The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1842-03-20
MIR. Lyeu's Second Lecture on Geology ~
the Table rnacle.

The second lecture Of Mr. Lyell las, night was at
tended by about GO Of the most Intelligent and re-
spectacle people in the city.
Asi is impossible to give detailed report of this
lecture without constant reference to the drawings
OF strata and various parts Of France and Sicily,
which Mr.. Lye exhibited, we shall coniae our
selves to outline of the facts brought forward by
the lecturer on this occasion.
The subject Of the lecture was the volcanic
formations Of the earth. MIR. Lyell said that he
should speak at present as if the present changes of
level in the earth's surface, and particularly in the
neighborhood Of volcanic regions, were pro-
duced by the uphea of land, and by the going
down of the sea and in the two next lectures he
would bring forward abundance of proof, that il was
so. These mountain masses have been lifted up
two three miles in height, long after the period
when ANIMALS and plants began to inhabit the earth
These masses have been divided by biologists into
various to the different ages since
their formation, forming beautiful chronological
series from which TO date the history of the earths
structure. And it is not till we arrive at the latest
Ct the larger groups in these volcanic formations,
that we come down to that part OF France described
in the first lecture. The oldest of this series is the
fresh water formation, colored white, in the map Of
that region Of country round Mount Dor and the
sources Of the Loire, and yellow in the map OF the
Freshwater formations round Paris (here MIR
Lyell referred to his maps) II is necessary here to
attend to the organic remains found In these rocks
and particularly TO the various descriptions OF shells
in which these beds abound for they are most
Justly styled the organic medals of the earths his
tory, by which nature tells to the scientific and pa
lent enquirer the ages Of the various strata he may
examine. These shells are numerous in all these
strata that il is easy by fading the various classes OF
Them in one place and in another, and arranging
them, to ascertain, it were, the several volumes
forming the successive ages in the history OF the
earth. There no less than 1900 distinct species
of shells in the freshwater formations round Paris
alone And Of these, not over twenty are Of the
same species of those inhabiting our seas, aud
lakes and rivers We are in all acquainted with 10 600
different species of shells inhabting the various
salt and fresh waters of the earth, but only 20 or 80
of them are the same as any Of those 1900 species
found in the fresh water strata round Paris. There
latter strata were the same in their character as
those found in the region of Mount Dor.
We know that the sea formed a deposit round
Paris and occupied the Paris basin IN which
the city now stands by these very shells
For rivers are continually carrying down shells from
the lakes to the sea, and there depositing them
The St. Lawrence river is at this time carrying
down shells from the great American Lakes into the
Gufo ST. lawrence, and 30 into the ocean. The
Rhone carries shells from the lakes of Switzerland
into the Mediterranean and 80 do the AIDA
(Adape) and so from the Italian Lakes into the
same sea- And almost every where we find shells
of the lake deposits mixed up with 1000 or HOO dit
LII IL Cd
these shell fish and animals (organic remains) that
lived on the land and were carried down hither at the
time that the sea filled the basin (valley) of the
Seine. And SO we find, by the same analogy,
the ages of the various rocks in the several
Volcanic formations. But before going into this
part Of the subject, it will be necessary to become
acquainted with the use of various terms that have
been thought necessary as making the different Pc
RODS in which these various deposits, formerly all
referred to one period-the freshwster formations
had their orgia The term Eocene has been given
TO the first or earliest of these ireshwater forma-
TONS as forming the first dawn of the recent spe-
cies of organic remains. The next period Of fo.-
nations is termed Mocene, because there the shells
that resemble those now extant are more numerous
but still they form minority The next period Is
termed pliocene because there the shells resembling
those now found in our waters form plurality
The proportion in the three runs about thus
Eocene .................'..'' % IN 100
M0cene. ........N IN IU,
Pocene ................. ~ In 100,
Similar shells to those now existing in the neigh
boring seas.
Here the lecturer referred to the following dia-
gram of the names and classification of the va.
rious fresh water formations ESQ terned), and for.
merly considered to belong all to period Of de.
posii;-
. PlioceLe' Tertiary
With this diagram we are compelled from wan, Of
space to close eur account Of the lecture to-day.
We shall nrohahy give the remainder in to.mor.