New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-08-18

coal plants admitted even Bo~ By soue geoDxi-h -
oct of tie qusiion unless The whole Co.tineui may
- call d for lsrge psFt Of is surface cDvere
with tie vegetation. peltas exist where there
lLrl r.veD such rivers accumulate and TOW s1ere
(, ere an'ans How then comb there have been
riyerr OF trua Geas OF much size 10 tie Coal pcrl,
i.fOre The R,cky Mountains or Appsachians were
rsiseo. II takes the ADDE'S to Eoske an Amazon.
1bis remark has wider application than simply to
the Goal ere.
~. N this correction. | add word on the il ca
y Il The rocks of our Continent have been supplied
VII sands sDd gravel from cOntit ent now sulk IN
the ocean. No facts prove ilst such a co0ti eut has
ever existed, and the whole system of progress "a
have explained, is oppOsed TO II. Moreover, gravel
md ssld- are never drfed away rom shorts eI-
cept by The very largest Of rivers Ike the Amazon
end with tlese only part Of the lighes or finest de-
riius + carried awoy for much the larcer part Is re-
Turned 70 The coast through tdgi action which hGs
prcpeln movement shoreward where there are sound
ines. The existence OF Amazon or any such Atsl-
o COntT emf ID Slurian, DeyOnian. G. CarbOnieloas
;imes, ID too wlc al hypothesis for moment ndul-
seIce
V. The hearing Of the facts in American PalGo1-
tology on the seie1 &C might eccupy snoher fall dis
couTse. | viii cloee nth brief allusions to some
points Of gei ersl interest.
/. The change in the Fauna Of the Globe 81 the Ace
Of Man approached ia Of the mo-t interesting fact
in tie ENtbs history. II was change. Dot IN the
types Of Z raoe-ior each continent retains us char
soteIiscs-bui remarkable cwJdling in the size Of
fJecies. IL North America. the Bufslo became the
succtssor to tie huge Masiodon, Elephant and Boo
iheium the an beaver to the great Cseoroies and
Il G existing Car1ivora SIC all comparatively small.
Psrnle With this fact find that in Soulh America
ne Dr.. LuLd observes, where In the last ase before
Man, Il ere the giart Megatherium, and Glypto-
con and other related Edenstes. tbere are now the
smell SlOths, Armscios, and Aut-eates.
So also, in the Oriental Continent the gigantic llon
tiger, tyena and elephant, and otter monster quad
rJp.ds have Dow heir very inferior representatives..
In New Holland too, the land of Marsupials, there
are Matupias siil but Of less magnitude.
g This American Continent has contributed 10 Sci
cree know ledge Of some OF The earliest traces OF rep
tieFbe sIecles of the fennsy vauis coal formation
described by Dr. King and Mr. Lea, and Others from
the Nova Scotia coal fields, discovered BY hts-rs.
Dawson Gnd Lyell
Itlas afforded The earliest traces Of birds thus far
decipherad in geological history-ihe colossal and
sus er ~ader Nhosc traces cover tn ciayey Layers
ard sapdtOnes OF the Jurosse rocks IN the Connecticut
Valley The earlieet Cetacea yet known ART from the
American Cre.ceous beds as described by DR.. Leidy,
emo tmorg The lage Mammals which had possession
Of The renewed world after the Cretaceous life had
been swept away, the largest az far as has been as
ceriaibeo lived on this Continent. Tho Pal@otheria
of the Paris basin described by Cuyier bat half
the sze of those Of Nebraska.
But here our Boosting oeases; for as Agas-n has
shown the present fauna OF America is more analo-
gOus to tie later crty OF Europe than TO The eNs ing
species of that col tiDent.
Ia the Paleozoic Ages to the cloee of the Coal Pc
rod the American Continent was a. brilliant and pro-
fuse ia : life as any otter part of the world IL was
a
seIse unit Dot inciyiduazed in it, climates or its
disiiI ution Of life and ouly partially in iis But
from Il IL tine the ,oLuas Ii most striking.
The whole number of known American species of
animals OF tie Pt rman, Irsssc, Jurassic, CTeaceous
and Tertiary TeTiOcs is about COO; while IN Britain
and Europe territory even smaller, there were over
90, eco SPECIES. In The Perman we have none; while
Europe has 200 species. Ia the Irilssic none,
EuroIe ] OOO sIecies. In the Jurassir 60; Europe
over Gee. III tie CrU'acCOus $50; Europe, 900 10
COCO; i'll the Tertiary less than 500 Europe about
5000.
America since Pssozoic tines has therefore been
6mireIt fol the poverty o. b. na.
A, ain the Mammalian 49,. Amercs. although
con ms ncing with hul Pc n )ws little prog
rec aitIward. Tue lar glHG eds continue 10 be
mainly herbivOrous, and the CarniyOra, tie higher
group, few and Of comparatively small size lac
IerJitor0 are sfM he fyplcai species While IN Eu-
rope aLd Asia NJ the same tme-that Is IN The Post
totisD lle Carnivora are of great size and foroc.
ity far exceeding the largest OF modern hoDs aud
tigers The single species of hon described from
bone from Ss,cbez by DIR. Lcidy, hardly Lessons
tie contrast.
South America as has been remarked by Agcssiz
ard Others susieirs this Inferior pOsifion of America.
Tie huge soths, mega'hena, and Other Edchtata OF
the South even lover in grade Than zoe ORDINARY
Herbivore and place the southern Comment ct an IN
riot level in ib- SCALE Althoush there were Ce-ni-
vora hey much smaller than the European.
Ihf 6enf0tes an fact its tyDicGi species
The supTcn acy Of the great Oriental Continent =
therefore most spnay apparent.
ZtasLc whose pact aud present Fauna AMI FlOrl have
been vel said by Agassiz aud afterward b, Owen
10 rIresen tie Juassic period, the present ern OF
fCrdul igOnl0s leTt brutua, CesiraoOnt Fishes, and
tie Araucarian COniiera, all Juressc types, beside
kanl ARGOS and noas Among Mammals, The MarsV-
pals the loWest OF all in the class are rs typical
sJecies.
Ever since Palo,ozoic times therefore, the Oriental
Conth eni-th0 is, Europe, Asia AID Africa combined
has taken the lead la animal life. Through the
kepiinn age Europe and Asia had species by thou
sands lille America was almost unbranded In the
later Man mslan uge, North America was yet IN the
81 ace. both in lis Mammals and lower tribes South
amt rica in fiil darkcr shHdOHs, and Aust ALA even
deeper still. The eGrh' anhpodes we're lise hight and
der krtes in their geological contrasts Aud wac thre
rot in ell this Fropbeic lnolcs ION, wmch mad been
growing more az distinct, that the Eastern con-
iii ent would be mans chosen birthplace that the
long series Of living beings which had been 10 slow
pfolTteeiou through incacuiabe aces would there at
ssi attain lis BIZ best exalteiioo that the supendou
system Of nature would there be opened TO liz fullest
expansion
Al o'her of our number has shown in eloquent Ian
euBpe how th- diversified feaiuIoe and productions OF
tie Olo Word couspirec to adapt 1t for the childhood
and deyelog ment OF the race ard hat when beyond
his Iuliiane. having accomplished his rescue from
hin e and the tyranny Of the forces around him. and
broken he elements into his servre he needed 70
enerl from the tramme OF the schOolhouse m order
10 eio, biz fullest freedom Of thought s1d action and
social union. Prof Guy0t observes further, that
America ever free, was he appointed sod for this
freedom and union Of which ts open pl4ins anil one
pefs OF structure were fit emblem and that although
long Vt out signs Of progress hope IN It's future
tLis land il 10 be e Of hope aud hight to the
world.
In view Of all those Arrangements, Man may well
feel exalted. lie IS the last VI the grand series. At
Lis Arrosch tie fierce tribes of the Earth drew back
and ue race dWindlcd TO ore-fourth its bulk aud ie
roc t,-tle huge mastocons, hons aud bytnas Yield
ne Lace 10 other e. o Ice better fit 10 he his ateud
ants. and n ore ID harmony With the lew cres ion.
PartAkirg Of tie Divine image all nature pays him
I.u.. H.. III xel.e e ha fed Of .trlv. az eernily