it everywhere; a question which the defenders of these opinions cannot answer. (Cf. Bibl. Narrat. 1—4.) How do the best naturalists of our time explain the origin of the Neptunian land? Layer by layer was formed at the bottom of the oceans and lakes, and by the alluvions of rivers. By and by such land was raised above the ocean by the inner forces of earth, principally by fire, as it is still going on in many places, e. g., on the shores of Bothnic Bay, and in the southern parts of Patagonia. What proves the correctness of this explanation? The great number of petrified animals, especially of shells and fish which were found by digging into these mountains. They occur frequently in the Pyrenees, Alps, Cordilleras, and Himalaya mountains, even on places as high as 8,000— 18,000 feet. Is it possible that the sea has ever reached such an elevated ground? What do they conclude from these observations? That the sea has not sunk, but the land has been raised. Into how many periods does Geology divide the time of the gradual transformation of earth? Into five; these are called: Primary, secondary, tertiary, diluvial, and alluvial periods. The older section of the diluvial period is also called the glacial time. In what condition was earth's surface during the glacial period ? A coherent mass of ice, beginning on the North pole, covered the northern and middle part of Asia, Europe and America; in Europe it seems to have extended towards the Alps. From the South pole, too, the ice-cover enveloped a great deal of the Southern hemisphere. Only a small zone remained between the two sections of ice for organic life. What country informs us of that period? The Northeastern part of Germany; for there are still left numberless huge rocks (boulders), belonging exactly to the same species as the mountains in the Scandinavian peninsula, and which must have been floated from these to Germany during the ice-period; probably they formed part of those swimming mountains of ice which had been torn from the glaciers of that peninsula, and were carried by the waves of the sea to Germany. (18.) § 7. The Age of the Earth. What facts impart information to us, with regard to the age of earth? I. The evolution process of the earth. Until the earth, originally ignited, could cool from 2,000 to 200 degrees of heat, indeed millions of years must have passed away. 2. The age of the different mountains and of their fossils. (a.) Neptunian (Tertiary) mountains. Three thousand shells, found in Neptunian mountains, have been compared with five thousand species of present time. In the lowest layers of the ground there were 31⁄2 per cent. of the shells like those in the present time, 17 per cent. in the middle ones, 35-50 per cent. in the still higher ones, and 90-95 per cent. in the most recent ones. How many thousands of years may have elapsed between these formations? According to the computation of the most skillful geologist, 350,000 years. (17.) (b.) Mountains of lime and chalk. Next below the Tertiary mountains lie the groups of the mountains of lime and chalk. They are partly built up. from the petrified shells of little animals. The Suabian Alp owes its origin to the claws of crabs. Such a layer at Bilin (in Bohemia), extends through a large tract of land, and is fourteen feet thick. It supplies what they call polishing slate (tripoli), which is used to polish metals. It is mostly composed of petrified animalcules, and contains 41,000 millions of their shells in every cubic inch. (18.) Their corpuscles were bedded in small, round granules, which were like raspberries formed in balls, and represented pretty houses with many chambers. These animalcules have built in all zones entire chains of mountains. The chalk mountains in England, Ireland, France, in the middle part of Europe and Asia, which together comprise an area as large as that of Europe, owe to them their existence. What number of them, and what length of time were necessary, till so many mountain chains were constructed. Between the formations of the lime rocks and those of the Tertiary period may as many thousands of years have elapsed as between the construction of the Tertiary mountains and those of the present time. (19.) (c.) Coal strata. They have originated by floods, which accumulated masses of trees and plants, and covered them with sand and clay; by and by these minerals hardened into slate, upon which new masses of organic matter was deposited. (20.) This process was repeated by nature several times, until coal mountains of surprising length and height were formed. They say that their formation has taken a million of years. (d.) Plutonic and Primary mountains. In these no remains of animals are found, whereby we may conclude that, in general, they are still older than the other rock formations. 3. The structures of the corals (polyps). A learned geologist, James D. Dana, conjectures that they build one-eighth of an inch of their structures in one year. Now, there are some coral-reefs 2,000 feet high, the formation of which, therefore (computed 1⁄2 inch a year), required 192,000 years. Since the body of these polyps is only as large as a drop of water, and since an infinite number of islands, reefs, and rocks (of the mainland which some day was covered with water) is their work; the age of their creation can hardly be computed. (21.) 4. Discoveries in the valley of Nile. When in the Nile delta borings were attempted, they found in a depth of 60—70 feet tools and pièces of pottery. They have computed, how many inches the alluvium of land in the delta is increasing during 100 years, and the result of the calculation was that it rises 21⁄2 inch or (according to the computation of others) 31⁄2" or 5." According to 4. As often as earth entered a new period of general mutation, the existing kinds of plants and animals partly perished. What causes gradually effected the improvement of the organisms ? Principally these two causes: inheritance and adaptation; also the transformation of earth, the length of time which has elapsed from the beginning of organic life unto the present age, the struggle for existence, etc. What's the meaning of inheritance ? The essential qualities of all kinds of organisms are transmitted to their descendants, e. g., the bodily and mental qualities of the parents to their children, and grandchildren. How is adaptation working? It works by the change of diet and of the way of living, by habitude and exercise, by migration, etc. How does Nature act in the struggle for life? All animals and plants have enemies who endeavor to destroy them. "In the course of hundred thousands of years the strongest plants and animals always vanquish the other ones.”—Ch. Darwin. (29.) In this way new species and sub-species gradually come into existence. What is the doctrine of the gradual improvement of the organic world called? The doctrine of evolution or descent. Who is the author of this doctrine? Charles Darwin. Therefore it is sometimes also called Darwinism. What observation suggested to Darwin the idea of his doctrine? He noticed the proceeding of the gardeners, when they want to create new species of plants and flowers: namely, they select one of them which they want to propagate, and make use of it for propagation, secluding all the other species. (30.) How is the importance of the doctrine of evolution manifested? It throws open a new path to the moral accomplishment of man, by teaching him to return to nature. It ennobles family life by the knowledge of nature's laws. It initiates radical reforms in the education of youth, and in the social and political relations of the people. § 9. Man-1st, Age, and 2nd, Origin of His Species. 3d, His Primitive State. 4th, Human Races. 1. In which earth-layers first occur remains of man? In the Tertiary layers. Since the time of forty years such remains (bones, skulls, etc.) were found in several countries of Europe, also in North America and Syria. They were mingled with the remains of extinct animal races, e. g., of the mammoth, with arrow-heads, battle-axes and hatchets. These tools are made from shells, whereby the jaws of the cavern-bear were used as instruments. In the Mississippi valley also petrified human bones have been discovered, the age of which are 40,000—50,000 years, as computed by American geologists, 4. 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