Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1842-02-07

to a new tube, arms or ientdcute, as they are call
ed, shoot out, and the functions Of life commence.
| number of heads mny also be cut off and
thrown together, when they will soon combine to
form new animal with great number of heads.
Many plants of the fungus species often found
growing out of the bodies Of living insects.
The number of species of different animals
that have been discovered on our globe is n SUBJ
! ieot of no little interest. Ofthe nInmmalia there
have been found 1000 different species of birds
| 6,000; Of fishes 5000; of insects 10000; of
shells 5000, and of polypi 1000, making in all
10000 difleren, species, which is probably not
half the number that really exist The number
OF individuals belonging TO single species is also
most astonishing. Capt Flinders once observed
! in Van Deman's land flock of petrol, contain
| ing not less than l50000000 individuals mud
| AUDUBON near the Ohio river a single Hook of
| p geons which must have numbered at least 90
OOO000,000, requiring at least 100000 bushels of
grain for a single day. The gelatenous animnIs
| Oh which the whale lives, called meduc6, so abound
in parts of the Arctic Ocean, MS to color The water
| for miles around and cubic foot of water con
tains at least from so 600 TO 100000 of them
| Several shoals laid down charts of the South
! Seas have been found to 10 nothing more than
these meducw, discoloring the wafer so MS to pro-
| ducc the deception.
The number Of young produced by certain
species of animals is most surprising. The queen
| OF the termtftS in four months deposites 10000
| eggs; the queen Of the cyclops 4000000,000 The
carp deposits 200 900 eggs NJ once, aud the iench
ond founder likewise have most wonderful powers
tf reproduction.
OF The intuSorie or nnimalcula, which, except
the vinegar eel, are all microscopic seven humid
dred species have been described, the smallest OF
which comprises animals NOT mole than one-i TWEEN.
ty- four lhousandth part of an inch in diameter;
and single drop Of water will contain 500,060,.
600 OF them, and allow each an abundance Of sea
room. Yet every one of these is provided with
all the organization ofnnmal life; and nniuraliss
ny giving them colored food--ns pure indigo
have been able to trace their nerves and circula-
ting vessels In high northern regions and upon
the Alps the snow is often seen TO be tinged with
red and it has been ascertained that this is cnus
ell by the presence of living animalcua, which
can only exist in the temperature of snow and
perish rs soon rs it mes. Many Of the anin.-
cun called hyddna, are covered with n shield OF
pure slick, which, when the animal dies is depos-
tied at the bottom of the water, forming beds OF
feruglnous matter many feet thick Whole rocks
have been found by biologists entirely made up of
these skeletons In Germany these beds are four
teen feet thick: forty one thousand millions Of
these skeletons will only fill cubic inch of
space. Prof Bailey OF West Point has found ur-
der peat bogs in this country white substance
which has long been mistaken for magnesia; but
which is found to he nothing hut the skeletons of
minute animals living in the water.
Tho science of Geology furnishes facts Of o
most wonderful nature. 1t IS found that the const-
uens Of subs nces at the tops of The highest
mountains have once been at the bottom OF the
ocean, aud have been raised TO their present con
dltIon This is startling statement, but no prn
cpc in Science is better established than this:
for rocks are found on the tops Of these noun.
tnns full Of plants which grow only from The bot
tom of the sea. The whole Valley of the Msss-
sippi, from The Allegheny 10 The Rocky Noun
tains and from the Gulf of Mexico TO the Arctic
Ocedn, embracing surface of three millions of
square miles, is all found 10 be uudernid by rocks
several ples in thickness, aboun'ling in sea plants
and auiihals. These rocks have not horizontal
position, but are found lifted up and more or less
inclined, showing cOncuslyely that the constilu-
ents have been flied up and that the ocean has
not Withdrawn from above them. These were
thrown up at different periods; and biologists
have established twelve different epochs at which
these elevations have taken place in Europe in
our country there are ascertalned TO have been at
least half dozen. BY what power was this won
derful phenomena accomplished and is this pow
er still in action? are inquiries Of high interest.
Geoogiss agreed TINT hent is the agent and
tile thunder of Two numbered volcanoes shows
that its terrible energy has not departed BY deep
excavations into the Earth il has been proved That
as we approach the centre the temperature con-
tnunlly increases. The heat o! the Sun never
extends beyond one hundred feet below the earll's
surface still it is found that even beyond lis in
| fluence tho heat goes on TO increase as we mp
pronch the centre. A remarkable instance of an
| experiment upon this subject occurred al Paris
! only few months since The Government had
ordered The construction of nm Artesian well and
! on finding no water at the depth of 300 feet or
| dered its disconlinuance BY the request Of n
! number OF scientific men il was carried however,
TO the depth of 1900 feet, when OH lifting the au-
| ger out n stream Of water gushed firth which
was found to be at the temperature of S3 degrees
almost AT blood heat Judging from this fhct
! it is certain that at the depth Of mile, water
would boil aud at sixty miles below The surface
| rocks and all other substances would he rendered
| incandescent. There seems to he no escape from
these conclusions and the facility they furnish for
! the solution OF difficult problems in The pliloso.
| ply of Nature the spherodal figure of the
! Earth, the existence of volcanoes, the fact llrni
| the Northern regions have been much warmer
| than they IRE NJ present, has Opposed saruraisls
TO adopt II as the true theory. The writings of
Baron FOURIER on this subject are especially in
structive
| The history of the remains of animals and
| plants found buried hundreds of feet below The
surface Of the earth, is full of curious interest.
! In Great Britain rocks exist six aud hall uiles
| in perpendicular thickness and in this are found
! not less lhnn ten thousand species, oil different
from any now known. The conclusion is, that
the animals and plants, OF which we have here
the fossil remains must have lived beio.o the pres
ent race of animals had being; else why should
| not some of these likewise be found embodied !?
! These fossils found in layers groups nj diff
iercnt depths, aud abou, dozen different groups
nre found and The animals in each group are TO-
| tally unlike those Of all the others. The concu-
sion is that these several successive groups were
created ut different periods and that race was
destroyed 10 make room for another, so that five
OF six OF these changes must have taken place be-
lore the creation Of the present race. This does
not necessarily conflict with revelation; for though
Moses fixes the date of the creation Of the pres
en roce he says nothing of The globe, except lha,
II took place 'in the beginning which is perfect
| ly indefinite expression. Between that time and
the formation Of Man, oug period Of time must
have rolled away. II is found, too that when
these animals lived the climate must have been
tropical, or even ultra tropical.
Certain Interesting facts connected with this sub
jecl have come under my own observation The
snfni IL Il