The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1867-07-06

How old 10 the world The general answer Of
Onnstenoom has been, mot quite four thousand
years nom the Creation 10 the birth Of Christ.
and there have been ,805 years slnce, making
IN all o,sIo.' And Jet We have all seen within
week or two that Professor Marnh. Of Yal,
College, ~ describing the fossil bones ola masto.
don, but reeenily found At Cohoes, New Yorl
| gives the opinion that the animal must have "a A..
isied over ten thousand years ago-or more thai
four thousand yeaFs before the Time when a. th.,
Senptural commentaiors have usually supposed
Adam gave names 10 all the newly made erea-
turss Nobody appears 10 Be shocked BY this state
men, snd 10 fact there e Scarcely . scienIIhc
man, ineiuding some Of the most devoai believ-
ere of the age, who does not ascribs 10 the world
much grsatss antiquity than that claimed H.
shs old-iAshioasd chronology.
The evidencss lsading 70 this eouclusion are
N,. oL.wn IRON nsstly every department. Of natural
as they ere bsough, together. To give an idea
Of them ~ brief compass, intslligible 20 every
MUD, perhaps We eannot do better than 10 con.
dense ARassix's estimates based upon the forms.
too OF the coral reef OF the southern coast OF
fiorida. These reefs are built ub by IN insec,
that begins TO woFk on the ground, Ia water Of
,welv, ~ iftecu faihoms dep, and he eanno, live
unlsss le has the constant action Of the open sen
upon bini ~ that be stops ~ the height Of high
tide. bg numefous experiments u has been
ascertsined that the coral builder constructs about
bali 80 ineh 10 . century bot in order to err, II
a. all, OF The safe side, Agassz doubles this esii.
mate "a hi. calculation, making II an inch 10 a
CENTURY. A0r oaiside the Florida Keys there j.
long coral reef with average heigir Of seventy
iect, which, therefore, must bave been begun
1000 ysAS ego, Or 900 years before the creation
OF Adam. secosdly, the Ktys themselves are
noteisg but inaer repeiiions of the same soft OF.
cora! reefs. Of si least the same average hsight
and ihe boIidefs must have finished them befofr
m ehn A. II r..
ibsir necessity u having the open sea. aud from
tne TACT that there ere now no Indications Of the
Be- inping Of q reef outside Of the one we have
meniionsd above. The Keys, therefore, swell the
fecord 10 10, 900 years. Nrxi we have the shore
bla6 ofibe rpsin land, which carries the coral
constructions. and which carries the earihs r.
cord above 10000 yeafs. Moreover, there ars
- yo1 so inland ssven well defined aud success
i've coral rrefs, which. added 20 the foregoing.
would make the world sevsnty-6ve thousand
years old. Aud Professor AgAssix regards this O.
very moderate estimate.
when ihsss astounding eonciusions FRS, gained
aeceptance in scienrhe circles. the most frequent
method o. reconciling them eth the Scripsu-al
reeord vas 10 suggest the lapse Of long period
bei~een the creation Of the world aud the erea.
iioa Of man. Tbs savans accept the hypothesn,
but all Of them are not disposed 10 admit that
the human family Gre, beg1r 10 exist sig ihous-
aud yeArs ago. MAJ Muller 10 led greatly 10 e1-
tend The human history, from his siadies 10 Ian
guage. Prof. 0wss infers from the Increase q
The sediIneni u the Nile 10 Egypt, that man ex.
isied IL, 81 years ago 10 . state Of comparative
civilization. Busen 'hinks that the human race
has oeen 10 existencs 1900 years while the
famous Dar~inian theory which maintains the
gradual develOpnsn, Of nan from . louer type o.
Organizations, nscs@sitaies "a indefniie buf an
enormous antiquity for the process. Il would b.
interesting 10 cite be arguments for ihese singu-
lar conclusions and the explanations os the Bible
narrative 10 which they have given rise. bui our
space is insueieieni. We have only endeavored
icing rvminded By Professor NArsh's remarks
abo1t the nasiodonl 10 glance AZ the astonishing
progress which, either wisely or unwisely the
.eeniise World has becn making Of late in certain
dirpetione