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Show .I I X CONTENT&, PAOR new species?-Whether any evidence of such new creations could be expected within the historical era, even if they hall been as frequent as cases of extinc-tion ?-The question whether the existing species have been created in suc-cession can only be decided by reference to geological monuments • 176 CHAPTER XII. Effects produced by the 'powers of vitality on the state of the earth's sur· face-Modifications in physical geography caused by organic beings on dry land inferior to those caused in the subaqueous regions-Why the vegetable soil does not augment in thickness-Organic matter drifted annually to the sea, and btU'ied in subaqueous strata-Loss of nourishment from this source, how supplied-The theory, that vegetation is an antagonist power counterbalancing the degradation caused by running water, untenable-That the igneous causes are the true antagonist powers, and not the action of animal and vegetable life-Conservative influence of vegetation-Its bearing on the theory of the fo1·mation of valleys, and on the age of the cones of certain extinct volcanos-Rain diminished by the felling of forests-Distribution of the American forests dependent on the direction of the predominant winds- Influence of man in modifying the physical geography of the globe • • 185 CHAPTER XIII. Effects produced by the action of animal and vegetable life on the material constituents of the earth's crust-Imbedding of organic remains in deposits on emerged land-G1·owth of Peat-Peat abundant in cold nnd humid climates- Site of many ancient forests in Europe now occupied by PeatRecent date of many of these changes-Sources of Bog Iron-ore-Preservation of animal substances in Pcat-Ca.uses of its antiseptic property-Miring of . quadrupeds-Bursting of the Solway Moss-Bones of herbivorous quaclrupeds found in Peat-Imbedding of animal remains in Caves and Fissures -Formation of bony b1·eccias-Human bones and pottery intermL"{ed with the remains of extinct quadrupeds in caves in the South of France-Infer-ences deducible from such associations • 209 CHAPTER XIV. Imbedding of organic remains in alluvium and the ruins caused by landslips- Effects of sudden inuudations-Of landslips-Terrestrial a.nimals most abundantly preserved in alluvium aud landslips, where earthquakes prevail- Erroneous theories which may arise from overlooking this cil·cumstance- On the remains of works of art included in alluvial deposits-Imbedding of organic bodies ancl human remains in blown sand-Temple of Ipsam· bul on the Nile-Dried carcasses of animals buried in tho sands of the African deserts-Towns overwhtllmed by sand-floods in England and France CONTENTS. xi PAGE -Imbedding of organic bodies and works of art in volcanic formations on the land-Cities and their inhabitants buried by showers of ejected matter -by lava-In tuffs or mud composed of volcanic sand and ashes • • 228 CHAPTER XV. Imbedding of organic remains in subaqueous deposits-Division of the sub· ject-Phenomena relating to terrestrial animals nnd plants first con:!ideredWood sunk to a great depth in the sea instantly impregnated with salt-water -Experiments of Scoresby-Drift timber carried by the Mackenzie into Slave Lake anu into the sea-Cause of the abundance of drift timber in this ri;er-Floating trees in the Mississippi-In the Gulf stream-Immense quantity thrown upon the coast of Iceland, Spitzbergen, and Labrador-Imbedding of the remaius of insects-of the 1·emains of reptiles-Why the bones of bh-ds are so rare in subaqueous deposits-Imbedding of terresh'ial qundru· peds-Effects of a flood in the Solway Firth-Wild horses annually drowned in the sava.nnahs of South America-Skeletons in recent shell mad-Drifting of mammifcrous and other remains by tides and currents , • 239 CHAPTER XVI. Imbedding of the remains of man and his works in subaqueous strataDrifting of bodies to the sea by river-inundations-Destruction of bridges and houses-Burial of human bodies in 'the sen.-Loss of lives by shipwreckCircumstances unde1· which human cor1>ses may be preservecl under a great thickness of recent deposits-Number of wrecked vessels-Durable character of many of their contents-Examples of fossil skeletons of men-Of fossil canoes, ships, and works of art-Of the chemical changes which certain metallic instruments have undergone after long submergence-Effects of the subsiclence of land in imbedding cities and forests in subaqueous strataEarthquake of Cutchin 1819-Submarine forests-Berkely's arguments for the recent date of the creation of man-Concluding remarks , 253 CHAPTER XVII. Imbedding of aquatic species in suuaqueous stra.ta-Inhumation of freshwater plants and animals-Shell marl-Fossilized seed-vessels and stems of Chara-Recent deposits in the American lakes-Fresh-water species drifted into seas and estuaries-Lewes levels-Alternations of marine and freshwater shata, how caused-Imbedding of marine plants and animalsCetacea stranded on our shores-Their remains should be more conspicuous in marine alluvium than the bones of land quadrupeds-Liability of littoral and estuary testacea to be swept into the deep sea-Effects of a storm in the Frith of Forth-Burrowing shells secured f1·om the ordinary action of waves and currents-Living testacca found at cousidemble depths , 272 |
