The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-11-29

TIE HECOED OF THE AGES.
Upon every object which comes within range 0
human observation, We find stamped the law o
development. No matter what it's position in thu
scale of being, whether animate or inanimatc
whether great small, it is still link in the un
broken chain from the lowest form Of inanimat,
existence up to the highest Archangel in Heaven
From "sllex to seraph,' as 1t ha, been tersel'
expressed by that original thinker, DR.. VIM. II
Atkinson, OF New York.
The three great links in this chain are tn,
mineral kingdom, whose pulverizcd atoms iur
nish the tee,ning soil whence spring the variet
.orms of the vegetable kingdom, which, in its
durn furnishes the elements which nourish the
animal kingdom
As the more perfect forms Of vegetable life
combine the elements Of both the lower ranks OF
vegetation and the whole mineral Kingdom, so
man, the highest in the scale of animal creation,
Ii a vcri'able micrOcosm, combining within HIM
self all the elements, not only OF the lower AMI
NAL organizations, but also OF both the vegetable
and the mineral kingdoms, with the browning
attribute OF intellect, placing him on a lofty pin
acle, far above all that had preceded him in the
scale OF bong; enabling him, not only to look
far back into the dim ages OF the past and trace
The gradual steps ct evolution up to his own ee-
waited standpoint but also far INTO the future,
tracking Ills progress from sphere to sphere,
ever onward and upward toward the great centre
of all perfection the highest heaven.
Let us briefly review the successive steps by
which we rise from sileX to seraph.
or ''the beginning man knoweth Iaught but to
ind starting point let Us so back, even OF the
elements Of the mineral kingdom for science,
with her eagle eye, has penetrated the clouds OF
chaos, and secs our earth-planet hanging i'll
space re-drop nay, further back than that
even, a nebulous ring, cast from the equator OF
the sun, flowing into the form Of globe by the
attraction Of grayltation $ the same law that
rounds dew-drop on spear of grass, spherlpg
the worlds in space, FOR those grand laws Of ma
ture know no great, no small, but are just as
ready, just as efficient to round q world as to
round the pearly dew-drop."
Surrounding this sphere OF molten fire was an
immense atmosphere, containing the elements Of
all that now exists upon the globe; all the oxy
gen OF which half the preseI crust OF the Garth
is composed, all the carbon locked up in the i'm
1nense collbeds, all the vapor Of a. the water in
the world.
masses of crystalline rock being formed on the
sseas of fire, even ice is formed upon lake of
water. As storms pile up the lofty icebergs, 30
might the stormy commotion of the oiden time
cave piled up the massive granite peaks which
even now form the summits Of the loftiest
As the surface of the earth gradually cooled
the vapors of the atmosphere were condensed,
dEC the metalS IeIl III showers, lakes anu rivers
of gold and silver, copper and iron, filling in the
cracks and crevasses OF the jagged masses Of
rock.
Torrents OF water descending wore away the
granite rocks, ana from the sediment deposited,
a new class of rocks was formed but so dense
was the atmosphere, 80 heated the earth, that
shere was no sign Of life. The world was
marching steadily on, however, and the ground
vas being prepared. from which fruitful harvests
we're to be gathered.
Az fha ua tnr. of ha lal fivctl
germs OF the simplest forms OF existence awoke
80 life, nourshed in the hospitable bosom of old
ocean, while yet the barren, heated rocks rem
iered life on land an impossibiity.
Safely treasured III the cashets of the rocks of
that olden time are the records of the life of
The period - strange beings, mere animated
stomach5, AS the sponges, the corals and the
various radiates. Rising d stop higher in the
scale OF being. after the lapse OF ages we find I'M
bedded in the rocks fossil remains of the mol |
tusca--creatures having eyes and ears, and
heart with arteries filled with cold, colorless
iuid. OF this GLASS; snais, oysters and CLAIMS
are familiar to Us all.
Fishes and reptiles follow as ages roll on and
the earth becomes fitted for their habtation.
Even as the first forms Of animal life found a
home IN the waters of the ocean, so also with
yegetat ion, seaweed being the earliest recorded
form Of vegetable life. Co-exlstent with the first
relics OF fishes, are found seeds OF cub-mosses,
the first traces OF land plants clothing the naked
rocks.
With the lapse of time the water grows cooler, |
the air becomes purer, and the earth is prepared
for higher hte-Iorins. Weeds and ferns give |
shelter and food to reptiles which crawl along |
the margin OF the sea. ''What strange stories |
these stony records reveal. Eormillions Of years
This ponderous globe rolled round and round; |
rains fell; winds blew; tides ebbed and flowed: bv
day the sun, and by night the queeny moon and |
all the stars looked down. the guardians Of the |
growing world. Yet during all this immense |
5eriod we find nothing to behold all the pomp
and glory, but o reptile SIX inches long The |
rec WAS growing. however, whose fruit should |
De humanity, but the ages were necessary to !
knit its giant trunk and perfect its branches"
As the hideous reptiles increased in size and
oumber, birds began to appear reptiles with !
,eathery wings-hnling forms between birds and
Misunderstanding TO have existed at that time. !
The lowest form of mammals were also closely |
allied to both birds and fishes III organization,
thus making the transition gradual and unnlis- |
taxable.
70 the student of evolution these transition
forms are OF the greatest interest. The Zoophy-
ties, which are neither quite plant nor quite
animal, but a strange compound OF both (: the
enormous lchthyosaurus, neither fish nor rep
tile, but both-combining the snout Of the POI
poise with the teeth of crocodile, the backbone
Of q fish with the head of lizard, and the pad
dies of whale the still more extraordinary Pie
rodactyle with the scaly armor and ystructure
of the lizard, the back, claws and light hollow
s0wplan t; VIM. Denton