The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-09-19
ABOUT uRpLoov.
lnln N,ys, sa elew Verk Aasfcsry.l

! Geology ta tAAk o<Anch ot nAkUFai scieace which treats of the structure oi che eastAs erast and the mode of tosma- tson ef its rocks, 1t is q pleasant and profitable study, and to tho n sn wAo has l married rich and does not need Vo work the amusement ot h1ss,ng geology with the bible. or busting the bible witA genl. ogy, Is indeed great boon.
 l Geology goes hand in hand with soolo. Ey, botany. physical geogrAphy and other kindred scieaces, Tax,deTmy, eAlTopody and theology are not kindred sc,eaceA ! GcolcgistS ascertain the age oC the earth oN looking at its teeth and counting the wrinkles on it's hoEnS They have learned that tAe earth is not only ol great age, but that 1t IS still adding to its age from year to year,
 l It is hard to say vesy much of great scieace in ss short an article. aad that IS one great obstacle which am constantly running sgains; as . sciea,ist. l once prepared paper n astronomy entitled The Chronological History and Habits of the SpAeEes." h was vesy exhaustive and wets shed tour pounds. l sent 1t to scientific publication that vas supposed to be working for the advancement of our race. The esi,tor did not pnne u, hu, wrote me c crisp and sAucy postal card requesting to call with dray aud remove my stud before the board ot health got Af.er t. h five shott years trcm that time he was cotpse. As write these lines learn with ill.coneealed pleasure that he is still corpse. An a@tAl diss pensation of Providence in the shape ot a large, wiited cucumber iaid hold upon hts v,tals ard cursed him with an iasatd pain. He has since had the opportunity by actual personal observation to sec whether the statements made by mo tela uvc to astronomy were true. His last words were " Friends. Romans and countrymen, beware ot the q.cnmbet, It will S-up.' IL was not original, but it was good.
 The four great primary periods ot the earth's history are as tollo~s VI to sit {: [, The tesoie or am of iitc-
 | H. The palroEoic or period ot ancient ltfc, l ttI. The MrsoEoic ot mlddie period ot lite. | lN. The NeoI Io,c or recent period of life.
 These are all suhdiv,ded again. and other words more difficult to spell are in roduced into science, thus Crowding out the vulgar herd who cannot aiiot 1 to use nigh pflccd terms ,n constant convetsa- uon.
 Old timers state that the primitive con dit,on ot the earth waa extremely damp With the onwatd march of time, and a'ier the lapse of millions ot years, men found that they could get along ~ith less and less water. until at last wc see the pleas ant, hllsstul state of things. Aside rom tho Use ot water at our summer resorts, tha, fluid is getting to be less and less popular. And even here at theAe resorts 1t IS generally tavoied with some iltcigu substance.
 The earth's crust IS variously eslima,ed ln the m alter of thickness. Some think 1t Is 500 miles thick, which would make 1t safe to run heavy trains across the earth anywhere on top of a second mott gage, while other scientists say that if we 20 down one. tenth ot that distance wc will reach place where the worm dis,h not do not wish to express an opinion as to the actual depth or thickness of the earth'S crust, but believe Il iS none too thick to suit me.
 Thickness of the eaTihs crust IS a mighty good fault. We esuTa the age of a certain strata ot he eaTth's formation by meaus of A union of our knowledge oi plan, and animal life, coupled with our geological teseaTch and q good memory The older scientists m the held of geolo- gy do not rely solely upon the tracks of the hadrasaurus or the cornucopia for their data. They simply use these things to refresh their memory.
 l wish that had tune and space to de- scribe some Of the beautiful bacteria and gigantic worms that formerly inhabited the earth. Such an aggregation of ac tual, living SlluriaD monsters, any one of which would mako a man a fortune to. day. II it could be kept on ice and exhib- ited for one season only. You could take full-grown mastodon to o.day, and with no calliope, no Autographs. no bearded lady, no clown with fSuf pillows in his pantaioons and no iron. jawed woman, you could go across ths con,i- nens and successfully compete with lhe skating rink.
 There would be but one difficulty Your expenses would not be heavy. The mas.odon would be willing to board around and no one would feel like ton. ing mastodon out of doors if he seemed to be hungry, but he might get away from you and frolic away so lar in on. nigh. that you couldn't get him for day or two even d you sent . detective for him.
 if had a mastodon 1 would rather take him when he Is young, and then 1 could m ake pet of him 70 that he would come and cat out of my hand without takin the hand of at the same time. 4 large mas.odon weighing a hpadred tons or 90 is awkward, too. l suppose that nothing is more painful than to be stepped on by an adult maS,odou.
 hope at some future time to write . paper for the Academy of Science on the subject of Decsased Fauna, Fossilifer. ous Debris and Extinct Jokes," showing how, whea and wny these early forms of