken of the simplicity and sameness of the germinal vesicles;\nvarying, indeed, in their complexity, as in their completeness, in\nproportion as we ascend among the fossiliferous strata. But the facts\nare not so. Nay, so far otherwise, that in the very earliest specimens\nof Nature\u2019s workmanship we find the mechanism of the parts as minute,\nvaried, and multiplied, as in those of her most recent productions.\nExamine the eye of the Trilobite, the oldest of crustaceans, and the\ndistinguishing type of the lowest of the fossiliferous rocks. These\ncreatures swarmed in the Silurian seas. Their destiny was not fulfilled\nby the close of the tertiary periods, for they still exist. But in none\nof her subsequent creations has Nature displayed greater elaboration in\nthe parts, or more skillful adaptive contrivance in their arrangement,\nthan in the visual organ of this pal\u00e6ozoic family. The eye of the\ntrilobite is formed of four hundred spherical lenses, arranged in\ndistinct compartments on the surface of the cornea, which again projects\nconically upward, so as to enable the animal while resting, or seeking\nits food at the bottom of the waters, to take in the largest possible\nfield of view\u2014this, as it might require, either for the purpose of\ndefense or attack. Fishes, birds, and mammals, have all, it is well\nknown, an optical apparatus precisely adjusted to their respective habits\nand the element in which they live. Fishes and fowls have their eyes\ndifferently constructed.\u2014The bat, which preys in the dark,\u2014the eagle,\nwhich soars in the blaze of the sun,\u2014and the mole, which burrows in the\nearth, have each peculiar and appropriate organisms. But in none is there\ngreater complication or perfection, than what is manifested in the eye of\nthese earliest and still living tribes of the waters.\n\nThe number of plates or cylinders which compose the eyes of insects, a\nhigher and more gifted class, differs in different species, amounting\nin the ant, so provident and wise, to only fifty, in the house-fly to\neight thousand, and in the mordella to the amazing number of twenty-five\nthousand and eighty-eight. And yet how much is all this surpassed by\nthe astounding mechanism displayed in the eye of the cod-fish, in whose\ncrystalline lens there have been detected about five million fibers,\nevery fiber containing about twelve thousand five hundred teeth; and\nthe total number of these teeth or processes reaching the numerical,\nthough to us utterly inconceivable, amount of sixty-two billions five\nhundred thousand millions! But more than all this. Look at the multiplied\nappliances furnished to the humblest and lowest of all living creatures\nfor performing the functions of an existence scarcely removed above the\nvegetable. \u201cThe tentacula of polypi,\u201d says Dr. Roget, \u201care exquisitely\nsensible, and are frequently seen, either singly or altogether, bending\ntheir extremities toward the mouth, when any minute floating body comes\nin contact with them. When a polypi is expanded, a constant current\nof water is observed to take place, directed toward the mouth. These\ncurrents are never produced by the motions of the tentacula themselves;\nbut are invariably the effects of the rapid vibrations of the cilia\nplaced on the tentacula. Now, of these organs a single _flustra foliac\u00e6a_\nhas been calculated to possess about 400,000,000.\u201d Thus much for the\nZoophyte class of animals\u2014placed on the extreme verge of organized\nbodies\u2014and members of a system of being, according to the development\ntheory, whose primitive productions are of the simplest kind, the monads\nof a germinating vesicle!\n\nNor will the development theory do better, when it would account for\nthe diversity of instincts which prevail in the animal kingdom. The\ninstincts, indeed, it assumes as the cause of all their diversity of\nstructural organization. But this is to beg the whole question. Geology\ncarries us back to the beginnings of organic life, when animals, each\nafter their kind, were already perfected, and endowed with a ready-made\napparatus for the particular sphere of existence assigned them. The\npolypi are still a distinct race, unvarying in their instincts, not the\nleast improved in the building art, still piling up reefs, and doing the\nsame thing which they did when first created. The nautilus has lived\nthrough all time, swimming his fragile bark as dextrously over the\nSilurian seas as he now does amidst the breakers of the Pacific. The\ncephalopoda and the finny tribes then warred against each other, and\never since they meet in mortal conflict. The same with all the great\nfamilies which were successively brought upon the stage: species and\ngenera have changed, the old withdrawn, and new ones introduced; but in\ntheir respective orders\u2014reptiles, insects, birds, and quadrupeds\u2014the\ntype ever continues, and the instincts remain; and there is no nearer an\napproximation to or crossing of each other\u2019s domains now, than when first\nsummoned into being. Were the development theory true in nature, and the\nepochs of geology the myriads of ages assumed, the presumption would\nbe, that the old primitive forms would have been all obliterated and\nfigures of creatures substituted, all of the most remote and indistinct\nanalogies. The _monodal_ races, why have they not all passed away? Had\nthe reptiles sprung from fishes, why, upon the principle of progression,\nshould there be fishes still? Had man derived his parentage from the\nmonkey, why are there so many species of the one class, and only a single\ngreat family of the other? The vegetable tribes have been equally true\nto their kind\u2014the fucoids and alg\u00e6, still abundant in the seas\u2014the pines\nof Mar forest, rivaling in coniferous qualities the most gigantic of the\noldest relics\u2014and the palms and fern trees of Australia maintaining the\nvery types that flourished in the carboniferous era.\n\nThe scheme of creation, moreover, implied in the development theory,\nproceeds, as it appears to us, upon an inconsistency of assumption that\nis completely at variance with its own leading cardinal principle,\nnamely, a continuous progression from the less to the more perfect forms\nof organic existence. If this be true with the _particulars_, why not\nalso in the _generals_ of all that is endowed with the mystery of life?\nEvery great type or class of being, whose remains are detected in\nthe most ancient rocks of the earth, has still its representatives in\nliving nature. The two ends of the chain, the infusorial and mammalian\nfamilies, are still produced distinct, and each perfect after its kind.\nThe course of creation is thus always, through indefinite time, returning\nupon itself like the fallacy in dialectics of reasoning in a circle,\ninstead of advancing from the successively higher standards of the\nperfected models to still more varied and perfect degrees of excellence.\nThe circumstances and conditions, too, of the planet are different from\nwhat they were in the pal\u00e6ozoic times, and yet the tribes developed then\nare all developed still; different in the species and genera, but of\nthe same forms and families; not larger, but more frequently less, in\nsize, and not of better or more complex workmanship. The principle is,\ntherefore, inconsistent with itself, while it leaves unexplained its own\nassumption of progression in _one_ particular direction only, instead,\nas it ought to be, in all the primitive types of organic existence.\nThe theory is imperfect beside, in attempting no explanation of the\ninorganic structures of creation; for the original molecules of matter\nwhich assimilated, aggregated, and produced the primary rocks of granite,\ngneiss, schist, limestone, should have had their law in this direction as\nwell as in the other, of progressive perfection. But these rocks, in no\nsuch sense as this, have been repeated or reproduced: matter, essentially\nthe same, according to the theory of the \u201cVestiges,\u201d whether organic or\ninorganic, has here retrograded rather than progressed; and if we would\ncontemplate its most elaborate and beautiful forms, either igneous or\nsedimentary, we must go, not to the secondary and tertiary formations for\nour specimens, but to the crystalline groups of the primary epoch.\n\nWhatever it may have been with Lamarck, it is certain, in the case of\nthe author of the \u201cVestiges,\u201d that the speculations originating in\nthe nebular hypothesis lie at the foundation of all his philosophy.\nThis Essay would never have been executed, as it could not even have\nbeen imagined, but for the data so abundantly supplied by a universal\nstar-dust lettering, filling all space and inscribed over all time.\nBut change the names, and it is only the atoms of Democritus and the\nvortices of Descartes that constitute the elements, one and all, of\nthe modern cosmogony. Cicero in his first and second books \u201cDe Natura\nDeorum,\u201d has given a full and ample refutation of the former; and his\nmerit is the greater, when it is considered that the inductive methods\nof philosophizing were not in use nor even guessed at in his time. The\nargument, as quaintly translated in Ray\u2019s \u201cWisdom of Creation,\u201d is thus\nstated\u2014\u201cIf the works of nature are better, more exact and perfect, than\nthe works of art, and art effects nothing without reason, neither can\nthe works of nature be thought to be effected without reason; for is it\nnot absurd and incongruous, that when thou beholdest a statue or curious\npicture, thou shouldst acknowledge that art was used to the making of it;\nor, when thou seest the course of a ship upon the waters thou shouldst\nnot doubt but the motion of it is regulated and directed by reason\nand art; or, when thou considerest a SUN-DIAL or CLOCK, thou shouldst\nunderstand presently, that the hours are shown by art and not by chance;\nand yet imagine or believe, that the world, which comprehends all these\narts and artificers, was made without counsel or reason? If one should\ncarry into Scythia or Britain such a sphere as our friend Posidonius\nlately made, each of whose conversions did the same thing in the sun and\nmoon and other five planets, which we see effected every night and day in\nthe heavens, who among those barbarians would doubt that that sphere was\ncomposed by reason and art?\u201d\n\nThe inhabitants of this island are no longer the \u201cbarbarians.\u201d The\nScythians still are so, and have ever been. Upon the development\nhypothesis, might we not pause to ask, has our intellectual, and moral,\nand social progress affected our physical condition so as in aught to\nchange the organic relation of the two nations, barbarous both in the\ntime of Cicero?\n\nBut we proceed:\u2014\u201cA wonder then it must needs be,\u201d continues the\nphilosopher, \u201cthat there should be any man found so stupid and forsaken\nof reason, as to persuade himself that this most beautiful and adorned\nworld was or could be produced by the fortuitous concourse of atoms. He\nthat can prevail with himself to believe this, I do not see why he may\nnot as well admit, that if there were made innumerable figures of the\none-and-twenty letters,\u2014in gold suppose or any other metal,\u2014and these\nwell shaken and mixed together, and thrown down from some high place to\nthe ground, they, when they lighted upon the earth, would be so disposed\nand ranked, that a man might see and read in them Ennius\u2019s Annals;\nwhereas, it were a great chance if he should find one verse thereof among\nthem all: for if this concourse of atoms could make a WHOLE WORLD, why\nmay it not sometimes make, and hath it not somewhere or other in the\nearth made, a temple, or a gallery, or a portico, or a house, or a city?\nwhich yet it is so far from doing, and every man so far from believing,\nthat should any one of us be cast, suppose upon a desolate island, and\nfind there a magnificent palace, artificially contrived according to the\nexactest rules of architecture, and curiously adorned and furnished, it\nwould never once enter into his head that this was done by an earthquake,\nor the fortuitous shuffling together of its component materials, or that\nit had stood there ever since the construction of the world, or first\ncohesion of atoms; but would presently conclude that there had been some\nintelligent architect there, the effect of whose art and skill it was.\nOr, should he find there but one single sheet of parchment or paper, an\nepistle or oration written full of profound sense, expressed in proper\nand significant words, illustrated and adorned with elegant phrase,\u2014it\nwere beyond the possibility of the wit of man to persuade him that this\nwas done by the temerarious dashes of an unguided pen, or by the rude\nscattering of ink upon the paper, or by the lucky projection of so many\nletters at all adventures; but he would be convinced, by the evidence of\nthe thing at first sight, that there had been not only some man, but some\nscholar, there.\u201d\n\nNow, here let there be but the substitution of a few terms\u2014\u201cfortuitous\nconcourse\u201d for the \u201cnucleated vesicle\u201d\u2014\u201catoms\u201d that whirl in mazy dance\nthrough indefinite time, for the \u201cstardust\u201d revolving through infinite\nspace\u2014\u201ctransmutation of species\u201d for \u201cthe lucky projection of so many\nletters\u201d\u2014and the overthrow of the one hypothesis is as ruinously complete\nas the demolition of the other.\n\nThus geology, while it reveals a succession of animal types, pronounces\neach after its kind perfect in its own degree and measure of organic\ndevelopment. The oldest known fossil fish (the Onchus Murchisoni, and\ninhumed in the lowest fossiliferous beds), belongs to the highest type\nof the Cestraciont division of the vertebrata. What they were made at\nfirst, they all vindicate their capacity of continuing to the end. The\nvarious tribes and orders had their own limits of organization, their\nown sphere within which the functions of each were to be performed, and\nadapted to the condition in which they were placed, each reaped the full\nenjoyment that divine benevolence had appointed. Man was the last in the\ncourse of successive creation, endowed with the highest and most enlarged\ncapacities, and, allied to none, was constituted the priest of nature,\nthat he might collect the silent praises of the universe, and offer them\nto the Creator in intelligent devotion.\n\nBut here it is, when we have reached this link of the chain, that the\nmost vitiating element in the whole doctrine of progressive development\nis manifested. The anti-theism and materialism, involved inevitably and\nundisguisedly in the noxious dogma, are brought out in bold relief.\nThis dogma implies, that the cosmical arrangements and all the organic\ntransmutations of living types, are none of them directly the result of\nany personal, immediate creative actings on the part of Deity. These\narrangements, from the beginning, are all dependent on one unchanging\nlaw, applicable alike to organic and inorganic bodies, to the mysterious\nprinciple of life, and to things inanimate,\u2014to mind as to matter. The\nsimple effect of this may appear to be, the removal of the Creator merely\na step farther from his own works, which he can still hold in the hollow\nof his hand, and bend whither He will. But the statement goes a great\ndeal farther. It strikes directly at the root of all moral distinctions\nas well as of all revealed truth. The creature man, upon this hypothesis,\nthe last link in the terrestrial chain, comes not from his Maker\u2019s\nhands \u201cmade in his own likeness.\u201d He too is the product of a natural\nlaw, evolved after a long series of metamorphoses, to whose operation\nthe moral and the physical are equally subject,\u2014the soul and the body\nalike the result of its rigid inflexible agency. Front the fire-mist and\nelectro-nebulous matter, which is assumed to have originally filled all\nspace, Man, along with suns and stars, and all planetary bodies, derived\nthe first germ of his being. At first gaseous, it became in process of\ntime concrete. There was no life until the electric spark, struck in some\nmysterious way from the dance of atoms and wild whirl of the elements,\nvivified the germ with this newly-developed principle. Then the germinal\nvesicle became a self-moving, self-acting thing\u2014not at first, but after a\nseries of changes, adapted into the type of the human family, whose life\nwas but the life for ages of the animals that have perished, and are now\nfossilized in their various formations. THE PRINCIPLE OF LIFE, in short,\nas implied in this account of its origin, is the same essentially with\nthe light and heat that sparkle and glow in the rolling orbs which deck\nthe firmament!\n\nMuch of the development theory is built upon the influence of the\ninstincts as manifested in the lower tribes. Let its abettors listen to\nthe indignant cry of THE WHOLE FAMILY OF MAN against this theory of his\norigin; and say, if there is not an instinct here, peculiar and distinct,\nto vindicate his claim to a separate and distinct position in the great\nsystem of being. \u201cQuanta ad eam rem vis,\u201d says Cicero, \u201cut in suo quoque\ngenere permaneat.\u201d\n\nThe continental philosophy, at no time for the last century, has partaken\nof a religious, healthy tone. It has been profoundly subtile in its\nspeculations and analysis, but never truly spiritual. The author of the\n\u201cVestiges,\u201d from his own turn of mind, has been all the more enamored of\nit, and, unwittingly dragged into its vortex, has been carried far beyond\nthe ken of all rightful philosophies. These are not the subjects of\nlegitimate investigation. Man has no plummet-line, in all his armory of\nscience, wherewith to sound them. Grant that in the manner now described,\nthe human race originated, and became living creatures\u2014destined, it may\nbe, to undergo new changes and to ascend into new orders of being\u2014the\nanimal nature to be perfected in the progressive modifications of his\ntype. But the divine ethereal spark, as men vulgarly dream of themselves,\nwhat account is given of this? The soul, what? and whence derived? The\nthinking principle of mind,\u2014where its place, and what provision made\nfor its efflux, in the nebulous ether? The inference unquestionably\nis, that if such be its source, the human UNDERSTANDING must be of the\nessence of matter out of which it evolved,\u2014glorious as the sun and fair\nas the moon,\u2014but not the heavenly element, animate with the immaterial,\nincorruptible being of Divinity. But this is not the teaching of geology.\nThrough all the story of its undefinable epochs, and in the myriad\nsarcophagi of its extinct generations, there is no record, no trace of\nman. He stands, utterly and far apart, from every fossilized thing, while\u2014\n\n \u201cThe most distant star\u2019s invisible beam,\n Or comet on his farthest journeyings,\n Or all the extent which philosophic ken\n Has given to infinite space, the elastic soul\n Springs over\u201d\u2014\u2014\n\nand claims kindred with the image of the heavenly, whence it came, and\nwhither it seeks and aspires to return.\n\nWhile, therefore, to wild speculations like these nature and geology\ngive no countenance, but demonstrate the reverse to have been the course\nof creation in all the present, and in every past epoch,\u2014that races,\nlike individuals, have their terms of existence,\u2014that all die out or are\nviolently exterminated,\u2014and that new families are created, adapted to\nthe changes which have taken place, and organically distinct from all\nthat preceded them,\u2014there is, at the same time, a theory of progression\nand development distinctly traceable in all the divine actings in this\nworld. This view of things is in every stage of it visibly dependent upon\nHis will, as it emanates directly from His appointment, and stands in\npleasing contrast to the rationalist phasis of creation.\n\n \u201cWisdom\u2019s artful aim\n Disposing every part, and gaining still\n By means proportioned, her benignant end.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nANALOGICAL ORDER\u2014PHYSICAL AND MORAL\u2014OF PROGRESSION.\n\n\nThe author of the \u201cVestiges\u201d devotes two chapters to what he terms\ngeneral and particular considerations respecting the origin of the\nanimated tribes. He regards it as a thing completely demonstrated,\nor as requiring so little proof as to be taken for granted, that the\ninorganic elements all took together by a process of natural law,\nwhich Deity was not required to superintend, but simply to begin. He\nsupposes, hypothetically, that this also would be the case with the\norganic structures, that, in the originating of the first tribes, God\nsupplied the materials, and that natural law assimilated and fashioned\nthem into their different orders and families. This might be predicated\nof the Creator, he fancies, as the mode in which he _would_ act; and\nby removing him a step away from his own works, and allowing all the\nsubsequent genera and species of the epochs of geology to go out and to\ncome in according to the same process, his special interference in such\narrangements is rendered unnecessary; and the greater honor is reflected\nupon operations in themselves so complicated and vast, and yet all so\nminutely, orderly, and prospectively ordained.\n\nWe need not employ more than a sentence in reply to this mode of\nreasoning. Hypothetically I would say, if God was to create a world at\nall, and to store it with living creatures, he would do all these things\n_directly_ of Himself. He created every individual particle of the\noriginal matter, in all their infinitesimally minute and myriad atoms. We\ndo not know how, nor the manner thereof. But every one of them required\nhis _special_ interference singly, as in combination and a whole; and had\nnot Deity so specially acted with the parts as with the mass in willing\nthem into being, none of them, of any kind or quality, would have been\nin existence.\u2014Why not the same _manner_ of creating as to the species,\ngenera, and orders of the animated tribes? These required not less His\ndirect personal interference than the elementary particles and minims\nout of which they were formed; and superintendence in the one case is\nas dignified, if the term may be so applied, as in the other. Admit the\nomnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence of Deity\u2014and the author admits\nthem all\u2014and any other mode of reasoning is wholly nugatory\u2014as useless in\nscience as it is inadmissible in fact\u2014as inconsistent with the subtilties\nof the profoundest analysis as with the conclusions of the most confiding\ntheology.\n\nBut the creation of the world by God being admitted, it is no less true,\nand it is equally a necessary truth, that the arrangement and disposition\nof its parts, the order and succession of its events, are each\nimmediately an effect of the great First Cause. As no material substance\ncould originate itself, so neither could it impart the principle of life,\nor construct the organization through which that principle is manifested\nand maintained in the exercise of its functions. Equally impossible is\nit for the course of events, the motion of the elements, the growth of\nplants and animals, and all those subtile processes in nature by which\nobjects are produced and distinguished, each after their kind, to be the\nresults of chance, or of any inherent, underived properties existing\nin the things themselves. Whether God acts _mediately_ by a course of\nnature originally established, or _immediately_ and _constantly_, by the\nsame divine agency which produced all things at first, and impressed\nupon each its peculiar properties, may be a question in philosophy,\nbut none in theology. We indeed may speculate respecting the manner of\nthe Divine acting, and may speak of that manner as the laws according\nto which the system of nature proceeds; but we cannot doubt the source\nwhence the chain of events takes its rise, or wherefore it is that\nthere are order and regularity in the arrangements of the universe. And\nwhile everything is of God, and the course of nature precisely such\nas He intends upon whom the whole is dependent, it is interesting to\nfind the closest analogy subsisting between the actings of the Divine\nBeing in every department of his supreme and universal government.\nThe scheme of revelation manifests itself to be of God, not only by\nthe peculiar testimony of prophesy and miracle to which it appeals,\nbut by the resemblance which it bears, in the order and character of\nits dispensations, to the established constitution of creation and\nprovidence;\u2014so intimate and striking as, in fact, to leave no doubt, in\nevery impartial mind, that the author of the one must be the author of\nboth.\n\nWe have already stated that a progression is manifested in the order\nand arrangement of the rocky masses which compose the earth\u2019s crust\u2014in\nthe nature and qualities of its mineral contents\u2014and in the various\nrevolutions which are indicated by the fossil organic remains that lie\nentombed in the strata of the interior. Take the most useful of all\nthe sections of the earth\u2019s crust, namely, what is denominated the\ncarboniferous or coal formation, here we have a regular sequence or\nseries of beds resting one upon another, and all so disposed, from the\nlowest to the highest, as to be most suitably adapted for reaching and\nbringing to the surface the inclosed treasure. Nor did nature all at once\nbring to maturity those prodigious masses of plants and vegetables of\nwhich this wonderful deposit is composed. Her flora seems to have been\nupon a limited scale at first, until the earth, being prepared for its\naccumulation and preservation, throws from its teeming bosom, with a\nprofusion unknown before or since, the vegetable matter out of which our\ncoal is formed. Consider, again, the dip and dislocation of the strata\nconnected with it, and you have a proof of a new order of causes being\nbrought, subsequently, into operation, before coal could be available for\nman\u2019s use. Examine, next, the vast accumulations which repose upon the\ncoal\u2014the curious relics which are imbedded in them\u2014the evidences thereby\nafforded of relative changes in the sea and land\u2014of the elevation of\nmountains, the denudation and formation of valleys\u2014and you cannot fail to\ninfer, from all this, that the surface of the earth was not always as it\nnow is; that there was a period when man could not have existed on it;\nand that for him who was the last in the order of all God\u2019s creations, it\nwas gradually and progressively prepared as a suitable habitation.\n\nWhen, again, we advert to the _course_ of creation, there is a gradual\nprogression from the little to the great, from the insignificant, if\nwe may apply such a term comparatively to any of the works of God, to\nthe noble and the grand. Each of the links that compose the mighty chain\nis perfect in its kind; each serves to connect and illustrate the link\nthat borders next to it; each is adapted to its place in the system, so\nthat the lowest could not be exalted, nor could the highest be brought\ndown, to answer the purposes of any inferior member of the series. A\npebble has more attraction to the eye than any of the colorless particles\nwhich compose the soil; but from the pebble the fruits of the earth\ncan derive no nourishment. The lichen or the moss which adheres to the\nsolid rock may be inferior in beauty and attraction to the lily of the\nvalley, or the lofty cedars of Lebanon; but the latter will not grow in\nthe barren regions of the north, and without the former, hundreds of\ninsect and animal tribes would perish. Man constitutes the principal link\nin the chain of visible creation; he is higher than the highest of the\nanimal race; and do not the superior endowments and blessings of man,\nhowever eminent in themselves, appear still more eminent and valuable\nby contrasting them with the inferior powers, the ruder enjoyments, the\nmeaner and more sordid passions, of the lower creatures? which yet amply\ndisplay the wisdom and goodness of their Author, both in their frame and\nstate, in the relation which they have, and the connection which they\nhold with the orders above and below them. Looking upward, again, what\nis man but a lower link of that chain of beings which, like its Author,\nreacheth through immensity? Thousands, nay, millions of spiritual orders\nmay possibly fill up the chasm, if that be possible, between the human\nand Divine nature, and who, by the very contrast with man\u2019s estate, may\nhave a juster knowledge and a more grateful relish of their own refined\nand spiritual natures. Take away, indeed, \u201cthe human face divine,\u201d and\nthere would be one note of praise less in the great temple of Jehovah;\nbut, while angels could not fulfill the purposes of man in the order of\ncreation, the perfections of the Godhead are infinitely more exalted\nby their activity in a purer sphere\u2014their keener visions and juster\napprehensions\u2014their unclouded faculties\u2014and their sublime and lofty\ncontemplations, all corresponding with the clearer manifestations of\ndivine truth, light, and glory, vouchsafed to them.\n\nDescend, in short, as low, or rise as high as we may, in the scale of\nbeing, we will still find something inferior, something superior; and\nnot more remote from each other in the extreme points are the minims of\nnature intimated to us by the microscope, and the magnificent systems\nabove which the telescope has disclosed to view, than are the wonderful\ndifferences and infinite range subsisting among living organized\nsubstances, from the vegetable to the animal, from the irrational to the\nintellectual, and from the intellectual to the spiritual and divine. But\none class cannot complain of the superior advantages of the class above\nit. The constitutions of all are precisely adapted to their respective\nplaces in the scheme of things, and the desires of all, according to\ntheir various capacities, are suitably gratified. Each is happy in its\nsphere, and still subservient to the higher happiness of others. The\ngarden is the insect\u2019s paradise, man is lord of the brute creation,\nangels are principalities and powers when compared to the knowledge and\nthe happiness of man. \u201cConsider,\u201d says the author of \u201cParadise Lost,\u201d\n\n \u201cthat great\n Or bright infers not excellence: the earth\n Though, in comparison of heaven, so small,\n Nor glistering, may of solid good contain\n More plenty than the sun that barren shines:\n Whose virtue on itself works no effect,\n But on the fruitful earth.\u201d\n\nWhen we turn to the _dispensations of providence_, we find the same\nprinciple prevailing in the communication of all its gifts\u2014of them\nall, whether evolved in the natural or moral course of events. The\nmany blessings which the mere diffusion of the solar rays imparts are\nnot obtained all at once; the early dawn, the meridian splendor, the\nsoftening shades of twilight, are each accompanied with distinct and\npeculiar enjoyments to man and beast. Observe the course of the seasons:\nafter winter come the gentle zephyrs of spring, the glowing heat of\nsummer, to be again succeeded by the rich though milder beams of autumn.\nThe seed which is deposited in the ground scarcely at first exhibits\nsigns of life; but from that seed the green stalk gradually ascends,\nthe ear is formed, the corn is produced in the ear, and man gathers from\nit his daily bread. Behold the new-born infant\u2014the most helpless and\nimbecile of all nature\u2019s productions\u2014what labor, watchfulness, and care,\nbefore he comes to the maturity of manhood! how slowly do the powers\nof intellect expand! what diligence requisite for the moral culture of\nthe heart! how gradual and progressive the whole steps by which he has\nbeen trained for the business and enterprises of life! Look now into\nthe crowded city, where thousands and tens of thousands of rational\nbeings have passed, and are all passing, through a similar process of\ndiscipline; consider how many generations have passed away before it\nattained to its present greatness; its wealth, its buildings, its schools\nof instruction, its temples of solemn worship; its philosophers, poets,\norators, and statesmen; its laws, manners, sciences, and fine arts, are\nthe accumulation, the work, and the growth of centuries. It is the same\nwith nations as with individuals, and with all nations and countries as\nwith one; the blessings of civilization are gradually diffused, sometimes\nretarded, and often buried for ages beneath the inroads of barbarism; but\nagain emerging in greater abundance, taking a firmer step, and advancing\nonward and wider than before. And at last, from the favored position on\nwhich we have been placed, we see before us the certain prospect, in the\nincreased facilities and means of communication which are now opened\nup, that they will be still more universally imparted, until truth,\nrighteousness, and peace, cover the face of the whole earth.\n\nConsider now, under the same progressive aspect, the _scheme of\nrevelation_. Here we find the same analogy prevailing from the less to\nthe greater, from the smallest tokens of the Divine favor, to the full\nand boundless manifestations of inexhaustible love and mercy.\n\nFrom the fall to the restoration of man, the expressions of God\u2019s\ninterest in our condition are limited and obscure; but the plan is\ndefined and the means arranged in the only way that was proper to\ndisplay his goodness and make us sensible of his mercies. The blessings\nconferred upon the people of God, before the law and under the law,\nwere chiefly temporal. Hence the rites and ceremonies of their worship\nwere purposely of such a nature, and so multiplied, as principally to\noperate through the medium of the senses. Hence the various symbols of\nthe Divine presence, when God personally, as it were, descended among\nthem, and over-awed them by his visible glory. Hence the giving of the\nlaw amidst thunders, and lightnings, and shakings of the mountains, when\nexternal nature under its most appalling aspects bore testimony to the\nsevere justice of the Divine character, and seemed to intimate, in a way\nwhich even the most hardened sinners would understand, how dreadful must\nbe the judgments of their incensed and supreme Lawgiver. The Israelites\nwere not sufficiently removed from their natural state to be as yet\ncapable of a religion purely spiritual, like the Christian; and hence it\nwas, that every later dispensation of God excelled the former, even as\nthe trumpet on Mount Sinai \u201cwaxed louder and louder,\u201d every succeeding\nblast transcending those that went before. The prophets rose above the\nritual law, and showed men a more excellent way of worshiping God than by\nexternal performances, thereby preparing their minds for the reception of\nthe Gospel. The tabernacle was no longer used after Solomon\u2019s temple was\nbuilt, but was laid aside, as the temple itself was \u201cwhen the fullness\nof the time was come;\u201d and as the sanctuary and tabernacle preceded the\ntemple, so the glory of the latter was to be greater than that of the\nformer, by the appearance of Him who was greater than the temple, whose\nmission was distinguished by more numerous miracles, and by sublimer\nand more important truths than had been before manifested to the world.\nBehold a higher dispensation still, when, after the state of grace ends,\nthe state of glory shall commence; where all knowledge shall be imparted\nand all truth unvailed, where imperfection and sin shall no more adhere\nto us, and where, after the experience of millions of ages spent in the\nenjoyment of heavenly happiness, we shall be still advancing in glory and\nfelicity, and attaining to higher measures of the increasing strength and\never-growing splendor of the sons of God.\n\nThese analogies may be extended. The wisdom and goodness of a God,\nfor example, equally appear in the late and partial promulgation of\nChristianity, which is sometimes considered an objection against its\ntruth, but which, in fact, is in perfect accordance with the same\nprinciple of progression which we have been illustrating in the general\neconomy and arrangements of all God\u2019s proceedings.\n\nThe gifts of nature are not imparted universally, nor in the same\nmeasure to all. The discoveries of science are the result of long\nand patient investigation. Herbs have been allowed to run waste for\ncenturies upon centuries, of which the medicinal virtues have only\nrecently been discovered. Through how many ages had mankind been left\nin ignorance of the properties of the magnet, and the simple apparatus\nof the compass-box, braving all the perils, and tossed about on the\nunknown wastes of the ocean? How much did the progress of knowledge and\neducation suffer, during the lapse of so many generations, for want of\nthe printing-press? What oppressions and cruelties have been practiced\nupon the different nations of the earth, through means of bad laws and\nbad government, of which even yet many are learning but the elements? And\nhow is it that of one and all these things\u2014the truths of science, the art\nof healing, the principles of navigation, the discipline of wholesome\ninstruction, the enactment of good laws, and the various blessings of\ncivilized life\u2014more than two-thirds of the human race are in these latter\nages still entirely destitute? God governs both in the kingdom of nature\nand in the kingdom of grace, and any objection, therefore, against the\ntruth of revelation that may be built upon these grounds, goes equally\nto dethrone the Almighty from any share of interest in the government of\nthe universe. But the Gospel, in fact, would have been premature before\nthe actual time of its appearance; the history of providence in former\nages could not have been appealed to, the sacrifice of the Redeemer\nhad not been understood without the legal sacrifices preceding, the\nprophesies would have been unfulfilled, and the world would have been\nunprepared for a worship so pure and spiritual, a morality so searching\nand uncompromising, and a faith so lofty and exalted, had there not been\nmuch previous training and discipline, through the instrumentality of\npatriarchs, prophets, and legislators. One of the most striking proofs,\nin short, of the Divine wisdom in the dispensation of grace, is its\nharmonizing so exactly with the established course of nature. This is\nmanifested more especially in the manner in which the heavenly blessings\nwith which it is fraught have been communicated\u2014slowly, gradually,\nand partially at first, more fully and generally diffused as men were\nprepared to receive them, and, when \u201cthe fullness of the time\u201d had\narrived, imparted freely and in the richest abundance unto all; light\nafter light, truth after truth, and mercy upon mercy, all in such order\nof succession, that the former illustrate and recommend the latter, while\nthe last are only a preparation for future and still greater mercies.\n\nAnd so it has been with the whole Course of Creation\u2014the succession of\nstrata, of animal and vegetable tribes, and with man and the adaptive\nprovision for his higher destiny. This is a doctrine of development and\nof progression, widely different from that of the \u201cVestiges,\u201d more in\nunison with the Creator\u2019s wisdom and the Creator\u2019s care:\u2014a speculation\nworthy of a separate treatise, namely, the progress and development of\nman\u2019s intelligent, moral, and spiritual being as indicated in THE COURSE\nOF REVELATION.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nCAUSES OF EXTINCTION OF ORGANIC LIFE.\n\n\nWhen the pal\u00e6ontologist has completely established his position, that\nall the organic phenomena of primeval times have resulted from the\nimpress of original structure, in opposition to the theory of progressive\ndevelopment and transmutation of species; and when he can trace, also,\ncorresponding changes in the mineral formations in which the fossil\nremains are imbedded, the important inquiry has still to be made into the\ncauses of the extinction of so many races of the animal and vegetable\nkingdoms. Introduced successively upon the surface of the earth, was\nthere always a physical and necessary relation betwixt the living tribes\nand the varying conditions of the surrounding media in which their lot\nwas cast? And do the differences in the one explain the changes in the\norganic functions of the other?\n\nWhen we look back to the earliest of the fossiliferous rocks we can\ndiscover something in the nature of their materials themselves which\nwould cause the destruction of their organic tribes. The Silurian strata\nhave been violently disturbed, and much molten matter, during the period\nof their deposition, injected among them; and by causes such as these,\nlife would suffer greatly, and whole races be suddenly destroyed. Even\nthe strong incased ganoids and placoids of the Devonian period could not\nalways be able to subsist and bear up against the spasmodic throes that\nproduced the conglomerates. Animals preyed likewise upon each other, and\nby this means kept up then, as now, the general average and balance of\nlife. But in none of these modes can anything like a LAW be inferred,\nany stated provision be detected, for the outgoing and the incoming of\nthe different genera and species which successively peopled the globe.\nThe rocks differ, as the organisms differ, age to age, from each other:\nbut the series of changes traced in the one class of phenomena, furnish\nonly a few data by which to determine as to the alterations that would be\nproduced in the class cotemporaneous.\n\nNo land animals have been found in any of the formations beneath the\nnew red sandstone. No quadrupeds existed before the tertiary age. And\nthe monster lizards which so exuberantly sprang into existence during\nthe middle secondary epoch, had all disappeared when these terrestrials\noccupied the stage. Wisdom we can trace in all the arrangements; care\nand goodness are everywhere apparent. The seas swarmed with marine\nanimals, while the terrestrials could scarcely have subsisted on an\nupheaving earth and new forming land. Quadrupeds roamed not over fields\nso diversified by the lakes and slimy lagoons in which the Saurians found\ntheir convenient habitation. And beyond the simple fact, that Divine will\nso ordained that such things should be, both in the animal and mineral\nchanges in the history of our planet, we have only a ray of light to\nguide us in interpreting the revolutions and destructions which are\ntherein so indelibly recorded.\n\nThe mollusca and shell families appear and depart along with the\ncalcareous deposits which inclose their remains; but we know as much\nof the source of the one as of the range and limit of, or the causes\nwhich destroyed, the other. Orthocer\u00e6 and nautili have survived all\nchanges, and have maintained in the types by which they are represented\ntheir old instincts and predaceous propensities. The holoptychii and\ndipteri perished, just as the materials of the new red sandstone were\nbeing deposited, and whose identity, in all essential mineral qualities,\ndiffers in nothing from the old red in which they are entombed. The flora\nof the carboniferous age came and went with the suddenness and entireness\nof an eastern dynasty, the gorgeous spoils of which are all that remain\nto attest its former greatness. The mammoths, dinotheriums, and kindred\npachyderms of the tertiary groups had all left the earth on the dawn of\nthe human epoch. And now, since the commencement of that epoch, we find\nthat entire families have become extirpated, that species of others have\nbeen driven from their former localities, and that generally, both of\nvegetables and animals, the geographical distribution is being, year by\nyear, greatly modified. During the last century, the introduction into\nGermany of some new species of insects, and their multiplication, utterly\ndestroyed forests of vast extent; and every year, in some quarter of the\nglobe, we hear of equally mighty catastrophes produced by equally minute\ninsidious causes.\n\nThe organic things of earth, it would thus appear, have their terms of\nexistence of longer and shorter duration, and the race at last dies out\nequally with the individuals which compose it. No better reason for this\ncan be assigned, than that such is, and has always been, the course of\nnature. Particular families of plants and animals are cotemporaneous\nwith particular groups of rocks: with these they are observed for the\nfirst time; at the close of the deposit, all farther traces of their\nremains are lost; and, in so far, there is ground for arguing that the\nsame general causes were concerned in effecting the successive changes,\norganic as well as inorganic, of the periods and formations in question.\nWhat these causes were, it may never be permitted to science fully to\ndetermine. It was indeed, the opinion of Cuvier, that in the mammoth\nepoch a change of climate effected the destruction of this giant family\nof pachyderms. This change of climate has been accounted for by Murchison\nand others, especially in Siberia, where so many remains are found, by an\nelevation of the country to the height of one or two hundred-feet above\nits former level. And doubtless, by such a change, animal as well as\nvegetable life must, in many specific forms, have been greatly affected.\n\nThere can be little doubt, however, of the most perfect adaptive\narrangements prevailing through all the geological epochs, some of which\nhave been plausibly conjectured. As reptiles, for instance, differ from\nbirds and mammals, in having a lower and simpler structure of the lungs\nand heart, and therefore a less active performance of the respiratory\nfunctions, they become less dependent on the atmosphere or oxygen for\nexistence. \u201cHence,\u201d says Professor Owen, \u201cfrom their extraordinary\nprevalence in the secondary periods, under varied modifications of size\nand structure, severally adapting them to the performance of those\ntasks in the economy of organic nature which are now assigned to the\nwarm-blooded and quick-breathing classes, the physiologist is led to\nconjecture that the atmosphere had not undergone those changes, which\nthe consolidation and concentration of certain of its elements in\nsubsequent additions to the earth\u2019s crust may have occasioned during the\nlong lapse of ages during which the extinction of so large a proportion\nof the reptilian class took place. And if the chemist, by wide and\nextended views of his science in relation to geology, and mineralogy,\nshould demonstrate, as the botanist from considerations of the peculiar\nfeatures of the extinct flora has been led to suspect, that the\natmosphere of this globe formerly contained more carbon and less oxygen\nthan at present, then the anatomist might, _\u00e0 priori_, have concluded\nthat the highest classes of animals suited to the respiration of such a\nmedium must have been the cold-blooded fishes and reptiles. And beside,\nthe probability of such a condition of the zoological series being\nconnected with the chemical modifications of the air, the terrestrial\nreptiles, from the inferior energy of their muscular contractions, and\nstill more from the greater irritability of the fibers and power of\ncontinuing their actions, would constitute the highest organized species,\nbest adapted to exist under greater atmospheric pressure than operates on\nthe surface of the earth at the present time.\u201d\n\nBy parity of reasoning it may be inferred, that as great changes would\nbe effected in the waters of the globe as in the constituents of the\natmosphere; and, while thus preparing for the introduction of new\nfamilies of animals, the destruction of already existing tribes may\nbe as conclusively imagined. The various calcareous deposits in the\nmountain limestone, magnesian, oolite, and chalk periods, would imply\nvery different qualities in the condition of the ocean; an infusion or\nabstraction of ingredients as favorable to the existence of one kind of\nanimal life as they would be destructive of another. A period of great\nplutonic action, too, when vast masses of melted matter, charged with\nmetallic and other substances, were poured over the bed of the sea, could\nnot fail to have considerable influence upon many of the inhabitants of\nthe deep; and while providence was making arrangements for an increase,\nor diversity, or for higher types of animal life, the existence of other\nforms and classes was ordained to terminate.\n\nThe introduction of new and higher races upon the earth has thus been\naccounted for. \u201cThrough such a medium as the air,\u201d says the authority\nquoted above, \u201capproaching in a corresponding degree to the physical\nproperties of water, a cold-blooded animal might even rise above the\nsurface, and wing its heavy flight, since this would demand less\nenergetic muscular actions than are now requisite for such a kind of\nlocomotion: and thus we may conceive why the atmosphere of our planet,\nduring the earlier oolite periods, may have been traversed by creatures\nof no higher organization than saurians. If we may presume to conjecture\nthat atmospheric pressure has been diminished, by a change in the\ncomposition, as well as by a diminution of the general mass of the air,\nthe beautiful adaptation of the structure of birds to a medium thus\nrendered both lighter and more invigorating, by the abstraction of carbon\nand an increase of oxygen, must be appreciable by every physiologist. And\nit is not without interest to observe, that the period when such change\nwould be thus indicated by the first appearance of birds in the Wealden\nstrata, is likewise characterized by the prevalence of those dinosaurian\nreptiles, which in structure most nearly approach mammalia, and which in\nall probability, from their correspondence with crocodiles in the anatomy\nof the thorax, enjoyed a circulation as complete as that of the crocodile\nwhen breathing freely on dry land.\u201d\n\nAgain, it is conjectured\u2014\u201cThe first indications of the warm-blooded\nclasses would appear, if introduced into the reptilian era, under the\nform of such small insectivorous mammals as are known at the present day\nto have a lower amount of respiration than the rest of the class; and the\nearliest discovered remains of mammalia,\u2014as, for example, those in the\nStonesfield oolite,\u2014are actually the jaws of such species, with which are\ncombined the characters of that order, Marsupialia, which is most nearly\nrelated to the oviparous vertebrata.\u201d\n\nIt has been seen that igneous and aqueous agents have remodeled, from\ntime to time, the physical geography of the globe. Can it admit of a\ndoubt that changes in the physical structure of the earth\u2019s surface\nwill be accompanied with other changes in the organic productions of\nextensive areas? Species, it is well known, both of plants and animals,\nare limited to particular localities of variable, and often of no great,\nextent. If marine, an alteration in the sea bottom will prove fatal to\nmany. If terrestrial, an increase of altitude, the conversion of dry land\ninto marshes and lakes, or of lakes and marshes into meadow and arid\nloamy soil, will completely alter the flora and fauna of the district\nin question. Look into any estuary or rocky pool along the shore of the\nocean, swarming with testacea, and crustacea; every bowlder incrusted\nwith corallines; the rocks carpeted all over with fuci, waving with\nevery ripple their long graceful branches, or smoothing and polishing\ntheir sides in the violent currents; creeping things, too, innumerable\nshy stealthy creatures, darting amid the shingle, or burrowing in the\nsands; and the finny tribes, of all forms, glancing and sparkling like\nliving gems in the dark green thickets. This is one description only of\ntens of thousands of such phenomena around the islands of Great Britain.\nAn elevation of a few feet, and what myriads of animals, whose only\nhabitat are these ocean caves, would perish, and their races be forever\nblotted from the things that were! These shores have witnessed many such\nupheavals. Not a plain, hill, or rock, in the whole continent of Europe,\nbut once formed the bed of the sea. Even now, what a vast influence does\nmineralogical structure alone exercise over the economy of life, both as\nto the number of individuals and the character of species frequenting\nparticular localities. Trees as well as plants have an adaptation to\ncertain kinds of soil, and once firmly rooted, birds, insects, and\ncreeping things, will also resort thither in quest of shelter or of food.\nAquatic fowl, the waders and swimmers of our sea-shores, have their\nfavorite haunt among the breakers or calm bays, whose submarine rocks\nfurnish pasturage and shelter to molluscs, crustaceans, and fishes;\nwhile, again, over the marshy, the oozy, the sandy, the gravelly, or the\nrocky beach, other families, both terrestrial and marine, maintain their\nrespective ascendency.\n\nM. Agassiz is just now pursuing his favorite researches in exploring\nthe lakes and rivers of America, where he has already detected many\nthings new and old to enlighten the western _savans_ in the boundless\nriches of their mighty dominions. He has succeeded in capturing, on Lake\nSuperior, species of fishes hitherto unnamed. He has likewise been\nable to dredge up from the same deep waters, specimens of the garpike\n(_Lepidosteus_), whose representatives have been found in the oldest\npal\u00e6ozoic deposits, and in the deposits of all succeeding times. Suppose\nthese lakes to be suddenly drained of their waters\u2014and which, according\nto the chronometrical details of Niagara, must one day come to pass\u2014and\nmany species of animals and plants would cease to exist, not merely by\nthe violence of the action, but by the simple alteration of the aqueous\ncharacter of the districts. Many animals, indeed, will be able to escape,\nand to betake themselves to other localities amidst slow or even rapid\nsuperficial changes. The camels and antelopes of the desert may sink\nunder the sirocco and be buried in the sand; but, in other circumstances,\nthey will be able to bear up and carry themselves to fertile lands, as\nthe steady, irresistible march of the sand-flood invades their former\npastures. The Sahara of Africa has been gradually extending and widening\nin its desolating sterility, until it now covers a region of about\n582,000 square miles; how many, in consequence, of the vegetable and\nanimal races, have thus been deprived of their appropriate nutriment,\nand become extinct? How many examples of similar devastations, but upon\na far greater scale, does almost every one of the geological epochs\nfurnish? The central region of France abounded with lakes, attracting to\ntheir arborescent banks the huge pachyderms of the tertiary age, when the\nAuvergne cones blazed out, pouring floods of lava over lake, marsh, and\nplain; and thus obliterating and silting up entire races, the great and\nthe small, terrestrial and lacustrine, and now constituting the pictorial\nwonders of the age that produced, and the convulsions that destroyed them.\n\nThere is reason to believe that species in the ancient world were\npossessed of a wider geographical range than in after periods. But the\ncauses of extirpation were also of wider operation. The old formations\nare all greater than the new, receding in extent as they descend in\ntime. And if we are to regard alterations of climate, changes in the\nconstituents of the atmosphere, subsidence of land and elevation of\nsea-bottom, intrusion of igneous rocks, the escape and circulation of\nnoxious gaseous matter, as among the _causes_ which have led to the\nextinction of the successive organic tribes in the several geological\nepochs, so do we find the _effects_ approximating to a scale of\ncorresponding magnitude. But the real terms and boundaries of all are in\nthe hands of Him who made them. We see but a part, and know only in part,\nof the secondary means of destruction.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nTIME, AND THE GEOLOGICAL EPOCHS.\n\n\nThe speculations of geology respecting the arrangement and position\nof the mineral masses of the earth are matters of direct observation,\nfalling immediately under the cognizance of the senses, and whose\nverifications are both numerous and conclusive. But a question thereupon\narises which is not so easily dealt with, namely, as to the periods of\ntime that have elapsed during the various successive epochs or formations\ndescribed. Looking at the current operations of the laws of nature, and\nsupposing their uniformity in past ages, a scale of increment is laid\ndown for the several deposits of which the earth\u2019s crust is composed. An\napproximation is made as to the number of years required for each, and\nthe result is, that the geological estimate embraces an inconceivably\nlengthened and bewildering series. The calculation proceeds not by\nhundreds, or thousands, but by millions of the terms of our numerical\nnotation: and, as the fossiliferous strata alone are reckoned at about\nseven or eight miles in thickness, the time that has elapsed since the\nfirst appearance of life upon the planet, has also been made a matter of\nmeasurement. Accuracy as to any precise definite amount, is not, indeed,\npretended; but no estimate, it is said, made upon purely geological data,\nfalls short of vast enormous periods, which will only bear to be compared\nwith the cycles of astronomical phenomena, and not with the brief\nfleeting days of man\u2019s existence.\n\nWhat account, then, is to be made of this reckoning according to the\npopular opinions respecting the origin of the world? Will it be accepted\nby the Christian, who confides in the Mosaic chronology of the work of\ncreation? What is that chronology? Can the geological and the sacred be\ncompared or reconciled with one another?\n\nI. There is one important deduction to be established from these\ninvestigations which meets us at the threshold of the inquiry, namely,\nthat geology clearly and distinctly shows there is a BEGINNING to the\ncourse of creation as respects the crust of the earth and its organic\nforms of life. The stratified rocks all manifest succession in their\norder of deposition, and, therefore, also succession in time. Some are\nprior to and older in formation than others; and all of every class\nand quality, demonstrate principles of arrangement in conformity with\nlaw and design. We never, for example, get back to a period, however\ndeep we go into the interior, in which we find the matter of the earth\nassuming, as it were, different modes of existence, or arranging itself\naccording to affinities of which we have no experience. Over every\nmaterial substance, the rocks of the oldest as of the newest formation,\nthe same physical forces are seen to be operative. The granites, with all\nthe molten amorphous masses of every age, are composed of ingredients\nbrought together and aggregated in proportional quantities, and according\nto definite principles of attraction. But throughout the whole series\nand succession of deposits, we never come to a point at which matter has\nbeen formless, or free from the operation of law, endlessly quiescent, or\nwhen no controlling designing hand was rendering it plastic and obedient\nto its will.\u2014As with the arrangements of matter, therefore, so likewise\nwith its origin. We revert in both cases to a necessarily prior cause.\nAnd geology, vast and inconceivably great as may be its cycles, proclaims\nover all its past antecedents and depths of accumulation, that TIME, not\neternity, is indelibly recorded.\n\nThis truth is rendered still more apparent and intelligible, when we\nconsider the various families of plants and animals of which the earth\nhas been the theater. These organic structures at once speak to the\nmind of creative interference. No principle that we know of inherent in\nnature could, of itself, originate these forms. The first thing of life\nindicates an intelligent Creator. But epoch after epoch passes away,\nand along with them their living tribes generally perish. Succeeding\nraces, of different characters and habits, are called into existence.\nThe earth is again peopled\u2014again to be swept of all its garniture\u2014the\nland and ocean to change places\u2014creatures of another mold, suited to\nboth, again to be brought into existence. These phenomena all speak, not\nonly of a beginning, of successive periods of time, but also of direct\nsuperintendence over the course of events from age to age.\n\nIt is the same with the formations themselves in which the organic\nthings are imbedded. The course of creation progresses, but always under\nsuch breaks and renewals as clearly to manifest, that the same power\nwhich watches over the organic, is operative also in respect of the\ninorganic structures of the earth. Various are the genera and species of\nonce animate forms, imbedded in the different strata beneath our feet;\nbut equally various are the strata themselves; as a new race arises,\nso are there new forms of rocks produced along with them. And when we\ncompare the two extremes of the fossiliferous strata, the silurian and\nthe tertiary, or any of the intermediate\u2014the old red sandstone and the\noolites, the carboniferous and the chalk\u2014we find that the rocks are just\nas various in quality, structure, and appearance, as are the animals\nwhich existed and perished during their respective epochs. The lines of\ndemarkation are distinct. They may sometimes run into each other, so as\nto leave it doubtful where the one series ends and the other begins; but\nso it is with the organic remains themselves, a few of an antecedent\nepoch living into and invading the province of another, when the limit\nis reached, and the family altogether disappears. The same law holds in\nthe great mineral masses of the earth\u2019s crust. Rocks are of different\nfamilies, even as plants and animals are; and over the entire surface\nof the globe, they display in their various suites such changes and\ndiversities as demonstrate an interfering hand and a new creative energy.\nIndeed, there is, it may be avowed, a much greater diversity of type in\nthe mineral groups themselves than in their organisms, the living genera\nand species of one formation differing, often, less from each other than\ndo the rocky matrices in which their remains are imbedded.\n\nII. But, in estimating _the time_ that elapsed during the formation of\nthe various sedimentary strata, are geologists warranted in assuming such\nprinciples of calculation as have been adopted?\u2014There are two aspects\nunder which the subject may be approached\u2014the one, as respects the\nformative process of rocks\u2014the other, the probable duration of life in\nthe different epochs, or rather, as connected with the formations which\nindicate the epochs.\n\n1. OF THE FORMATIVE PROCESS. How long the earth existed before being\nbrought into a habitable condition for either vegetable or animal bodies,\ngeology has no means of determining. The primary crystalline beds are\nthe oldest rocks of which we have any knowledge: we can penetrate at\nleast to no antecedent matter, bearing the record of its own age, out\nof which these rocks were produced. We are warranted, therefore, in\naccounting for their origin, to remount at once to the initial creative\nact which called them into being, and the presumption is, that no\ngreat length of time was occupied in this arrangement. The Divine will\ncommanded, every particle obeyed, and all took their places. The eruptive\nrocks are of comparatively sudden growth: they are not the result of a\ngradual deposition, but of igneous fusion in the interior of the earth,\nand elevated to the surface through the operation of forces of rapid\nactivity. How long our planet was in thus assuming form, and the dry land\nappearing, we have no certain means of judging, except by looking to\nthe end of its creation, and assuming that the \u201cvoid\u201d was not permitted\nindefinitely to continue. The occupancy of life at once exalts the work\nand illustrates its purpose.\n\nThe fossiliferous strata were formed in different circumstances and under\ndifferent conditions, when the course of nature, if we may so speak,\nwas fully established, and the train of events under the operation of\nphysical law commenced its onward march. The oldest of the fossiliferous\ndeposits is the Silurian. It likewise constitutes one of the greatest\ndepth, as well as of extent, on the surface of the globe. The position,\ngenerally, of the silurian beds, is along the line of the great\nmountain-chains, except in Russia, where they spread over the interior,\nand thin out into smaller dimensions, and where, from the absence of\nthe intrusive rocks, they are only semi-indurated. This system of rocks\nwas, therefore, formed in circumstances the most favorable for rapid\naccumulation, amidst such primal operations of nature as have never\nbeen repeated upon the same scale of magnitude. The first shaping-out,\nif we may so speak, of the earth\u2019s surface, in the elevation of its\nmountain-ranges and corresponding depressions of the sea-bottom, bears\nall the marks of a single cotemporaneous act, not completed in a moment\nof time indeed, but continued through a period of unparalleled spasmodic\nagency. Every region shared in the convulsive movements, and the whole\nearth, in one and the same age, was begirt with mountains. These violent\nthroes were accompanied everywhere with violent action upon the already\nconsolidated masses. Disintegration would keep pace upon them with the\nrate of uprise. And as the bare jagged rocks unprotected with herbage,\nfriable and just rending from the fire, were lifted suddenly above the\nwaters, the waters in turn would dash violently upon their sides and\nbroken serrated crests, and so become as rapidly filled again with all\nthe waste and spoils of the period. The changes now going on, and the\nrate of increment of the land above sea-level, the occasional appearance\nand disappearance of an island, the slow but constant action of the waves\nupon the coast, and the detrital matter borne down by the rivers, can be\nno measure of the effects of forces and agencies such as were then in\noperation. The Mississippi, within a quarter of a century, it has been\nascertained, brings down little more than a half of its former spoils.\nThe organic remains, accordingly, which have survived the silurian\nperiod, belong chiefly to the molluscous classes, and thin filmy fucoid\nvegetables; the structures, in short, which were best calculated to live\nduring the period in question, and to remain undestroyed throughout its\nagitations.\n\nThe old red sandstone series is likewise of vast extent, both in depth\nand superficial area. The scale of its mass corresponds with the scale\nof the forces which produced it\u2014the magnificent operations amidst which\nit was accumulated. This was a period of great and frequent trappean\neruption. Hence the conglomerate red offers a splendid specimen of rapid\nformation. This member of the devonian suite consists of large masses of\ngneiss, quartz, mica-slate, and hornblende rock, cemented in a paste of\nsilicious sand, probably the debris of dissolved granite. The included\nportions bear all the marks of attrition, of violent tossing about in a\ntroubled sea. Estimate the thickness of the whole deposit at its maximum\nof nearly ten thousand feet\u2014consider what vast agencies were still at\nwork, in tearing up and carrying off the spoils of the mountains\u2014probably\nwith but little pause or intermission in the violence of the action\u2014and\nthus, not so much in the light of remote antecedents as of comparatively\nassociated formations, will we be warranted in regarding these early\ncourses in the work of creation. The fishes of the period all speak of\nits spasmodic character, mailed, plated, and completely inclosed in\nstrong horny integuments; their heads, some of them, of entire uncovered\nbone, and their caudal fins propelling with the whole force of the\nvertebral column,\u2014conditions of structure which give indications of\nthe stormy seas whose waves they had to buffet, and of the conserving\nproperties by which their forms and outlines have been transmitted to us\nso wonderfully entire.\n\nThe carboniferous class of rocks have all the marks of a very peculiar\nformation, constructed for a special purpose, and elaborated amidst an\nextraordinary state of things. Here we meet with vast accumulations of\nvegetable, calcareous, and metallic substances, for which we detect no\nanterior preparations. The coming on and the outgoing of the whole coal\nseries are as distinct as they are surprising. To what are we to compare\nthem? By what scale of time are we to adjust the terms of their growth?\nProceeding upon the existing laws of nature, calculations have been\nmade as to the rate of increase, for a year, of pure vegetable matter,\nover a given area. The Ganges, Nile, Amazon, Mississippi, La Plata, and\nthe other mighty rivers of the earth, have been appealed to as to the\nquantities with which they are annually charged. The forests, with their\nload of every revolving season, have been weighed, when their decadence\nof leaves, fruits, branches, and all the gatherings from the flood and\nstorm have been duly taken into account. The result is, according to this\nmethod of solving the problem, that about six hundred thousand years\nwere occupied in the production of the whole coal series.\u2014It must be\nadmitted, in any attempt to reduce this number, that the violent forces\nof the antecedent periods cannot be admitted as data of circulation;\nthroughout the whole of the carboniferous era, a state of repose seems\nto have universally prevailed. But then all the living productive\npowers of nature were just as violently in operation as the others were\nquiescent, and the result in the one case bears a proportion to the\nresult in the other. If inorganic matter was rapidly collected by the\naction of violent causes, so under an extraordinary state of things, of\nclimate, moisture, atmosphere, and other physical arrangements, organized\nbodies, vegetable and animal, would multiply as rapidly. A condition of\nnature that produced uniformity of vegetation over the entire surface of\nthe globe, as the coal deposit everywhere manifests, and all of gigantic\ndimensions in every family of plants, is not merely to be denominated\n_tropical_, and its results calculated by a scale of existing weights\nand measures. In many places of the earth, even now, several harvests\nare reaped within the year. Who can set bounds to their number, or guess\nthe prodigious increase, when the whole earth was covered with a flora,\nnot only of unrivaled exuberance, but of uniform distribution nearly\non every part of its surface? But a test of indisputable value, for\nascertaining the rate of increase in the sandstones and shales embraced\nwithin the coal-measures, occurs in the case of those fossil trees which\nare so frequently found in an upright position, or but little inclined\nto the plane of stratification. These are numerous in every coal-field,\nand are often traced through several layers or beds of rock. The fossil\ntrees of Craigleith and Granton were about fifty feet in length, and\nlying at an angle of scarcely twenty degrees to the strata in which\nthey were imbedded. Their passage through the solid rock, therefore,\ncannot be estimated at less than fifteen to twenty feet, that is, a\nmass of sandstone of corresponding depth must have been formed, during\nthe comparatively short period that trees of lofty stature were able\nto resist the destroying action of the elements, to say nothing of the\nchances of currents, hurricanes, and other agents breaking them in\npieces. This _instantia crucis_ may be extended to every sandstone bed\nof the formation, and thus serve to exercise a salutary restraint upon\nthe mind in its imaginary conceptions of the enormous periods of time\nrequired for the accumulation of the whole series.\n\nThe carboniferous epoch was immediately succeeded by a period of great\nviolence and of vast disturbance in the solid crust of the earth. Hence\nthe broken inclined position of the coal strata, and the injection of\nso much igneous matter, forming often ridges and hills of considerable\nelevation. The new red sandstone, the overlying deposits, would share in\nall the activity of the time. A celerity of increase, on a scale of more\nrapid accumulation than existing causes could produce, must consequently\nfall to be admitted to the rocks of this family: so much, indeed, was\nthe plutonic agency then in force, that the rock-salt and gypseous\nbeds are ascribed to its influence. From this period downward, the\nformations are all of more contracted dimensions, the basins narrowing in\nsuperficial area to the upper tertiaries, which partake of the character\nof local rather than of universal deposits; while the evidences here are\ninnumerable that, until the globe settled into its present form, and\nassumed its present arrangement of seas, continents, and mountains, the\nland and water were continually changing places, the crust and framework\nsubject to constant upheaval. The Cordilleras and Himalaya constituted,\nin those days, the bed of the ocean. What law of nature was not in\nviolent activity ere they attained their sublime altitudes! How many\nrivers changed their courses! how many mountains were washed to their\nsummits! how many hills melted like wax at the voice of their Creator,\namidst convulsions which swept the earth so repeatedly of its living\ntribes, and bared as often the bosom of the great deep!\n\nWe have not, in this enumeration of the mineral strata of the earth\u2019s\ncrust, as yet spoken of any of the calcareous deposits. They are very\nnumerous, some of them of prodigious thickness, and belong to the\nformations of every epoch. There is not one, but many, alternations of\nlimestone connected with every such formation. Whence the source of\nall this material? The primary beds are not in sufficient mass to have\nfurnished supplies for every succeeding age. The mountain limestone\nalone, of the middle secondary epoch, contains more calcareous matter\nthan is to be found in the three antecedent periods. The lias, oolites,\nand chalks are likewise of vast thickness. The beds of the tertiary\ngroup are less considerable; but in the gypseous marls, and numerous\nalternating bands throughout the clays and sands of the formation, there\nis the clearest evidence that the stores of nature were still abundant.\nNor are they yet exhausted. What supplies in every river, sea, and\nocean of the world! What countless myriads of living animals are now\nemployed in elaborating the material! And when we again inquire, whence\nis it all? the answer is, that throughout all time, a wise and bountiful\nProvidence has thereby provided the pabulum for its successive creations\nof organized bodies\u2014the law of their nature is to pile up rocks\u2014and in\nall the monuments of the past, we discern the style and architecture of\nthe builders of the present. Look, then, to your still active, living,\nworking chronometer. With what incredible swiftness do these minute\ncreatures ply their labors! how many fathoms of coral reef will they\nrear in a season! When the hapless mariner returns, after a brief short\ninterval, what hazards to run from structures which now for the first\ntime appall him with their formidable barriers! Millions of years! Not\neven thousands are needed to construct islands, and to pillar the floor\nof the ocean, over vast expanded areas, with broad, massive, indurated\nrock.[13]\n\n2. THE PROBABLE DURATION OF LIFE IN THE DIFFERENT EPOCHS. The geologist\nwill tell us not to look at one but at the various families, of all\nkinds and of all habits, which his science has brought to light, and so\nmany of whose remains he has disinterred from the earth. Every formation\nabounds with them. They flourished through every epoch. The epochs are\nmany. The tribes which existed and perished in them are many. To allow\ntime for the coming in and the going out, and the fulfillment of their\nvarious destinies, what an untold, incalculable amount of ages must\nhave elapsed! Now, give the millions of years supposed, and the wonder\nsome may not hesitate to confess is, that there are so few, and not\nso many, of the former creatures of the earth which have re-appeared\nin our geological catalogues. The fossil regions of Great Britain, an\nepitome of the world, have been well explored, and the statement of fact\nstands nearly as follows:\u2014Leaving out of consideration all the shelly\nand lime-building tribes, the numbers of the other families of animals\nhitherto found and described are, in the various groups of the silurian\nsystem, eight genera of only one order of fishes; in the devonian, of\ntwo orders, there are under forty genera, and not many more species of\nfishes, in the carboniferous, of three orders, there are about fifty\ngenera, and a hundred species of fishes; in the permian and triassic, of\nthree orders, there are twenty genera, and fifty species of fishes and\nreptiles; in the oolitic, of four orders, there are sixty genera, and\ntwo hundred and twenty species of fishes, reptiles, and mammals; in the\nwealden, there are, of three orders, twenty-five genera, and thirty-eight\nspecies of fishes and reptiles; in the cretaceous, of six orders, there\nare fifty genera, and eighty species of fishes, reptiles, and birds; in\nthe tertiaries, of seven orders, the genera are about one hundred and\nfifty, and two hundred and twenty species of fishes, reptiles, birds, and\nmammals: thus making in all about four hundred genera, and seven hundred\nspecies of the larger families of living creatures during the whole\ncurrency of the geological epochs. The current epoch contains, exclusive\nof microscopic organisms, nearly two millions of species of vegetable and\nanimal bodies existing on the terraqueous globe; and of which there are\nabout eight thousand species of fish alone existing in our present seas.\n\nWhen we take, instead of Great Britain, the whole explored geological\nfield of the world, the result, so far as the argument is concerned,\nwill be strengthened, not weakened. The formations of other lands are\nsimply, with slight variations, a repetition of our own. The same genera\nof animals are everywhere prevalent. The specific types are likewise in\nmany instances identical. The silurian organisms of Russia are so like\nthose in our own island, that \u201cno English geologist,\u201d says Murchison,\n\u201cacquainted with the organic contents of the Wenlock limestone, can\nview the Calymena Blumenbachii, C. macrophthalma, C. variolaria, and\nother Trilobites associated with the Lept\u0153na depressa, L. euglypha,\nTerebratula reticularis, and many corals most familiar to him, without\nat once recognizing in the upper strata the distinct representative of\nthat British formation.\u201d Various other fossiliferous identities are\nfarther alluded to, when it is added\u2014\u201cIn taking leave of Scandinavia,\nwe must specially advert to the close relations which exist between its\nlower and upper silurian groups, and those of Great Britain and distant\nparts of the world. Of 133 silurian fossils which we brought back or\nnoted on the spot, at least eighty-four are British, and from twenty-five\nto twenty-seven are North American species. In this comparison the\nidentity of the upper silurian groups of the Baltic and Great Britain\nis, indeed, most surprising; for, among seventy-four Scandinavian\nspecies, upward of sixty are common to the strata of this age in both\ncountries, and of these, fifteen to sixteen species are also found in\nthe upper silurian rocks of America.\u201d The devonian fossils are equally\nstriking in their resemblances and extensive geographical distribution.\nSimilar representatives are detected, and still more abundantly, in the\ncarboniferous formation\u2014universal specific types of the fauna of the\nepoch. One remarkable instance has been stated\u2014upon the authority of M.\nL. Von Buch\u2014that the _Lept\u0153na lata_, so typical of the silurian rocks of\nBritain, is specifically the same with the _Lept\u0153na sarcinulata_, which\nis no less prevalent in the Russian carboniferous strata, and continued\neven throughout its uppermost members. Our field of review, therefore,\ncontains a fair proportion of the various fossils of the world, specific\nand generic. The formations lying before us throughout our base-line,\ngive a true indication of the state and conditions of life during the\nseveral epochs, while in number and variety of individual forms they are\nabove the average.\n\nNeed it then be urged, that no such incalculable cycles of ages would be\nrequired for the whole of this catalogue of animals fulfilling in their\nseveral epochs their allotted destiny upon the earth? Compared with the\nmass of inorganic matter in which they are entombed, their relics are\nliterally as nothing. Only here and there, of certain classes, at remote\nintervals often, there is a fossil or its impression. And so entire and\nwell-preserved are these organisms, that we have reason to presume there\nhas been no great obliteration, absorption, or utter waste of the races\nto which they belonged. On the contrary, as their distribution is so\npersistent in their respective formations throughout the globe,\u2014the same\ngenera and species being common to the four quarters of the world,\u2014the\npresumption is, that specimens of nearly all the tribes that ever dwelt\non the earth or swarmed in its waters have been handed down to us;\nand thus the number of the actual relics found becomes, as it were, a\nchronometer or measure of the ages during which they subsisted.\n\nLook again at the demands of geology. Upward of SIXTEEN MILLIONS OF\nYEARS[14] are supposed to have elapsed since the creation of life upon\nthe earth. The lowest of the rocks, in which that life has found its\ngrave, have been reached. Their contents, upward, have been examined and\ncatalogued. How many generations of animals must have subsisted within\nthat period? How many individual skeletons must have been entombed\nand preserved, seeing that things of the filmiest texture, plants and\nanimals, have been inclosed and handed down to us entire? Quadruple\nthe ages of every one of the existing denizens of sea and land, and\nstill, what countless millions of generations, succeeding each other,\nhave lived and died during the eras that were to run? Geology presents\nus with her list, her whole lengthened organic roll, of scarcely four\nhundred generic, and less than eight hundred specific forms, gathered\nout of all the past cemeteries of the dead. The cemeteries themselves,\nof such vast walls and dimensions, may, according to the present mordant\npowers of the elements and the capacity of rivers for the transport of\nmud, have required the calculations usually assigned for their erection.\nBut where, the question will ever recur, where is there anything like a\ncorresponding amount of animal exuvi\u00e6 apart from the calcareous supplies,\nto be found in the successive formations, conforming in any approximation\nto the existing powers and capacities of parturient nature? The fossil\nremains, inclosed from the beginning to the end of the inconceivable\ncycles of time, are the remains only of a few great families: their\nskeletons are admirably preserved, or their casts are minutely and\naccurately engraven on the rock; and do they not look as if they were the\n_identical individuals_ which rose in the dawn and were buried in the\nsetting of their own geological epoch!\n\nIf we go still farther into details, the results will be found startling\nenough. Let us select one of the periods, the old red sandstone, for\nillustrating our views. The period assigned for this formation embraces a\nterm of about, we shall suppose, according to the geological distribution\nof time, a million or two of years. This formation consists of three\ngreat subdivisions, every one of which contains their distinct specific\nforms, and hence their separation into the lower, middle, and upper\ngroups. This was pre-eminently the fish epoch\u2014finners which roamed in\nundisturbed possession of every sea on the surface of the globe. Dropping\ninto the waters, and speedily silted up in the sands, the skeletons\nwere in the best of all possible circumstances for preservation; and\naccordingly, the specimens of the period constitute the wonder of the\ngeologist, for their enameled freshness and perfect outline of figure.\nThe productiveness of fish is prodigious, the cod-fish multiplying at the\nrate of three millions and a-half, mackerel at about half a million, and\nmost of the other tribes at a corresponding high ratio. Count now how\nmany generations, of every one of the species of the separate groups of\nthe old red sandstone series, would exist and multiply during a period\nof so many hundred thousand years. The modern epoch and its breeders\nhave scarcely reached their six thousand. When six times six have been\nadded, and sixty times more have been added to these, they will still be\na third short of the term allotted to the favored denizens of the olden\ntime. And where, amidst the well-protected few that have yielded up their\nremains, are the traces of the myriads upon myriads that perished and\nwere buried along with them? To the genus Homo, the head of creation, few\nthink of the earth, as it now is, being the abode for periods reckoned\nby millions of years. Nay, within his as yet brief period, how many of\nhis cotemporaries have already passed from the stage, extirpated, many\nof them, by his own direct agency? The dodo, and his fellow islander the\nsolitaire, and other brevipennate birds,\u2014probably, too, the elk and the\nurus,\u2014certainly from this island the beaver, the wolf, and the bear, and\njust as certainly, at no distant day, the extinction of many other races\nwill follow in the onward progress of civilization. But as now, so in all\npast ages, superior power, or a more dextrous instinct, have led to their\nextirpation. Their destiny was fulfilled, and the race perished. And as\nwe are reasoning upon the known laws of nature, whence the geologist only\nseeks a footing for his vast cycles of time, so, we venture to affirm, is\nhe bound to abide by the test of his own selection, and to read therein\nthe terms of life granted to the families of earth. The modern epoch\nshows the outgoing of genera as well as of species within the limited\ncompass of a few thousand years\u2014gives reasonable indications of the\nprobable extinction, speedily and at no distant period, of hundreds of\nothers,\u2014these families possessed, all of them, of as enduring structures,\nand of higher types of existence, than those of the older epochs,\u2014and,\ntherefore, upon every fair ground of analogy, are we justified in\nconcluding that there can be no such diversity of ages, under one and the\nsame system of nature, as that of hundreds of thousands of years to the\nliving tribes of earth.\n\nWhen such premises are made the grounds of such inferences, and, again,\nwhen the geologist reiterates the statement that these great periods of\ntime correspond wonderfully with the gradual increase of animal life, and\nthe successive creation and extinction of numberless orders of being,\nand with the incredible quantity of organic remains buried in the crust\nof the earth, we have just to remind him that betwixt _great_ periods of\ntime, and the _gradual_ increase of animal life, there is no necessary\nconnection. However long and indefinite the time connected with the\nrocky formations, certain it is that the successive organic tribes were\ncreated within a period that admits, and can admit, of no calculation\nwhatever, not even of any analogical illustration from experience or the\nknown laws of nature. The species, however numerous, of every epoch were\ncalled at once into being, not gradually but instantly, by the fiat of\nan all-creative act. Their multiplication and increase depended upon the\nlaw of their nature; but how long they were to be privileged to multiply,\nin one unvarying specific form, according to that law, is a point that\ncomes legitimately within the range of experience and the calculations\nof existing life. Let not things which differ, therefore, be mixed\ntogether. The organic and the inorganic types, in the act of formation,\ncannot be compared. And no argument can be adduced from the fact of the\nmere numbers of animal species, or of their individual increase, in\nsupport of the assumed length of any geological epoch. Species as well as\nindividuals have perished, and gone out within the narrow limits of our\nown epoch, and yet have multiplied in progeny through countless myriads.\n\nThe same course of argument applies to every one of the formations, to\nsome of them of vast thickness, even more conclusively, where we find\nthe same species persistent throughout the group, and the same genus\noften extending over two or three entire formations, embracing periods\nof geological time of as many millions of years. Thus the _Lept\u0153na\nlata_ of the Silurian age lives on to the close of the Carboniferous;\nthe _trilobite_, earliest of living creatures, has its representatives\nstill in our modern seas; the mail-clad _holoptychius_ existed through\nthe whole of the Devonian and Carboniferous eras; and equally remarkable\nis the fact that the _Onchus Marchisoni_, the oldest fish yet detected\nin the rocks of the earth, is a creature more allied to the existing\ngenus _Spinax_ (the dog-fish) than to any other family of relics\ninclosed in all the intermediate ascending series of deposits. Among\nthe infusoria it is ascertained that there\u2019 are two kinds of living\n_Gallionell\u00e6_ identical with the fossil species in the Richmond clays of\nVirginia; while again, in geological botany, we have all the types of\nthe coal formation still flourishing with the sane gigantic forms in the\ncontinents and islands washed by the Pacific.\n\n3. THE SUPERFICIAL ACCUMULATIONS. The argument of the geologists, for\ntheir indefinite periods of time, proceeds mainly upon the assumption\nthat the present and the past operations of the laws of nature are nearly\nuniform; or, in other words, that the existing rate of increment of\ndetrital and alluvial matter, in seas, deltas, and rivers, is to be taken\nas the standard throughout the various geological epochs. Tried by the\ntest of the superficial accumulations, the subject is brought within a\nmanageable compass, the definite is substituted for the indefinite, and\nthe scale of accumulative power in the ancient will be in the ratio of\nits erosive and transporting agency in the modern epoch. The products of\nvolcanoes also fall to be considered in estimating the effects of causes\nnow in operation.\n\nThe _bowlder clay_ comes first and legitimately within the scope of this\nestimate; for, whatever theory of its formation be adopted, whether\nby the sudden submergence of a vast arctic continent and consequent\nupbreaking of the icy regions of the polar seas, by the sweep of a\nuniversal deluge, or a violent upheaval of the bed of the ocean, certain\nit is that the materials were brought together by rapid spasmodic action.\nThis deposit covers the whole of Northern Europe, much of Asia, and\nextends over the vast continent of North America, as far as the 42\u00b0 of\nlatitude: it varies from a hundred to several hundred feet in depth: and\nthus, so far as quantity and extent of superficial area are concerned,\nthe bowlder clay formation may be compared with any of the older rocky\nformations of the interior. But no geologist has ventured to speculate\nabout an indefinite cycle of years, as the condition of the planet during\nthe drift and accumulation of these rude and plastic materials.\n\nThe _sands_ and _gravels_ which succeed are likewise of great depth,\nspread over extensive valleys, and rise on the acclivities of hills\nfive and six hundred feet above the level of the sea. This may be\nregarded, all of it, as the collect of the current epoch; and within the\nperiod of civilization and history and the arts, what sand-floods have\nbeen carried to every quarter of the globe, covering entire regions,\ndevastating cities, and obliterating the very traces of man\u2019s dominion\nover countries once subject to his use. Nor would fossils be wanting to\ncomplete the analogy, as the _dunes_ along the shores of every continent,\nand especially on the coast of the North Sea in Norway, Denmark, Holland\nand Belgium, only require consolidation in order to represent with living\ninstead of extinct species, the fossiliferous deposits of anterior times;\nmore particularly the Molasse and Nagelflue of the Swiss Alps. Near\nTours, in France, there is a bed of oyster-shells which is twenty-seven\nmiles long, with a corresponding breadth, and twenty feet thick. And in\nthe United States there are beds far exceeding this: a stratum, nearly\ncontinuous, has been traced from the Eutaw Springs in South Carolina,\nto the Chickasaw country\u2014being six hundred miles in length by ten to a\nhundred miles in breadth.\n\nWhen we descend from the land to _the sea_ we find equally extensive\naccumulations, spread over the bottom, or raised along the tide-level\nin the form of bars, shoals, and banks. The whole eastern coast of the\nUnited States[15] is bordered throughout by a line of sand-banks and\nislands, of various forms and outline, but very uniform in their mineral\ningredients, being composed for the most part of a fine, white, and\nquartzose sand. On the coasts of the southern states, the Carolinas\nand Virginia, they form a chain of low islands, separated from the\ncoast by a series of lagoons; while higher up, on the southern coasts\nof New England, they occur as submarine ridges, parallel to the coast,\nand separated from each other by wide channels. To the north, these\narenaceous deposits are still more extensive, forming vast submarine\nplateaux, such as the St. George and Newfoundland banks. And at the\nbottom of all the bays and creeks of that much indented land, prodigious\n_siltings_ are going forward, not under the form of narrow ridges, but\nas broad connected strata or flats; consisting seaward of very fine\nsand, and more inward of a coarse gravel, and in not a few instances of\n_calcareous mud_, where the deposit takes place in the vicinity of coral\nreefs. The same processes are in operation around every island and by\nthe shores of every continent where tidal action favors the deposition\nof the materials\u2014the result as now ascertained, not so much of rivers,\nas of oceanic currents. The depth of these sands it is impossible to\ndetermine; but thousands of feet may not reach their soundings. And as\nto organic remains, they are most favorably situated and composed for\nattracting and sustaining every kind of marine creature: it is upon the\nbanks that border the coast of North America that the most extensive\nfisheries are carried on, because these are the abodes of those myriads\nof invertebral animals\u2014the molluscs, annelides, and zoophytes, types of\nthe older formations\u2014which serve for the food of fishes, the ctenoids and\ncycloids of maritime enterprise. And thus, co-extensive with the littoral\nterritories of the ocean, we have all the elements and ingredients of a\nFORMATION, completing within the human epoch, that may almost rival the\nOld Red Sandstone itself.\n\nNor does the analogy terminate in the production, whether of one or many\nbeds, of sand and gravel deposits. Simultaneously with these, there will\nbe siltings and accumulations of various kinds of materials arranging\nthemselves, at different depths, over the bottom of the ocean. The beds,\ntoo, will have their edges slid over each other, and where maintaining\na degree of parallelism, the inclination of the more remote members of\nthe suite will correspond with the increasing depth of the sea bottom.\nThen the imbedded remains will be as various as the different kinds,\ngenera, and species of animals that frequent the different localities;\nnor will eruptive matter be always wanting to give diversity to the\nscene, indurating, dislocating, and disarranging the relative position\nof the deposits: Until we have formed, _within our present seas_, the\nwhole complement of a geological formation\u2014the calcareous, muddy, sandy,\ngravelly suites, cotemporaneous in origin and growth, with all their\ndiversity of fossils, living and imbedded at the same period\u2014some beds\nconsisting entirely of microscopic or other marine bodies\u2014some composed\nof vegetable and other mixed materials\u2014some where the land and waters\nhave mingled their spoils together\u2014and all to be united and agglutinated\ninto one great composite system by the dykes and eruptions of submarine\nvolcanoes.\n\nThese processes are all now in active operation; and, without straining\nthe argument, the clear undeniable inference is, that, as the amount of\nmaterials accumulated and arranged in the modern, so will be the ratio\nof increase in the more ancient periods of the earth\u2019s history and\nrevolutions. And hence thousands, not millions of years, would, upon such\ninductions, be the scale of reckoning as to time.\n\nBut to state the argument in this form is vastly to underrate the\nforces of nature in the primeval times. There are, on the contrary, the\nstrongest reasons for believing that the two classes of phenomena can\nbear no proportion to each other, either as to the manner of or the\nperiods occupied in their formation. The bulk of dry land, compared with\nwater, was then, as all geological appearances testify, perhaps only a\ntwentieth instead of a third part, as now, of the supermarine area of\nthe globe. How infinitely greater, therefore, would be the action of the\nwaters over all the materials subject to their disintegrating power,\nwhether upon the islands and continents already raised above their waves,\nor upon the immense submarine tracks of rock just lifting up their peaks\nand waiting to be elevated into air? Nor in alluding to volcanic products\ncan we fail to perceive how immensely inferior are the modern to those of\nthe pal\u00e6ozoic ages, when all the great mountain-ranges were bursting into\nposition; the American continent, not as now with a few isolated eruptive\ncenters, but rending all over, as the mighty Andes and Cordilleras were\nrising above the deep and assuming outline; and in every quarter of the\nglobe the plutonic, erosive, and denuding agencies were upon a scale\nof corresponding magnitude. Leibnitz, in his \u201cProtog\u00e6a,\u201d has long ago\nanticipated these views, where, in the masterly sketch of his leading\ngeological canons, he distinctly refers to the more intensive energy with\nwhich physical causes must have acted in primordial times; and considers\nthat these disruptions of the earth\u2019s crust, from the disturbances\ncommunicated to the incumbent waters, must have been attended with\ndiluvial action on the largest scale. The _maxim\u00e6 secut\u00e6 inundationes_,\nthereby occasioned, had produced their natural effects, when the period\nof repose succeeded\u2014the _quiescentibus causis, atque aequilibratis,\nconsistentior emergeret rerum status_, as he so beautifully describes one\nout of many recurring stages of paroxysm and repose during the Course of\nCreation.\n\nWhatever views may be adopted on this momentous question, I shall\nconclude by observing that it is not necessary, in support of the one\nhere advocated, to assume that the secondary causes which have produced\nthe geological phenomena referred to, were different in kind from those\nin operation at the present day. But it is asserted that such physical\ncauses must have been immensely increased, in the degree and intensity\nof their action, by the very different condition of the planet, and the\ncircumstances under which, in consequence, they began to operate. As\nto the _millionade doctrine_, if I may so term it, there are in every\nview the greatest difficulties in the way of its adoption,\u2014errors of\ncalculation somewhere to be corrected, inconsistencies to be reconciled,\nconditions of organic life gratuitously assumed and to be rectified.\nIt matters not, indeed, whether we take the organic or the inorganic\nstructures of the several periods as the gauge of their probable\nduration\u2014the living tribes that existed throughout such periods, and\nwhose relative ages we can approximate to\u2014or the dead rock in which the\nremains are interred, and in the accumulation and arrangement of which\nso many extraordinary agencies have been demonstratively concerned. The\nlaws of nature, in the one case, are nearly uniform; species as well\nas individuals have their limited terms of existence; and experience\nestablishes the fact, that the living tribes of the modern epoch have,\nin several instances, become extinct within a comparatively short period\nof time. The operations of nature, in the other case, are subject to\nvast diversity, great and sudden changes, and apparently limited by no\nascertained maximum of development. And thus combined, so far as our\npresent state of knowledge extends, the inference is warrantable, that\nin the geological register the error may be one\u2014of MILLIONS of years\u2019\nreckoning!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nTHE MOSAIC RECORD\u2014ACCOUNT OF CREATION.\n\n\nThe conclusion attempted to be established by the preceding mode\nof reasoning, is not of the kind, nor will it be so satisfactory\nas, many desiderate. The sacred chronology, according to the common\ninterpretation, remains as it was; and no harmony can thus be established\nbetwixt it and the deductions of geology. Bring down the epochs to\nthousands instead of millions of years, and still the DAYS of Scripture\nare not explained. The historical and the scientific accounts of the\ncourse of creation are just where they were, the one based on the word\nof its Author, the other resting on rash or doubtful interpretations\nof the phenomena of nature. Leave us, says the geologist, to grope our\nown way: mystical as our records are, we disturb no established truth,\nand imagination delights to lose itself in the far-distant past. Let\nnot, says the divine, the speculations of a new science\u2014a science of\nyesterday\u2014be mixed up with more important matters of religion: we are\nwithin the sacred precincts of revelation, and our oracles give forth no\ndubious meanings\u2014no isoteric doctrines for the initiated only.\n\nThe marvels of geology certainly are, in every view that can be taken\nof them, deeply interesting to the mind. The volume of creation, read\nin the light of its discoveries, is traced back through pages which\nhave been long hid from day; and these now make known to us a story\nof life and death, of activities and enjoyments, of catastrophes and\nrevolutions, which surpass in wonder the inventions of the mere romance\nwriter, or all that regulated genius can pour \u201cfrom pictured urn\u201d of her\nmost fascinating lore. But be the time occupied in the elaboration of\nthese records what it may, the records themselves have an actual being,\nand a language of intelligence indelibly impressed upon them. They are\ngenuine, authentic documents of their author. They may be misinterpreted.\nInferences may be deduced from them for which there is no warrant;\nconstructions put upon passages which they will not legitimately bear;\nor the true key of the volume, in its great leading truths, may not as\nyet have been found. Still the work is of God, wholly and entirely the\nwriting of his own hand.\n\nRevelation is also His work; and, claiming to be from the same authority\nas the other, rests its pretensions to be received as an authentic\ndocument upon the ground of creation. It gives details, and enters into\nexplanations of the nature and origin of creation; and it declares that\nthe same Divine Being who made the heavens and the earth, has also\nrecorded their history and revealed his will to man. It is by no mere\ncasualty, therefore, or as a matter of indifference, that the Bible\ncommences its narrative by an account of creation. That account is there\nas the foundation of one of its own claims to belief, testifying to its\ncredibility that it is of God; that He placed it there, not as a skillful\nwriter would do his preface, but because of the fact, that the invisible\nthings of his nature are to be seen and understood by the things which\nare made.\u2014What is thus declared upon the subject of creation, is likewise\nliable to misinterpretation. It may not be read aright. But of the\naccount itself there can be no question,\u2014that it is given as a real, as\nit ever must be regarded a true one, of the Divine operations.\n\nIn order, therefore, to arrive at any just conclusions respecting the\ncomparison to be instituted betwixt the geological and the revealed\naccount of creation, we shall first inquire into the kind, as well as\namount, of information contained in the Mosaic record. The rendering of\nthe term \u201cday\u201d will then fall to be considered in relation to the order\nof events indicated in both accounts.\n\nI. The narrative proceeds with a fullness and minuteness of detail, which\nclearly show a purpose in the writer. Did Moses actually mean to trace\nthe whole of creation in its primordial course and outline? Assuming\nthat he did, the phraseology is pointed and admirably suited to its\nsubject. Admitted into the presence-chamber of the Creator, he sees the\ninstruments with which he works, the rapidity with which he executes, the\nsubserviency of all being to his will, the arrangement and disposition\nof all things at his pleasure. Knowing, as we now do from the highest\nauthority, _what_ was the work of creation, and _whence_ it originated,\nthe intelligent mind discerns also the suitableness of the description,\nand the Divine selection of words employed to record it. There is\ninspiration in the pencil, as well as omnipotence in the hand, which\ntraced out the plan of creation, and brought it into existence. The Cause\nwilled, and the effect immediately was,\u2014IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE\nHEAVEN AND THE EARTH.\n\nHere, betwixt God and his work there are no intermediate agencies,\u2014no\npause or rest in the act of coming into being. A material universe is\ndesigned, and the substance of it is instantly produced. The inspired\nhistorian proves that he was inspired, by the brevity of the history of\nthe event, by the employment of words so perfectly adapted to the nature\nof the act. He proves farther, that we have here indicated the precise\ncourse of creation, and that he meant so to represent it\u2014that the heavens\nand the earth are of one and the same act\u2014that the physical universe,\nthrough all its dominions and remotest spheres, started at one and the\nsame time into being. The sun, moon, and stars were now all formed, as\nwell as our own planet. The stellar systems were everywhere arranged;\nand the worlds of matter had their places all assigned them through\ninfinite space. This part of the Divine actings must not be confounded\nwith the farther evolution of creation as described in the work of the\nfourth day, which has reference manifestly to the division of time and\nthe appointment of the seasons, through the revolution of the planetary\nworlds.\n\nThe condition of the earth as it first came from the hand of its framer\nis next alluded to. It was \u201cwithout form and void,\u201d and involved in\ndarkness; that is, the arrangements necessary to constitute a habitable\nglobe, were not completed. There was no diversity of surface\u2014no division\ninto hill and valley, into seas and rivers; the air, the dry land, and\nthe waters, had not yet assumed their respective places. Form was not\nyet stamped upon the matter of the globe. Consequently it was also\nVOID, or without inhabitants. Neither vegetables nor animals were\nthere. They could not exist before these necessary adaptations for life\nwere adjusted. Let the reader note this stage of the work. Marking the\nprecise, definite phraseology of the inspired writer, let him seriously\nreflect whether he has here before him the first state of the new world,\nor the shapeless ruined aspect of one of its subsequent geological\ntransformations? None of the elements, he will not fail to observe, have\nbeen described as yet existing in separation. The course of creation has\nnot advanced so far; and, if it had done so, no geologist pretends to\nassert, that at the close of any one of his epochs, the laws of nature\nwere abolished, and all things reverted to their pristine formless\ncondition. With what propriety, then, may it be asked, can an opening\nbe made in this part of the narrative wide enough to embrace, or to\nhave intercalated into it, all the phases of an archaic earth under his\nnumerous formations, and the vast cycles of time in which they had been\nevolving? The language employed admirably represents what we can well\nsuppose the original physical state of the planet to have been; and that\nstate accords better with the first than with the last, or any of the\nintermediate series of the geological changes. And the earth was without\nform and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit\nof God moved upon the face of the waters; and thus gave shape and outline\nto the planetary mass.\n\nThe light was thereupon produced. We are not told whence, nor out of\nwhat. Like all the matter of the universe, it started into being at the\ncall of the Creator, suddenly, as its own brilliant flashing emanations\nover the darkness at this hour. Then came day and night; and this\nimplies, that there came along with them the revolution of the globe\nand the commencement of motion in the astral universe. The production\nof a firmament or atmosphere is next alluded to, and in immediate\nconnection with this part of the work, whereby a medium was provided for\nthe diffusion of the light and the play of all that beauty and variety\nof coloring by which the earth was to be adorned. \u201cAnd God said, Let\nthere be light: and there was light; and God divided the light from the\ndarkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night.\nAnd God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and\nlet it divide the waters from the waters.\u201d\n\nLight, the subtilest and fleetest of all elements, has nearly eluded\nevery effort of man to detect or analyze its essence. It travels swift as\nthought through infinite space. It spreads its ethereal force over every\nopposing obstacle. It gives brilliancy to the gem, form to the crystal,\ncolor to the flower, health to animal life, and is so indispensable to\nevery existing condition of existing physical nature, that, were the\nmandate of its creation revoked, we know just as much of its principle\nas to see in its annihilation a relapse into that state of chaos when\nall things were without form and void. Not only the beauty of organic\nstructure, but the molecular arrangement of the mineral mountain masses\nof the earth, would, in all probability, have been an impossible\ncondition of matter without the existence and agency of light. And\nlight, whether glowing in the solar disc, gleaming in remotest stars, or\nbreaking and sparkling in the rain-drop, what revelation has science made\nof it beyond its properties of luster and activity?\u2014We trace its effects;\nwe discern its influence upon all bodies; but when we would go deeper,\nand seek to know it essentially and in itself, we can only speak of it as\nthe utterance of Him who said,\u2014LET THERE BE LIGHT.\n\nNor has science made any attempt, at least no successful one, to\naccount for the origin of the atmosphere. Its constituent elements\nare known. They are every day made the subject of direct experiment.\nThe solution and ascent of water in the air is also a matter of daily\nvisible occurrence. But by what process this great mass of impalpable\nfluid was brought together, enveloping the entire earth, and suspended\nas a curtain over our heads, no ingenuity or dexterity of man has been\nable to determine. There is no evidence by which to explain it upon the\nprinciples of natural law, slowly elaborating the materials, and piling\nthem high in the starry vault. The atmosphere, indeed, must ever stand in\nthe original formation, the result of the immediate creative act, brought\ntogether in all its volume and vast incredible capacity of receiving\nand holding in its grasp the gaseous residue of all earthly things. And\nwhat of its electricity, its magnetism, the aurora and its streaming\nmeteors,\u2014its thunder, lightning, clouds, and rain,\u2014all, shall we say,\nthe instantaneous effect of the authoritative command? AND GOD SAID, LET\nTHERE BE A FIRMAMENT IN THE MIDST OF THE WATERS!\n\nWe every day see the conversion of water into steam, and steam into air;\nand the air, like the ocean, receiving every substance into itself.\nBut, nevertheless, it is not inferred that there is any augmentation\nto the volume of the atmosphere, any increase or essential change upon\nits original mass. Without the existence of this fluid, the earth would\nhave been no suitable place for any of its living inhabitants, vegetable\nor animal. Therefore was it created; therefore does the account of its\ncreation stand in the order in which we find it in the Mosaic narrative;\nand, therefore, from this very circumstance, are we not warranted to\ninfer that we have before us a description of the actual genesis of\nthings\u2014that it is not a remodeling or transformation of the old, but\nthe veritable course under which all creation was at first brought into\nbeing, form, and parts, that the inspired writer intends to record?\n\nWe cannot refuse, by parity of reasoning, to conclude the same as to the\nimmediately succeeding act in the Divine operations. The arrangement of\nthe surface of the earth was now to be effected; and, just as one portion\nof the waters was lifted and expanded into air, so, in consequence of a\ndifferent proportion in the elements, and evolution of new principles,\nthe seas were formed and gathered into the depressions occasioned by the\nraising up of the dry land, its consolidation into rocks and mountains.\nThis is the starting point of geology. The science can get no deeper. It\nbegins all its researches, and builds all its calculations, upon that\ncrystalline crust which is termed primary, which is co-extensive with\nthe superficial area of the globe, which is found in every region, and\nbeneath which no explorations have anywhere been made. And wherefore\nnot assume this as an immediate formation, as a direct preparatory\narrangement, like the seas and atmosphere, for the life that was just to\nbe provided with a habitation upon it? A beginning for organic bodies\nis demonstrable upon geological evidence. The lowest fossiliferous\nrocks have been reached, and everywhere they are found to maintain the\nsame relative position. The inference, therefore, is legitimate, nay,\nprobable, that the primary formations of geologists constituted the\nfirst dry land, as herein described; and that Time, calculated according\nto the operations of natural mechanical laws, can enter in no way into\nour speculations as to their origin. \u201cAnd God said, Let the waters under\nthe heaven be gathered together in one place, and let the dry land\nappear: and it was so.\u201d\n\nThe course of creation proceeds. \u201cAnd God called the dry land earth, and\nthe gathering together of the waters called he seas.\u201d The globe was thus\ndivided into land and ocean. An atmosphere embraces the whole, tempering\nthe heat and cold of the one, receiving the exhalations of the other,\nand both prepared for the ministrations required of them. The dry earth\nis represented as being first the seat of organic life. The new and bare\nsurface is covered with herbage. The grasses, shrubs, and trees all start\ninto being, prepared each for the diffusion and continuance of their\nkind, by yielding seed and fruit. And then commenced on the theater of\nour globe the successive evolution of the _principle of life_, subtile,\nactive, prolific, in all the boundless prodigality of nature, and\nmysterious still as the essence and fount of all-creative Being.\n\nAt this part of the narrative it is generally supposed, according to the\ncommon reading, that there is a retrograde step, as it were, introduced.\nThe day and night have been made to precede the creation of the sun and\nmoon; and now to supply the deficiency we are told of the appointment of\nthese luminaries in the heavens \u201cto give light upon the earth.\u201d But three\ndays and three nights have already revolved. Doubtless they have, but not\nwithout light, for light has been created; and not without a provision\nfor the night, for the light has been divided from the darkness.\nThe earth has been revolving upon its own axis; that occasioned the\nsuccession of day and night then as now. Another motion is communicated,\nwhereby it revolves in its orbit and circles round the sun; that causes\nthe variety of the seasons, and the divisions of the year. The luminous\nmatter diffused through space, and equally shining upon all bodies, has\nbeen assembled into the great central orbs, to be the dispensers each of\nlight and heat to their respective systems; and upon these arrangements\nbeing established, both days and nights, seasons and years, are all\ndependent upon, as they all arise from, the revolution of the planets\nround the central luminary. \u201cAnd God said, Let there be lights in the\nfirmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night; and let them\nbe for signs and for seasons, and for days and for years.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd God _made_ two great lights; he _made_ the stars also.\u201d The original\ndoes not bear out the sense of there being in these instances an act of\ncreation; neither does the English term itself always imply that meaning.\nLight-bearers, or the depositories of illumination, is the true rendering\nof the Hebrew. The Septuagint translators have used similar relative\nterms, and in our own language the expression \u201cmade\u201d often signifies\nfashioned, formed, used, constrained. And so the phrase here refers not\nto the creation, but to the uses of bodies already described as being\nin existence, and created along with all matter in the beginning. But\nnow they are invested with new properties, are arranged so as to perform\nnew functions, and stand in relations each to each, at the bidding of\nHim who brought them into being. Next to the summoning of the universe\ninto existence, this was the most stupendous act of Divine power, and\nwe know as much of the one as of the other. Some of the properties of\nmatter we are acquainted with. The laws of motion we can define in some\nmeasure, and calculate also their effects. But whence the one, and\n_how_ the arbitrary appointment of the other, through all the infinite\ndiversity of systems and spheres\u2014precise, harmonious, and orderly\u2014baffles\nall the ingenuity of science to determine. Mark, too, the order of the\nintroduction of this new class of facts, just in the due course and\nregulation of nature. When life is mentioned, and the earth is clothed\nwith verdure, the seasons begin their round, and the divinely-instructed\nhistorian acquaints us with the cause. \u201cAnd God set them in the firmament\nof the heaven to give light upon the earth; and to rule over the day and\nover the night, and to divide the light from the darkness.\u201d\n\nThe waters are now replenished with their stores of animal life, and by\nthe same act of creation the air receives its stock of winged tribes.\nThen follows, as the work of another distinct period of time, the\nintroduction of the terrestrial races\u2014the living creature after his\nkind\u2014the cattle\u2014and creeping thing\u2014and beast of the earth after his kind.\nThe description here is general. The orders, genera, and species are not\nnamed. Still the catalogue is large and amply descriptive. The various\ntypes of organic structure are alluded to, and each term or epithet\nof the quadruple list is elastic enough to embrace one and all the\ndiversified families of the most methodical naturalist. \u201cAnd God made the\nbeast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every\ncreeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, each after his kind.\u201d\n\nSuch is the account, the order, and course of creation, as set forth\nin the inspired record. The description of the various generative acts\nis simple, distinctive, and consonant with the energies of the Will by\nwhich they are performed. The whole narrative is one of many, within the\ncompass of the sacred volume, in which a strict adherence to the letter\nleads to a sound interpretation. The wisdom of man will be confounded\nwhen it tries to fathom the methods and devices of the divine Artificer\nin originating his works. His safety will often be in distrusting his\nown understanding, in not magnifying overmuch the ingenuity of his\nown speculations, and in sometimes believing that even science will\nbe exalted by approximating to, rather than by departing from, the\nliteralities of Scripture.\n\nII. Compare now the epochs of geology with the DAYS of Scripture,\nand there will be observed at least a remarkable coincidence between\nthem. The fossiliferous systems of the one are nearly the same in\nnumber with the descriptive paragraphs in the other. The order in the\ncreation of organized bodies, the progression of life upon the earth,\nare also wonderfully striking in the records of both. The lowest of our\nfossiliferous deposits contain the impressions of plants\u2014these stand\nat the beginning of the Mosaic list. The same groups, and the whole of\nthe next in succession, are characterized by the prevailing abundance\nof marine tribes\u2014the waters, according to the sacred narrative, then\nreceived their command, and multiplied abundantly the moving creature\nthat hath life. Vegetables and animals, still of _the waters_, continue\nto increase during the carboniferous era, when a new system succeeds, and\nin this the foot-prints of birds are distinctly traced\u2014so it was in the\nsame order of succession that the winged fowl is sent forth into the open\nfirmament of heaven. The Lias and Oolite formations immediately follow,\nfilled with monsters of the deep, saurians and flying lizards,\u2014the text\nspeaks of the \u201cgreat whales\u201d of the period, as distinguished among the\nproductions of the waters. The Wealden Chalk, and Tertiaries are replete\nwith all kinds of reptiles, mammals, and quadrupeds\u2014the horse, urus, and\nother forms of cattle\u2014and so, in like manner, the last in the Mosaic\nlist, as the highest in the geological strata, are the types of every\nbeast, cattle, and creeping thing.\n\nNow, can this running parallel be accidental or intended? Did the writer\nof the one record know anything of the contents of the other? Does the\ncourse of creation, as detailed in the strata of the earth, follow as\na necessary consequence from the nature of things? or as the arbitrary\nappointment of Him who made them? Would plants, fishes, reptiles, fowl,\nmammals, all emerge in this precise order of succession, by any known\nlaw of organic structure? Or could not the first and last, or any of\nthe intermediate kinds, have been at once, and as adaptively, brought\ntogether in one and the same period of time? Was the writer of the\nGenesis acquainted with the rich exuberant flora of the carboniferous\nage? and was it meant as a true exposition of its history that there were\nas yet no beasts or quadrupeds upon the earth to enjoy it? And knowing of\nit, as well as of all the other superficial arrangements,\u2014the upheaval\nof the crust, the rise of mountains, the alternate shifting of sea and\nland,\u2014does he describe the progress of organic creation precisely as it\noccurred, and as the changes of the planet became ADAPTIVE?\n\nThe series of creative acts terminates in the introduction of Man upon\nthe stage of terrestrial being. \u201cAnd God said, Let us make man in our\nimage, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of\nthe sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all\nthe earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.\u201d\n\nHere both narratives are completely at one as to man\u2019s place in the\ncourse as well as system of creation. No fragment of his race has been\ndetected in any of the rocky strata of the earth. Every other organic\nthing, of every class, and order, and tribe, has its representative in\none or other of the geological epochs. Man stands apart and alone in\nthe geology as in the history. No mere link in the chain of organic\nexistence, not a being of mere earthy mold, but fashioned in the image of\nhis Maker, and fitted to explore, to understand, and to exercise dominion\nover the works of his creation. How much, again, in all this last and\nhighest evolution of creative might, is the conclusion confirmed, and\narrived at from so many converging lines, that the sacred record was\nINTENDED to embody an actual account of the creation of our globe, in\nits various primordial arrangements as well as in all its consecutive\nevents, until its majestic close in the human epoch? For, looking back\nand comparing the whole narrative with the facts of geology, is it not\nhighly probable that we have in that account distinctly shadowed forth\nthe progressive researches of the science, the great physical truths\nof creation, as symbolized in the rocks? The brilliant vista through\nmillions of untold ages, and upon scenes supposed to be unnoticed and\nunrecorded, vanishes indeed at the admission of this principle of\ninterpretation. But a more consistent view of the world\u2019s history\u2014of the\ncomparative longevity of its successive tribes\u2014of the various changes\nand alterations which its surface has undergone\u2014and a less violence far\nto the obvious import of the sacred text\u2014form no unpleasing substitutes\non which, amidst such lures to doubt, bewilderment, and error, faith and\nreason will equally incline to repose.\n\nIII. The conclusions which have been, or which may be, deduced from a\ncomparative examination of geology and the Mosaic record, fall to be\nnoticed.\n\n1. In order to preserve the literal rendering of the six days of\ncreation, it is maintained that the Mosaic record takes no account\nwhatever of any of the geological formations described. After the\nintimation, \u201cIn the beginning God created the heaven and the earth; and\nthe earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of\nthe deep\u201d\u2014the close of the EPOCHS, with all their complement of strata\nand fossils, was accomplished; and then, as descriptive of the era of\nman, with all his living cotemporaries, and the several days with the\nworks therein accomplished, the new order of events referred to in\nthe text commences with the declaration, \u201cand the Spirit of God moved\nupon the face of the waters.\u201d The discoveries of geology are thus all\ncast back upon unrecorded anterior periods, and with regard to which\nthe sacred record is silent; while of the new series of events, in\nprecisely the same order of succession and enlarged amount of normal\norganic being, there is a defined literal account. This may be regarded\nas the generally received interpretation among the leading geologists as\nwell as of a large class of eminent divines. It was early and eagerly\nadopted by Dr. Chalmers. The proof of its soundness is made to hinge\nupon certain ingenious criticisms regarding the terms _bara_, _asah_,\n_yatzan_, which in the common version of the Hebrew text are translated\n_created_, _made_, _formed_. According to the new rendering, wherever\nany of these words occur in any of the verses _after_ the second, they\nare to be restricted to the simple act of fashioning, arranging, and\nconstructing new bodies out of pre-existing matter. Hence, all the\ninitial and secondary actings noticed in the narrative are in this manner\nclearly distinguishable. It is farther argued, that all the secondary\nclass of arrangements are distinctively pointed to, and separated from\nthe primordial, by the formula of expression, \u201cand God said,\u201d which is\nintroduced at the commencement of each of the six days, but not prefixed\nto the initial creative act of all matter in the beginning.\n\nNow, against this mode of argument it may be objected that much of it\ndoes not bear upon the question at issue. The discrepancy is one more\nof things than of words. It is the physical solution, rather than the\ncritical, that is the important matter of inquiry; and this no mere\nverbal emendations of the text will altogether and consistently help out.\nObserve the character of the acts spoken of after the second verse and\nintroduction of the expression, \u201cand God said;\u201d\u2014the calling light into\nbeing, the separation of the darkness, the division of day and night, the\nformation of an atmosphere, the fixed position of the firmament above\nand the waters beneath, and the separation of the dry land. These are\nthe acts of the first and second days. But what of them _before_ this?\nThese elements and their arrangement were all required, and must have\nall existed, during the epochs recorded in geology. That is admitted.\nThe light needed no renewal after any geological transposition of the\nland and sea. The revolutions of the heavenly bodies would be equally\nunaffected, and days, seasons, and years would remain and proceed in the\nsame order of succession. The firmament and atmosphere would continue to\noccupy their relative positions. And so, according to the _usus loquendi_\nand legitimate import of all the terms employed in the text, we are\nreading of things that were neither in being nor in operation _before_,\nbut which now for the first time are represented as being summoned into\nexistence. We are equally unprepared for the admission made by some\nof the friends of revelation, that Moses knew not the full amount and\nnature of the knowledge conveyed in his narrative, just as \u201che was not\naware of the profound spiritual meaning of much of the ritual which\nhe was employed to institute. It was an obscure text, which awaited\nthe Divine commentary of the christian dispensation.\u201d[16] There is no\nanalogy between the subjects. The law was confessedly a preparatory,\nincompleted dispensation. The order of creation as traced by Moses\nembraces substantively everything which creation contains\u2014the elements,\ndisposition, and collocation of its parts\u2014and that he saw not through the\nwhole of a future, unfulfilled plan, furnishes no good ground for the\nassumption that he was ignorant of or purposely passes over the history\nof millions of years of the very subject on which he was inspired to\nwrite, and on which he was to build his whole system of theism and of\ngrace. This mode of interpretation, beside, assumes a _hiatus_ in the\ntext for which there is no just warrant, either in the verbal structure\nof the narrative, or in the physical character and order of the events\ndescribed. It has always appeared to us to proceed upon principles of\nexplication which violate all the canons of a pure and severe criticism,\nwhich indulgently gives way to new and gratuitously assumed difficulties,\nand which would leave nothing in any writing except what the reader\nchooses to find in it.\n\n2. The principle of interpreting _the days_ in Genesis as periods of\nindefinite time, and within which the several geological _formations_\nwere successively evolved. They who adopt this hypothesis can plausibly\nargue that the _order_ of creative acts as revealed in the sacred record,\nharmonizes in a very remarkable manner with the course of creation\nas detailed in the researches of geology. Hereby a comparison can be\ndistinctly instituted, and a parallelism observed betwixt the peculiar\nwork of each day and the leading phenomena displayed in the earth\u2019s\ncrust\u2014from the first appearance of dry land, when organic bodies had\nnot been as yet created, and the primary rocks in which none have been\ndetected\u2014up through the silurian, devonian, and carboniferous series, in\nall which plants and marine organisms only are found\u2014and onward until\nwe reach the tertiary strata, where, in succession, the revealed order\nof animal life is so remarkably coincident. The details of the science\nare not indeed to be all, and minutely, read in the narrative. But the\nmain truths and the leading dogmata are there; and if any departure from\nthe literal rendering of the text can be permitted, so as to fit in and\nadjust the geological phenomena, it may be justly contended that there is\nless of violence and straining by the substitution of periods for days,\nthan by casting aside the whole genetic description as having no bearing\nwhatever upon the primary cosmogony of the globe. Then the various\nevents, it may be farther argued, as recorded in the text\u2014the creation\nof light\u2014the formation of a firmament\u2014the division of day and night\u2014the\nappointment of seasons and years\u2014the gathering together of the waters,\nand the elevation of the dry land\u2014are all so described and placed in\nsuch juxta-position as can only be applicable to primary creative acts,\nto things which were not before, and which now for the first time were\nbrought into being and condition.\n\nThe abettor of this view and mode of reconciliation will likewise\navail himself, in defense of its being an orthodox interpretation, of\nthe latitude of meaning ascribed to the term \u201cday,\u201d in the Scriptures\nthemselves. Even in the second chapter of the Divine word, and applied to\nthe very subject in question\u2014the order of creation\u2014he finds the term to\nbe used in an indefinite sense: \u201cThese are the generations of the heavens\nand of the earth, when they were created in the DAY that the Lord God\nmade the earth and the heavens, and EVERY PLANT of the field.\u201d The solemn\nannouncement at the close of this world\u2019s drama will not fail also to\nbe adverted to\u2014\u201cin the last days perilous times shall come\u201d\u2014wherein\nperiods of longer or shorter duration are implied as existing in the\nmidst of days. Frequently too there occur the expressions: the day of\ngrace\u2014the day of salvation\u2014the day of the Lord\u2014the day of trial\u2014the day\nof redemption\u2014terms all of unlimited import and not to be defined by the\nplanetary diurnal calendar, but to be determined by the arrangements of\na dispensation in which man is viewed as a moral accountable being, and\nnot by any necessities in which his physical condition and the world\nhe inhabits are concerned. Thus by adopting this hypothesis, which\nassumes the entire narrative as a consecutive description of the order\nof creation, every day as bearing the initiative of its own class of\nphenomena, the plan and quality of the Divine works as all delineated\nand shadowed out, the progressive succession of the whole organic and\ninorganic historically described, and the phenomena, and the terms\ndescriptive of them, are asserted to be in their proper places, and in\nharmony each with each.\n\n3. There is another mode of defending the text in consistency with the\ngeneral facts of the science, by assuming that the course of creation\nindicated through the epochs was in all its characteristic features\n_reproduced_, and substantially represented in the cosmogonic period of\nthe Mosaic account. We have noticed from time to time, in the different\nstages of our description, in what the analogies consisted. In the\nearliest, as well as in the last, organic fossil types, there is the\nmost perfect identity with all the vegetable and animal forms described\nin the narrative. The order of their reappearance is likewise similar.\nMoses, it is here supposed, saw the casting of the same molds, the agency\nof the same hand, and the \u201cday\u201d to be successively the period for the\nreproduction of the work.\n\nRead now consecutively the whole account, and observe how the Historian\npasses in review the entire series of the Divine acts, and runs over\nagain the great master-keys of this harmonious system. He is present, so\nto speak, when, in the beginning, the matter of the heaven and the earth\nwas created. He witnesses the arrangement of the parts, which before\nwere without form and void. He hears the command,\u2014LET THERE BE LIGHT.\nAnd now, as the mighty structure expands in vision before the eye of\nhis mind, the firmament and the waters and the dry land separating and\ndrawing off to their respective places, he introduces a record of the\nperiod within which the several operations were effected. How long is\nthat period? Just the division of time with which he was acquainted,\nand which he knew was amply sufficient for the completion of all the\noperations in question. The acts are successive. The will that performed\nthem is omnipotent. Everything followed in its order and in the time that\nall creative power commanded it to be. Hence the days, with regard to all\nthe initial acts, both of creation and arrangement, were literally of the\nduration assigned in the text. After the introduction of organic life on\nthe third day, geology speaks definitively as to the successive order of\nthe kinds and families of the structural forms created. But it gives no\nsign, and can give none, as to the portion of time required for their\ncreation. It may have been an instant or a day,\u2014a week or a period. The\nrevealed account speaks positively upon the point; and shows how, at the\nbidding of the Divine will, the various elements\u2014the water, the earth,\nthe air\u2014were replenished with their respective tribes in the old as in\nthe new world, and under all the phases and epochs of their being.\n\nThe inspired narrative, it may be alleged, according to this view, is\nnot only consistent with itself, but becomes a sublime illustrative\nintroduction to the book of revelation. The matter of the heaven and the\nearth was the effect of a single command. The separation of its elements\nwas the instantaneous effect of another.\u2014Upon the creation of light, a\ndivision is given to time, and the morning and the evening hours were\nestablished. The arrangements of the second day followed, and were all\ncompleted in the period assigned. So with the remanent days and their\nrespective included operations. The eye of the historian sees nothing\nintervening betwixt the cause and the effect; his mind is fixed upon the\naction, not the manner of its accomplishment; and knowing the whole to be\nthe result of the same power and the arrangement of the same providence,\nhe combines in one cycle or WEEK the entire series of events, one day\nof which unto the Eternal is as a thousand, and a thousand, but as one\nday. The work all accomplished, the immediately revolving period of time\nwas established as the Sabbath of the Lord. Having made man in his own\nimage, with knowledge to apprehend and adore the author of his being, the\ndivine Architect RESTED; he ceased from any farther acts of creation;\nnothing of any material existence, nor of any living thing, has been\nadded to his works since the completion of the six days, and so the rest\nhas continued and will continue to the end of time\u2014a Sabbath hallowed by\nthe structure of the globe and the beneficence of the Creator.\n\nThese are some of the methods by which the geologist aims in bringing\nthe conclusions of his science within the scope of the Mosaic record,\nand in freeing his speculations from all their incumbrances and\nresponsibilities. There is still a great deal to be accomplished, even\nwith all these approximations, toward a right and full and literal\ncomparison with the sacred text. There is indeed no real conflict between\nthe discoveries of geology and the declarations of the divine oracles;\nand, with so many doors of retreat from or avenues of approach into the\ninviting fields of its research, no friend of the truth need be afraid\nof an excursion through the most intricate depths of creation\u2019s works.\nMeanwhile, the metaphysicians have all been driven from the field, with\nall their untenable dogmas about the eternity of matter. Geologists\nrepudiate the doctrine, and their science refutes it. But there is such\na thing as others rashly rushing to conclusions, wherever they can see\ntendencies or leanings to countenance their impious materialism. In this\ndirection, many think that geology, however falsely, wholly inclines.\nAnd even now it is better, infinitely better, to rest with unhesitating\nconfidence in the received interpretation of Scripture than be borne\naway by sweeping generalizations, built most certainly somewhere upon\nloose conflicting elements of calculation. Countless millions of years\nare, we admit, as nothing in the records of eternity\u2014of no account with\nthe Everlasting of days. Nevertheless, if the time can be reduced, as\nunquestionably there are data for the reduction, the epochs and the days\napproximate all the closer; the speculations of the science are brought\ninto better keeping with the dicta of revelation; farther discoveries\nwill lead to farther adjustments; until what was done for the interests\nof the one by detecting the miscalculations of Hindoo astronomy, will\nagain be effected for the other by scanning more intelligibly the\ngeological horoscope.\u2014And thus removing every ground of suspicion or\noffense, will serve to bring this interesting branch of knowledge from\nthe outer court of the Gentiles to the innermost shrine of the TEMPLE OF\nTRUTH.\n\nThe father of the Inductive Philosophy thus expresses his views: \u201cIn the\nworks of creation, we behold a twofold emanation of the Divine virtue; of\nwhich the one relates to its power, the other to its wisdom. The former\nis especially observed in the creating the material mass; the latter, in\nthe disposing the beauty of its form. This being established, it is to be\nremarked, that there is nothing in the history of creation to invalidate\nthe fact, that the mass and substance of heaven and earth was created,\n_confusa_, undistinguishable, in one moment of time; but that the six\ndays were assigned for disposing and adjusting it.\u201d[17] This was emitted\nat a time when geology was in its nonage; the strata of the earth and\ntheir singular fossil contents were as yet unexplored;\u2014still it is the\noracular voice of one who had looked through the physical universe with\nthe glance of science and of genius, and who knew and sought it only in\nrelation to the Creator and his Word.\n\n\n\n\nCONCLUSION.\n\nTHE CREATOR.\n\n\nThe magnificent work of creation, whose course we have been tracing in\nsome of its primordial arrangements, in the geological phenomena of the\nearth\u2019s crust, and in its relations to the vast planetary system of\nwhich it is a member, is the result over all of design and intelligence.\nThe changes wrought in the earth\u2019s structure and framework, from period\nto period, have not been brought about by merely mechanical changes of\nphysical conditions. There are order and method in the inorganic, no\nless than in the organic forms, into which matter in any of the earth\u2019s\nrevolutions has been cast. There is prospective contrivance each for\neach. The alterations made in the outward surface, whether of sea or\nland, have been always such as were best adapted to the habits and\nrequirements of successive living tribes. And the whole amount of change,\nin both departments of nature, has ever been in such measure and degree\nas to show, from the beginning, a persistent principle of stability\nin the system, and a wise, all-controlling arm to be regulating and\ndirecting everything. The invisible things of God, from the creation of\nthe world, are clearly seen; and we cannot, if we would, rid ourselves\nof the thought, that somewhere and beyond, there is, not a \u201cprimitive\ncause\u201d[18] only, but a Divine Being, the master of the universe,\npotentially in and present through all things.\n\nAristotle concludes his treatise \u201cDe Mundo,\u201d with observing, that to\ntreat of the world without saying anything of its Author would be\nimpious, and he proceeds to show, on various grounds, the traces of an\nall-governing Deity. Newton concludes his great work, the \u201cPrincipia,\u201d\nby some reflections on the nature of the Supreme Cause, and infers from\nthe structure of the visible world, \u201cthat it is governed by one almighty\nand all-wise Being, who rules the world, not as its soul, but as its\nLord, exercising an absolute sovereignty over the universe, not as over\nhis own body, but as over his work; and acting in it according to his\npleasure, without suffering anything from it.\u201d Speaking of the laws by\nwhich God governs the world, and giving his definition of the term LAW,\nBoyle says, \u201cI look upon a law as a moral, not physical cause, as being,\nindeed, but a rational thing, according to which an intelligent and\nfree agent is bound to regulate its actions. But inanimate bodies are\nutterly incapable of understanding what it is, or what it enjoins, or\nwhen they act conformably or unconformably to it: therefore, the actions\nof inanimate bodies, which cannot incite or moderate their own actions,\nare produced by real power, not by laws.\u201d \u201cHence,\u201d says Whewell, in his\nBridgewater Treatise, \u201chence we infer that the intelligence by which the\nlaw is ordained, the power by which it is put in action, must be present\nat all times, and in all places where the effects of the law occur: that\nthus the knowledge and the agency of the Divine Being pervade every\nportion of the universe, producing all action and passion, all permanence\nand change. The laws of nature are the laws which He, in his wisdom,\nprescribes to his own acts; his universal presence is the necessary\ncondition of any course of events, his universal agency the only origin\nof any efficient force.\u201d\n\nThe researches of science, the deeper they go into the secrets of nature,\nissue in the surest and brightest disclosures of the Divine Architect\nof the universe. We are enabled, by the lights which are furnished by\nthe various branches of ascertained knowledge, to read in some degree\nthe mind and purpose of God in the creations of his hand. We see in\nmany instances what is actually intended by certain arrangements and\ncombinations,\u2014why, and for what end, objects are constructed in a\nparticular way, and how it is that trains of events are made to follow in\none uniform order rather than in any other. The universe, we discover,\nis not only bound by laws permanent and unchanging: the laws themselves\nhave an end to serve, a particular result to accomplish. Accumulations\nof matter are brought together with a definite precise view; living\nsubstances are constructed with organs suited to their conditions of\nexistence; relations of air, earth, and water, are established, which\nnicely answer the functions to be performed; and in ten thousands of\ncases are manifested the form, size, position, qualities of hardness,\nsoftness, and cohesion in the individual parts which can best secure\ntheir own special well-being along with the general conservation of the\nframework to which they are attached. How admirably, from age to age,\ndo the organic as well as the inorganic structures of the geological\nnarrative illustrate the truth of these remarks, where the manifestations\nof design are as numerous as the objects of creation, and as legible as\nif God had written their import by his own finger? The oldest, equally\nwith the newest, book of nature, discloses the records of his will.\nWe read them in the varied language traced and stereotyped upon their\nstony leaves. And in perusing the diversified contents of this wonderful\nvolume, we cannot rise without the conviction that the being, attributes,\nand character of its Author, are brightly and indelibly impressed on\nevery page.\n\nThe argument for the existence of a DESIGNING AGENT in the creation\nand arrangements of a material world, may be thus illustrated: A rude,\nunshapely piece of stone\u2014say the \u201cstone upon the heath\u201d\u2014does not at once\nimpress the spectator with the conviction that it was made and placed\nwhere it is, by a designing intelligent being. But let it be chiseled\ninto form, give it symmetry and proportion, and he immediately concludes\nthat this is the result of skill and intention. Look at a piece of\nmachinery\u2014its framework of wood\u2014its springs of iron\u2014its wheels, beams and\naxles, composed of different metals, and arranged in different forms\u2014and\nthe inference is irresistible, that neither the forest, nor the quarry,\nnor the mine, yielded the materials in their present shape, nor combined\namong themselves to put them together.\u2014Reason seeks for a different kind\nof agency, and experience tells that the mind and the hand of man have\nbeen there. We see water converted into steam, the steam brought into\ncontact with a piece of metal, the vapor confined within an inclosure and\nacted upon by a condenser; and through means of this simple arrangement\nand the application of this natural power, duly regulated and sustained,\nwe discern the triumph of mind over matter\u2014the marvels which human\nindustry and intelligence have been able to achieve. This combination\nof materials is not a thing of life.\u2014Chance has produced none of these\narrangements. The whole is the result of design, of aiming intention,\nof calculating intelligence. Examine the telescope, its apparatus of\nlenses, reflectors, and mirrors: look through that narrow tube as it is\npointed in a clear starry night to the azure vault; and your shout of\nastonishment, when you first behold the increased magnitude of these\norbs\u2014their separation into systems and clusters\u2014firmaments ascending in\ngradations of brilliancy, one above another\u2014and the infinitely remote,\nstudded and glowing with higher and higher galaxies\u2014will partake of\na mingled feeling of admiration at the immensity and grandeur of the\nuniverse\u2014the wisdom and skill which combined to frame the instrument that\nbrings within your ken, and enables you to gaze on, the glorious vision.\n\nNow, in nature, we find the same indications of design, the same\nsurprising combinations of skill, instruments framed with matchless\nwisdom and the most exquisite contrivance. Nay, all here, in every\ndepartment of creation, leaves human ingenuity at an immeasurable\ndistance. No statuary can rival that which is exhibited in the rocks,\ngems, and crystals of the earth. Machinery is transcendently surpassed,\nin the forms of every organic thing beneath or around, in minuteness,\nadaptation, and balancing of parts,\u2014the steam-engine in energy and\npower\u2014the ship by a more refined and skillful equipment of ropes,\npulleys, and sails\u2014and the telescope is not for a moment to be compared\nwith the human eye in the beauty of its construction, the power of its\nmovements, the amazing swiftness and variety of its glance.\u2014But there\nis design and intelligence manifested in the works of man. They could\nnot arrange themselves. They must have had an artificer. Draw near, look\nunto the works of creation, what cumulative evidence of their intelligent\nauthor, conclusive as the severest demonstrations of science. Man asks\nfor a sign from heaven. Ten thousand intimations are given\u2014millions,\nindeed, of miraculous contrivances meet him in every department of the\nuniverse.\n\nThis earth, however, is not an isolated body in the universe; it\nforms one of a system of worlds, and its geological history cannot\nbe regarded as complete until we have viewed it in some of its more\nextended relations. The course of creation is traced in the planetary\nsystem, a series of masses of matter assuming one form, moving in one\nplane, following in one orbital path, revolving around a common center,\nenlightened and warmed by a common sun, and obedient, one and all, to the\nsame great law of gravitation. The mighty problem of the universe has\nbeen solved upon the simple assumption, that a piece of our earth is like\na piece of the other planets; that the properties of matter here are as\nthe properties of matter above; and as the laws of motion and attraction\nbelow, so are they on high, and throughout infinite space. Astronomy thus\nderives all its achievements as a science from the earth, and the cause\nof the motions of the heavenly orbs is ascertained from experiments on\nthe matter of the earth, which first led to the knowledge of regular\ndynamical laws. The field of astronomical research, in consequence, is\nnot only the most wonderful, but it is also that in which our knowledge\nis the most accurate. Distant and infinitely remote as are the objects of\nthe science, there is yet in no other department of natural philosophy\nresults of investigation so completely satisfactory. With the precision\nof geometry, and the minute accuracy of numbers, the astronomer\ncalculates the particular place of every one of the bodies of the solar\nsystem, at any particular hour and moment of the day. He determines the\nprecise rate of their motions, and positions which they occupied in\nrelation to the earth, in every past period of their history however\nremote, and even corrects the notations of former observers. He shows\ntheir relative distances, weights, dimensions, and influences upon one\nanother; estimates the length of their days and years, eccentricities and\nperturbations; and describes the orbits in which they severally move, in\ntheir steady unwearied march through the heavens.\u2014The undeniable effect\nof results like these, is to impress deeper upon the inquiring mind the\nconviction of foresight, method, and design in the vast system of which\nthe earth is but a part; and as the earth gives lead to, and indicates\nsome of the first lessons in, astronomy, so we derive in return a fuller\nknowledge of its various relations and past history than its own single\ngeological tables can unfold.\n\nWhen we proceed to speculate about the _manner_ of Deity\u2019s actings,\ndifficulties at once meet us in every quarter, partly from our utter\nincapacity to comprehend and partly from the imperfections of human\nlanguage to express\u2014even were our comprehension adequate to the task\u2014the\nessential qualities of Deity himself. As the _anima mundi_, the ancients\nrepresented the Divine Being, as both the active and self-moving\nprinciple in nature, and likewise as passive, and acted upon by the\nexternal world. Newton, in order to express his idea of the Divine\nomnipresence, employed the term _sensorium_, as denoting the mode in\nwhich he was enabled to perceive whatever passed in space fully and\nintimately. And while nothing was farther from the mind of the great\nphilosopher than the ascription of bodily organs to the Divinity, he\nhad to defend himself from much bitter and vehement controversy in\nconsequence. Equally liable to misrepresentation, and from the sane\ncause\u2014the imperfection of language\u2014was the manner in which Newton spoke\nof the eternity or infinity of the Supreme Being, as if he regarded\nhim as present in all parts of time and space by _diffusion_: whereas\nhis notion simply was, that since He is necessarily and essentially\npresent in all parts of space and duration, space and duration must also\nnecessarily exist. Durat semper, et adest ubique, et existendo semper et\nubique, durationem et spatium constituit,\u2014is the tenet which he held.\n\nNo less difficult is it to express correctly the inference which we may\nlegitimately deduce of the PERSONALITY of the Godhead from the works\nand course of creation. And yet the idea is immediately consequent\nupon the conviction of a Divine existence, and is inseparable from it.\nThe conception of both is necessarily involved in the same process of\nthought. Wherever we trace the actings of mind or of intelligence, the\nimpress of design or the operations of a discriminating, discerning\ncause, reference is at one and the same instant made to a distinct\npersonal subsistence. Power, wisdom, and goodness, may, indeed, be\nregarded in one way as abstract qualities. We can reason about them, and\nhold them up to our contemplation, as something distinct or different\nfrom the bodies in which they reside. Hence all our speculations\nrespecting the laws of nature, the primary and secondary qualities\nof matter, the relations of cause and effect, to which principle\nof abstraction in man the various sciences owe their origin. The\ninductive philosophy is entirely built upon it. The creations of poetry,\nthe peopling of the streams, groves, and mountains, with the ideal\nimpersonations of fancy, are derived from the same source; while, by\nlifting us above the dominion of mere sense and attention to our physical\nwants, our spiritual energies are thereby awakened, and the soul enabled\nby its own inner visions to hold communings with new worlds, and to\nanticipate a new life.\n\nBut the principle of abstraction does not stop here. It both separates\nand combines. While it deals with the inferior manifestations of\nideal qualities, it unites and embodies into one\u2014links the universe\nto its Creator\u2014represents him as the cause of all causes, the source\nof all power, and the fountain of all life; out of whose boundless,\nillimitable essence is the efflux of all being and existence. The\nancients erroneously clothed their conceptions of Godhead in human shape,\nand multiplied the number of divinities to accord to the varieties of\nhuman passion, making gods many, as there were principles of good or\nevil in their own hearts; but still their superstition had a reality\nand foundation in nature. Their mythology had its origin in a true,\nthough corrupted, theism; and giving form and locality to their numerous\ndivinities, they but obeyed the dictates of that sentiment of the\ninner man, which, in unison with the voice of all creation, proclaims\nthe existence of a Being whose personal subsistence and personal\nsuperintendence we necessarily associate with the laws and management of\nnature. HE is there among his works, their Director as well as author.\n\nThe UNITY of the Divine Being follows, in like manner, from an extended\nobservation of the course of creation. There is but one God, as there\nis but one system of nature\u2014one universe where the same law which acts\nupon all terrestrial bodies pervades all space, rules over the planets,\nand guides systems of worlds in their courses. Our deepest researches\ninto the structure of the earth show, that the same forces have been\noperative there, as are still traced in passing changes on the surface.\nSimilar organic forms were from the earliest periods in being, endowed\nwith similar instincts, performing the self-same functions in the\neconomy of nature, with their living types of the present day. The air,\nthe sea, the earth; plants, animals, and man, are under one scheme of\nprovidence. The seasons are uniformly successive. Year to year we see the\nsame causes in operation. Time rolls on; changes, vast and progressive,\nhave been effected in the moral as well as physical aspect of the world,\nwhile bodies remain essentially what they were before, the conditions of\nsentient existence unaltered, and man occupies the same high intellectual\nposition in the great scale of being. The same government thus maintains\nover all; the parts shifting and changing, the whole stable and\ncollectively advancing; bound together by one invisible chain, and moving\nin obedience to one great principle of destiny and superintending will.\nHence, upon the presumption that the character of the works determines\nthe character of their author, the intelligent power which presides\nover all this must necessarily be ONE. Since creation in its elements,\narrangements, and means of general harmony, is constructed upon a\nplan, and since that plan manifests the most perfect order\u2014deviations\ncontrolled within limits, and convulsions only contributive to its\ngreater stability\u2014the inference cannot be resisted, that the Creator is\nessentially one in his being, as he is undivided in his purposes and\nactings.\n\nWhen we narrow the field of inquiry, and look to man alone, in his\nrelation to the external world, and the character of his moral\nconstitution, the conclusion becomes still more decided and apparent.\nHere we see that the last of created beings is not only the highest in\nthe scale, but likewise in the most perfect and extensive unison with\nthe general scheme of nature. He spreads himself over the whole face of\ncreation, is capable of enduring all climes, of deriving sustenance from\nthe products of all countries, conveniences and the means of improvement\nfrom the rocks of all ages. If we cannot demonstrate that this earth\nwas made exclusively for man\u2019s use, we can still clearly show that he\nparticipates more largely in its various products than any of its other\ninhabitants, while it furnishes, not only to the individual, but to the\nrace, generation after generation, the amplest field of mental and moral\ncultivation of which their natures are capable. The God of the outward\nworld is also, and pre-eminently, the God of man\u2019s inner being. He who\ncreated the light, likewise formed the human body. The potter of the\nclay fashioned and quickened the immaterial spirit. The controller of\nuniversal nature reigns supreme in the dominion of the soul. The power\nthat binds the planets in their orbits, gives law to the conscience,\nconstraining it to acknowledge in its perception of truth and homage to\nvirtue the reverence that is due to the One Righteous Governor over all.\n\nContemplated under this latter and most important aspect of our nature,\nwe are brought, in fact, into immediate communication with the undivided\nAuthor of our being. The idea of many is excluded in the conviction\nthat truth and duty are one and unalterable. The gravitating principle\nin matter is not more universal in its operation, nor more distinct in\nits constraining influence over all bodies, than is the principle of\nCONSCIENCE in referring the good and evil of all actions to the standard\nof rectitude and tribunal of a righteous judge. Tribes, the most remote\nfrom each other\u2014the most debased in ignorance\u2014the most polluted in\nguilt\u2014agree in this common attribute of humanity. Mankind do not, indeed,\nacknowledge one and the same standard of morality, and in religious\nobservances there is the utmost diversity of opinion and practice. But\nthe sense of duty, the feeling of moral and religious obligation, is\nuniversally discriminative of the human family; the sentiment of right\nand wrong is engraven indelibly on all human hearts. And, amidst all the\nignorance or misconceptions that may prevail as to the merit or demerit\nof particular actions, the moral principle points but to one foundation\nof truth\u2014the One Supreme\u2014the Lord of conscience as of creation.\n\nThe PERFECTIONS of the Supreme Being are, in like manner, as distinctly\nnotified in the works of creation as the fact of the mere existence of\na designing Creator. The immensity of the universe clearly demonstrates\nthe _power_ in which it originated, and by which all its movements are\nstill sustained, guiding the infinite systems of celestial bodies and\nthe geological revolutions of our own planet with the same ease that it\nwatches over and upholds the minutest objects in existence. There is\nno exhausting nor wearing out of the energies of nature: the arm that\nreared, still directs the stupendous fabric; and as skill and contrivance\nare manifest in every part, the greatest simplicity combined with the\nmost exquisite adjustments, the utmost regularity prevailing in every\ndepartment, and no failure in the operations of a single law throughout\nthe vastness of creation, the conviction of consummate _wisdom_ and\nof infinite _omniscience_ irresistibly strikes upon the mind. No less\nclear and convincing are the evidences of _goodness_ in the system of\ncreation which we have been contemplating. The works, formed by the\nDivine hand, and which now occupy the Divine care, are boundless in\nextent, and of infinite variety; and they appear, to the eye of the\ncommon observer, as well as to the searching intellect, all formed\nfor use, all rich in beauty, all indicative of beneficence. There is\nnot utility alone interwoven, but an inimitable loveliness painted on\nthe face and stamped on every department of nature; while creatures\ninnumerable, of various orders and of different structures, present\nthemselves to our view, which, by their creation and preservation\u2014by\nthe powers they possess, and the enjoyments they attain\u2014proclaim the\nliberality of their author to be boundless. Nay, the inanimate parts of\nnature bear testimony to the same truth; the sun warms and fertilizes\nthe earth; the earth affords nourishment, and furnishes a convenient\ndwelling-place to the various living creatures that inhabit it; and thus\ndead matter, in all its arrangements and under all its past changes, by\nbeing framed in subserviency to the happiness of living and intelligent\nbeings, clearly evinces the goodness of its Creator. But to Man, in\naddition, the inspiration of the Almighty has given understanding, and\nhas constituted him supreme in this lower world. Whoever considers his\nnature and condition, the make of his body and the constitution of his\nmind, the provision that is furnished for the supply of his animal wants,\nthe objects that are provided for the improvement of his intellectual\nfaculties, and the scope that is afforded for the exercise of his moral\naffections, must acknowledge that, if the goodness of God be manifestly\ndisplayed in the other works of his hands, it shines with peculiar luster\nin the creation and preservation of man.\n\nThus, step by step, we rise to the loftiest conception which the human\nmind can embrace\u2014the conception of a God\u2014the personality, unity, and\nperfection of his being. How the conception of a Creator is formed, we\ncannot otherwise describe than by saying, that it springs up in the mind\nimmediately upon the perception of an external world. It is not so much\nan exercise of reason, or elaborate effort of the understanding; but is\nrather a direct impression, traced at once upon the soul, as the image\nof Deity reflected from his works. All men possess it, for all men are\nso constituted, that they cannot look upon creation without the idea of\na Creator accompanying and flowing from the act. The conception will be\nobscure, vague, and indistinct, according to the capacity, improvement,\nand general knowledge of the individual. But the conception is there, as\nnecessarily as the effect follows the cause, the shadow the substance,\nthe image the object which occasioned it. The heavens DECLARE the glory\nof God, the firmament SHOWS his handiwork, the earth bears the traces\nof his path. And just in the degree in which we study and examine his\nworks\u2014their uses and adaptations\u2014their infinite variety, proportions,\nregularity, and magnitude\u2014are our convictions of his existence deepened,\nour admiration of his being and attributes enhanced, our feeling of\nsecurity under his rule strengthened, and our sense of obligation and\nresponsibility increased and solemnized. Ignorance does not obliterate\nthe sense of Deity; it confuses and multiplies the image of his\nexistence: it leads to polytheism. Knowledge brightens the picture, and\nrepresents the Creator, as reflected in his works, EXCELLENT, GLORIOUS,\nAND INFINITELY PERFECT.\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES\n\n\n[1] Playfair.\n\n[2] Playfair.\n\n[3] Works, vol. i, page 189.\n\n[4] Dr. Dieffenbach\u2019s New Zealand.\n\n[5] The diamonds found in the Ural chain are supposed to be connected\nwith the carbonaceous grits of the devonian and carboniferous periods,\nwhich have been transmuted into metamorphic micaceous rocks, and contain\nthe diamonds between the flakes of mica, just as garnets occur in\nmica-schist. Captain Franklin discovered diamonds in Bundelkund, imbedded\nin sandstone, with coal beneath, and supposed to belong to the true\ncarboniferous system.\n\n[6] Westminster Review, No. LXXIX.\n\n[7] The strata in which these tracks occur have since been carefully\ninvestigated by Prof. H. D. Rogers, who has ascertained that they belong\ntruly to the carboniferous red shale, and are, therefore, of an age\nessentially later than that attributed to them. In a communication made\nto the American Association, Prof. Rogers says:\u2014They occur, indeed, in\na geological horizon, only a few hundred feet below the conglomerate\nwhich marks the beginning of the productive coal series, in which\nseries similar foot-prints, attributed to batrachian reptiles, had been\npreviously met with in Western Pennsylvania. Instead, therefore, of\nconstituting a register of the antique life earlier than any hitherto\ndiscovered, by at least a whole chapter in the geological book, they\ncarry back its age only by a single leaf. The surfaces upon which\nthese interesting foot-prints abound are the smooth, divisional plains\nseparating the beds of red sandstone, and are invariably coated with a\nfine impalpable material of a once slimy and soft mud; and everything\nin the texture of these surfaces goes to prove that they were in\ncontact with the air, and were the stages of rest between the alternate\ndepositions of the strata. Many of them are covered with ripple-lines and\nwater-marks, suggestive of the shelving shore, and, with few exceptions,\nthey are spotted over with little circular impressions, imputed to the\npattering of rain. All over the successive floors of this ancient world,\nas delicate and impressible in their texture as so much wax or parchment,\nare the footsteps and the trails of various creeping things,\u2014the prints\nof some unknown four-footed creature, thought to be reptilian in its\nnature, but of whose true affinities the Professor expressed his doubts,\ntrails analogous to those of worms and molluscs, and various other marks,\nwritten in hieroglyphics too ancient to be interpreted. The larger\nfoot-prints are, for the most part, five-toed, alternate in the steps,\nand with the fore feet as large nearly as the hind ones; marks of the\nscratching and slipping of the feet, and the half effacing passage of the\ntail, or of some soft portion of the body, are often distinctly legible.\n\nProf. Agassiz stated his doubts as to the reptilian character of the\nfoot-prints noticed, and, after describing the difference in the\narrangement of the locomotive organs of the modern and the ancient\nfishes, gave it as his belief, that in those early periods there were\nfishes of a structure which permitted them to walk upon all fours.\n\n[8] Rapport sur les Poissons Fossiles de l\u2019Argile de Londres.\n\n[9] Lyell\u2019s Principles of Geology, vol. i, p. 269.\n\n[10] Restitution of Decayed Intelligence, by Richard Verstegan. London,\n8vo, 1605. Noticed in \u201cChambers\u2019 Journal,\u201d June, 1846.\n\n[11] Dr. Pye Smith on Scripture Geology.\n\n[12] This branch of the argument has also been minutely and ingeniously\nextended in the last work of Mr. Hugh Miller, \u201cFoot-prints of the\nCreator,\u201d where the author dwells particularly on the comparative\nmeasurements of the different fossils found in different formations; a\nmasterly and felicitous addition to the side of truth.\n\n[13] \u201cThere is no doubt that coral, under favorable conditions of growth,\nincreases to an enormous extent, and very rapidly: and although there\nare many instances on record of reefs which have not increased for\nmany years, there are others telling a very different tale. The case\nof Matilda Atoll, described by Captain Beechy, is quoted as an example\nof this latter kind, this atoll having been converted in thirty-four\nyears from being a reef of rocks into a lagoon island, fourteen miles in\nlength, with one of its sides covered nearly all the way with high trees.\nSome experiments were also mentioned, in which it has been attempted to\nmeasure the rate of increase of different kinds of corals, and as one\nresult of these, is an instance of a growth of two feet thick of coral,\naccumulated on the copper bottom of a vessel in the course of twenty\nmonths.\u201d\u2014_Geology of the Voyage of the Beagle, by Charles Darwin._\n\n[14] Mrs. Somerville\u2019s Physical Geography.\n\n[15] Mr. Davis.\n\n[16] The Pre-Adamite Earth.\n\n[17] 1. De Augm. Scien. L. I.\n\n[18] La Place.\n\n\n\n\nGLOSSARY OF SCIENTIFIC TERMS.\n\n\nACCRETION. Increase of size or growth by the mechanical addition of new\nparticles.\n\nACLINIC LINE. The magnetic equator.\n\nACOTYLEDONOUS. Plants having no seed-lobes. Mosses and ferns belong to\nthis division, and most of the coal plants are acotyledonous.\n\nACTYNOLITE. A green mineral found chiefly in primitive formations often\ncrystallized in six sided prisms.\n\nAEROLITES. Stones which appear to have fallen from the higher parts of\nthe atmosphere. They are sometimes called Meteorites.\n\nALG\u00c6. A division of plants including the common sea-weeds.\n\nALUMINOUS. Containing alumina, or rather silicate of alumina, which is\nthe base of pure clay. Thus, aluminous means _clayey_. The word is,\nhowever, sometimes used in the sense of containing _alum_, a sulphate of\nalumina and potash.\n\nAMMONITE. A fossil genus of many-chambered shells allied to the Nautilus,\nnamed from their resemblance to the horns on the statues of Jupiter Ammon.\n\nAMORPHOUS. Without regular form.\n\nAMORPHOZOA. Animals without definite form\u2014sponges.\n\nAMYGDALOID. Almond-shaped. Any rock is called by this name which contains\nrounded or elongated minerals imbedded in some simple mineral or base.\n\nAMYGDALOIDAL (in mineralogy). A conglomerate.\n\nANALCIME is found in granite and gneiss rock\u2014generally in cubes of\nvarious colors.\n\nANANCHYTES. A genus of fossil echini or sea-urchins\u2014in the chalk, &c.\n\nANCHYLOSIS. (Gr., crooked), a joint is said to be anchylosed, when so\ndiseased as to become, or when it becomes, stiff or immovable.\n\nANNELID\u00c6. (Annulus, a ring)\u2014Lamarck\u2019s worm-shaped animals, as Serpula,\nvermilia, &c.\n\nANOPLOTHERIUM. The name given to a characteristic genus of a group of\nextinct quadrupeds found fossil in the older Tertiary deposits, and\nnearly allied to the tapir and pig.\n\nANTICLINAL. Or _Anticlinal axis_. A saddle-shaped position of rocks, the\nresult of disturbance.\n\nAPIOCRINITE. Pear-shaped crinoidea\u2014lily-shaped animals.\n\nAQUEOUS. That which is dependent on water. Aqueous rocks are those\nproduced by deposit from water.\n\nARBORESCENT. Branching like a tree.\n\nARENACEOUS. Sandy.\n\nARGENTIFEROUS. Containing silver.\n\nARGILLACEOUS. Clayey.\n\nARTICULATA. A natural division of animals having their limbs articulated\nor jointed together, like the lobster.\n\nASAPHUS. An obscure genus of trilobites.\n\nASBESTUS. A fibrous mineral of which an incombustible cloth is sometimes\nmade.\n\nASTEROLEPIS. (Gr., star scale). It is the largest fish yet found in the\n_Old Red Sandstone_.\n\nAUGITE. (Gr., luster)\u2014a mineral.\n\nBASALT. An igneous rock, often columnar and supposed to be ancient\nvolcanic lava. It is the most common of the group called _Trap-rocks_.\n\nBED or STRATUM. A layer of material the whole of which exhibits some\ncommon character.\n\nBELEMNITE. A dart-shaped shell, probably the ancient representative of\nsome of our cuttle-fish. The shell is conical and chambered.\n\nBELLEROPHON. A small chambered-shell like the Nautilus.\n\nBOTRYOIDAL (in Mineralogy). Clustered like a bunch of grapes.\n\nBRACHIOPODA. A group of shell-bearing animals having two long spiral arms\nserving to assist in locomotion and for other purposes.\n\nBREVIPENNATE. Short-winged.\n\nC\u00c6LACANTHUS. A fish of the Devonian formation.\n\nCALAMITE. A fossil from the coal-measures resembling a gigantic reed.\n\nCALAMUS. A fossil reed-like plant.\n\nCALCAIRE GROSSIER. A coarse limestone of the Older Tertiary period, found\nin the Paris basin.\n\nCALCAIRE SILICEUX. A compact silicious limestone sometimes replacing the\ncalcaire grossier.\n\nCALCAREOUS. Containing lime.\n\nCAMBRIAN. Belonging to Wales. The \u201cCambrian system\u201d in Geology, is a name\nsuggested by Professor Sedgwick, to designate part of the Silurian series\nof North Wales.\n\nCARAPACE. The upper shell of reptiles.\n\nCARBONIFEROUS. Containing carbon.\n\nCARNIVOROUS. Flesh-eating. The \u201cCarnivora\u201d in Zoology consist of a group\nof animals eminently carnivorous.\n\nCAUDAL. Connected with the tail.\n\nCEPHALOPODA. A group of animals of which the Nautilus and Cuttlefish are\nexamples, having the locomotive apparatus immediately over the head and\nstomach.\n\nCEPHALASPIS (Buckler-head). A fish.\n\nCESTRACION. A fish, a genus of an extinct family of sharks.\n\nCETACEANS. The whale tribe.\n\nCHALCEDONY. A silicious mineral, like Cornelian.\n\nCHALYBEATE. Water holding iron in solution.\n\nCHARA, CHARACID\u00c6. An aquatic plant fossilized.\n\nCHEIROLEPIS (Thorny scale). A fossil fish.\n\nCHELONIA. Sea tortoise.\n\nCHERT. A silicious mineral, resembling common flint, but of coarser\ntexture.\n\nCH\u0152ROPOTAMUS. An extinct quadruped found in the Eocene of England.\n\nCHEIRACANTHUS (thorny hand). A fish of the Old Red Sandstone.\n\nCIRRHIPEDA (hair feet). Balanus-Coronula; Anatifa are of this family.\n\nCLINOMETER. An instrument for measuring the dip and determining the\nstrike of beds or strata.\n\nCOAL-MEASURES. The whole group of deposits, consisting chiefly of sands\nand shales, with which coal is usually found.\n\nCOCCOSTEUS. (Gr., berry on bone)\u2014a Ganoid fish.\n\nCOLEOPTERA. Beetles whose wings are covered with a hard sheath.\n\nCOLUMNAR. Arranged in columns.\n\nCONCHIFERA. One of the great divisions of Conchology.\n\nCONCHOIDAL. Resembling a shell. Used in Mineralogy to designate a\nparticular kind of fracture.\n\nCONDYLE. A knob at the end of a bone, a joint.\n\nCONFORMABLE. When the planes of bedding of two successive beds or strata\nare parallel to each other they are said to be _conformable_; when not\nparallel they are _unconformable_.\n\nCONGENERS. Species belonging to the same genus.\n\nCONGLOMERATE or PUDDINGSTONE. A rock made up of rounded water-worn\nfragments of rock or pebbles cemented together by another mineral\nsubstance.\n\nCONIFER\u00c6. Trees that bear cones, as the pine.\n\nCOPROLITE. The fossil remains of excrement.\n\nCOSMICAL. Relating to the universe.\n\nCOSMOGONY. The word formerly applied to speculations concerning the\nearth\u2019s age and history.\n\nCOTYLEDONOUS. Plants whose seeds have but one lobe.\n\nCRAG. The name given to certain Tertiary deposits in Norfolk and Suffolk.\n\nCRETACEOUS. Belonging to the chalk.\n\nCRINOID. Belonging to the encrinite family.\n\nCROPPING OUT. The _out-crop_ of a bed is its first appearance at the\nsurface.\n\nCRUSTACEANS. Belonging to the crab or lobster family, &c.\n\nCRYPTOGAMOUS. Plants without apparent flowers.\n\nCRYSTAL. The regular form in which a mineral is presented when that form\ncan be described mathematically. A mineral is said to be _crystalline_\nwhen its atoms are arranged with reference to some definite form.\n\nCTENACANTHUS. Belonging to the Placoids.\n\nCTENOIDS. Fishes with comb-shaped scales.\n\nCTENOPTYCHIUS. A fish of the chalk formation.\n\nCULM. An impure kind of coal.\n\nCUMBRIAN. Occurring in Cumberland. The \u201cCumbrian System\u201d of Prof.\nSedgwick is a part of the Silurian series of the Lake district of\nCumberland and Westmoreland.\n\nCYCADE\u00c6. Fossil plants of the coal-measures.\n\nCYCLAS. A small bivalve shell recent and fossil.\n\nCYCLOID. Marginated scales.\n\nDEBRIS. The fragments of rocks removed by the action of weathering or by\nwater.\n\nDECORTICATED. Stripped of bark.\n\nDEFLECTION. Deviation from a straight course.\n\nDEGRADATION. The wearing away of rocks, generally effected by aqueous\naction.\n\nDELIQUESCENT. Becoming fluid by the attraction of water from the\natmosphere.\n\nDELTA. The alluvial land formed by a river at its mouth, usually expanded\nin a fan shape like the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet (\u0394), and\nthence called _Delta_.\n\nDENUDATION. The act of laying bare rocks formerly covered up, the removal\nof the overlying masses being effected by water.\n\nDERMAL. Belonging to the skin.\n\nDETRITUS. Matter rubbed off by mechanical action from other rocks.\n\nDIALLAGE. A mineral.\n\nDIDELPHYS. A pouched animal, as the Opossum.\n\nDINOSAURIA. Land lizards\u2014only found fossil.\n\nDIP (in Geology). The angle of inclination which the plane of a bed makes\nwith the plane of the horizon.\n\nDIPLOPTERUS, DIPLODUS, and DIPLOCANTHUS. Fishes of the Devonian or Old\nred sandstone.\n\nDIPTERUS (having two wings). A fish of the Old red sandstone.\n\nDODO. A large bird once found in the Isle of France, but now extinct.\n\nDOLOMITE. Crystalline carbonate of lime and magnesia.\n\nDYKE. A rock, generally crystalline, occupying a rent or fissure in some\nother and older rock. A dyke differs from a mineral vein chiefly in its\ngreater magnitude and in the absence of ramifications.\n\nDYNAMICS (Gr., power). Used in mechanics.\n\nECHINODERMATA. Having a skin like a hedgehog.\n\nEFFLORESCENCE. The term used to describe the falling to powder of certain\nminerals on exposure.\n\nEMBOUCHURE. The mouth of a great river.\n\nENALIOSAURIA, PLESIOSAURUS and PLIOSAURUS. Marine Saurians, as the\nIchthyosaurus.\n\nENCRINITE. Stone lily.\n\nENDOGENOUS. Plants that increase from within, as lilies, grasses, and\namong trees, palms.\n\nENTOMOSTRACEA. One of Cuvier\u2019s sections of Crustaceans.\n\nEOCENE. The name given by Sir C. Lyell to the lowest and oldest division\nof the Tertiary series of rocks.\n\nEQUISETUM. A plant, fossil and recent.\n\nESCARPMENT. The steep face of a mountain chain or a ridge of high land.\n\nEXOGENOUS. Plants which increase their wood by external additions or\nrings of growth.\n\nEXUVI\u00c6. A name sometimes given to all fossil remains found in the earth\u2019s\ncrust.\n\nFAUNA. The whole group of animals peculiar to a country or natural region\nat some one period.\n\nFELDSPAR. A hard silicious rock.\n\nFERRUGINOUS. Irony, or containing iron.\n\nFERN. (Lat., Felices), a class of cryptogamous plants.\n\nFISSILE. Capable of being split asunder.\n\nFLUSTRA. A parasitic zoophyte or polyparia, which covers sea-weeds and\nshells.\n\nF\u00c6CAL SEDIMENT. Dregs, excrement.\n\nFORAMINIFERA. The name given to a group of many-chambered shells,\ngenerally microscopic, the chambers communicating by a small open orifice\n(_foramen_).\n\nFOSSIL. A word originally applied to all substances dug out of the earth,\nincluding therefore all minerals, but now limited in its application\nto the remains of organic beings, whether vegetable or animal, buried\nbeneath the surface.\n\nFOSSILIFEROUS. Containing fossils or organic remains.\n\nFRITH. A deep and comparatively narrow arm of the sea.\n\nFRONDS. The leaf of a fern is called a frond.\n\nFUCOID. That which resembles a _fucus_, or seaweed:\u2014fossil remains of\nfuci are called fucoids.\n\nFUSIFORM. Spindle-shaped.\n\nGALENA. Sulphuret of lead.\n\nGANOID. A group of fishes having enameled scales.\n\nGASTEROPODA. A group of shell-bearing animals covered by one valve, and\nhaving a fleshy foot attached to the belly.\n\nGAULT. A bluish clay underlying the Chalk and Upper green sand in England.\n\nGAVIAL. A species of shark found in the Ganges.\n\nGEODES (in mineralogy) a round hollow stone whose cavity is usually\nfilled with crystals.\n\nGLACIS. A gently sloping bank.\n\nGLYPTOLEPIS. (Gr., carved scale.)\n\nGLYPTOPOMUS. A Devonian fossil fish.\n\nGNEISS. The name given to mixtures of quartz, feldspar, and mica, in\nwhich there is a laminated arrangement of the different ingredients.\n\nGONIATITES. Chambered fossil shells.\n\nGRANITE. A rock consisting generally of crystals of feldspar and mica\nimbedded in a quartzy base.\n\nGRAMIN\u00c6. Grasses.\n\nGRAPTOLITES or SEA-PENS. Fossils of the lower Silurian system.\n\nGRAUWACKE or GRAYWACKE. The name given by German geologists to some of\nthe older fossiliferous rocks, and generally of a gray color, sandy\ncomposition, and fissile nature.\n\nGRYPHI\u00c6. Fossil bivalve shells found in the Lias, &c.\n\nHABITAT. The natural district to which a species of animals or vegetables\nis confined in its distribution.\n\nHEXAHEDRAL. Having six equal sides.\n\nHETEROCERCAL. Applied to the tail of a fish, means that the upper lobe\nextends farther than the under.\n\nHETEROPODA. An order of univalve molluscs, whose feet form a kind of fin.\n\nHOLOPTYCHIUS. A Ganoid fish of the coal-measures.\n\nHORNBLENDE. An important mineral in the composition of some rocks.\n\nHOMOCERCAL. Applied to fishes having equal lobed tails.\n\nHORNSTONE. A variety of quartz found in volcanic districts.\n\nHYALINE. Transparent like glass.\n\nHYBODENTES. Fossil fish.\n\nHYL\u00c6OSAURUS. Fossil lizard of the Wealden.\n\nHYPERSTHENE. A mineral.\n\nHYPOGENE ROCKS. Rocks formed beneath others or which are assumed to have\nobtained their present aspect underneath the earth\u2019s surface.\n\nICHTHYODORULITE. The fossil spine of certain fishes resembling sharks.\n\nICHTHYOLITES. Fragments of the bones of fossil fishes.\n\nICHTHYOLOGY. The study and description of fishes.\n\nICHTHYOSAURUS. A marine reptile (fish-lizard), whose remains are very\nabundant in rocks of the Secondary period.\n\nIGNEOUS ROCKS. Rocks, such as lava, trap, and some others which have\nbeen fused by volcanic heat.\u2014Granite and other porphyritic rocks are\nsometimes called crystalline.\n\nIGNIGENOUS. Produced by fire.\n\nIGUANODON. Extinct gigantic lizard.\n\nIMBRICATED. Covered with scales overlapping each other like tiles on the\nroof of a house.\n\nINOCERAMUS. A bivalve of the chalk formation.\n\nINORGANIC. Not produced by vital action.\n\nINVERTEBRATA. Animals not furnished with a back bone.\n\nJUNCUS (in botany). A rush.\n\nLACERTIANS. Lizards.\n\nLACUSTRINE. Belonging to a lake.\n\nLAGOON. A salt-water lake, or part of a sea nearly inclosed by a strip of\nland.\n\nLAMINATED. Arranged in thin plates or _lamin\u00e6_.\n\nLENTICULAR. Lens-shaped.\n\nLEPIDOIDES. Extinct fish of the Oolite formation.\n\nLLANDEILO FLAGS. A division of the lower silurian formation of Murchison.\n\nLIAS. A provincial name now generally adopted to designate the calcareous\nclay or clayey limestone occurring between the Upper new red sandstone\nand the Oolite.\n\nLIGNEOUS. Woody.\n\nLIGNITE. Wood converted into an imperfect kind of coal.\n\nLITHOLOGY (lithos, a stone; logos, a discourse). Description of stones.\n\nLITTORAL. Belonging to the shore.\n\nLOPHIODON. A fossil animal allied to the tapir.\n\nLYCOPODIUM. A cryptogamous plant.\n\nMACAUCO. A four-handed animal allied to the Ape family.\n\nMAMMALIA. Animals that suckle their young.\n\nMARL. A mixture of clay and lime.\n\nMARSUPIAL. An animal having a pouch, as the kangaroo.\n\nMASTODON. A gigantic extinct quadruped resembling the elephant.\n\nMATRIX. The earthy or stony matter in which a mineral or fossil is\nimbedded.\n\nMECHANICAL ROCKS. Rocks formed by deposition from water.\n\nMEGALOSAURUS. A gigantic extinct lizard.\n\nMEGALICHTHYS. Megas, great; ichthus, fish.\n\nMETAMORPHIC ROCKS. Rocks that have undergone change or metamorphosis\nsince their original formation.\n\nMETATARSAL. The part of the foot between the ankle and toes.\n\nMETEOROLOGY. The science of the phenomena of the atmosphere.\n\nMICA SLATE. Is the lowest stratified rock except gneiss\u2014it is\nunfossiliferous.\n\nMIOCENE. The middle of the three divisions of tertiary rocks, according\nto Sir C. Lyell.\n\nMOLASSE. A provincial name for a sandstone associated with marl and\nconglomerates, found abundantly in the great valley of Switzerland. It\nbelongs to the middle tertiary period.\n\nMOLECULES. The ultimate particles or atoms of bodies.\n\nMOLLUSCA. A division in Conchology.\n\nMONOMYARIA. Bivalve shells having but one adductor muscle.\n\nMORAINE. A Swiss term for the d\u00e9bris of rocks brought down into valleys\nby glaciers.\n\nMYRICACI\u00c6. Plants of the Gale family.\n\nMYTILUS. A marine shell, the mussel.\n\nNEUROPTERIS. A fossil fern of the coal-measures.\n\nNODULE. A rounded irregular-shaped mass.\n\nNUCLEUS. The solid center, about which matter is often collected to form\nsolids.\n\nNUMMULITES. A group of foraminiferous shells, some of them of large size\nand very abundant, occurring in rocks chiefly of the oldest tertiary\nperiod.\n\nOOLITE. A limestone composed of rounded particles, like the roe of a\nfish. The name _Oolitic_ is applied to a considerable group of deposits\nin which this limestone occurs.\n\nORGANIC. Exhibiting organization, or the results of vital force. _Organic\nremains_, or _fossils_, are the remains of the animals and vegetables of\na former state of existence found buried in rocks.\n\nORNITHIC. Relating to birds.\n\nORNITHORHYNCHUS. A singular animal, found in New Holland, called also the\nwater-mole.\n\nORTHOCERA. A straight-chambered shell of the Silurian formation.\n\nOSSEOUS. Bony: _Osseous breccia_ is a conglomerate made up of bones\ncemented together by lime, and mixed with earthy matter.\n\nOSTEOLEPIS (bone-scale). A fish of the Old red sandstone.\n\nOSTEOLOGICAL. Relating to bones.\n\nOUTCROP. The line at which a stratum first shows itself at the surface in\ninclined deposits.\n\nOVIPAROUS. Egg-laying animals.\n\nPACHYDERMATA. A group of animals so called from the thickness of their\nskin. The elephant and pig are well known examples.\n\nPAL\u00c6ONISCUS. A fossil fish of the Magnesian limestone of England.\n\nPAL\u00c6ONTOLOGY. The science which treats of fossil organic remains; it is\nthe zoology and botany of the ancient conditions of the earth.\n\nPAL\u00c6OTHERIUM. A genus of Pachydermata allied to the Tapir.\n\nPECOPTERIS. A fern of the coal-measures.\n\nPELAGIAN. Belonging to the sea.\n\nPENTACRINITE. A stone lily with five-sided foot-stalk.\n\nPETROLEUM. Mineral pitch.\n\nPH\u00c6NOGAMOUS, or PHANEROGAMIC PLANTS. Those in which the reproductive\norgans are apparent.\n\nPHRYGANEA. A family of insects which breed in water.\n\nPHYLLOLEPIS. Leaf-scale.\n\nPHYSICAL. Literally _natural_, but used in scientific language in\ntreating of the higher and wider views of various departments with\nreference to the whole external world, and not to mere human objects.\n\nPHYTOLOGY. The department of Natural History which relates to plants.\nBotany.\n\nPLACOID. A group of fishes, so called from the structure of their scales.\n\nPLANORBIS. A fresh water univalve. Fossil and recent.\n\nPLATYGNATHUS. (Greek; platus, wide, and gnathos, jaw or mouth.)\n\nPLESIOSAURUS. An extinct genus of reptiles.\n\nPLIOCENE, OLDER AND NEWER. The upper part of the Tertiary series, so\ncalled by Sir C. Lyell from the preponderance of recent shells in them.\n\nPLUMBAGO (Black lead). The name commonly given to _graphite_, a form of\ncarbon.\n\nPLUTONIC ROCKS. Rocks supposed to be due to igneous action at great\ndepths below the earth\u2019s surface, have been thus named by older\ngeologists. The igneous action is not manifest in such rocks, but\npresumed, as in the case of granite.\n\nPOLYPARIA. A group of animals of which the _coral animal_ is a well known\nexample.\n\nPORCELLIA. The papaw, a plant now called asimina.\n\nPORPHYRY. Any rock having crystals imbedded in a base of other mineral\ncomposition. Thus granite is a porphyritic rock, having crystals of\nfeldspar and mica imbedded in a quartz base.\n\nPREDACEUS. Preying upon other animals.\n\nPREHNITE. A mineral.\n\nPRIMARY, or PRIMITIVE. This name is commonly applied to the rocks which\nunderlie those that are manifestly of mechanical origin and contain\nfossils.\n\nPRODECTUS. A bivalve shell.\n\nPTERICHTHYS. (Winged fish.) A fossil of the Old red sandstone.\n\nPTERODACTYL. A remarkable genus of reptiles adapted for flight; its\nremains have been found in a fossil state throughout the Secondary rocks.\n\nPTEROPODA. Marine animals having wing-like fins.\n\nPUDDING STONE. The name often given to coarse conglomerates in which the\nfragments or pebbles are rounded.\n\nPYRITES. A name given to the combinations of certain metals with sulphur.\n\nQUA-QUA-VERSAL. The dip of beds in every direction from an elevated\ncentral point. The beds on the flanks of a volcanic cone dip in this way.\n\nQUARTZ. The common form of silica; rock-crystal and flint are examples.\n\nRACEME (in botany). When the florets are arranged along the sides of a\ngeneral peduncle.\n\nRADIATA. A division of the animal kingdom so called because the body is\nfrequently presented in a radiated form like the common star-fish.\n\nRETICULATED. A structure of crossed fibers, like a net, is said to be\nreticulated.\n\nROCK (in Geology). Any mass of mineral matter of considerable or\nindefinite extent and nearly uniform character, is called in geological\nlanguage a rock, without regard to its hardness or compactness: thus,\nloose sand and clay, as well as sandstone and limestone, are spoken of\nunder this name.\n\nROCK SALT. Common salt occurring in a crystalline state in rocks.\n\nROE-STONE. The name sometimes given to _Oolite_.\n\nRUMINANTIA. An important group of quadrupeds including those which chew\nthe cud, as the ox, deer, &c.\n\nSACCHAROID. Having the texture of loaf sugar.\n\nSALIFEROUS SYSTEM. The new red sandstone system, so called from the salt\nwith which it is associated in parts of England.\n\nSAURIAN (reptilian). Any animal of the lizard tribe, and many extinct\nreptiles only distantly allied to these.\n\nSAUROIDS. Marine fishes resembling lizards.\n\nSALMONOIDES. Resembling the salmon.\n\nSCHIST. A name often used as synonymous with slate, but more commonly,\nand very conveniently, limited to those rocks which do not admit of\nindefinite splitting, like slate, but are only capable of a less perfect\nseparation into layers or lamin\u00e6. Of this kind are gneiss, mica-schist,\n&c., often more or less crystalline.\n\nSCIRPUS (in Botany). A rush.\n\nSCORI\u00c6. The name given to volcanic ashes. The word means any kind of\ncinders, but its scientific use is thus limited.\n\nSHALE. An indurated clay, less fissile than schist, but splitting with\ntolerable facility in plates parallel to each other, and to the original\nplanes of bedding.\n\nSHELL MARL. A deposit of clay, peat, and silt, mixed with shells, which\ncollects at the bottom of fresh-water lakes.\n\nSERPULA (in Conchology). A worm-like marine shell.\n\nSERRATED. Having points like a saw.\n\nSIGILLARIA. Fossil plants found in the coal-measures.\n\nSILEX, SILICA. The name given by Mineralogists to a pure earth,\nmore commonly spoken of as _flint_, and, when crystallized, called\nrock-crystal.\n\nSILT. The name usually given to the muddy deposit found at the bottom of\nrunning streams.\n\nSILURIAN. The name given by Sir R. Murchison to an important series\nof fossiliferous rocks well developed in, and first described from, a\ndistrict in Wales and Shropshire formerly inhabited by the _Siluri_, a\ntribe of Ancient Britons.\n\nSIPHUNCLE. A small tube passing through an orifice in the septum of a\nchambered shell.\n\nSPHENOPTERIS. Fossilfern (leaf wedge-shaped).\n\nSPHEROID. Having a shape nearly resembling that of a sphere or globe.\n\nSPIRIFER. An extinct bivalve.\n\nSTALACTITE and STALAGMITE. Concretions of carbonate of lime and sometimes\nof other minerals, as quartz or even malachite, deposited by water\ndropping from the roof of a cavern or other vacant space.\n\nSTEATITE. Soapstone.\n\nSTIGMARIA. A coal fossil, an aquatic plant.\n\nSTRATIFICATION. The condition of rocks or accumulated minerals deposited\nin layers, beds, or _strata_.\n\nSTRIKE. The line of bearing of strata, or the direction of any horizontal\nline on a stratum.\n\nSUPERPOSITION. An expression very commonly employed by Geologists to\ndescribe the order of arrangement when one bed or stratum reposes upon\nanother.\n\nSUPRA-CRETACEOUS. A term applied by Sir H. de la B\u00e8che to rocks overlying\nthe chalk. The term Tertiary is now universally adopted for this group.\n\nSYENITE. The granite of the quarries of Syene in Egypt. It is usual to\ncall by this name any combination of quartz, feldspar, and hornblende.\n\nSYNCLINAL AXIS. The line of depression between two anticlinal axes.\n\nSYNCONDROSIS. Connection of bones by cartilage.\n\nTEREBRATULA. A fossil shell.\n\nTERTIARY STRATA. The series of sedimentary rocks overlying the chalk, or\nother representative of the Secondary period, and extending thence to the\nrocks of the Recent period.\n\nTESTACEA. Molluscous or soft animals having a shelly covering.\n\nTHECODONT. A fossil saurian or marine lizard.\n\nTHERMAL. Hot. _Thermal Springs_ are springs whose temperature is above\nthe mean annual temperature of the place where they break out.\n\nTETRAPTEROUS. Four-winged.\n\nTIBIA. The principal bone of the leg.\n\nTOAD-STONE. The name given by miners to beds of basalt, occurring in\nDerbyshire.\n\nTRACHYTE. A feldspathic variety of lava.\n\nTRAP. Crystalline rocks, composed chiefly of feldspar, augite and\nhornblende, combined in many ways, and exhibiting great varieties of\naspect, are frequently called by this name.\n\nTRIAS. The name given on the continent to the beds of the New red\nsandstone series.\n\nTRILOBITE. A common fossil in the Dudley limestone, so named from\nthe characteristic species having the body divided into three lobes.\nTrilobites are the remains of a remarkable extinct family of Crustaceans,\nof which the crab, lobster, &c., are modern representatives.\n\nTRIONYX. A genus of tortoise, having three claws.\n\nTUFACEOUS, TUFF. An Italian name for a variety of volcanic rock of earthy\ntexture, and made up chiefly or entirely of fragments of volcanic ashes.\n\nTURBINATED. Shells which have a spiral or screw-like structure are thus\nnamed.\n\nUNCONFORMABLE SUPERPOSITION (instratification). The condition of strata\nwhen one has been deposited horizontally upon the upturned edges of those\nimmediately below.\n\nUNIO. Fresh water bivalve.\n\nVERTEBRATA, or Vertebrated Animals. A large and most important division\nof the animal kingdom, including all those animals provided with a back\nbone. Each separate bone of the back is called a _vertebra_.\n\nVERTEX. The summit or upper part of a solid.\n\nVITREOUS. Glassy. Used in Mineralogy to designate a peculiar luster.\n\nVIVIPAROUS. Bearing young alive.\n\nWARP. The deposit of muddy waters.\n\nWEALDEN. The name given to an important fresh-water formation, occurring\nbetween the Cretaceous and Oolitic rocks, chiefly in the Wealds of Kent\nand Sussex.\n\nWHIN-STONE. A provincial term applied to some trap rocks.\n\nZAMIA. A plant allied to the palm, plentiful east of the Cape of Good\nHope.\n\nZEOLITE. A group of minerals which swell and boil up when exposed to the\nblow-pipe flame.\n\nZOOPHYTE. The term applied to some animals of low organization, which,\nduring the greater part of their lives, are attached to some foreign\nsubstance, and are incapable of locomotion.","title":"The course of creation","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":136724}