New-York tribune., 1868-12-31
CCIENTIFIC LECTURES.
or HALL ON THE EVOLUTION OF THE |
ThVi EARTH.

de-. the American Institute at hIolnW0y nan his !
.oBeoW" i"' -
pns, d. v IN introducing the lecturer, said that the
ras one Of the most interesting OF the course
pstoprlt the audience wOuld have the pleasure OF
o." upou kindred subject TO n gentleman whose
Hs..,ou us "a geologist not limited to our own |
to the United states. His reputation viii be per-
eNtsd by d mobile monument Of more than twenty !
F'es upon Natural History which have been pro
d undeg his scientific supervision, and which have
% haan edualed by anything which has been produced
,vnort ~ the world upon the subject. Prof Hall said
n1Es ASD GENTLEMEN: am unprepared to say a
Il I'm response to the complimentary notice or your
sViden hut one word will say adopted citizen
,ha ,Ge natural history Of tho state IS monu-
poI cb1d v-l have reason to be proud II has been
srrea on lTt have had in this work | have had
nI E measures. many griefs and many trials But
IN these vii be past, and those that after will
Eap the benefit OF work that has developed
I've of natural science, and which in fact the
ssriest Development of the study of natu-
me subject upon which l design speak you Is the
Evolution Of the North American continent. Geoogsts
sudden action Geology, IN fact. in It's progress, has
shown us Sp ny STEP that ohg PERIODS IN me ne & u' s IEe
have been eoug vor much they are now going on
,ss geoo4 Who has studied most earnestly Tor NE
iDs hends more fully than any one else the sub
..ss heaven and the earh: for that beginning has 20
The of heinc incompre sibe In the past as
ssbecf at hand / beg leave t6 call your attention
soT .1S al at IRE present time hi. Viii make more inels
be to yoa what 1 shqH say in regard to the
manner OF he distribution ot countries over the ocean
red Upon portion 81 the surface OF the earth we
have mountain ehns plalns, any any ViAnes; anu We nSNs
rocks. loose iS,eual sand peobes, EI@VcL 8no olner
materials of that kind. which distributed over the
surface Tu,se distributed, not regularly. but ae
cordng 10 rain laws which have prevailed In al geo
0glo time This pebble, Tor example, when l
have before has at one time been an angular
" rock, broken irom rock which had itself been at q
u earllor lime, loose mass Of sand 1t has been con-
I,aa rnQE has nraln
tinn ~ no vtcr tbe sction Of the sea or of rivers
snd streams. until they have been rounded the corners
ami ristn eug being reduced by tho water 70 an i'm
p3lp1hie condition beyond our reach The harder partt
ces OF material ike this makes the sand when streWs
bcaches everywhere. The sand was not from the
rleanE dovnof sand stone. but from the breaking down
n me5eTa costanps & sand Whe 1hs nnes ana n85e ere
harder portions which are silicious sand remain 10
nature tantly active. There moment Of time
when this rocess this degradation of the surface OF the
viii 20 back the first OF all this the evaporation
of h the action Of the suns rays in the ocean
and upon The surface OF the earth, lifting II into the
sc the loose materials into The smaller
streams .hence into rivers, and thence into the
ocean. victe they are spread ont evenly from
the eOarsr materials being first deposited. and then the
duer And Ire action Of the frost annually prepares
these the subsequent action of the The
water peroapg into the eFevces of the rocks freezes
year y year more and more of the rocky is broken
down. and 'he material prepared 70 be transported
no show th development of the continent, 1t gradu
sy arose la successive epOchs above the surface Of the
Tsr sp5l,.V I,tifYEand concluded with tbs follow
, zion Of NORTON OF tho principal topics
The pOui eudeaVored TO Illustrate Is that our con
fneHt has h,cn produced step 10y step during several geo.
logical that il has never been elevated above
the ocean as an eMre continent; that II has been pro
luced from sediments which have been made by tie dis
sng cIiais lying above che surface OF the water In
porthcru portion we hnd the earliest colibent ana
The bTeapg down of Us materials mas gwen Us the s
ar,an. poV""'an and careomisrc9s i9ilgau9ns % NoI on
ihs period subsequent 10 the clrDylileIoSs s Oeel
larried westwardiy and southWardly, and spread
sequent 10 this all this portion Of continent
eas been elevated The North American Continent so
minor Oscillations, has had three great phases tsi that
he sea nd eating the northern portion upon tile chart;
second. tEa IN which the continent extended touhwaid
90 TINS second line and; htFd tnat IN whcn INC whoe
nf western and southern portions have risen above
she iu each Of these epoehs there nave pseh elstet
ly marked he chaIactelIste COhuIoLs ol Uceal anu
0f dry aud indicated by fossils IN nmcnSe numbers so
that able to trace step D STEP IN eau ~ s one ~ ~
these geological formations, eaeh hCahe, ." scet ~
fhckness not Ouy the characteristic fossils OF each
So tnat m This portion from the base OF
the snuriuu the DevOnan We recognize ~ or % dner
with It's and ts ora distinct a. upon mo shores
Of the country a. me present tin dAs @ JS seS tbe H
sfe5 ,, % ar ~ times i'm tins one epoch; each OF
tIcse hatiug ieeD superseded by aud gwen place 10
another aud 80 on ~ suceessOu during me SAuflah
sr,od w,ep we consider that these various animals
have lived and died. that each has occupied its place for
successire generations for DO moi know how long
= time 9hsn We consider that this country
bss bee, eevf red entirely by subsequent deposits,
and other creations have taken ieir pace anu 80, 20
while accumulations hundreds OF feet thck nave Desn
spread Over them. wnen We remember that hunaIeos,
and even ihOusands OF those animals nave HFed anu
died, perhaps ia each OF those 20 or 80 suDE a VI s @
time ana ilnis fauna after fauna, ana nora aiter
n0ra through all these epochs you nave al Ist an In
trif whir rorld only have been reached by process
carried earn, % p if ve i endesTored % impress upon you
faf while i. been going OF, there has beep SO lai
n our own continent Is concerned, constant eFOieNOn
of dry land II We begin at me latest period au sG
backward through these periods, you nave IN then an
the distinction Of ocean aud dIy And tg ihteHt lhhu
being formed from the sediment distributed by he ocean
mill At tat ue trace back the continent 10 the une Mhch
h vas included within this area indicating me northern
porionl Iut have nothing TINS Tar OF the 0flglhsl
oucIeps hc las been Of melted matter stl fulther
north IL portion OF the continent We know very niue OF
that thee are rocks that strathed rocks not
only on continent but ON me continent VI EUROPE
farlier tlau the scdimeDtaiy rocks Tue gfhnlte o.
the Rocky Mountains Is as lnuch Strained rs tnat "
EOTtheu New-1ok and NhersteI laes 90 sIssa "e irn p
know that they have Deen depoted ~ Natet EtSn M
IN the old auretan rocks, those granite rOcbs OF he
North there some portions OF te foeks fon'as WIS
pebbles derived from preexlsng strdihed rocks "nei
We know the old sienlte Of ire northern % VI
This country we have pebbles when are & o S ~
that which bold IN my hand shoNis tue tenlalls VI
Sediment, Particles Of sand transported 10 noer pace
sad there becoming rock previous 10 o depost G tne
materials which have been converted in,o IIeis
and granite know that there niol iaYo Oecn OtheI
ttratned rocks older than our grantees PREVIOUSLY eA
isiine and broken down, pebbles fiOln WhlCh were
franspOr,ed and inbedded m the sediments now constr
hitinR Those oldest known rocks. 50 tbat we 20
back only far as We can aOs0utey gee he IOC9;
b,f s farther and demonstrate that there are sun
earlier periods there were deposits OF iochs Yet 70
we know lower than the lowest rocks we know; and
these beng sirated rocks nay say ihat water rom
Ito beginning Of our knowledge has existed upom the
a. face OF the globe We have hon no knowledge what
ever OF tire prEIdTy nucleus We see tnat ny INC action
of yatef materials have been traRspted from one part
Df