The Indianapolis journal., 1890-08-20

surface. but the geologist profits thereby.
In the northern part of that
STATE large quantities of white clay.
This white clay is. no doubt, the remains of
the decomposed ebert of the carboniferous
formation. reaching thickness, though
much eroded, of two hundred feet at Ok
Stafford said this formation ma p is the strate-
graphical equivalent of his LaGrange for
nation in Tennessee. The question of pri-
ority of nomenclature thus sprung was left
with the remark of Professor Hitchcock
that, where possible, the older name should
be preserved.
Professor Hitchcock followed in paper
on The Redonda Phosphate" This is found
on the Island of RedOnda, of volcanic
perpendicular walls five hundred feet high.
which the visitor must scale with windlass
and rope. Under a vast quantity of guano,
accumulated for centuries, the phosphates
were found, being nearly devoid ot lime.
and in some forms containing nearly 40per
cent. of pure phosphate. 1t Is not crystal
line. nor fossiliferous, and is found in sheets
between the layers of lava, or in pockets.
The existence of this valuable substance at
such place has never been satisfactorily
accounted for. Professor Hitchcock 'spaper
concluded themOrHing session.
The first paper of the afternoon session
was by Prof. Z. w. Claypool, of Akron, o..
Dry Land" 1.-The doctrine has been prev
alent of late. yet chiefly as reaction
from the teachings of Edward Forbes"
said the Professor, that the waters of the
ocean and the great continental masses are
permanent and date back to the original
consolidation Of the earth's crust. The
arguments that have been chiefly relied
upon In support of this doctrine are the fol-
lowing. and the object of this paper is to
examine to what extent they are valid, and
to show that the assumption of permanence
here alluded to is somewhat premature:
a.. We have no evidence of change of
elevation sufficient to convert the deep
true that no very great change of this
kind can be quoted during recent and
ante-recent times. But without 60.
ing far, into geologic history it
Greenland and Iceland were all connected
byNsa land bridge whose formation i'm
plies a change of level amounting to
six hundred fathoms, while If we look
little further back in time we see IN the
tertiary era Mediterranean sea from the
Pyrenees through central and southern
Europe. northern Africa, western Asia,
and even to the borders of China, perhaps
not continuous, in whose waters were de-
posted strata Is, 600 feet in thickness This
implies subsistence to that amount. and as
some of them are now 10000 feet above the
sea level in the Alps. and the whole area
covering many millions of square miles is
dry land. we have evidence of very exten-
dreariest and widest plateau on the face
of the globe. consists of deposits dating
from the Slurian to the CretaceOus of vast
thickness, formed in the subslding. which
has now been raised to an average height
of $1,000 feet. In eastern North
America depression occurred during the
PaleOzOic times. amounting IN some places
to eight miles. This vas filled with the de-
mountainous Appalachian district of Penn
sylvania. In India the VIndhya mount
aims show subsistence to the extent OF 1900
feet and re-elevatiOn without disturbance.
short of absolute proof, that the American
and European PaleOzOic strata were drift
from continent no longer existing In the
North Atlantic"
80 That no material corresponding to
that which cOmpOses the bed of the deep
sea is known on the continent This may
probably be true to a great extent. The
bed of the deep sea, as made known by the
exploration of the Challenger. consists of
and and fossil remains. sa"'Is So 'VaSrs enormous
are these last that six hundred sharks
teeth, one hundred ear bones of whales and
fifty other pieces of bone were brought up
at one haul of the dredge. The red clay ap
pears to consist OF volcanic and cosmic dust,
with some minute traces of organic mate
rial. But to the argument it may be replied
that if the quantity OF this deposit is small,
as it appears to be. it might easily be eroded
VI lOSts uc cudIhS tCCJu NcutIOuCu Uc-
long to no living fish. but are Eocene in
age and have lain at the bottom of the sea
unburied ever since that distant day:
Moreover, it is an assumption" con-
tinued the Professor, Ito suppose that the
sea bottom has always been what it is at
present The climate of the earth at this
day seems somewhat exceptional and in
times gone by, when the polar regions con-
tanned no ice or snow, the temperature OF
the ocean was not below the freezing point,
as it is at present. Great differences may,
therefore. have resulted to the deposits.
"'3. That no sedimentary rocks are
found on oceanic islands, If we go from
the difficulty of defending what Is an
oceanic island satisfactorily it can scarcely
be denied that some, at least, of the fol-
lowing are entitled to that name: The
Seychelles, New Caledonia, Philippines,
Falklands. South Georgia, New Zealand.
Georgia consists of clay soil, and lies 1000
miles from the nearest mainland. DesOla-
tion includes coal and clay, and lies about
half way between the cape and Australia.
our existing continents would appear above
water If they were sunk to depth of 5000
fathOms.
a. A fourth argument is drawn from
the existing distribution OF animals and
plants THIS has been strongly urged by
Wallace, who maintains that the facts of
this distribution imply great permanence
in the outlines of land and water. This
point has been so fully worked out by Mr..
Blanford in his recent presidential address
to the Geologic Society of London that
will state few of his conclusions. He
rejects FOrbes's doctrine of a continent in
the Indian ocean in tertiary times, and he
says that the fauna of Madagascar, the
Seychelles, ETC., imply the existence of
several large islands to supply stepping
stones He advocates the view that in
earlier times probably continuous land
area existed sundered by water from
the continents of Africa and Asia. In this
southern land area he pointed out that
the mesOZOic flora was developed. This
flora is found fossil in the Paleozoic rocks of
Australia, the cape and southern India, but
north of this it has not yet been discovered.
1T would seem, therefore, that we have
ample evidence of change of level to
account for the conversion of the deep sea
into dry land and vice versa, and that the
absence of deep-se deposits among the
stratified rocks is not a valid objection. 1t
occur in any part of the world according to
preston is full of sediment re-elevatiOn Is
likely to occur: that the deep ocean
BEDS instead of being permanent
outlines of the earth's contour, are
subject to the same laws of elevation that
govern the rest of nature. On this view
the ocean abysses would be areas of sub
sidence untitled by deposit because they
were out of reach of shore action rather
than permanent depressiOns on the earth's
surface"
Remarks upon the paper were made by
Professor Hitchcock, of Hanover, n. H.,
and profpsSOr Sfaveua aOu Of fha ITuiyeralfv "