has at some period covered the carth, and that it must have remained there for a long time in a tranquil state, in order to account for the formation of deposits so extensive and so solid.

What was the previous state of the universe at that sublimely mysterious period, when, in the language of inspiration, “the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep," must be left to conjecture.

It has been supposed that in the first stages of creation the material universe was in a gaseous, watery state, and that when the principle of gravitation was by Omnipotent Power imparted to matter, or, as expressed in Scripture, "the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters," the parts began to cohere and arrange themselves in an order somewhat resembling that which now exists; the more dense or heavier particles falling to the centre in strata ; then the water, and finally the atmosphere, gradually growing more rarified, until it became difficult to draw the line between the outer regions of atmospheric air and pure ether. In the first moments of existence, the struggle between the rays of the sun and the dense vapors still floating in the atmosphere, must have seemed doubtful; and the first stage of creation might well refer to that process which divided the light from the darkness, while the second would as naturally relate to the gradual precipitation of the waters from the atmosphere, or "the division of the waters which were under the firmament, from the waters which were above the firmament."

Then commenced the precipitation of those extensive horizontal strata, from which the opinion is derived that the waters at one period covered the earth.

Above these strata are to be found the inclined or vertical strata, which form the ridges of the secondary mountains. These strata, however, do not rest on the horizontal strata, but come up from beneath, as if they had broken through by some mighty convulsion, elevating their heads above the deep to form the dry land, while the receding waters were gathered together in the seas which contained them.

From the position of these inclined strata, it is evident that the earth has been subjected to one or more internal convul

sions of a volcanic character, which have produced these seeming irregularities, and elevated these strata so as to bring them within reach, to be made serviceable to the uses of the intelligent beings that were to inhabit its surface. It is also equally evident, from the absence of all remains of organized matter in these strata, that those convulsions occurred before the creation of animate nature. Indeed, the heat of the globe during these convulsive throes, of which there is abundant evidence, would of itself have prevented the existence of organized life.

From the abundance of the remains of marine animals found in the strata through which the inclined strata have been forced, we may fairly infer that the first productions of creative wisdom were the inhabitants of the sea and the aquatic plants.

During the early stages of their existence, they were exposed to volcanic eruptions, which, by the sudden imparting of heat to the water, or by noxious gases or bituminous mud, must have destroyed myriads of the inhabitants of the sea, and thus have contributed to the rapid formation of the strata where their remains are now found, attended with the clearest evidence of the manner of their destruction. No small portion of the present surface of the earth is formed from the remains of the population of the ancient seas, which are heaped up into stupendous monuments of the work of mortality during the first stages of creation.

The vegetation of this period was as simple as the contemporaneous classes of animals. The latter, except the fishes, were without vertebræ, and the plants were of the simplest character, and generally of the cryptogamous order. The fossils of the carboniferous period indicate the existence of ferns, grasses, plants similar to horse tails, and vascular vegetables of a gigantic character, and proving their developement in a climate of much higher temperature than now prevails even in the tropics, and in an atmosphere surcharged with carbonic acid gas. Their growth would be rapid under such circumstances beyond any idea which can now be formed of vegetation; and the absorption of carbon by the plants from the air,

would be a process essential to prepare it for the respiration of mammiferous animals.

It would be difficult for one so superficially acquainted with geology to describe accurately the different periods when these various classes of animals and vegetables occupied the earth.

It is sufficient to know that marine productions preceded those of the land; and the antiquity of the formations in which vegetables of the first periods of creation are found, prove that on the land life began in the vegetable kingdom. Above these, and sometimes mingled with them, are found the fossil remains of birds and quadrupeds.

In the transition series are found those strata which are designated as the carboniferous order, or great coal-formation. The coal strata are formed of carbon, obviously produced from the remains of plants of antedeluvian growth. They often consist of thin layers of vegetable remains, distinctly to be traced by the eye. In some mines, by the fall of the coal roof, a display is made of vegetable forms impressed upon the stone, some of species now extinct, and all bearing marks of the grace and beauty which characterize the works of nature.

A spectator of one of the Bohemian mines, describes them as if he had been transported by enchantment into the forests of another world. He beholds (as he declares) trees of forms and characters now unknown upon the surface of the earth, presented to his senses almost in the beauty and vigor of their primeval life; their scaly stems and bending branches, with their delicate apparatus of foliage, are all spread forth before him, little impaired by the lapse of countless ages, and bearing faithful records of extinct systems of vegetation which began and terminated in times of which these relics are the infallible historians.

The coal strata alternate with indurated clay, sandstone, limestone, and strata of rich argillaceous iron ore, or iron stones. The limestone beds which form the foundation, are full of the remains of marine animals, while the fresh-water shells in the upper regions of the series, show that the more recent strata were deposited from fresh or brackish water.

It is also ascertained, that one general principle prevailed throughout the successive periods of the secondary and tertiary formation, ever operating to maintain upon the earth the greatest amount of life consistent with its capacity to supply nutri

ment.

The connection between the vegetable and the insect tribes is so constant and immediate, that we may infer that so great a mass of plants as that preserved in coal strata must have been productive of countless swarms of insects; and the provision. made for restraining the classes consuming herbs within due bounds, through the agency of carnivorous classes, would lead us to expect that during this period the latter classes would be found of extraordinary power and rapacity. This expectation is realized in the fossil remains of the great carnivorous class of spiders and scorpions which is found in the coal formation ;— fully establishing their existence at that early period, and that the vegetation provided for the support of the insect tribes they made their prey, must have been abundant beyond any idea now entertained of the rapidity of vegetable growth.

The vegetable remains found in the coal fields appear to have been deposited in the vicinity of tracts of dry land containing fresh-water lakes and mountains, and to belong to species found in climates of high temperature. The strata, although in a great degree horizontal, are often arranged in basins, which appear to have been gradually filled up by carbonaceous deposits brought by successive tides or floods of water.

The anthracite, in general, is so completely mineralized, as to present no traces of vegetable origin; but in some bituminousstrata there are found layers of vegetables converted into true mineral coal, preserving, when separated, perfect impressions of leaves and other parts of plants, and leaving no doubt that all coal is derived from the same source.

It remains for us to inquire how this mass of vegetable matter came to be deposited in strata within the reach of man, to be preserved as it were for his use and comfort, after the surface should be stripped by the increased demand of the wood which serves for fuel in the early stages of society.

In hazarding a conjecture concerning a process so enveloped in the darkness of antiquity-occurring in a period whose history is preserved only in fossil remains, it would be presumptuous to dogmatize.

It may be permitted, however, to remark, that so large a mass of vegetable remains could scarcely be preserved, except by some process involving their contemporaneous destruction. The successive deposits of plants of periodical growth would have been attended with decay and decomposition, which would have unfitted them for the purposes to which they are now applied. Nor can it be supposed that one annual growth of plants upon the surface would suffice to supply a mass equal to the strata of coal beneath.

We must, therefore, infer that the productions of a much larger superficies, than the extent of the coal field, have been brought together by some agent, and that the deposit has then taken place. From the position of the vegetable remains and their perfect preservation, we may fairly conclude that they have been collected through the agency of water; and it is not unreasonable to infer, that the same fluid that held them in a state of suspension, acted as a current in tearing them from the surface of the globe. That such a current has at some former period swept over the earth with stupendous force, we have too many proofs to permit us to doubt. It is equally clear that this current has flowed from east to west, excavating the val leys which run through the chains of lofty mountains-scooping out the deep gulfs and bays, and dividing the islands from the adjacent continents; that it has ploughed up the channels of the Red Sea and Mediterranean in its mighty effort to find a passage between Africa and Asia, while the great indentation formed by the Gulf of Mexico attests the action of the same current in its endeavour to divide South from North America. Other proofs might be accumulated as to the existence and course of this current, but my limits compel me to make a suggestion as to its cause.

It will be readily conceded, that upon the approach of any large body to the earth, a strong influence would be exerted