The times., 1899-11-11

George T. Becker. Of the Geological Sur
vey, mas returned to Washington after an
investigation Of the geo-o-ical history Of
the Philippine Archipe.-sa. IN a report
submitted 70 General OJis. Mr Becker
wrote as follows:
so far as my observa..o-s or t. infor-
nation goes The geologira. In. ~ Of The
whole group is similar. heEs seen
that the post-Tertiary, gradual upheayal,
IS common TO JoIO Mindanao, Luzon, and
the intermediate islands, and dascriptions
leave little doubt that the Philippines be-
long and have long belonged to a single
geological and biological province.
Prior 10 the Tertiary epoch. the Phil
ippines consisted of states and igneous
masses. the age OF which is as yet un-
known, no fossils having been detected
in these ancient rocks. They are now
TO be found chiefly in The northern and
eastern ranges Of Luz0n.
During the Eocene, or earlier Tertiary,
the archipelago must have consisted large
Iy OF swamps and shallow seas. perhaps
not very different from those now existing
IN the same region. Limestones were form
ed ar some distance from the coasts, shales
ana EaD4SLDnES were lal4 UDhu near Aue
shores, and accommodations OF vegetable
matter grew ia the swamps. These last
were covered by mud and, in the almost
total absence Of free oxygen. they were
gradually converted into Ignite, probably
The most valuable mineral asset OF Ameri-
can India.
AT the close Of the Eocene a great
crumplng and upheayal took place, which
was felt from Switzerland 10 the Philip
pines and perhaps most Of all in the HiIna-
layas. where marine Eocene beds now stand
al an elevation OF l6,g00 feet above the
sea.
During the remainder Of the Tertiary
the islands appear TO have been above
water. and there is geological evidence Of
a land connection with the Asiatic Con-
unent, probably by way Of B0rneo, during
the middle Tertiary.
The subsistence which cut of immigra-
ti0u OF the lower animals continued. seem
inEly. till somewhere about the close Of the
Tertiary, and long after Homo Sapiens had
made his appearance in the Malay Archi-
pelagO This group also was very probably
already inhabited during the Pliocene, pus-
sibly by the ancestors Of the Negritos-
This Is a matter which requires careful
investigation for in the opinion OF my late
famous colleague. o. c Marsh, this ;Lrchi-
Pelag0 is likely TO have been one of the
earliest hEuuts OF the human species.
z
mum. thc archipelago was reduced to q
group Of small billy islets, four Of which
existed within the area now occupied by
the island OF Luz0H- Cebu was almost CON-
Fleteiy submerged. At or before the period
OF maximum subsidence, began a series
Cf eTuptions, which has not yet closed.
The period OF upheaval. once initiated.
does nor seem to nave been interrupted
by any era Of subsideuce, and the modern
coral reefs give evidence that il is stll
in progress.
-Dn the whCle the upIift has been very
gradual. 50 that even the coral poiyp has
bean able to adjust himself 10 the chang
ing conditions. building outward into
deeper water as his old home was raised
tCo high for his welfare. II this way
nearly the whole cf Cebu, 10 a height Of
over 1.l90 feet. has been covered with q
nearly continuous sheet OF coral whicS
can BE followed seawards into living reefs
Much OF Negros has been clothed with a
similar mantle On a small scale, also,
pf the coasts Of these islands, and par
Iicularly about Msctau reefs can still be
studied in every stage Of upheaval all
those portions being dead which are ex-
posed TO The air even at the lowest tides.
In southern LuZ0u and 10 the nOrthward
cf LlnEayen Bay similar phenomena can
be observed
Although upheaval does not appear at
any time since lLe close OF lne Tertiary
TO have given way TO subsidence there
have been repeated pauses in the uplifting
process On exposed coasts these pauses
are marked by benches. eaten into the
land 5y The action Of the waves. Thus the
southern ends oil Ce5u and Boh0l are ter
raced from top TO bottom. each terrace
being an old beach cut out Of the rock
mass bT stormy seas. Pauses in the up.ift-
lns process are also marked by a rude
s-ralltcatiOn Of the corals. Even in the
interior OF The islands terraces indicative
oi upllfts are frequently visible. some oi
them represent base-leyels Of erosion
others are ancient coral reefs which have
been checked in their upward growth by
reaching the surface Of The water. In
short. terraces constitute one Of the mOsl
prominent typographical features OF The
archipelago.
The siowness OF the upllft IS empha-
sized hy the stupeudOgs accumulation oil
coral in these islands Coral is. Of course
mainly composed of calcium carbonate. and
rhis is formed hy the coral poIyp from
tle llme5alts dissolved in the sea. Now
The sea contains very minute proportion
of HmcsaIts (chieiiy the sulphate, or gyp-
sum- say a tenth q per cent. and corals
are necessarily ol slow growth because ol
the scantiLess Of The material With which