The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1896-02-26

Produced by tho Skeletons OF Animals
That Could Not Have Lived In Fresh Wa
ter Moses Short Account.
The sea at present contains 30, O00,.
900, 600, 900, 900 tons of salt. If this salt
could bo gathered in solid form aud
compressed into the shape Of cube. il
would contain 10, 1913, 600 cubic miles.
Each edge of such "a cube would meas
ure somewhat more than 200 miles.
This Is enough TO cover all the land on
this globe with uniform layer Of salt
TO depth of 200 feet.
This statement as to tho saltiness of
the sea is interesting enough in itself,
hut IL is also suggestive. The questions
may well be asked, Where did all this
salt come from, and what is the use Of
it? Several scientific gentlemen have
attempted to answer this first question,
and their efforts are not entirely salts
factory. The second question is not so
difficult
According to the history of the crea-
tion of the world, rs told by Moses in
the Genesis, it is implied that the ocean
existed before the land, for, on the
third day" the "water under the heav-
ems" was gathered together and the dry
land appeared.
This statement has bothered great
number of able philosophers, who, in
their effort TO stick to the letter of the
Scripture and at the same time to rea-
son out everything on perfectly natural
principles, have been puzzled TO know
how such grand transformation could
be accomplished in one day And their
perplexity was not relieved when learn
ed biologists announced that IL must
have required ages for the waters that
enveloped the earth to subside and re-
veal this land that lay beneath.
But when it was suggested that the
word day" as used by Moses meant,
not n period Of "a hours, but an era of
thousands of years, the difficulty was
removed. This meaning of the word
"day" is at present generally accepted
by devout scientists, who now declare
that there is nothing impossible in Mo-
ses' account Of the creation.
This description, to be sure, is Ia
mentally brief II was hardly adequate
to pass over such huge event as the
creation Of world in a few lines. That
was big story from newspaper point
Of view, and all thoughtful persons
must acknowledge that Moses did not
take advantage Of his opportunity.
Accepting the Mosaic account, DR. I.
S. Hunt, learned writer on the phys
| % hn ala ,l,k
Moses left out, and i'm so doing he gives
very good reason for the presence Of
tho salt in the sea. Having arrived at
the point Of Moses meager narrative
where the earth was in molten state
and surrounded by an envelope Of gases
and of water vapor, DIR. Hunt says;
''The carbonates, chlorides and sui
pilates chemical combinations of car
bon, chlorine and sulphur with oxygen)
were changed into silicates The car
bon, chlorine and sulphur, being thus
freed from the oxygen, separated in the
form Of acid gases. These, with nitro
gen, vapor Of water and probable ex-
cess Of oxygen, formed the atmosphere,
which was very dense (and also very
unhealthy.
'The surface of the earth was cover
ed with Jumps of molten rock (probably
resembling furnace slag). The depressed
parts of the surface were filled with
highly heated solutions of hydrochloric
and sulphuric acids, which ate into the
surface and decomposed it. In this way
the silicates were changed to pure silica,
taking the form Of quartz as the atmos-
phere cooled, and the condensation Of
the vaporous atmosphere produced sea
water. holding in solution salts Of sodi-
um, calcium, magnesium and ammoni-
um. The atmosphere, thus freed Of its
noxious elements, became pure and fit
for man."
1t is therefore evident that the sea
has been salty from the creation Of the
world. The salt does not come, as is
generally supposed, from friction of the
water against salt "rocks" in the bed
Of the ocean. This, then, answers the
first question. Where did the salt come
from? The second question is pretty
we'll answered by Mr.. g. W. Little
hales in Appleton's Popular Science
Monthly.
"It SEEMS" he says, "that the sea
was made salt in the beginning as O
part Of the grand design Of the Creator
to provide for the system Of evolution
which has been going on since the crea-
tion. Many distinct species Of living
organisms exist in the sea as result Of
Its salinity. and their remains have
largely contributed to the growth Of con-
tiueuts. "