Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1838-09-27
MISCELLANY.
From the Edinburgh Revie,o.
Astonishing facts relative to a former
Organic World.

w OllO.
DR.. Bunkland now proceeds 10 the mos,
important and popular branch of his subject
-togive description Of the most interest.
ing fossil organic remains, 10 show that the
extinct species OF plants and animals which
formerly occupied our planet, display, even
IN their fragments and relics the same marks
OF wisdom and design which have been uni>
versaliy recognized in the existing species
OF organized beings.
Alter giving some account of tie suppos-
ed cases oi fossil human bones, and esiab
fishing the remarkable fact OF the etotal ab.
sence OF any vestiges of the human species
throughout the entire series Of geological
formations. our author passes 10 the gener.
al history OF fossil organic remains:
sit IS marvellous that mankind should
have gone on for SO many centuries in ig-
norance OF The fact, which is now 90 fully
demonstrated, that no small part of the pre-.
sent surface OF the earth is derived from the
remains of animals that constituted the pop
uiation OF ancient seas.--Many extensive
plans and massive mountains, form. as il
were, the great charnel houses OF preceding
generations, in which the petriied exeuva
OF extinct races of animals and vegetables
are piled into s.upendous monuments of the
operations of life and death, during almost
unreasonable periods of past time. AT the
sight OF spectacle, says Cuvier, so inpos-
ing, so terrible, as that Of the wreck of ami.
NAL life, forming almost the entire earth on
which we tread, il is difficult 10 restrain the
imagination from haZarding some conjec,ures
as to the Cause by which such grea, effects
have been produced the deeper we de-
scend into the strata Of The earth, the higher
do we ascend into The archaeological History
oipast creation, We find successive stages
marked by varying forms of animal and
vegetable life, and these generally differ
more and more widely from existing spe,
cIes as we go further downward into the re-
ceptacles Of The wreck of more ancient crea-
tiUns.
"Besides the more obvious remains o! tes-
tacea and oil larger animals, minute examin-
iion discloses occasionally, prodigious accu-
mutations OF microscopic shell, that surprise
US no less by their abundance than their ex.
IRENE minuteness the mode in which they
sometimes crowded together may be esti.
mated from the TACT that Soldani collected
from less than an ounce and half Of stone.
found in the hills of Cascisna in Tuscany.
TO- miCr osCopic chambered shells.
Oh several species Of these shells, four or five
hundred weighed but single grain of one
species he calculates that thousand indi.
viduals would scarcely weigh one grain"
Extraordinary as these phenomena must
appear, the recent discoveries OF Ebrenberg
made since the publication of Dr. Buckland's
work, are still more marvellous and instruc-
tive. This eminent naturalist, whose disco
veries respecting the existing in fusorial aDi>
mails we have already noticed, has discover ed
fossil animalcules, or infusorial organic re.
mains ; and not only has he discovered their
existence by the microscope, but he has
found that they form extensive strata OF lri-
poll, or po!eschieier (polisbing slate,) at
Franzenbad, in Bohemia substance sup
posed 10 have been from sediments Of fine
volcanic ashes in quiet waters. These ami.
mails belong TO the genus Bacillsria and in
habit siliceous shells, the accumulation of
which form the strata Of polishing slate
The size Of a single individual Of these ami
malcules is about ,2S3h of a line. or The
240Oih part Of an inch. ID the polishing
slate from BileD, in which there seems no
ex,raneous matter, and no vacuties. a Gu
bic line contains in round numbers Is ,000,-
OOO OF these animals, and cubid inch d..
DOC, OO0, 600 OF them. The weight Of Gu
bic inch OF The tripoli which confirms them
is 270 grains. Hence there are IS 900 900
o! these animalcules in single grain, or the
silceous coat Of one of these animals is the
lS,0OO,O00ib part of a grain!
Since this strange discovery was made Mr.
Ebrenberg has detected the same fossil ami
mails in the semiopsl, which is found along
With 'be polishing slate 10 the tertiary strata