Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-05-08
MIR. Tuxbury's Lecture.

Rev. Franklin Tuxbury, of Brandon,
delivered his lecture on earth and Man,
orThe Wonders of Physical Geography, .
to a moderately sized audience in the
chapel of the Congregational church last
evening.
The lecture was entertaining and well
delivered, showing considerable research
and a very intimate acquaintance with
physical geography. Mr.. Tuxbury start
ed with the globe ''as it came into our
possession" and traced its history along
through bible times, where such a
knowledge of geology as described in
Genesis reveals divine inspiration. The
process of decyphering the hleroglyphics
in which the ancients preserved their
records is very difficult and slow, but by
them the process of finishing and fur
nishing the earth for their accommoda-
ton, before the inhabitants were born,
has been traced very accurately. A part
of the process was the great earthquakes,
causing the upheaval of the mountain
ranges and the sinking of the seas if the
earth was perfectly spherical, the water
would cover the whole surface. Water,
warmth and light are the three requisites
for mans existence on the earth. There
are two Oceans-the water ocean and the
air ocean. The water is the under and
the air the outer garment, as it were {;
the under one partially covers the earth,
hut the outer one envelopes and covers
the whole. They are both necessary for
life.
Land and water are the necessary com
plements of each other. The CONNER
cial superiority of England oyer France
consists in her immense coast line and
water privileges but the United States
is superior to each in her water privi-
leges, having fifteen thousand miles of
coast line and being indented by bays,
creeks and rivers, up which come car
riors day after day ready to transport
freight to every part of the globe. Sup.
pose YOU were in England and were
awakened by rattling at your window
easement and should look out. you
would see sailing along direct for the
great table lands Of Asia long cloud
like "A railroad train from the west, for
which by some means of electrical tele-
graphy they had made known their need
in Asia, aud the supply was immedi&ie-
~ forwarded from the abundance in the
west hv night express. Some people
cannot see the good of the great desert
of Sahara, but Europe is indebted to ii
for her prosperity, for she is supplied
with water from the hot winds con-
stantly sweeping from the desert across
the Mediterranean. Water performs an
important part in the matter Of heating,
for instance : the mild climate Of Eng
land is caused by the gulf stream. Lab
rador and the British Isles are in the
same latitude, but there is vast differ
enCe in temperature, owing to the for
mer receiving a cold and the latter a
warm bath In the original arrange
ments for heating, the coal cellar of the
earth was well filled before the family
took possession. Immense forests grew
and decaycd repeatedly and they were
the raw material of which the coal was
made and the cellar filled. "Our Father
in heaven provided warmth for his chill
dren before he brought them home"
Time did not permit the learned lee
turer to consider the question of light.
The lecture was listened to with rapt at
tention throughout, and the audience
left we'll satisfied with their excellent
treat.