The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1903-02-06

plant leaves Of the great carbUniferous
trees were continually catching and
storing these particles of carbon from
the carbon dioxide of the atmosphere,
which in those times, it is thought,
was in greater proportion in the air
than 1t is to-day, it naturally follows
that great and ever-increasing stores
of carbon were being put by, not as
pure carbon alone, but chemically com.
bincd in the form of starches, oils, etc.
essential to plant growth.
But the earth was at this time In
very unsettled condition. and perhaps
after these forests had grown and de-
yeloped their trees and dense foliage
and undergrowths for long periods OF
time a slow and persistent subsidence
of the land would take place. AS this
sinking went on the tides would grad
ually wash in among these forests de-
posits of silt and mud, which would
increase as time went on, until the
once living and fiourishing forest was
completely submerged. And SO a fu-
ture coal-bed was laid, which the ever
increasing weight above would event
ually along with the natural chemical
influences, convert into coal as we
know 1t. After time the land would
rest again, and the surface would be-
come suitable once more for plant
growth and in the course of time a
new forest would spring up, which In
due time would once more meet the
same fate of submergence. This again
would be followed by others until we
get coal stratum beneath the coal STRAIT
um, each showing the same remark
able order-frst bed Of clay, which
represents the soil of the ancient for
est: next the coal layer itself, repre-
senting the accumulations Of the once
living vegetation, and above this the
deposits of sand and mud which have
hardened into shales and sandstones.
A. second time another layer of clay or
soil follows, and over it coal and sand
stone, the whole to be similarly re-
peated.
1t has been truly and frequently re-
marked that our stores Of coal repre-
sent so much fossil sunshine of the
Carboniferous, period. For the carbon
gathered during the sunlight by the
plants of this period constitutes the
great and chief source of energy con-
tanned In coal, and the heat and light
given out during combustion is but
the warmth and light of the suns rays
absorbed ages ago by the leaves of the
strange plants which we have been
considering, reasserting itself as it
were, after lying dormant through the
countless ages.
And as we sit by our fireside and
appreciate the glowing embers while
reading our newspaper or book with
comfort and enjoyment, with our
rooms illuminated primarily from this
same source, and our surroundings fur
ther cheered by the innumerable aes-
thetic and useful products derived
alike from coal, such as the lovely
coal-tar colors, exquisite perfumes, and
the jet, marbles, states, and sand
stones from the adjoining strata, not
to mention the comforts derived from
the numerous curative drugs that
chemists have learned to compound
from the coal-tar products, and even
sugar 300 times sweeter than that OBJ
tanned from the cane-indeed, the Won
derful products and benefits obtained
primarily from coal would require
pages for their mere mention; for the
Carboniferous strata was special one,
like none before or after, and yielded
more for the progress and service of
man than all the other systems put
together-we must see how vast and
farseeing are Natures schemes, and.
although these great forests grew ages
ago apparently without any special
purpose, yet on these the progress and
social happiness Of man to-day largely
depends. Nature is one vast whole
inseparably related and connected.