OUTLINES
OF
CREATION.

BY
ELISHA NOYCE.

AUTHOR OF
"THE BOY'S BOOK OF INDUSTRIAL INFORMATION."

ILLUSTRATED WITH
FOUR HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS,
BY
THE BROTHERS DALZIEL.

LONDON:
WARD & LOCK, 158, FLEET STREET.
1858.

(The right of Translation is reserved.)

Dalziel, Brothers, Camden Press, London.

[CONTENTS.]

THE SKY.

  • Sky, definition of [1]
  • Stars, what they are [1]
  • Sun, probable planets of [2]
  • Nebulæ [2]
  • Solar system [3]
  • Planets, list of [3]
  • Sun, the source of light [3]
  • " size, diameter, &c. [3]
  • " spots on [3]
  • " compared with size of planets [4]
  • Orbits, elliptical [5]
  • Ellipse, definition of [5]
  • Earth's orbit, form of [6]
  • Mercury [6]
  • Venus [7]
  • Planets, inferior and superior [7]
  • " conjunction and opposition of [8]
  • The Earth [8]
  • " form of, demonstrated [9]
  • " diurnal motion of [10]
  • " rate of motion of [10]
  • Equinoxes and solstices [12]
  • The Moon [12]
  • " phases of [13]
  • Mars [14]
  • Jupiter [16]
  • " satellites of [18]
  • Saturn [18]
  • " rings of [19]
  • Uranus [21]
  • Neptune [22]
  • The planetoids [22]
  • " supposed origin of [23]
  • The stellar system [24]
  • Stars, number of [24]
  • The Milky Way [24]
  • Nebulæ [24]
  • Constellations [25]
  • Stars, double [26]
  • " variable [27]
  • Comets [27]

THE AIR.

  • Air, how perceived [29]
  • " composition of [29]
  • " weight of [30]
  • Barometer, principle of [30]
  • Winds, course of [31]
  • Vapour, condensation of [31]
  • Snow, hail, and frost [32]
  • " red and green [32]
  • Air, temperature of [32]
  • Dew, cause of [33]
  • " artificial formation of [34]
  • Clouds and fogs [35]
  • Lightning [36]
  • " conductors [37]
  • Thunder-storms [38]
  • Rainbow [39]
  • Air, the source of nourishment [40]
  • " carbonic acid of [41]
  • " the source of coal [41]

THE EARTH.

  • Elements, list of [45]
  • Earths, list of [46]
  • Silica [46]
  • Alumina, Lime, Potassa [47]
  • Soda [48]
  • The Earth, surface of [49]
  • Strata [49]
  • " diagram of [50]
  • " various positions of [51]
  • Faults or dykes [52]
  • Granite [53]
  • Gneiss [54]
  • Strata, primary [54]
  • Earth, primary period of [55]
  • Stalagmites, formation of [58]
  • Terebratula [58]
  • Secondary system [59]
  • Trilobites [59]
  • Mountains, formation of [61]
  • Earth, section of part of [62]
  • Volcanoes, formation of [62]
  • Coral polypi [64]
  • Encrinites [65]
  • Mountain limestone [65]
  • Basalt [66]
  • Tree-ferns, Pines, &c. [66]
  • Air, purification of [67]
  • Coal, formation of [67]
  • " consumption of [68]
  • Coal shales, ferns found in [69]
  • Earth's surface, alterations of [69]
  • Labyrinthodon [70]
  • Red Sandstone, impressions in [70]
  • Saliferous system [71]
  • Lias and oolite [71]
  • Ammonites and pentacrinites [72]
  • Cretaceous system (chalk) [72]
  • Ichthyosaurus and plesiosaurus [73]
  • Coprolites [74]
  • Chalk, organic remains in [75]
  • " flints of [76]
  • Strata, tertiary [78]
  • Alluvium and diluvium [78]
  • " quadrupeds of [78]
  • Dinotherium [79]
  • Mammoth, &c. [80]
  • Irish elk, paleotherium [81]
  • Boulder formation [82]
  • Fossil leaves [83]
  • Man, as yet unformed [83]
  • " his remains only in upper strata [83]
  • Sculptures from Nineveh [84]
  • Earth's surface, always changing [84]
  • " as it is [86]
  • Earth, temperature of [86]
  • Europe [87]
  • Asia and Africa [88]
  • America [88]
  • Australia [89]
  • The Great Desert [89]
  • Oceans [90]

THE WATERS.

  • The waters [91]
  • Sea-weeds, &c. [92]
  • The horizon [93]
  • The cliffs [93]
  • The waters, their divisions [93]
  • The sea, always the same level [94]
  • " waters poured into it [94]
  • Rain, how produced [95]
  • Rivers and streams [96]
  • " causes of their overflowing [97]
  • Lakes [97]
  • Chalk downs, &c., once a sea bottom [98]
  • Sea, its encroachments [98]
  • " waves of [99]
  • " Sargasso [101]
  • Gulf stream [101]
  • Sand, formation of [102]
  • " none in deep seas [102]
  • Diatomaceæ [103]
  • Foraminiferæ [104]
  • Salt, the source of [104]
  • Sea-water, composition of [105]
  • Tides [105]
  • Waters, beneficially arranged [107]
  • Steam navigation [108]
  • Introduction to organic kingdoms [110]

THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

  • Quantity, distribution, &c. [112]
  • Forests of Russia and America [113]
  • Sargasso sea, sea-weed [114]
  • Diatomaceæ [114]
  • Fungi, mould, mildew, &c. [116]
  • Coral reef, fertilisation of [118]
  • Vegetables, composition of [118]
  • " feed on the air [119]
  • " the food of animals [119]
  • " mode of growth [120]
  • " action of light and heat on [121]
  • Seeds, germination of [122]
  • Growth, promoted by rain [123]
  • Endosmose, experiment on [123]
  • Carbonic acid decomposed by
  • plants [124]
  • Sap, course of [124]
  • Vegetables, position they hold [125]
  • " compared with radiata [126]
  • " description of parts of [127]
  • Leaves, forms of [130]
  • Corolla, forms of [132]
  • Stamens, arrangement of [133]
  • Fruit, forms of [134]
  • Inflorescence, forms of [136]
  • Vegetable kingdom, divisions of [139]
  • Acrogenæ [141]
  • Algæ [141]
  • Fungi [143]
  • Lichens, ferns [144]
  • Liverworts [145]
  • Mosses, various [146]
  • Horsetails [147]
  • Endogenæ [147]
  • Bamboo, applications of [152]
  • Endogenæ, orders of [154]
  • Grasses [154]
  • Sedges, Arums [155]
  • Bull-rush, Colchicum [156]
  • Lily, Narcissus [157]
  • Crocus, Orchids [158]
  • Naiads, Flowering rushes [159]
  • Water Plantain [160]
  • Exogens [160]
  • " wood of [161]
  • " age of [162]
  • Baobab [163]
  • Woods, various kinds of [165]
  • Galls, formation of [167]
  • Wood, uses of [167]
  • Exogens, size of [168]
  • Wellingtonia Gigantea [168]
  • Banyan [170]
  • Exogens, sub-classes of [170]
  • Thalamifloræ, orders of [171]
  • White Water Lily [171]
  • Poppies, Monkshood [172]
  • Fumitory, Water-cress [173]
  • Helianthemum, Berberry [174]
  • Violet, Sun-dew [175]
  • Milkwort, Bachelor's Buttons [176]
  • Lime Tree, St. John's Wort [177]
  • Marsh Mallow, Meadow Geranium [178]
  • Flax, Maple Tree [179]
  • Rue, Wood Sorrel [180]
  • Calycifloræ, orders of [181]
  • Spindle Tree, Buckthorn [181]
  • Broom, Garden Pea [182]
  • Pear Tree, Rose, Strawberry, Loose Strife [183]
  • French Willow, Myrtle [184]
  • House-leek, Gooseberry [185]
  • London Pride, Fennel, Hemlock [186]
  • Corollifloræ, orders of [187]
  • Melon, Dogwood [187]
  • Honeysuckle, Guelder Rose, Cross Wort [188]
  • Valerian, Red Valerian, Teasel [189]
  • Coltsfoot, Ox-eye Daisy, Harebell [190]
  • Grey Heath, Gentian, Buck-bean [191]
  • Pimpernel, Primrose, Bindweed [192]
  • Borage, Sage [193]
  • Tobacco [194]
  • Speedwell [195]
  • Butterwort, Plantain [196]
  • Thrift, Holly [197]
  • Monochlamydeæ, orders of [197]
  • Ladies' Mantle [197]
  • Beetroot, Buckwheat [198]
  • Oleaster, Spurge Laurel [199]
  • Sweet Chestnut, Box [200]
  • Hop, White Willow [201]
  • Birch, Alder, Elm [202]
  • Larch, Yew, Bay [203]
  • Plants, list of poisonous [204]
  • Monk's-hood, Wolf's-bane [204]
  • Bryony, Green Hellebore, Stinking Hellebore [205]
  • Mezerium, Meadow Saffron [206]
  • Foxglove, Staves-acre [207]
  • Nightshade [208]
  • Hemlock, Thorn Apple [209]
  • Poppies, Henbane [210]
  • Caper, Wild Lettuce [211]
  • Fungi, poisonous [212]

THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.

[INTRODUCTION.]

The object of this work is to bring before the reader a simple and intelligible description of the whole Creation, without attempting to enter into minute particulars on any of the subjects more than is sufficient to present them in a form clear enough to be both comprehended, and recollected; thus aiming at the production of a taste for such knowledge, and a desire to enter more minutely into any or all of the subjects this work embraces, which desire can easily be gratified by a study of some of the many excellent works devoted exclusively to the individual parts, which in this work are treated of collectively. The want of a general knowledge of those works of the Great Creator which are constantly spread out before us, in these days of easy acquirement, amounts almost to a sin, for it is by the study of Nature in all her varied forms and associations, that we learn to "look from Nature up to Nature's God;" for who can look upon the works of God without a feeling of awe and admiration? who can look upwards at "the spacious firmament on high," without a sense of his own insignificance? who can gaze around upon the beauty and variety the earth displays, without a strong desire to know more of such a Great Creator's works?—and he who knows the most, be sure it is he who will worship Him with the truest and most heartfelt gratitude and admiration. The works of God (next to the Divine revelation of His will) are the highest studies to which Man can apply his intellect; it has required the greatest study of the greatest minds to find out and record but a few facts to add to the general store, and surely no one should consider his time misspent who can read over such records, and trace their truth by comparison with Nature, the more especially as it is by these means a love of inquiry is engendered, and that ultimately he may be enabled by diligent perusal of the great Book of Nature, to add his quota to the store of knowledge already formed and recorded.

It is true that infidels have often brought forward some branch of Science in confutation of Scripture, but it is also a fact that in nearly every such case, the very arguments that have been used by these men, have at last become the strongest arguments on the other side. Geology was at first adduced as a proof that the world had existed from all eternity, instead of having been created by an Omnipotent God, and the question had often been asked, "Can you produce one proof of the creation of anything?" Now this was a difficult question to answer, until Geology made manifest the fact that Man was created, by producing a clear and unimpeachable proof that up to a certain time, he did not exist on the earth, and that at a period of time, a little later, he did exist; the space between these epochs is not known, but it has nothing to do with the argument, for within that period (whatever it may have been) Man was created, and created as perfect in his physical organisation as he is at present—no long series of developments from the higher animals by fortuitous circumstances, as some pretend—no gradual addition of parts to suit the physical changes of the earth's surface. There is undoubted proof from the oldest records, in the form of Sculptures, that Man's appearance has always been the same, and the records of the Bible (the antiquity of which, at all events, cannot be disputed) show that the constitution of his mind was at that time just as it is now—every passion, every desire the same—the only advance he has made, is in the knowledge of God's works; the application of that knowledge to his own benefit, and the glorification of his Maker.

THE SKY.

FIG. 11. TELESCOPIC APPEARANCE OF THE MOON.

The Sky is the familiar name used to express that wonderful and vast expanse of space which extends on all sides far beyond our knowledge or conception, and in which the earth and millions of other orbs move round suns as their centres. Countless millions of these suns exist at immense distances apart and of the most prodigious magnitudes (many thousand times larger than this earth), these are the stars which on clear nights we see twinkling so brightly in the sky; our sun is one of them, but being very much nearer to us than the others it appears proportionately larger and brighter, and is our centre of attraction and circulation. There is but little doubt that every star has its circulating worlds or "planets," but these are too small to be seen even with the best telescopes; this may be understood when it is considered that the stars themselves, by the most powerful aids, appear but as bright points or specks, and they are thousands of times larger than the worlds which would circulate round them. But though their planets cannot be perceived by the naked eye, yet analogy teaches us that they in all probability exist, for very many of the heavenly bodies have satellites revolving round them, of such are our moon and the moons of Jupiter, and in this sense the planets themselves may be considered as the satellites of the sun, and as the sun has its satellites revolving round it, it is fair to conclude that it is not the only one of all the stars which has. All these thousands of suns and planets, millions of miles apart, and occupying space, the extent of which we have no terms to express, form but one system of stars out of many, for by comparison with infinite space they occupy but a point, telescopes of the greatest power having revealed that beyond all these stars, there is an immense space in which are seen other systems of stars, as great and numerous as our own, to which the name "Nebulæ" has been given. The mind fails to reach to such magnitude, and it is certain that the study of these great things, brings us to regard size and space (like time) as nothing; for it appears that God has expanded or contracted His works at will to suit His plan of creation without regard to limit; whether we look at the most minute shell or the greatest orb, still His marks of design are equally evident. If we consider it wonderful that God should take up hundreds of millions of miles for one system, and that He should scatter through space millions of such systems, then let us lay aside the telescope and, after an exclamation of adoration, take up the microscope, by which we shall learn that God has also placed millions of systems equally wonderful within the compass of an inch! We shall at once acknowledge that he is "Lord of all," and that size, space, quantity, and time, are mere fictions of our own imperfect minds, and that to an Infinite God there is no difficulty from such sources.

THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

This is the name given to that collection of worlds which, with the sun as a centre, circulate at different distances from and around it. There have at present been discovered eight large planets and thirty-four smaller ones called "asteroids" or "planetoids," the larger planets revolving in the following order from the sun or centre:—

1. Mercury. 5. Jupiter.
2. Venus. 6. Saturn.
3. The Earth. 7. Uranus.
4. Mars. 8. Neptune.

The Sun, the centre of the solar system, is the great source of light and heat to our planet and all others which revolve around it, as well as of another agent not so well understood, namely "actinism," or that power which produces the chemical changes in many substances exposed to the sun's rays, and which has been of late turned to such useful and wonderful account in the art of photography.

The sun is an immense sphere, many thousand times larger than our earth, or indeed all the planets put together. It turns upon its axis in twenty-five days, and, like all spheres which rotate, has a slightly flattened form; it is supposed that the sun itself, carrying its planets with it, performs a journey round some other centre very far away, but for all the purposes of explaining the solar system it may be supposed to be stationary. The diameter of the sun is about 890,000 miles, or nearly 112 times the diameter of our earth, and as the bulk of spheres is as the cubes of their diameters, it follows that the sun is about 1,400,000 times the bulk of the earth. Fig. 1 shows the relative size of the sun and the planets which rotate round it; the specific gravity of the sun is about a quarter that of our earth or one-and-a-half times that of water. On its surface irregularities are seen (by the aid of the telescope) which give it a wavy appearance, and beside these, black spots or tracts (maculæ) which appear to traverse from west to east, across its face; these however do not travel on, but are carried round by the sun in its rotation, for by observing any one of them, it is seen to go across and make its appearance again at the other side, and the time it takes to arrive at the place where it was first seen, determines the time of the sun's rotation, which (as before stated) is twenty-five days or nearly; these spots alter in size, form, and number from time to time, some of them remaining permanent for months, others closing in and disappearing in a few hours.

FIG. 1. PLANETS COMPARED WITH A QUARTER OF THE SUN.

FIG. 2.

FIG. 3.

These black spots have a sort of shadowy fringe (penumbra) which gives them the appearance of being openings through a luminous surface, discovering a surface less luminous, with openings in it through which some still darker surface is seen; that this really is the case, and that these are not merely dark spots or surfaces, is shown by the fore-shortening of the nearest edge as they arrive at the verge of the sun's disc, and are consequently presented edgewise to the eye, so that a spot may have the appearance of fig. 2 when seen in front-view near the centre, and of fig. 3 when seen fore-shortened near the edge of the sun's disc. These spots (although but specks in comparison with the vast surface of the sun) are yet of prodigious magnitude, some having been calculated to measure 18,000 miles across—large enough for two such worlds as ours to pass through side by side! From the rapid motion of the "penumbra" or edges of these spots, which alter, open, and close up very rapidly, and from some of them being semi-dark, others quite dark, &c., it has been concluded that the sun has at least two surrounding atmospheres, that the body of the sun is not luminous, nor the first atmosphere or that nearest to it, but that the outer one is, and that the dusky appearance of the inner, as seen through openings of the luminous outer atmosphere, results from its being very strongly illuminated by the outer one; this luminosity may be (and probably is) only comparative, for the spots which appear black may be yet very bright, appearing black only in comparison with the extreme brilliancy of the outer atmosphere, just as a bar of red-hot iron appears black when held up to the sun. The course which the planets take round the sun is not exactly circular, but deviating from it more or less, never being quite a circle. The orbit of each planet, if accurately computed and laid down on paper, proves to be that form of curved line called an "ellipse," or that form which instead of having one centre, as in the circle, from which all lines radiating to the circumference are equal in length, has a longer and shorter diameter, two centres called "foci," and the circumference or boundary so placed that the sum of any two lines, drawn one from each centre, and meeting at any part of the circumference, shall be equal to any two other lines so drawn and meeting at any other point of the circumference, and to the major axis or long diameter of the ellipse. In fig. 4, each pair of lines drawn from A A and meeting repectively at B are each equal. An ellipse may be very much elongated, or almost circular, but still have these properties which are essential to it, and in the case of the orbits of the planets, they are so nearly circular, that if drawn a few inches wide, would hardly be detected to differ from the circle. The orbit of the earth is about one thirtieth part longer than broad.

FIG. 4.

The rate at which the planets revolve round the sun is not equable, that is, their progress is not through equal distances at equal times, but a line drawn from the planet to the sun would always pass over equal spaces or "areas" in equal times, for example, in fig. 5, if the area of the angle included in A B C be equal to that included in A D E, then a planet would pass from B to C and from D to E in equal times.

Mercury is the smallest of the greater planets, and the nearest to the sun. Its diameter is about 3000 miles, and it is about one-fifteenth part the volume of the earth; its distance from the sun is 36,770,000 miles, and it performs its revolution in eighty-eight days.

FIG. 5.

This planet is but seldom seen with the naked eye; for, being so (comparatively) near to the sun, it sets before dark, and does not rise till the grey of morning makes it scarcely visible. Nothing notable has been discovered on its surface.

Venus is the second in rotation from the sun, and revolves round it, at a distance of 68,750,000 miles, in 224½ days. The diameter of Venus is about 7760 miles, it is therefore nearly the volume of the earth. This is the brightest planet seen in the heavens, for although much smaller than many others, its comparative nearness to the sun and earth causes it to appear larger and brighter to the eye. Venus is the evening and morning star; for when to the west of the sun, it rises before it, and is then called "the morning star" (or, formerly, "Lucifer"), but when it is to the east of the sun, it sets after twilight is gone, and is called "the evening star," or "Hesperus."

These two planets, Mercury and Venus, have "phases" (like the moon), or certain positions in which the whole of the side illuminated by the sun is seen from the earth, and other positions in which it is seen sideways; the planet is then said to be in "quadrature," as may be seen at Q Q, fig. 6. Mercury and Venus, being between the sun and the earth, are called "inferior" planets, while those whose orbits are outside that of the earth are called "superior" planets. When either of the inferior planets are between the earth and the sun, they are said to be in "inferior conjunction" (I C, fig. 6), and when on the opposite side, or behind the sun, so that a straight line from it to the earth would have to pass through the sun, then it is called being in "superior conjunction" (S C); at mid-distance, either east or west, it is said to be in "eastern" or "western quadrature."

FIG. 6. PLANETS SEEN IN QUADRATURE.

The third planet from the sun is the Earth, distant about 95,000,000 miles, with a diameter of 7925 miles, so that the most lofty mountains (five miles high) bear about the same proportion to it as would an elevation one-fourteenth of an inch in height to a ball of ten feet in diameter; therefore, with all its valleys and high hills, the surface of the earth is smoother in proportion to its bulk than the rind of an orange. The earth is not a perfect sphere, but has a slightly flattened form, as though it had been compressed at the poles. The diameter at the poles is the smallest, and is 7899 miles, while that at the equator (its greatest) is 7925 miles, being a difference of twenty-six miles; but this is so small, when compared with the size of the earth, that if an exact model of it were made, four inches in diameter, it would require the most accurate measurement to determine that it was not a perfect sphere.

FIG. 7.

The form of the earth has been demonstrated by accurate experiments and calculations, but there are many things we may observe, convincing us of its rotundity; one of the most evident of these is the fact that as a ship at sea goes from the land, the hull first disappears, then the lower sails, and lastly the tops, while a ship approaching the shore shows first the topsails, and lastly the hull; see fig. 7, where A shows a ship on the horizon, B hull-down, C out of sight. In the same way, the tops of distant mountains are seen at sea long before the lower lands. Another proof is drawn from the fact, that ships have been sailed quite round the earth; by steering as nearly as possible in one direction, they have arrived at the place from which they started. A third proof of the earth's rotundity is found in the form of its shadow, when the moon is eclipsed by it; this shadow, as thrown by the earth upon the moon, is circular, in whatever position the earth may be, and a sphere is the only solid form which can in all positions cast a circular shadow.

The earth turns upon its axis every 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds, which constitutes a day, and makes one revolution round the sun in every 365¼ days, which make up a year; but the earth's axis is not at a right angle to an imaginary line drawn from the earth to the sun, but at an angle of 23 deg. 28 min. to it, as shown at fig. 8, where the line from n to s is the earth's axis of rotation, the dotted line leading to s is the sun's direction, and e q is the equator.

FIG. 8.

The earth travels through space at a rate of more than a million-and-a-half miles per day, besides the distance which each object upon it is carried in its diurnal rotation (24,000 miles). At first thought it would seem impossible that such a rapid motion should not be felt; but as the air and clouds, and every object belonging to the earth, moves with it, and this motion is perfectly smooth, it can only be perceived by looking at objects independent of the earth. If sailing on the water, when it is quite smooth and the land not very near, the ship seems to be stationary and the objects on shore appear to pass along in an opposite direction to that in which the ship is going. It is the same with the earth; the sun, which appears to move, is stationary, while the earth is going round it; and the result is, while the earth turns round on its axis the whole firmament appears to move, we lose sight of those stars which are to the westward, which are then said to "set," while those to the eastward, constantly coming into sight, are said to "rise," the whole appearing to pass from east to west, while in reality the earth's surface is passing from west to east. At the equator, or that part of the earth which lies midway between the poles, the sun and stars appear to rise and set perpendicularly to the horizon and at equal times above and below it, it is therefore 12 hours day and 12 hours night; in places not situated on the equator, they do not rise and set perpendicularly to the horizon, but form portions of circles at greater or less altitudes in the heavens, and the nearer the observer is to either of the poles, the smaller the circle, and the more of it is seen; so that, at the poles, any star situated exactly overhead does not appear to move at all. This place is called the north pole of the heavens, and the nearest star to it is called the "polestar," which neither rises nor sets, and, as it always keeps the same position, serves as a guide to mariners. All this is the effect of the diurnal motion of the earth, its annual motion not affecting the position of the stars, they being at such an immense distance that the circle which the earth forms in passing round the sun—although nearly 200,000,000 miles across—is as a mere point in proportion. But not so with the sun: as before stated, at the equator it is twelve hours above the horizon and the same time below it; now, as we approach towards the poles, it forms at each rotation an arc above the horizon, lower and lower, until at the poles its daily rising and setting is lost altogether, and there would never be daylight there, provided that the earth was only subject to the diurnal motion (fig. 9); but as the earth turns upon an oblique axis, the north and south poles share the blessing of daylight between them, so that through one-half of the earth's orbit the north pole is towards the sun, as shown in the figure, and the south pole during the other half. There is therefore at the poles but one day and one night in the year—the day being summer and the night winter. In less northern climates, as England, this exists to a much smaller extent; for half the year the sun is longer above than below the horizon, constituting our summer, the other half of the year the sun is longer below the horizon than above it, and this is winter. Hence, in each case, midway between, the sun is twelve hours above and twelve below the horizon, which occurs in spring and autumn, being called the "equinoxes" (equal nights); the vernal or spring equinox takes place on the 21st of March, the autumnal on the 21st of September. The times just between these, when the sun is the longest and shortest time below the horizon, are called the summer and winter solstices, and occur on the 21st of December and the 21st of June.

FIG. 9.

The earth has a smaller sphere or "satellite," circulating round it, this is the Moon; it is placed at a distance of about 238,000 miles from the earth, is about one-fiftieth of its bulk or volume, and revolves round it every 27½ days, keeping always the same side towards it, so that the other side has never been seen. This is effected by rotation on its axis, which takes place once for every circuit round the earth; if it did not rotate, or kept the same side always to the same point of the heavens, then, when it had half-way revolved, the other side would be turned towards the earth. There are good reasons for believing that the moon has no atmosphere or air around it, for the concave edge (when only a small portion of the half illuminated by the sun is seen) instead of being gradually shaded off into darkness, as would be the case if there were an atmosphere, is well defined and uneven, showing the tops of some of the mountains and their shadows (fig. 10). Nor does there appear to be any clouds, and as a consequence no water; neither has anything been observed by the aid of the best telescopes which could be considered sea, on the contrary, the whole surface seems torn up and rent into chasms and immense jagged mountains, enclosing circular portions like gigantic walls. The darkened parts which are always seen on the surface of the moon were formerly supposed to be seas, but of late, by the use of improved instruments, they have been seen to be rough like the other parts, and cannot therefore be water (fig. 11). As there appears to be no water, it may be confidently inferred that there are no inhabitants.

FIG. 10.

The moon having always one half illuminated by the sun, while the other half is dark, presents different "phases" to us on the earth, according to the position in which we view it; thus, in fig. 12, e represents the central position of the earth, and S the direction from which the light of the sun comes, the outer circle of moons represents the various real positions of that luminary with respect to the earth and sun, and the inner circle shows its appearance when in these various positions. When the moon is between the earth and sun, as at a, it is said to be in "conjunction," and as the darkened side is towards the earth, of course it is not visible, this is "new moon" (a corruption of "no moon"); when at b b, but a small part of the illuminated half is seen, and it is then said to be "crescentic" (first and last quarter); at c c, half of the bright side is seen, the moon is said to be at "quadrature," and the appearance is that of a "half-moon;" at d d, the greater part of the bright side is seen, and it is called "gibbous" and appears as a "three-quarter-moon," and at e the whole of the illuminated side is seen; it is then "full-moon," and is said to be in "opposition."

FIG. 12.

Beyond the earth the planet Mars (fig. 13) moves in its orbit round the sun; it is the smallest, but one, of the larger planets, having a diameter of but 4085 miles, and being only about one-seventh the magnitude of the earth; it makes its revolution in 687 days, at a distance of 144,780,000 miles from the sun.

FIG. 13.

FIG. 14.

Owing to the brilliancy and proximity to the sun of Venus and Mercury, together with other causes, no rotation has been observed in them, but as this exists in all the other planets there is no doubt they also rotate, but the nearness of Mars to the earth when in opposition (that is, when the earth is between it and the sun), has caused its rotation to be distinctly visible; the observation of this has been from time to time greatly favoured by certain dark spots which have remained stationary a sufficient time to determine the question very accurately. Mars takes 24 hours and 37 minutes to turn on its axis, or pretty nearly the time the earth does. Its resemblance is still more increased by the axis of rotation being oblique, from all which it is inferred that there is a day and night, winter and summer, and variation of climate very nearly resembling that of our own world, and there are round bright parts situated at the poles of Mars, which enlarge when it is winter there and diminish when summer, just as would the snows of arctic regions, and these are therefore supposed to be portions of the surface of Mars which are actually covered with snow (fig. 13). As to the question of the planets being inhabited, of course it can never be answered with certainty, but it is a great deal more likely that they are than that the moon is, which, having neither water nor atmosphere, can hardly be supposed to give habitation to any beings similar or analogous to those on earth, while Mars possesses a climate not greatly differing from that of the earth, and has both air and water. Mars has, at certain positions of the earth with respect to it, a partially "gibbous" form, that is, a small portion of the non-illuminated part comes within the lines of our vision it is then of the form seen in (fig. 14), but this can only occur when the earth and planet occupy positions somewhat near to that represented in fig. 15, in which s is the sun, e e opposite positions of the earth, and m Mars.

FIG. 15.

FIG. 16.

FIG. 17.

Jupiter is by far the largest of the planets, it is 87,030 miles in diameter, and placed at the enormous distance of 494,000,000 miles from the sun. This great planet takes 12 years and 52 days to perform its circuit; it turns upon its axis in 9 hours 55 minutes, a surprisingly short time considering the immensity of its bulk. As a result of this rapid motion Jupiter is very far removed from the form of a true sphere, for the oblate form of heavenly bodies is caused by their rotatory motion, and the centrifugal force set up by it. In fig. 16 is an outline of the earth and Jupiter, showing their relative size. It has no phases, like those planets which are nearer to the sun than the earth, its great distance preventing this, as may be seen in fig. 17, in which the earth (e e) is placed at the two widest lateral positions of its orbit, but the earth is too near the sun, in proportion to the great distance of Jupiter, to allow any part of the latter to come within the range of vision, except that which is illuminated by the sun. This planet is high up in the heavens the greater number of nights in the year, and is therefore a very conspicuous object. It also presents a most beautiful appearance through a good telescope, its vast size causing it to look larger than those which are much nearer; it has several shadowy belts across it, which are supposed to be openings in the strata of clouds which surround it, drawn into ring-like forms by the rotation of the planet, these are shown in fig. 18. It being probable that this great planet is surrounded by strata of the densest clouds which only open in the tropical region, its inhabitants therefore, (if there be any) get but a glimpse of the firmanent and its stars through them, in those situations at or near to the planet's equator. These dense clouds serve a very useful purpose in regions so very far removed from the source of heat, for if radiation were permitted to go on freely from the surface of the planet the sun's rays would be too feeble to compensate for it, and the cold would be intense; but the clouds reflect back the heat radiated from the surface and keep in what little heat is received at that great distance. Jupiter has four satellites or moons, which revolve round it as our moon does round this earth.

FIG. 18.

FIG. 19.

Far beyond Jupiter rolls another stupendous orb called Saturn, not so large as Jupiter, but still immense, being 847 times the bulk of the earth. It is placed at the distance of 906 millions of miles from the sun. An idea of this may be formed from the fact that light, which travels at the rate of nearly 200,000 miles a second or 12,000,000 a minute, takes about an hour and a quarter to pass from the sun to Saturn. It performs its journey round the sun only in 29½ years, which are therefore but as one year, yet all this time it is moving at the rate of nearly 22,000 miles an hour, so immense is the orbit it has to traverse, but it revolves on its axis in about 10½ hours, so that the nights and days are extremely short while the years are prodigiously long. There is every reason to believe that it has changes of seasons and variation of climate similar to those in our world, but, being so far from the sun, they must be altogether more severe than ours. The most extraordinary part of this great globe is its possession of three (perhaps more) great flattened rings, which surround it, one within the other; these rings are of immense size and width, but very thin, the great breadth through all from the inner to the outer edges being about 30,000 miles, while their thickness cannot exceed 250. These rings are placed at a right angle to the planet's axis of rotation and revolve with it, so that when the planet is at the equinox, the edge of these rings is turned towards the sun, they can then be seen only by the most powerful telescopes, forming a faint streak on each side of the orb of the planet (fig. 19), but as they become inclined they appear as a very long ellipse, the ends of which project in loop-like forms on either side, giving rise to the notion of the planet having two handles (fig. 20). This ellipse becomes broader and broader as the plane of the rings forms a greater angle with the line of vision. For a short time before and after the equinoxes of Saturn, the rings become invisible, owing to the earth and sun being on opposite sides of them, as may be seen in fig. 21, so that the darkened side is turned towards the earth and the edge, which is the only part illuminated, is towards the sun.

FIG. 20.

FIG. 21.

The inner ring of Saturn is supposed to be composed of watery vapour, as it is somewhat transparent, but the outer ones are solid, which is shown by the shadow they cast upon the planet, and the shadow it casts upon them in different positions (figs. 22 and 23). Besides these rings Saturn has eight satellites or moons, which revolve in a plane nearly parallel to that of the rings and exterior to them. It has been calculated that Saturn weighs only 100 times more than the earth, although it is somewhere about 900 times larger, from which it is concluded that the substance of which Saturn is made must be about one-ninth the density of this earth, half the density of water, or about the same as cork. Saturn is very much flattened at the poles, so much so that the equatorial diameter is a tenth more than the axial diameter, which difference is distinctly visible through good glasses.

Still further into space, at double the distance of Saturn, or nearly 1822 millions of miles from the sun, another great world or planet revolves round it, it is called Uranus. This planet is not so large as either Jupiter or Saturn, but is of considerable magnitude, being eighty times that of this world, it takes eighty-four of our years to complete its vast circle round the sun, which are therefore equivalent to but one year of Uranus.

FIG. 22.

FIG. 23.

It has several satellites, four of which have been discerned perfectly, but it is doubtful whether there have not been two more seen. This orb was first recognised as a planet by Sir Wm. Herschell, after whom it was for some time named.

Another, and the most remote planet in our system, is Neptune, revolving at the immense distance of 2850 millions of miles from the sun, and taking more than 164 years to perform the journey. This planet is only to be seen by the most powerful glasses, and was discovered under very peculiar circumstances, not (like other planets) by chance; its existence was recognised as necessary to account for certain "perturbations" or deviations in the orbit of Uranus, which was found to take a course differing from what it should, according to computation, and which were only to be accounted for by supposing that another planet existed far out in space, which affected the course of Uranus by its attraction. The idea of finding out where this orb should be, occurred to M. Le Verrier and Mr. Adams, independent of each other; they both arrived at nearly similar conclusions, for the positions assigned to the supposed planet so nearly agreed with each other and with its real position, that their calculations have been looked on as the greatest feat of astronomical research. It was discovered by Dr. Galle of Berlin, upon his hearing from Le Verrier the position in which at that time it should be sought for.

THE PLANETOIDS.

Upon observing the relative distances of the planets from each other in passing outwards from Mercury, it will be found that each one is placed about double the distance of the one next before it (not exactly, but sufficiently near to form a coincidence almost amounting to a law), they are as follows:—

Mercury 36,700,000
Venus 68,770,000
The Earth 95,000,000
Mars 144,780,000
Jupiter 494,000,000
Saturn 906,000,000
Uranus 1822,000,000
Neptune 2850,000,000

It will be seen, however, that in this table of distances there is one great exception to the rule, namely the distance between Mars and Jupiter, which is nearly double what it should be according to this rule, giving rise to the idea that a planet ought to be placed between them. Professor Bode was so convinced that something of the kind was necessary to complete the harmony of the series, that he caused to be instituted a search for the supposed planet, and according to his conjecture one was discovered as nearly as possible in the situation indicated, but upon more accurate information being obtained, this planet was found to be so small (scarcely 150 miles diameter) that it could hardly be considered as a planet ranging with the others, and having so large a space of the heavens to itself; shortly afterwards another small planet was discovered, having nearly the same orbit. From time to time others have been discovered, to the number of forty-two, up to the present date. Dr. Olbers upon discovering the second of these small bodies, where one great one was anticipated, put forth the curious hypothesis, that one large planet had really existed there at some former time, that it had been shattered into pieces by some accident, such as an internal explosion, and that more of these pieces would be found; it is curious how accurately this prediction has been verified.

If we suppose the original planet to have been liquid when shattered to pieces, it would fully account for the fragments being spherical, just as globules of mercury assume this form from their own attraction of gravitation, and that the planets, our own earth amongst them, are liquid, is very nearly proved by their forms, which are exactly such as fluid masses rotating on an axis would assume, moreover the specific gravity of some of the planets is but little more than that of water, and with respect to our earth, the evidence of internal heat, increasing as we descend below the surface, &c., show almost beyond doubt that at the present time it is in a liquid state (molten) covered over by a few miles' thickness of hardened crust, which bears such a small proportion to the bulk of the globe, that the whole may be considered as liquid.

THE STELLAR SYSTEM.

The thousands of stars which spangle the heavens are all part of one "system;" but it has been found by the aid of the telescope that this system is but one out of many. Our system of stars occupies a space somewhat in the form of a thick lens or much-flattened sphere, but others are of very different forms, and some have but little regularity of form at all; our sun is one of the stars of this system. It is not known whether there are planets revolving round the other stars, the distance being far too great for any telescope to render them visible. Our sun occupies a somewhat central position in the system. The stars are classed into sizes, as first magnitude, second magnitude, &c., on to the thirteenth or fourteenth magnitude, but all beyond the fifth magnitude (by far the greater number) are only visible by the aid of the telescope. There are about 5000 stars visible to the naked eye. But fourteen stars of the first magnitude are in our hemisphere of the heavens, and about fifty of the second, but the number of stars of each magnitude increases prodigiously in the higher numbers, so that those stars capable only of being seen by the aid of powerful telescopes, amount to many millions; these are chiefly situated in a great belt which encircles the heavens, called the "Milky Way," which is caused by the line of vision passing through the breadth of our starry system, and consequently meeting with a greater number of stars than in other directions, where it only crosses its thickness.

The other systems of stars, called "nebulæ," from their resemblance to little clouds, were supposed to consist of luminous matter of but little density, and which might at some future period be condensed into stars; but the improved power and construction of telescopes have enabled astronomers to resolve many of these nebulæ into clusters of stars, and there is but little doubt that all could be thus resolved, were the telescope of sufficient power; and thus it appears that in the infinity of space collections of systems are placed, each one too distant from the others to be calculated or written in numbers, but each consisting of thousands of suns many hundred times greater than this earth, and many millions of miles from each other. What an idea of space does this afford, and how soon do all our narrow notions of possibility and impossibility vanish before such facts accomplished by the hands of God!

FIG. 24.

FIG. 25.

Amongst the stars composing our system there are certain conspicuous groups or constellations, which were named by the earliest astronomers, and compose a list of the most ridiculous imaginary figures, as useless to the casual observer of the stars as to the astronomer, and have not the most distant resemblance to the figures after which they are named, as for instance the "Great Bear" (Ursa Major) fig. 24. The grouping of stars into constellations serves, however, to find any one required (provided the groups on the chart can be identified with those in the heavens), as for instance the three conspicuous stars forming "Orion's belt" (fig. 25), from which a line produced eastward will point to Sirius, the brightest star in the heavens, and another line produced westward will serve to point out "Aldebaran," also a star of the first magnitude, &c.; also a line drawn from a to b in the Great Bear will nearly point to the pole-star—the star situated nearly (although not exactly) at the pole, or that part of the heavens which would be indicated by a line drawn through the earth at its axis of rotation. Amongst the stars scattered over the vault of heaven there are many which to the naked eye appear single, but which when seen through the telescope prove to be two stars closely approaching each other. These "double stars" are of two kinds, "optical" and "physical;" optical double stars are those which appear to be near each other merely from the accident of one being placed behind the other, nearly in a straight line, although in reality at an immense distance and in no way connected. Physical double stars (usually called "binary systems") consist of two suns comparatively near each other and revolving about their common centre of gravity. Sir William Herschell first discovered their physical connection, and thereby proved that the great law of gravitation was not confined to our system, but was the ruling power which controlled and regulated other systems. Astronomers have calculated the orbits of only fourteen such "binary systems" at present with any degree of certainty; about a thousand double stars are known, but only about one hundred "binary systems." In some "binary systems" the two suns are of different colours; white and purple, red and green, or yellow and blue. If any planets revolve about such suns, when situated between the two, what strange phenomena must occur! Imagine a day during which a red sun had tinted everything crimson, being succeeded at sunset (not, as with us, by darkness) by the rising of a green sun, changing the colour of every object from red to green, and how curious and beautiful must be the shades of light and colour during the transition from one day to the other. Can anything be conceived more gorgeous?—no shadow, but every object tinted with a combination of colours of the most brilliant hues! Triple, quadruple, and multiple stars are known in abundance, but all probably optically so, and not in any way connected with each other by attraction. Others of the stars are called "variable," they are those whose light gradually diminishes and after a time regains its former brightness; some of them not only vary in brilliancy but in colour; the cause of these phenomena is totally unknown, and fortunate will he be who discovers it; it will be a great stride in the science of astronomy, for at present everything proposed has been quite inadequate to account for such phenomena. About 60 of these variable stars are at present known, but others are constantly being added to the list. Hind has discovered twenty-one, Pogson seven, and other astronomers have taken their share in discerning them.

But, of all the heavenly bodies, none have excited so much wonder, and in former times so much fear, as the Comets. The orbits of these are for the most part in very eccentric ellipses, some of them comprised within the limits of our solar system, while those of others extend millions of miles beyond it, so that they only reappear to us after hundreds of years. The matter of which these bodies is composed is certainly not solid, as the smallest telescopic stars may be seen through the very middle of it, although many thousand miles in thickness. When comets approach the sun, their substance appears to become more condensed, and therefore to possess a greater power of reflecting light. The cause of the "tails" which appear appended to comets when they approach the sun is not known, but this tail extends always in a direction from the sun, and passes over many degrees of the heavens' space. As comets obey strictly the law of gravitation, they must possess some amount of weight or mass, however small it may be, and that it is inconceivably small is proved by the fact of comets having passed close to Jupiter, right amongst his four moons, without in any way affecting or disturbing their well-known motions; the comets have, however, been terribly tossed about on such occasions, one having been totally lost to us by such an occurrence.

Thus it is seen how the same laws of gravity exist throughout all the infinity of space. The comets traverse our system of suns, and passing onwards with incredible rapidity, for years upon years, through that great space beyond it, at last visit some other system—perhaps to be as much an object of regard and wonderment there as they were here. The same ray of light which emanated from one of the distant stars of some one of the clusters situated far out in space, and which has travelled for thousands of years at the rate of 200,000 miles for every second of time, serves us here on this globe to distinguish it—it enters the tube of our telescope and affects our optic nerve; and the Creator who caused it there to be given off, has here made our senses capable of perceiving it. Is not this a clear demonstration of the fact, that one hand has designed the whole; and one Creator provided for all?

[THE AIR.]

FIG. 2. STORM, WITH HEAVY RAIN.

FIG. 1.

The earth is surrounded in all directions by a covering of air about forty miles in thickness, which bears about the proportion to the earth itself that a coating one inch thick would to a ball seventeen feet through, being about 1/200th of its diameter. This air, though invisible, may at all times be felt while in motion (such is the wind), and by rapidly passing the hand backwards and forwards it may be perceived to press against and slightly obstruct it; this air is composed of about twenty parts oxygen and eighty parts nitrogen, together with about one part in every thousand of carbonic acid (consisting of carbon and oxygen in union) and a small proportion of vapour of carbonate of ammonia (ammonia in union with carbonic acid). It is the oxygen which enables animals to live in the air, as it is taken into their systems at every breath, it is thus constantly being consumed and would ultimately be so far diminished, that they could live no longer for want of it; but Providence has so arranged, that the necessary quantity is always being supplied by vegetables (which give out oxygen) to meet the deficiency. The air, although a gas, is yet capable of being weighed, of great compressibility, and of expansion to an unlimited extent, this causes the lower part (near the surface of the earth) to be much more dense than the upper regions, and those who have ascended to the tops of high mountains, have described the difficulty of respiration as being very great, owing to the rarefaction or lightness of the air. At the surface of the earth it presses with a weight of about fifteen pounds upon every square inch, but as this pressure is equal in every direction, it is not felt by us, nor does it crush the most fragile flower or insect; but, remove the pressure from one side of anything, and it will be found to press with violence upon the other. If the air were removed from the inside of a drum, the weight of the surrounding air would burst in the parchment and fill it. By way of experiment, fill a large basin with water, take a tumbler in the left hand and a piece of lighted paper in the right, hold the lighted paper for a moment under the inverted tumbler and immediately apply its open mouth to the surface of the water, letting it dip in about half an inch, the heat expands and consequently gets rid of some of the air in the tumbler, and as this cools again it resumes its original bulk; the pressure of the air on the surface of the water in the basin will force it up into the tumbler and nearly fill it (fig. 1). This is the principle of the barometer, which is a tube entirely exhausted of air and the weight of the atmosphere forces a column of mercury (which is many times heavier than water) up to the height of about twenty-nine inches, according to the weight of the air at any particular time; this weight varies according to the state of the weather, whether wet or dry; but the average weight of air is found to be perfectly stationary, and during the twenty years from 1816 to 1836, it was found at Paris not to have varied 1/1200th of an inch. Winds or currents of air proceed from several causes; when the sun shines on a large surface of the earth, it becomes heated and a column of hot air is pressed upwards, for hot air is lighter than cold, and the cold air all around, by its weight, forces it up and rushes in to fill the space; this space may perhaps be many hundred square miles in extent, so that a current of wind is caused to blow towards this spot from all the regions round. This is the general state of things at the equatorial parts of the earth and causes the "trade winds," which uniformly blow (the greater part of the year) from both north and south towards the equator. Another cause of local winds, is the condensation of vapours into water; when the air over a large region is saturated with moisture it is greatly expanded by it, and when the vapour is condensed and falls as rain, the air from the surrounding parts forces itself in to fill the space occupied by the rain while in a state of vapour, which is nearly one hundred thousand times greater than it occupies when in the form of water. There are many causes to determine the condensation of the vapour, which the atmosphere always holds in larger or smaller quantities, but cold is the chief agent, for when a current of air passes over seas or rivers, or the damp surface of the earth, it becomes loaded with moisture, and being capable of holding only a certain quantity (less when cold than hot), it follows that warm air when saturated with moisture must let some of it fall when it becomes cooled. This may occur from entering a colder region, or uniting with another current of air colder than itself. In tropical regions the air is so warm that it takes up a very large quantity of watery vapour and upon the coming of colder weather, the rainy season begins and the air empties itself of its superfluous moisture, causing the most tremendous falls of rain in consequence (fig. 2). When the clouds are overcharged with moisture in cold climates or in cold weather, the vapour freezes as it condenses and forms snow, which under the microscope presents a series of the most beautiful star-like crystals (fig. 3); the same result is produced by the freezing of the vapour or fog near to the earth's surface, this is called "hoar-frost," which is (like dew) deposited on those parts of the surface most cooled by radiation. Hail is caused in all probability by the drops of rain passing through a cold stratum of air and becoming frozen as they fall. There are many wonderful accounts on record of great masses of ice falling from the clouds, some of them several feet thick; the cause of these phenomena (if they ever did occur) is not known. The curious occurrence of red or green snow, which has sometimes been known to fall, is owing to the snow being mixed with myriads of minute cellular plants called the Protococcus pluvialis, which in one state of its existence is green and in another red, and they colour the snow accordingly. The cause of their sudden accumulation in such vast quantities is not known, but may be sought for in some peculiar state of the atmosphere favourable to their growth, which in many places is prodigiously rapid.

FIG. 3.

The temperature of the air differs very greatly in different situations at the surface of the earth, the extreme difference being about 180 degrees; thus in winter, at the poles, the thermometer frequently stands at 60 degrees below zero, and at the equator, in summer, 120 degrees above, but, in the higher regions of the air, it is even colder than at the poles, for the sun shining on the earth heats it, and the air is heated by contact with it; this is its only source of heat, of which it receives less and less the further it is from the earth, so that at a distance (depending upon the situation and climate) ranging from 3,500 to 17,000 feet from the surface, the air is so cold that it is called "the region of perpetual snow," and all mountains whose tops reach above this altitude are covered with snow (formed by the freezing of the rain and vapour) from this point to their summits (fig. 4), and the sun (although it nearly always shines there, these regions being above most of the clouds) is not able to melt it, for the radiation of heat from its surface is greater than its absorption from the sun's rays, white substances absorbing but very slowly, and rough surfaces (as the snow) radiating very rapidly.

FIG. 4.

Dew is caused by condensation of the watery vapour held in the air; when the sun goes down the radiation continues from the surface of the earth, and those surfaces which radiate most rapidly, such as fields of grass, get cooled down below the temperature of the surrounding air, and therefore cause a condensation of its watery vapour. This may be imitated by filling a large glass goblet with very cold water, and bringing it into a very warm room, the outside of the glass vessel will become covered with dew, although previously quite dry; the same may be shown by filling a similar glass with water at the ordinary temperature, taking care that the outside is dry, then stirring in an ounce or so of nitre or Rochelle salt, which will cause the water to become cold, and the outside of the glass to be covered, as before, with dew. Dew falls fastest when there are no clouds in the sky, as radiation then takes place from the earth into space, and is not compensated for by a return of radiation from the clouds to the earth.

FIG. 5.

FIG. 6.

Clouds are formed by the partial condensation of vapour, and are borne along by the wind, instead of falling as rain; the reason of their not falling is this, when the air below the clouds is saturated with moisture it will absorb no more and the rain falls, but when it is warm and dry, and passed in a constantly renewed current, then the vapour is absorbed before it reaches the earth, and is carried off by the wind. Clouds, therefore, although they often appear stationary, are constantly altering their form and size, portions being absorbed while others are being formed. Fogs are the same as clouds, the vapour arising from wet grass, rivers, &c., being condensed as it ascends, by a current of cold air passing over them. The fogs in London have a brown colour, from admixture of smoke, dust, &c., with which the air is contaminated (fig. 5). Clouds are of various forms and sizes, and indeed of almost every variety, but certain kinds which are frequently seen, have received different names. The "cirrhus" comprises all the feathery white clouds which float high up in the air in fine weather; the "cumulus" consists of the large mountain-like clouds which are generally seen in summer; the "stratus," those horizontal layers of clouds low down in the horizon, so often seen at sunset; and the "nimbus" is the rain-cloud, of a dark grey or leaden hue, with sharp well-marked edges (fig. 6).

FIG. 7.

Clouds are amongst the most beautiful as well as useful things in nature, and it is one of the greatest proofs of the active benevolence of God, that all those things which serve man the most, are the most beautiful to contemplate. Without clouds there would be no rain, and without this no vegetation. In many parts of the tropical regions there is little or no rain, and in such parts desert places abound. Clouds are often of different states of electricity, and when they come near enough to each other, a transfer of the fluid takes place, accompanied with a flash of lightning (fig. 7) and a report, although this is not always heard at the same time that the lightning is seen, as sound does not travel nearly so fast as light; there is no danger from this kind of lightning. But it sometimes happens that a cloud in an opposite state of electricity to the surface of the earth is near enough to produce a flash of lightning between them, in this case it is extremely dangerous to be near; but when the thunder is not heard till some time after the flash is seen, there can be no danger, as it is then far away. Sound travels at about eleven hundred feet per second, therefore (in round numbers) it may be known that the lightning is one mile distant for every five seconds that elapse between the flash and the thunder. The notion which prevails that iron and steel attract lightning is entirely erroneous, they do not even conduct it so well as copper and many other metals.

FIG. 8.

Lightning conductors (fig. 8) are wires of iron or copper, made to project above the highest parts of buildings and carried down to the earth; they have the power of conducting the lightning down without injury to the building, for electricity (which lightning is) travels through metallic wires for any distance without disturbance or noise (as in the electric telegraph), but bad conductors are apt to be burst and rent by it if it be strong enough, creating flashes of light and reports. Lightning strikes most readily any projecting substance or point, the highest point is therefore selected for the protrusion of the upper part of conductors. In a plain or open space, trees and animals are often struck, as they form conductors (although very bad ones) to the lightning; being bad conductors, instead of allowing it to pass quietly to the earth as do the wires, they are generally destroyed by it. It has been often stated that we should select an open space in a thunder-storm, but this would render one liable to be struck, especially if there were no object near of larger dimensions, the best plan is to stand near to any trees or houses without touching them, the danger would not then be so great, the trees or buildings being taller, would be most liable to conduct the lightning to the earth. The danger of touching or leaning against a tree in a thunder-storm, arises from the person thus making himself (as it were) part of it and incurring the same risk.

Thunder-storms, which would at first thought appear to be of no utility to man, are indeed of great service; it is a common saying that thunder clears the air, this is the result of feeling and experience, but chemists have demonstrated the fact that a substance called "ozone" (a peculiar state of the element oxygen) is produced by thunder-storms; this ozone possesses the wonderful power of correcting (decomposing) putrid and unwholesome gases and exhalations which might otherwise produce fever, cholera, &c., it moreover destroys the ova or germs of many animals and vegetables which might otherwise be injurious to vegetation of more importance, the slight injury which these storms inflict here and there should weigh as nothing in the balance of utility with such universal good. Thus it is that the works of God have all the stamps of goodness, and this ought to inspire us with so much thankfulness as to overcome every fear for personal safety. Were these grand phenomena of nature, (as materialists would make us believe) the result of laws depending solely upon the physical co-operation of mere matter, good would be the exception instead of the rule, and most of them would produce effects, if not injurious at least not beneficial, but such is not the case, and throughout all the wonderful operations of nature there is not one but tends to good, for God often inflicts a small injury that a great good may result; we say a small injury, but it is questionable if the injury is not often a benefit, which appears to us injurious only because we do not understand it fully, every disturbing cause tends to produce some apparent disorder, such as storms, hurricanes, &c., some indeed so terrific as to destroy ships and houses, but what would be the result if the atmosphere were never disturbed from any cause? Why the lower stratum would become so loaded with impurities that it would be unfit to breathe, miasms and noxious gases would for ever remain a curse to the races of men and animals who might be doomed to inhabit such regions, but the very regions where these miasms are most likely to form are those about the tropics, and here it is that the greatest storms occur to remove them. Even the great deserts, which appear so useless to man, and which are uninhabitable to a great extent, have their office, and an important one too; they are to the earth what ventilators are to buildings, drawing the cold air from the poles to cool the regions that are too hot, and sending a current of heated air through the upper regions of the atmosphere (where it can do no injury to anything) to warm the colder parts of the earth, another instance of the wonderful care and goodness on the part of the Creator. The various and beautiful colours of the clouds, particularly at the rising and setting of the sun, are caused by refraction separating the white light into its primitive constituents, blue, red, and yellow light and their combinations, purple, orange, green, &c., and the more obliquely the rays impinge upon the earth the greater will be this refraction, this accounts for colours seldom appearing in the clouds at midday. But of all the beautiful effects of the refraction of light, the Rainbow (fig. 9) is the most glorious, it has been celebrated in all ages for its transient beauty. It is only seen when rain is falling in front of a brightly illuminated cloud, the sun being behind the spectator; it is a reflection of the sun by the cloud transmitted through millions of drops of rain, each of which acts as a prism, and produces rings of colour; for each of the rays of light (red, blue, and yellow) are refracted in unequal degrees, and therefore take separate places, forming the rings of colour seen in the rainbow.

FIG. 9.

The air is the great source from which all the nourishment of the organic creation, whether vegetable or animal, is derived; its carbonic acid is decomposed by the vegetables, which appropriate the carbon, turning over the oxygen to their companions, the animals; the ammonia of the air furnishes all the nitrogen of seeds and other nutritious parts of vegetables, which are eaten by animals; and water, the chief source of all nutriment, passes first from the air before it enters the soil, bringing both carbonic acid and ammonia to fertilise it. That all this nourishment is derived from the air is evidently shown by the formation and increase of mould in forests which have grown for centuries; this black mould is nearly all decayed vegetable matter, formed by the continuous fall and decay of leaves and trees, but which, instead of diminishing, increases. Now, where does all this come from? certainly not out of the earth, for it does not contain the necessary elements. Expose the surface of the bare earth for several centuries, and first small plants, then larger ones, will grow upon it, until the state of things described above takes place, the earth being just as rich in organic matter now as at the beginning, and much richer on the surface, where a thick stratum of black mould forms from the repeated fall and decay of leaves and wood; all the substance which the forest shall have drawn from the earth (with the exception of certain salts and earthy matters) must therefore have been derived from the air, which contains every ingredient necessary for its formation, while in the earth itself no kind of organic matter is ever found.

There was formerly a time when the carbonic acid of the air was in much greater abundance, and favoured the growth of those plants which thrive where there is plenty of water, as in swamps and marshes. They grew and decayed for a vast period of time, till a thick stratum of carbonaceous matter was deposited, which, after being buried (by some convulsion of nature) at a great depth, and pressed by the enormous weight of the superincumbent earth into a hard solid substance, is now being dug up by man, and forms that most valuable of all products of the mine, coal (fig. 10).

FIG. 10.

That coal is derived from decayed and altered vegetable matters, is pretty well proved; for many pieces of coal, if ground thin and subjected to the microscope, present a texture exactly such as can be seen in wood of the present date, and not only the ordinary structure, but in very many cases certain "dotted fibres," indicating that the wood belonged to the order of cone-bearing trees (Coniferæ), and there is but little doubt that the constant deposit of such wood and its slow and gradual decay was the real source of all our coal. How wonderful, and how good, is the foreknowledge of God! Just at a time when the great forests of the earth are fast disappearing, and with them the only other source of fuel for fires, this reserve of the old forests, which was then useless, serves man as a most excellent friend—more useful than gold or silver, more precious than diamonds or rubies! But this world is one of perpetual change, and the coal thus brought forth from the depths of the earth, is by man being rapidly restored to the air from whence—thousands of years ago—it was derived; and it is not coal alone which is thus being restored, but every organic being in the whole creation, for at their decay they all enter this vast mausoleum of the dead!

[THE EARTH.]

The Earth, considered as one of those spheres which circulate round the sun amidst the wide expanse of the firmanent, holds but an insignificant position among them, especially when compared with those great and magnificent orbs, Jupiter and Saturn; but, in another point of view, as the dwelling-place of all the animated beings, vegetables, and minerals, with which we have any practical knowledge, it holds to us a position in creation far above all the others.

It is upon the surface of this our earth that we behold in detail those wonders of the Great Creator's hands, which must fill all who contemplate and study them with enlarged ideas of His wisdom, goodness, and power. We see the millions of stars sparkling in the abyss of space, and our minds are so formed that we can measure and gauge their distances and rates of travelling, their orbits and their sizes, their weights, and the powers with which they attract and influence each other; but we only contemplate a star as one bright and beautiful object worthy to be one of the gems which the Almighty has set in His crown of glory, or a lamp to light the halls of His infinite habitation, but we still contemplate it as a single object; while on the surface of the earth our Maker has permitted us to roam and search out by what benevolent contrivances He has suited all things to the comfort and welfare of His creatures. How His mercy and goodness are extended amply to the most minute animalcule as well as to man, and how His powers of construction are to be found in the most minute objects which the microscope can display, as perfect as in the largest creature we behold. It is here upon our earth that we perceive how the structure and functions of all creatures are regulated and controlled by the unerring laws which He has created, over which laws the creatures have no control, and which if duly regarded and used according to the faculties each has been gifted with, will return the greatest joy and happiness their several natures are capable of, and secure all that perfection of operation which their mechanical frames are suited to perform; but before any description of the organised beings which dwell on the earth can be given, it will be proper to enter into a description of the earth itself, to see what sort of place God has provided for them, and how through succeeding cycles of time He has gradually perfected and prepared it for the reception of His last great work, Man.

It is only a few miles below the surface of the earth that man has been able to penetrate and examine, but reason comes to assist him where examination fails, and it would have been but a few hundred yards only that his labours could have extended had it not been that parts, which are generally situated miles below the surface, are occasionally found at or even raised above it, by some disturbing cause which operated in times far back; so that man is able to examine on the surface parts which he could scarcely dig down to.

The whole of the earth, its inhabitants, the air which surrounds it, the waters upon its surface, and its vegetable products, are composed of certain substances called elements, combined and united in certain numbers and proportions. The following is a list of all known:—

METALLIC ELEMENTS.
Aluminium13.7Nickel29.6
Antimony12.9Niobium*
Arsenic75Norium*
Barium68.5Osmium99.6
Bismuth21.3Palladium53.3
Cadmium56Pelopium*
Calcium20Platinum98.7
Cerium47Potassium39.2
Chromium26.7Rhodium52.2
Cobalt29.5Ruthenium52.2
Copper31.7Silicon21.3
Didymium*Silver108.1
Donarium*Sodium23
Erbium*Strontium43.8
Glucinium*Tantalium184
Gold197Tellurium64.2
Ilmenium*Terbinum*
Iridium99Thorium59.6
Iron28Tin59
Lanthanium*Titanium25
Lead103.7Tungsten95
Lithium6.5Uranium60
Magnesium12.2Vanadium68.6
Manganese27.6Yttrium32.2
Mercury100Zinc32.6
Molybdenum46Zirconium22.4
NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS.
Boron10.9Iodine127.1
Bromine80Nitrogen14
Carbon6Oxygen8
Chlorine35Phosphorus32
Fluorine18.9Sulphur16
Hydrogen1Selenium39.5

By this list it will be perceived that the greatest number of the elements are metals, but most of these are very rare and met with but in certain localities, making up but a very insignificant part of the earth's surface, while others (never found in nature, as metals) in combination with oxygen forming "earths" compose the greater part of its bulk. But of all the elements, oxygen (a gas) is the most widely diffused, and constitutes rather more than one half of the whole earth, thus it forms 1/5th of the air, 9/10ths of the water, of the various earths and rocks about 1/2, and in all organised beings about 3/4.

Of the metallic elements, those which form the greater bulk of the earth are—

Silicon.
Aluminium.
Calcium.
Magnesium.
Potassium.
Sodium.

These never exist in nature as metals, but combined with oxygen forming the following earths and alkalies:—

Silica }
Alumina } Earths.
Lime }
Magnesia }
Potassa } Alkalies.
Soda }

These four "earths" form about eighty-five per cent. of the whole bulk of this globe, the remainder being made up of water (composed of eight parts oxygen and one part hydrogen), of "salt," both as rock or crystal-salt, and dissolved in the water of the sea, of the ores of different metals (metals in union with oxygen, sulphur, &c.), and of the remains of former vegetation, existing as coal.

Silica is composed of 21.3 parts of silicon with 24 of oxygen, it is that earth which constitutes a great part of almost every soil, and forms sand, sandstone, and flint, it enters largely also into the formation of granite and the other primitive rocks; when pure it is called "quartz" or "rock-crystal" and is often found in large and beautiful masses. Silica, in different forms, contaminated and coloured by different metallic oxides, &c., forms that class of stones known as "agate," "Scotch pebble," "carnelian," &c., and in the form of flint is found nearly pure, forming "nodules" or rounded masses lying in layers in the chalk cliffs on our coasts, the origin of these nodules of flint is very obscure, but they are by many attributed to the petrifaction of sponges, &c., the general form of which they often retain as well as their internal structure, which may be seen when viewed in thin slices by means of the microscope. Pure silica is a white insoluble powder, and is much used by the makers of porcelain to mix with their other ingredients.

Alumina consists of 41.1 parts of aluminium in combination with 24 parts of oxygen, it is the earth which forms the basis of all clays, loams, and slates, it is in its pure state perfectly white but in most clays is coloured brown or blueish by oxide of iron, many of our most beautiful gems, as the ruby, sapphire, and emerald, consist chiefly of crystallised alumina coloured by oxide of iron, chromium, &c., this earth like silica enters largely into the composition of the primitive rocks.

Lime is another of the earths which form a great part of all soils; it consists of 20 parts calcium with 8 of oxygen. Unlike the two preceding earths, it exists only in union with some acid. When united to carbonic acid it forms limestone, chalk, marble, &c., and when in a crystallised state "Iceland spar." The various kinds of limestone are largely used as building-stones, and any of them when burnt yields lime or "quick-lime" as it is generally called, which is capable of uniting with a certain portion of water, giving out a considerable amount of heat during the combination. Lime is often found in union with sulphuric acid, forming gypsum or Plaster of Paris, in combination with phosphoric acid it forms the basis or earthy part of the bones of animals, and is found in some of the tissues of plants.

Potassa consists of 39.2 parts potassium in union with 8 oxygen, it constitutes about 12 per cent. of the granites and basalts (primitive rocks) in union with silica and alumina, it is also found in the fluids of many vegetables in union with carbonic, oxalic, and other acids.

Soda consists of twenty-three parts sodium with eight oxygen, it however does not exist in this form in nature, but in union with chlorine instead of oxygen, constituting chloride of sodium or common salt, this substance forms strata of considerable extent in some localities and being soluble has no doubt been washed out by the rains from many other places and has thus communicated saltness to the waters of the ocean. The other metallic elements exist chiefly in those forms of earth called "ores" being metals in union with oxygen, sulphur, &c., or are found in the metallic state, as gold, platinum, &c., it is from these ores that most of our useful metals are procured by the process called smelting, as in the case of iron, copper, lead, tin, &c. All the substances known result from the combinations of the elements, but these elements do not chemically combine in all proportions, but in certain definite quantities only; these quantities or proportions are signified by the numbers attached to each element in the list given,[1] and the union of these substances must be in the proportion of these numbers (or multiples of them) only, all superfluity of the substances combined remaining in a state of mere mechanical mixture. For example, if six parts of carbon (charcoal) made red-hot be plunged into a jar containing twenty parts of oxygen, it will unite with sixteen parts only of the oxygen (a multiple of eight), and form twenty-two parts of carbonic acid, the extra four parts of oxygen still remaining as oxygen mixed with the carbonic acid; and if into this carbonic acid twenty parts of lime be put, it will unite with the twenty-two of carbonic acid, forming forty-two of carbonate of lime, still leaving the four parts of oxygen untouched. Had forty parts of lime been put into the mixture, instead of twenty, still only forty-two of carbonate of lime would have been formed, and the other twenty parts (like the four of oxygen) being superfluous, would still have remained as lime, mixed with the carbonate of lime. These combining quantities are called the "equivalents" of the substances.

[1] See the list of the elements at [page 45]; those which are distinguished by an asterisk, are elements of which the "equivalents" are not known.

Upon examining various portions of the earth's surface, they will be found to differ in character from each other; in one place perhaps sandy soil will be found, in another, hard rock, in a third, clay, in a fourth, chalk, and so on. Now, if this examination were carried no further, it might well be presumed that each of these kinds of soil were continued downwards into the earth for an indefinite distance, but upon digging (as in sinking a shaft or well) it is found that the stratum of soil upon the surface is soon passed through, that others in succession present themselves and that this succession of strata is not a matter of chance, but (with certain restrictions) follows in invariable order. It is true some strata are occasionally not present, and that others replace them; but yet (taken altogether) there is the same order of succession everywhere found. The following diagram (fig. 1) gives the section of these strata from the earth's surface to the granite which is the lowest of all formations and through which no one has ever penetrated. The figures give an approximation to their average thickness in feet. These strata do not all run in a direction parallel to the surface of the earth, or else it would result that the surface would everywhere be made up of the highest, but they have been contorted and heaved up into mounds or depressed; and the granite has often been pushed upwards, carrying with it all the upper strata to a certain extent, at last thrusting quite through them all and presenting itself above the surface, forming in this way the tops of many very high mountains, Mont Blanc for instance. Such a mountain if cleft from the summit to the base would present a section similar to that shown in fig. 2, and thus it occurs (contrary to what would at first thought be supposed) that the highest ground is generally formed of the lowest strata, while the valleys are nearly always covered with the latest formations, which is partly owing to the elevating process before alluded to, and partly to the winds, rains, &c., tending to carry away and wash down every kind of soil from the upper ground and deposit it in the lower.

FIG. 1.—DIAGRAM SHOWING THE POSITIONS AND RELATIVE THICKNESSES OF THE STRATA.

FIG. 2.

FIG. 3.

FIG. 4.

FIG. 5.

Fig. 3 represents strata in a state called by geologists "conformable," which name is applied when the strata follow their natural or regular succession, whether this retains its horizontal position, or, as in fig. 4, assumes a position more or less vertical, which frequently happens from the subsidence of one part or the elevation of another; but they are sometimes found in the state represented in fig. 5, and in which they are said to be "unconformable." Such strata after having been tilted out of the horizontal have had other strata deposited upon them, which again may be more or less contorted from the same causes. The regularity of strata is often interrupted by what are called "faults" or "dykes," which have arisen from some part of the earth sinking down or another part being raised up, producing a fracture through all the strata and causing those on either side of this fault or fracture to occupy a situation not corresponding to those on the opposite, as in fig. 6, but yet to be found at a higher or lower elevation, and it is nearly always found that these strata are raised on that side to which the line of fracture inclines, as in the figure. These faults are often sources of great annoyance to the miner, who finds a sudden termination to the seam of coal or ore that he is working. The cracks are generally filled with some primitive rock, as basalt, rising from beneath while in a liquid state and filling up the interstices; it will often happen that the faults thus filled will have veins of the same rock branching out and not only filling up cracks but forcing its way between the various strata, thus interposing a stratum of basalt quite out of its proper position and altering, by the effects of the heat communicated, the character of the strata in juxtaposition; this is shown in fig. 7.

FIG. 6.

Upon a close examination of the various strata which form the crust of the earth, it is found that each has its own peculiar character; some have resulted from the accumulation of matters deposited at the bottom of ancient seas, others in the beds of rivers or fresh-water lakes, or again others (as the coal formation) from the accumulation of vegetable matters; further, these strata do not only differ in structure and composition, but also in the remains of animals and plants found in them; for there is scarcely any kind of soil (above the primary rocks) in which abundant remains of these have not been found. It will now be proper to give a description of them in succession, beginning at the lowest or primary, granite.

FIG. 7.

This appears to be the result of the cooling and crystallisation of that molten mass which many circumstances (hereafter to be mentioned) point out as making up the great body of the earth. Granite differs, in various places, in colour and quality (the varieties are known as "sienite," "porphyry," "greenstone," &c.), but still retains its own distinctive characters; it is a hard, crystalline rock, consisting of "felspar," "mica," and "quartz," in separate crystals, but mechanically blended; its chemical composition as a whole is silica, alumina, and potassa, with small quantities of lime and oxide of iron. This granite is met with everywhere, if the outer crust of the earth be penetrated to a sufficient depth; it however frequently exists on the surface, having no strata below it, and in some places overlies other strata—this, and the fact that cracks and crevices of some of the lower strata are filled up with granite, which could only have taken place while it was in a liquid state, as in fig. 8, together with evidences of the effects of calcination, and other changes producible only by extreme heat, all around those parts and in the strata immediately overlaying the granite, point out that it was once in a state of fusion.

Above the granite formation, in many places, especially in Norway and Sweden, there is a stratum of rock called gneiss, which consists of the same ingredients as granite in a slightly altered form. Granite will often pass into gneiss gradually, and this again into those slaty formations which rest upon it and come next in the series. These consist of mica-slate, hornblend-slate, and chlorite-slate or schist, a name given to all those rocks of a slaty structure which have a cleavage or capability of being cleft into thin laminæ or slices (hence their applicability to the purposes of building, forming excellent roofing materials, &c.).

FIG. 8.

All these rocks have received the name of "primary," they have no appearance of being stratified or deposited in layers, which appearance seems to be in all cases the result of having at some time been suspended in water and thence deposited gradually as mud, sand, &c., time, pressure, and heat having afterwards altered their consistence. All these consist of the earths described as composing granite, but combined in different proportions. Above these rocks there is a formation of a totally different composition, namely crystalline limestone, commonly known as marble; this consists wholly of carbonate of lime or lime in union with carbonic acid, and its crystalline state appears to have been produced by long-continued heat and pressure. This limestone is by many ranked amongst the primary rocks, although it differs so entirely in its composition which exactly resembles a formation presently to be described (the chalk); however, if this be classed with the primary rocks, then it may be fairly said that all above have resulted from their disintegration and reunion in different forms, by the action of water and vital forces of different kinds. The state of the earth at the close of this the "primary period" may now be considered.

The early history of our globe forms one of the great problems of geology, but there is evidence enough upon which to form conclusions and show that the earth had undergone some great and varied changes embracing immense periods of time, and if the sciences of astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, &c., be brought in to assist the inquiry, some plain facts become evident. Astronomy shows us orbs circulating round the sun (the planets), strictly analogous to our earth, and furnishes us with their densities; these are found to be various, ranging from about six times the density of water to half its density. The planets appear to be at different stages of condensation, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that our earth was once of no greater density than the lightest of them. The inner ring of Saturn is probably in a liquid state, for it is transparent. The substance of which comets are composed is a vapour, so rare and thin that it cannot be compared in density to our atmosphere even, and yet these comets preserve their identity, circulating through immense realms of space with prodigious rapidity. Thus astronomy presents analogies in favour of the supposition that the earth was once gaseous, or at all events of much less density than at present; but mathematical inquiries go much further, and furnish almost proof that the earth was once (if not now) in a liquid state, for the exact form which a liquid ball would assume upon rotating at the rate which the earth does, is exactly that which the globe is found by measurement to possess.

Chemistry has ascertained that the heat of the earth is far greater than any tract of the heavens through which it passes; that this heat could not have been communicated by the sun's rays, for had it been so the surface would be hotter than the interior, the very reverse of which is found to be the fact, and the deeper we go down the higher the temperature is. Chemistry shows further that this heat can be completely accounted for by the condensation and solidification of the earth itself; for the condensation of all gases into liquids, and of liquids into solids, causes a very large portion of latent caloric to become sensible, for example, any quantity of a gas at 60 deg. suddenly reduced to a smaller bulk, would have a temperature higher than 60 deg. A little contrivance has long been in use for obtaining fire by this process, consisting of a cylinder and piston, the rod of which if struck down sets fire to a piece of German-tinder. It is probable that all fire, and every alteration of temperature, are due to this one cause alone.

Now assuming it as a fact that the earth was once in a gaseous state, and that the atoms of this gas or vapour exerted (as they must have done) an attraction towards each other, the result would be that they would press immensely upon those parts towards the centre and cause them to solidify. This act of solidification would produce such an intense heat that the solid would be expanded and fused into a liquid, this continuing until all the more condensible matters had become liquid, the earth would assume its spheroidal form from its rotation, be surrounded by an atmosphere of the least easily condensible substance, nitrogen, together with all the oxygen not wanted to combine with the metallic vapour and form earth. This globe with its atmosphere continuing to roll through the cold regions of space, would gradually lose the heat from its outer part by radiation. A film of cooled and condensed earthy matter would begin to form on the surface by crystallisation, and then would commence all those grand phenomena which it is the province of the geologist to study and explain. This crust consisted of the first-formed granite which (from inequality of contraction in the bulk of the earth) was broken up into fragments and perhaps partly re-dissolved again and again in some places, as it chanced that these contractions were more or less irregular. The result of this crushing and crumbling-up is seen in the coarser parts of the gneiss, called "Grauwacke," which consist of angular fragments of granite more or less imbedded in a cement of the same substance. This could not have been produced by water, as the surface must have been too hot for it to have existed on the earth in any other form than the most highly rarefied steam combined with the atmosphere, and in all probability partly condensed in the upper regions, forming a continuous strata of clouds, or rather water, through which the sun could hardly be seen or its light penetrate, and such a state of things exists at this present time in the planet Jupiter. How beautifully does this coincide with the Mosaic account, "The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the earth."

The surface of the earth at this time can be well understood by any one who will take the pains to evaporate any saline solution in a capsule till it is about to crystallise, and observe attentively the pellicle of salt as it forms on the surface; first a partial film will show itself in a few places, floating about and joining with others, then when nearly the whole surface is coated, it will break up in some places and sink into the liquid beneath, another pellicle will form and join with the remains of the first, and as this thickens it will push up ridges and inequalities of the surface from openings and fissures in which little jets of steam and fluid will escape; these little ridges are chains of mountains, the little jets of steam those volcanic eruptions which were at that period so frequent; the surface of the capsule is the surface of the earth, and the five minutes which the observer has contemplated it, a million years.

The next effect of the cooling of the earth would be the gradual condensation of the vapour of water with which it was surrounded; this falling upon the earth formed seas and oceans, leaving only the higher portions exposed above its level. The clearing-up of the dense dark clouds for the first time let in to the earth's surface the glorious and vivifying rays of the sun, and this great effect possibly accords with the earliest record in the Bible of the acts of creation—"And God said, let there be light, and there was light."

FIG. 9—STALAGMITE. FIG. 10.—TEREBRATULA.

The earth being chiefly covered with water, and the air partly freed from watery vapour, then commenced the great creation of organised beings. The air, although to a certain extent, free from vapour, must yet have contained an enormous amount of carbonic acid; this, being less easily condensed than any of the matters which had gone through that process, would still remain there as a gas, and the effect of this superabundance would be to saturate all the water covering the earth with it; this solution of carbonic acid, being capable of dissolving lime, would (as it percolated and rushed in currents through the rocks and inequalities of the surface) become converted into a solution of percarbonate of lime, taking up a large quantity of this earth from the broken-up granite, &c., then this carbonate of lime would be deposited at the bottom of the water in one of two ways—either from pressure, diminution of carbonic acid in the air, and heat of the surface, it crystallised at the bottom in the form of marble (that the water does thus become saturated with carbonic acid and take up lime, is constantly shown by the stalagmites which form on the floors of caverns, where the water thus loaded with percarbonate of lime, evaporating, deposits gradually the carbonate in all sorts of fantastic shapes, as in fig. 9), or the myriads of crinoidians and brachiopodous molluscs (fig. 10) which were about this time created, absorbed it into their systems and at their death deposited their shells, which are made of this earth, at the bottom of the sea; these shells, accumulating through ages into strata, became hardened and partly crystallised by heat, thus forming the limestones, which were the first containing carbonate of lime. That such a collection, from such causes, is quite possible, will be presently shown in describing the chalk formation.

Ages of comparative quiet now appear to have succeeded the first great contraction of the earth's crust, probably millions of years, during which time the tides and currents of the ocean had to wash and wear down all the thousands of projecting rocks or inequalities and dissolve (as before described) all the lime, depositing the sand and clay in those immense strata which form the "transition series;" this appears to have taken place over nearly the whole world at that time, and ages upon ages must have elapsed to form such deposits as the sandstone, claystone, and limestone, in alternation, forming the "Llandilo," "Caradoc," and "Wenlock" strata, more than a mile in thickness; these are by some geologists reckoned among the primary series (by some called the "transition rocks"), and in England form the "Cambrian" and "Silurian" systems.

FIG. 11—TRILOBITE.

In these strata the remains of organised beings are first found, consisting of zoophytes, crustacea (chiefly Trilobites, fig. 11), nautili, crinoidii (stone lilies), and a few ganoid (plate-covered) fishes; these lower forms of animal life in some parts abound in the most prodigious numbers. There must, of course, have been vegetables of some kind previously formed to constitute nourishment for these animals, but scarcely any remains of such exist, except in a few localities.

The Trilobites were amongst the first creatures inhabiting our globe, and it is a curious fact to contemplate, that their eyes (fig. 12) should have been preserved perfect; they present one of those wonderful objects which carry one's thoughts backwards to the early ages of the world, probably many millions of years, and yet it is found by the peculiar structure of the eyes of these Trilobites that they were placed at the bottom of the sea with perfect power to look upwards at the light of the sun through the transparent waters. The same hand and the same power had then Divine care and solicitude for the well-being of His creatures, as great as He has for those of later ages, and these first-formed beings exactly correspond with the account of the creation of animals given in the book of Genesis, "And God said, let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life."

FIG. 12.—EYE OF TRILOBITE.

At the end of the "transition period"—after ages of long-continued disintegration of the rough surface of the earth, and its deposition in strata—after thousands of generations of crustaceans, molluscs, and zoophytes had lived and died, depositing their shells at the bottom of the seas, so as to form strata of the carbonate of lime—a great and terrific convulsion of nature put a stop to all this quiet and systematic order of things; for through these long reaches of time, the physical laws of nature had continued to exert their influence, the bulk of the world had gone on radiating its heat into space, and, as a necessary result, had gradually contracted in size. Now, this radiation had doubtless been much retarded by the badly-conducting surface of solid matter which had everywhere covered it, but, although retarded, it could not be prevented, and although the crust of solid matter may already have been several miles in thickness, yet this in relation to the bulk of the earth would hold but the proportion of the paper on the surface of a twelve-inch globe. As the fluid mass of the earth continued to contract, there would of course be a great stress or crushing-power exerted on the crust, both by its own gravity and that of the air which surrounded it, and about this period it appears to have given way over the greatest portion of the globe, producing enormous rents and fractures, seen in every country in the faults and dislocations of these primitive and transition strata, some of which were driven up by the downward force of others, and left in a perpendicular position, some overlapping each other, &c.; but the greatest effect of this convulsion appears to have been produced by the rocking or rolling surface of the sub-existing fluid world, forming gigantic waves, which, by meeting in opposite directions and thrusting upwards the strata to a great height, formed the mighty mountain-chains of the now-existing earth, which raise their lofty pinnacles above the clouds. Now, these mountains may at first thought appear too ponderous and extensive to be thrown up in this way; but by inspecting the engraved section of a part of the globe (fig. 13), it will be seen how very insignificant a mountain is when compared with the whole world. This section is through Asia from the Persian Gulf to the Yellow Sea, and embraces the highest land on the whole face of the earth, and is drawn on a scale in which the earth is represented by a globe sixteen inches diameter. The rugged and peaked tops of these mountains would be formed by the great fractured masses of the broken strata being thrust upwards and there resting against each other; but who can describe the chasms and hollows which must have resulted when the great wave of melted earth had subsided to its level under one of these huge mountain masses? or the dreadful abyss into which at some future time it and the surrounding country may fall, if they have not already been filled up by the sinking of the surrounding strata. Some of these great waves, when thrust upwards, forced their way right through the point of the mountain and came pouring down in torrents of liquid earth (lava), deluging the surrounding country and filling up the beds of the adjacent seas, casting out cinders and ores of metals—as iron, which appears to have first made its appearance at that time, mingling with the deposits and tinging them of a red colour. These great volcanoes, upon the subsidence of the rock-waves, still (more or less) retained their communication with the interior fiery earth, and are now the greatest safeguards against such a general crushing-up of the strata, for they act as safety-valves against any unequal expansion of the interior (fig. 14). The greatest eruptions of volcanoes or the most terrific earthquakes of modern times, are as the most insignificant trifles compared with what must have taken place to form the inequalities of surface found to exist.

FIG. 13—SECTION OF 40 DEG. OF THE EARTH'S SURFACE, BEING THE SOUTHERN PART OF ASIA, AND INCLUDING THE HIGHEST LAND IN THE WORLD.

The outer uneven line represents the mountains and table-lands from the sea's level, and the lower line shows the depth to which the crust of the earth's surface has been examined—about five miles.

A to B.—Level of sea.
B to second C.—Hindustan.
C to D.—Thibet.
D to E.—Great Desert of Gobi.
F.—500 miles of Earth's radius.
C to C.—The Himalayas, in which occurs the highest mountain in the world, Dhawalagiri, which is 28,174 feet high.

FIG. 14.—BURNING MOUNTAIN.

But the contraction of the interior mass of the earth still continues, and the cavities left by the expulsion of volcanic matters, and the pushing-up of the mountains, may not all have been compensated for by the sinking-in of the strata, so it remains a matter of doubt whether the crust of the earth is sufficiently strong to bear the pressure of its own and the air's gravity, or whether at some future day another contraction will break it up and destroy the whole existing order of things. The shocks of earthquakes are strictly analogous to such catastrophes, but on an immensely inferior scale.

FIG. 15.—LIMESTONE MADE UP OF ENCRINITE.

FIG. 16.—LIMESTONE MADE UP OF CORALS (Favosites polymorpha).

The effects of the last great contraction having subsided the surface of the earth assumed a new arrangement of its matter, and the order of things which caused the deposition of the secondary strata commenced. Sedimentary sandstones were deposited from the washings of the surface by the waters which had not yet absorbed all the superfluous carbonic acid of the air, but continued to do so, and as fast as it became absorbed and saturated with the calcareous matter of the soil, swarms of coral-polypi, which were then formed, began to build their habitations in the warm waters of the ocean and rob them of the carbonate of lime which they contained, leaving them capable of absorbing more from the atmosphere. These little creatures formed immense masses of coral, and together with the "Encrinites" (having stony frameworks, figs. 15 and 16), were the chief artificers of that age, and well did they show what perseverance was able to accomplish, for through the thousands of years of quiet which now succeeded, they must have filled up nearly all the existing oceans with their structures, causing the water gradually to flow from its former beds into other situations, and thus from time to time was changed the position of both sea and land. The strata of mountain limestone which now exist are the remains of what these little polypi then produced, for there is scarcely a portion of this kind of rock, but shows evidences of having been, once, coral, madrapore, or some analogous structure (fig. 17). This mountain limestone sometimes occurs thousands of feet thick, and extends over vast districts both in Europe and America.

FIG. 17.—ENCRINITIC LIMESTONE.

During this period, although there were no great disturbances, capable of displacing the strata, yet there appears to have been frequent small eruptions of volcanic matter through the crevices of the lower strata, filling up all their cracks and vacuities, and in many cases rising to the surface, overflowing with basalt, toadstone, and other volcanic formations; in other cases rising in enormous quantities through openings at the bottom of the seas, partly filling these up, driving off the waters, and thus covering many of the coral formations with coatings of sand to a great thickness, raising up others into considerable elevations, and forming hills and fresh tracts of earth.

FIG. 18.—FOSSIL TREE FERNS.

During this long period of comparative quiet most of the irregularities on the surface of the earth became worn down, and extensive swamps were produced by partial evaporation of the inland lakes. These swamps were subject to occasional inroads of the sea, and at times formed shallow lakes or lagoons; in these grew the most luxuriant vegetation, gigantic pines, tree-ferns (fig. 18), equisetacæ, &c. These plants, nurtured by a hot and moist climate, acquired a great luxuriance of growth, and must have formed forests of such great density, that there is nothing existing at the present time worthy to be compared with them, even in the hottest climates. Such fertility appears to have been dependent upon the conditions of the air and earth, the former containing more carbonic acid (the food of vegetables) and the latter a greater amount of warmth, than at present; these two circumstances, so favourable to the growth of plants, were equally unfavourable to the existence of air-breathing animals, to whom the carbonic acid would be fatal poison.

Thus, in the mighty hands of God, the air was undergoing a gradual purification, to fit it for the animals He intended to create; the polypi were extracting from the water all the carbonate of lime it was absorbing from the air and earth, and fixing it in the soil, to be of use in a hundred ways at some future time, while the vegetation growing in abundance extracted it from the air, and fixed its carbon in their leaves and substance generally; these vegetables, decaying and falling upon the surface of the earth, accumulated there for ages, and formed a carbonaceous matter which was afterwards changed by time and pressure into coal. The same thing (on a very much smaller scale) is taking place in the tropical forests of the present age; there the surface-soil is quite black, and consists of nothing but decayed leaves and wood for several feet in depth, but in the present time there are hosts of insects, every one of which feeds upon this vegetable matter, preventing to a great extent its accumulation, while in the former age there was nothing to destroy it when once deposited on the ground; so that the carbon of these forests of the secondary period, existing through perhaps tens of thousands of years, extracted from the air a sufficient quantity of vegetable carbonaceous matter to produce thick seams of coal, even when compressed by the superincumbent strata. These forests were subject from time to time to inroads of the sea produced by the before-mentioned causes, and thus it is found that the seams of coal are often buried by several hundred feet of sand, clay, shale, &c., above which the same growth recommenced to form a second strata of coal, and ages must have elapsed whilst each of the numerous seams which interstratify the "coal measures" were forming. This coal, preserved in the depths of the earth, now forms the greatest treasure of the mine, and ironstone (from which iron is procured) would be almost useless but for the occurrence of these two minerals together with limestone (used as a flux) in the same locality, and it is this fortunate circumstance which enables England to produce such vast quantities of iron at such a cheap rate. The quantity of coal consumed in the iron-smelting works and for fuel generally, is beyond what could have been imagined a generation or two back, being somewhere about 50,000,000 tons annually, the coal brought to London alone in 1856 being 1,271,800 tons, yet there is such a plentiful supply of this valuable fuel in Great Britain alone that, supposing the annual consumption to rise to 70,000,000, it would serve (according to computation) a thousand years. Who shall say from whence fuel will then be obtained? probably from some other source provided by the foreknowledge of God, as was shown in the formation of the coal itself; for who could have imagined, a thousand years ago, when England possessed such immense forests, and wood was the universal fuel, that this very wood would become too scarce and valuable to be used, and that a substitute would be dug out of the earth!

The coal-shales (thin layers of claystone found in the coal seams) furnish beautiful specimens of ferns and other plants turned into coal (fig. 19), or leaving their perfect impressions in the clay. The coal formation occurred during the latter part of one of those long eras of tranquillity which supervened upon the contraction and breaking-up of the older strata; but the laws of nature are immutable, and these days of comparative quiet again came to a close. The same phenomena before described again occurred, and there is hardly a square mile of these strata but shows evidences of the terrible convulsion which desolated the earth. Some of the strata were raised, others depressed, and some lost altogether, the cracks and flaws being filled with liquid lava or basalt, which in many cases rose upwards through them and overflowed the surface. Many of the cracks of this, the "carboniferous system," are filled with sulphuret of lead called "galena," the ore from which all the lead of commerce is obtained; it is not well known how the veins of this and similar substances got into these crevices, but it is probable they were injected in a fluid state by some unequal pressure on the liquid beneath, or deposited by electrical action.

FIG. 19.—FERN (Pecopteris ligata) FROM UPPER SHALE, SCARBOROUGH.

The great world of vegetation was thus destroyed, giving place to new forms of animal and vegetable life. The temperature, all this while sinking, had reached a degree somewhat resembling the hottest regions of the earth at the present day. The waters had changed their localities, new mountains and new continents had made their appearance, and again did the ever-active waters begin to demolish and wear down the asperities of the surface and deposit the results upon the strata below in the form of the new red sandstone and magnesian limestone, the former containing iron in great abundance, and the latter magnesia (an earth not met with before), both of which substances were probably ejected as volcanic products and afterwards combined with the carbonic acid of the air.

FIG. 20.—LABYRINTHODON.

FIG. 21.—IMPRESSIONS OF FEET IN NEW RED SANDSTONE.

During the formation of these strata there appears to have been both birds and quadrupeds of many kinds, together with a reptile much resembling a frog, but of great size, being five or six feet long, called the "Labyrinthodon" (fig. 20). The oxide of iron, or some other agent appears to have prevented the fossilisation of the inhabitants of these strata, for but few of their organic remains have been preserved; but very curious evidences of their existence nevertheless remain, in the impressions of their feet upon the ground they trod (fig. 21), which appears to have been a moist clay or mud peculiarly adapted to receive impressions, and which having been in many places covered over with a stratum of fine sand, and then abandoned by the sea, the whole have hardened into stone, and being now separated, the one contains their footprints and the other perfect casts of them! Nor are these foot-marks all that these sandstones have to tell us of their day; for the ripples of the waves, and even the little pits made by drops of rain as they fell, are in this most marvellous manner preserved, forming objects of wonder and admiration for us mortals to contemplate, and themes whereon the devout mind may pour out its tribute of praise to their Great Author. How evident it is that the Creator designed beforehand that we should search for these hidden evidences of His handiwork, or for what purpose were they thus stored up and preserved? "Seek, and ye shall find, knock, and it shall be opened unto you," are the words of God, and they apply as fully to the material wonders of His works as to the mysteries of His revealed Word.

As the strata below the new sandstone formation was called the "Carboniferous" system, from its containing much carbon in the form both of coal and carbonic acid, so this has been called the "Saliferous" system, from the occurrence in many places of strata of "rock-salt" or crystallised chloride of sodium, and (where the rain finds its way down and dissolves it) of brine springs; these (in England) exist chiefly in Cheshire and Warwickshire, but in Poland and Hungary they exist on a much larger scale, the rock-salt being nearly a thousand feet thick. It has been said that these strata of salt were formed by the evaporation of salt lakes, but it is much more probable that salt is one of the natural materials of the earth, and that both salt lakes and oceans have become salt from dissolving out these strata wherever they have come into contact. The next sediment deposited over the new red sandstone is called the "Lias," a sort of limestone mixed with clay of a blueish-grey colour, and upon this lias is again deposited the various strata known as the "Oolite" (Roe-stone) system, from its appearance resembling the roe of a fish, it consists of small rounded particles of limestone set in a cement of the same substance worn down fine.

FIG. 22.—AMMONITE (Henlyi). FIG. 23.—PENTACRINITE.

These strata furnish a great many organic remains, especially the shells of the conchiferous mollusca and cephalopods, as Ammonites (fig. 22), Belemnites, Nautili, and Pentacrinites (fig. 23), of which a great many varieties are found, also the remains of gigantic reptiles, as the Ichthyosaurus (fig. 24), Plesiosaurus (fig. 25), and others. New forms of animal existence seem to have been created in this period in great abundance, and the waters of the earth once again became the theatre of deposition for the shells and polypidomes of zoophytes and molluscs, which swarmed them in myriads, and another great group of rocks began to be formed, namely, the chalk or "Cretaceous" system, which form the cliffs and downs of our south coasts, and strata of great extent in nearly every part of the world; it differs from limestone only in not being so hard, which is supposed to arise from its not having undergone the changes caused by heat and pressure.

FIG. 24.—ICHTHYOSAURUS.

FIG. 25.—PLESIOSAURUS.

FIG. 26.—NAUTILUS INEQUALIS.

FIG. 27.—ORGANISMS FROM CHALK.

The chalk is interstratifìed with lines of sand, and the lower part is almost entirely sandy, forming the gault and greensand deposits; these each contain organic remains, and must have been the original sand of the sea-bottom before the chalk was deposited on it. These seas must have been the residence of a vast number of reptiles, for the gault contains an enormous number of nodules of what appears to be stone, but which upon closer examination, prove to be coprolites, or portions of the excrement of those creatures partly fossilised, but still retaining phosphate of lime enough to render them valuable manure, and these—like the coal—after being buried in the earth for thousands of years, are now being brought into use. In these coprolites may be constantly seen the teeth and bones of fishes, together with portions of echini and crustaceans, which had passed through the intestines of these saurian reptiles. Fig. 26 is the shell of a small nautilus (Nautilus inequalis) thus found.

FIG. 28.—AMMONITE FROM THE CHALK.

This chalk is of a white colour, very light and porous; under the higher powers of the microscope, it appears to be made up of organic forms, as "Foraminifera," and portions of various kinds of shells, crushed and broken into minute fragments (fig. 27). Dr. Carpenter, in his work on the microscope, says: "Many parts of it (the chalk) consist in a great measure of the minuter parts of the smaller kinds of Foraminifera, whose shells are imbedded in a mass of apparently amorphous particles, many of which nevertheless present indications of being the worn fragments of similar shells, or of larger calcareous organisms. In the chalk of some localities, Foraminifera constitute the principal part of the minute organisms which can be recognised with the microscope; in other instances the disintegrated prisms of Pinnæ, or other large shells of the like structure (as Inoceramus), constitute the great bulk." The fossil remains in the chalk are very numerous and are all of a marine character, the ammonites (fig. 28), belemnites, and other cephalopods, were very prevalent, as were the various Echinodermata, as the Hemicidarus intermedia (fig. 29), together with numerous univalve and bivalve mollusca, various crustacea, fish and reptiles. There was some considerable wonderment a few years ago expressed at the skeletons of men being found in the chalk at Guadaloupe; but it has been ascertained that this chalk is a modern formation, being produced by the sea washing and disintegrating the adjacent coral reefs, and depositing a fine white sediment of broken coral on the shore which can hardly be distinguished from ancient chalk; the same process is taking place at the Bermudas and other islands of the West Indies.

FIG. 29.—ECHINUS (Hemicidarus intermedia, Chalk).

In many places the chalk strata contain single lines of flints, running for miles parallel to the layers of chalk; these flints consist of almost pure silica, and it has been a matter of wonder how they got there, but on considering how slowly the deposition of chalk must have taken place, from the formation and death of millions of minute creatures, and that it was once the bottom of a deep sea, the disposition of the flints in lines would be accounted for, supposing them to have been formed on that sea-bottom, and the source from which they have been derived is doubtless the petrifaction of sponges, madrapores, &c., there formed. Dr. Carpenter (in the work before referred to) says: "It may be stated, as a fact beyond all question, that nodular flint and other analogous concretions (such as agates) may generally be considered as fossilised sponges or alcyonian zoophytes, since not only are their external forms and their superficial markings often highly characteristic of those organisms, but when sections of them are made sufficiently thin to be transparent, a spongy texture may be most distinctly recognised in their interior."

FIG. 30.—TERTIARY FORMATION.

During the deposition of these secondary strata in the hollows of the surface, but little alteration of the relative situations of sea and land could have taken place, as the deposits for the most part lie conformably to the same hollows or "basins" (fig. 30 will illustrate this); but after the deposition of these strata, there appears to have been a very great disturbance, many chains of mountains were cast up (as the Apennines), carrying upwards with them these deposits; some of the strata were so displaced that they were left in a perpendicular position, as may be seen in several places at the south side of the Isle of Wight. These disturbances, however, did not amount to so general a convulsion as those before described, nor is it known whether all the effects produced on these strata took place at or near the same period of time; they nevertheless appear to have produced an almost total change in the situation of the land and sea, for the "downs" of chalk (on the southern coast of England, for example) were, before these changes, the beds of seas. This is the last of the great convulsions which the earth has undergone, for the tertiary strata which afterwards began to be deposited rest in the hollows or basins (chiefly in the chalk) then left; the alterations in and since these deposits appear to consist chiefly of the upheaval of certain localities, the depression of others, the evaporation of inland lakes, and the wear and tear of the land from these causes, which are still in continuous action (as from the washing down of cliffs by the sea, and the formation of mud deposits at the mouths of rivers), or the volcanic agencies which in some places (as in Ireland) have cast up basalt over the chalk.

The tertiary strata contain remains of most of the classes of animals now in existence, but yet differing greatly in species, and as the strata approach the surface those species become more and more general; the plants also approach more nearly to those of the present time, but still most parts of Europe possessed a climate almost tropical. The tertiary strata consist chiefly of marine and fresh water deposits in the form of sands and clays, as the "London clay," which extends under London, resting upon a basin of chalk. The last deposits, forming the superficial layer of earth, and the formation last deposited before the creation of man, are called the Diluvium and Alluvium, and contain numerous remains of mammalia, birds, reptiles, and fishes. One of the most extraordinary animals of this period was the Dinotherium, a sort of walrus, which is supposed to have been the largest of quadrupeds, if indeed it was one (fig. 31). The quadrupeds of this, the "Pliocene" formation, are thus described by Professor Owen in his "History of British Fossil Mammals."

FIG. 31.—SKULL OF THE DINOTHERIUM.

FIG. 32.—MAMMOTH, TELEOSAURUS, AND GLYPTODON.

"At the period indicated by these superficial stratified and unstratified deposits the Mastodon had probably disappeared from England, but gigantic elephants (fig. 32), nearly twice the bulk of the largest individuals that now exist in Ceylon and Africa, roamed here in herds, if one may judge from the abundance of their remains. Two horned rhinoceros, of at least two species, forced their way through the ancient forests or wallowed in the swamps. The lakes and rivers were tenanted by hippopotami, as bulky and with as formidable tusks as those of Africa. Three kinds of wild oxen, two of which were of colossal size and strength, and one of them maned and villous like the bonassus, found subsistence on the plains. Deer as gigantic, in proportion to existing species, were the contemporaries of the old Uri and Bisontes, and may have disputed with them the pasturage of that ancient land. One of these extinct deer is well known as the Irish elk, by the enormous expanse of its broad-palmed antlers (fig. 33). Another herd proves more like those of the wapiti, but surpassed that great Canadian deer in bulk. A third extinct species more resembled the Indian Hippelaphus, and with these were associated the red-deer, the rein-deer, the roebuck, and the goat. A wild horse, a wild ass or quagga, and the wild boar, entered also into the series of British pliocene hoofed animals. The carnivora, organised to enjoy a life of rapine at the expense of the vegetable feeders, to restrain their undue increase and abridge the pangs of the maimed and sickly, were duly adjusted in size and ferocity to the fell task assigned them in the organic economy of the pre-adamite world. Besides a British tiger, of larger size and with proportionately longer paws than that of Bengal, there existed a stronger feline animal (Machairodus) of equal size, which from the great length and sharpness of its sabre-shaped canines, was probably the most ferocious and destructive of its peculiarly carnivorous family. Of the smaller felines, we recognise the remains of a leopard, a large lynx, and of a wild cat. Troops of hyenas, larger than the Crocuta of South Africa, which they most resembled, craunched the bones of the carcases relinquished by the nobler beasts of prey, and doubtless often themselves waged the war of destruction on the feebler quadrupeds.

FIG. 33.—IRISH ELK.

THE PALEOTHERIUM.

"A savage bear, surpassing the Ursus ferox of the Rocky Mountains, found its hiding-place, like the hyæna, in many of the existing limestone caverns of England. With the Ursus spœlus was associated another bear, more like the common European species, but larger than the present individuals of the Ursus Arctas. Wolves and foxes, the badger, the otter, the foumart, and the stoat, complete the category of known pliocene carnivora of Britain."

In the time of these the last of the tertiary strata, there appear evidences of a degree of cold much greater than at present exists; this seems to be pretty well proved by the "boulder formation," or prevalence of erratic blocks of stone, the progress of which have been traced from their sources of origin to hundreds of miles distant, and there is no conceivable power which could have carried them but the floating fields of ice or glaciers; both of these sources are capable of this removal, for it is not uncommon to find large pieces of rock and layers of gravel floating on masses of ice. Glaciers are formed by the snow on the sides of mountains becoming hardened by being partially melted and again frozen, and at every melting the fluid tends to descend, when it again becomes frozen, always adding to the lower part and carrying away from the upper. In this way whole glaciers of many miles extent become unfixed, and as fresh snows are added to their upper parts, they descend slowly, entangling with them and tearing away the rocks in their vicinity. When they arrive at the sea and float forth, these rocks are borne with them.

But there are as yet no traces of man, not one small fragment of his skeleton, not one minute relic of his constructive powers, although the bones of man are as capable of preservation as those of any other animal, being the same in structure and composition; the remains of hundreds of fragile insects, seeds, leaves, and all sorts of organic structures, are found perfectly preserved (fig. 34). The only way, therefore, of accounting for the absence of any organic remains of man, is the assumption that he was not then created; and this is confirmed by the fact that in the very uppermost layers of the earth's surface his bones and the works of his hands are found in great abundance; it is therefore with good reason that we come to the conclusion, that he was the last creature formed by his Maker. That the creation of man was pre-intended by God, seems also almost proved by the numerous objects before created, capable of ministering to his use and happiness—capable of exercising his constructive and inquiring capabilities—suitable to his imagination and tastes, and his only, and which would serve no purpose of utility to the mere brutes. Of what use, to any creature but man, is coal—of what use the metals? Of what avail is it to any of the lower animals, that God has caused glass and other transparent substances to have the power of refracting the rays of light? but without which not one-half of our knowledge of His wondrous works would ever have been obtained, for it is upon this property alone that the powers of the telescope and microscope depend. Of what use to any but man are fire, artificial light, and galvanism? and yet all these were created long before man was.

FIG. 34.—FOSSIL LEAVES.

FIG. 35.—SCULPTURE FROM NINEVEH.

It has often been asked, What does man gain by the study of the sciences? Besides the enlarged views which they give him of his Creator's goodness and power, they at this time are fast reaching towards the demonstration of many obscure passages of His Holy Word as revealed to us in the Scriptures. The study of truth can moreover never lead one into error, and a habit of drawing correct conclusions from the facts presented is useful to every one. Geology has confirmed one great truth in Scripture, and overthrown the greatest groundwork of Deism, for it had been asserted by many that man (and indeed all other creatures) had risen to his present state by slow developments, and no proof to the contrary had ever been given. But geology has shown that at a certain era man was created, that (as is stated in Scripture) he was the last of God's works, and that neither before that time had he existed in an undeveloped form, nor since has he altered one jot from his original configuration; and the same may be said of all other creatures, whatever may be pretended to the contrary, for from the sculptures brought from the ruins of Nineveh (at least 3000 years old), there appears the same external form (fig. 35), both of man and what animals are there depicted, and his and their habits were described by the very earliest writers to be then as now. But with respect to the form of the earth's surface it is otherwise, there being a slow but continuous change. Those parts of the land exposed to the tides and action of the waves, are washed away, and the rivers are constantly bringing down soil to deposit it at their mouths, forming those tracts of land known as "deltas;" every wind that blows takes away some dust from the higher and deposits it on the lower parts of the earth's surface, so that, to use the words of the Prophet Isaiah, "every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill shall be made low." But this alteration is so slow that it takes hundreds of years to make but a small difference, yet a difference there undoubtedly is, and a time must come when the alteration will be such as has been shown to have taken place in far-back times and recorded in the strata in evident language, for though the changes are slow the result is inevitable. It has been ascertained that the northern part of Sweden has been steadily rising and the southern part sinking to a corresponding degree for many centuries past, and that the west coast of Italy has been elevated for ages past, at the rate of not quite an inch yearly. Volcanic actions are raising some lands and depressing others (in the earthquakes of 1822 and 1835, the whole of Chili from the Andes to the sea, and probably the bed of the sea to an unknown extent, was elevated considerably), rain and the rivers carry away land into the sea, the beds of many seas are being filled up by coral polypes and protophytes, so that the beds of these seas must ultimately be the land whilst the lower parts of the land will become sea.

After these various changes upon the surface of the earth, from a climate hot beyond anything now existing, from a surface rocky and full of fissures and inequalities, studded with islands and continents, abounding in marshes and swamps—from a state of atmosphere in which the higher animals could not live—to the present division and separation of land and water, of oceans and seas, of islands and continents, well supplied with rivers to drain off the superfluous fluid and supply highways easy to traverse in boat or canoe, the world remains, a fitting habitation for the creatures God has placed upon it on every hand. Forests to shelter the wild animals from the rains and heat of the sun; waters for those who dwell or delight in them; metals, stone, earth, and wood for man to exercise his ingenuity upon, and other innumerable things contributing to his comfort or luxury—all freely given by the hand of his Heavenly Father for his well-being and delight, that he may lack no excuse to worship and adore Him, and this delightful earth, as Milton says:—

Brought forth the tender grass, whose verdure clad

Her universal face with pleasant green,

Then herbs of every leaf, that sudden flower'd

Opening their various colours, and made gay

Her bosom smelling sweet: and these scarce blown,