Evening star., 1903-09-12
parallel with 1t. there advanced arctic ex-

parallel with 1t. there advanced arctic ex-
ploration.
1t was discovered that certain stone that
occurred as far north as the seventy-fifth
parallel of north latitude belonged to the
so-called slurian age, an age that takes us
back to immensely ancient periods Of the
earth's history. And in these remains were
found the fossil remnants of coral reefS.
There is nothing extraordinary IN the
fact that the coral animals had built up
their reef-towers even in the prehistoric
pastI but there was something extraordi-
nary in the discovery of them in Arctic re-
gions.
The coral animals today dwell without
exception in warm seas. They die II the
average Of temperature sinks below ~ or
20 degrees Celsius. But these prehistoric
reefs of the silurian age are on the Lam
caster Sound, close by the first wintering
place Of the Franklin expedition. How could
tropical creatures ever have felt at home
there7
There was a time somewhat later than the
silurian time. 1t was the coal period. The
name in itself conjures up picture OF
luxuriant vegetation for coal Is nothing but
fossil, vegetable growth In this period, as
in the silurian, birds and mammals had
not begun to exist. The plants were COM
paratively low in the scale; they were all
relatives of our ferns. snake moss and
pewter grass. There were no oaks, no
palms, no beeches. no gaudy flower plants.
And such coal layers are found far in the
northernmost north. Quite near those coral
reefs OF the Sllurlan poTlOQ lie COdl uelOS
in which the fossils are clearly like those
of the European and American coal. There
can be no doubt that on the Lancaster
sound as on Nova Zembla and SpttZber-
gen, in the forgotten past, there once stood
forests-one is tempted to say tropical
forests.
Forests in the Arctic.
The existence Of forests of any kind in
the latitude of seventy-f1ve degrees north
would have been out of the question had
the climatic conditions of today ruled there
then.
The evidence produced by the collabora-
ton of paleontology and arctic exploration
was not exhausted with these two dis
coveries; the most convincing testimony
was still to come.
When an English expedition under Mares
explored Grinnell Land, fossil plants were
found which the great Swiss paleontologist.
Oswald Heer, afterward examined and
classified. They were not plants of the
coal period, but plants from the tertiary
period. The tertiary period is nearer to
us than either the silurian or the coal
period. At that time the fern forests had
vanished from Europe and North America,
and had been replaced by true foliage trees.
The mammals had appeared. in highly gro
tesque forms.
In Grinnell Land about thirty different
species of plants, dating to that period.
were found. And from them Heer con-
structed the following picture OF the polar
regions of that time:
The prehistoric Pole" y
A sea with rich, tree-decked shores. On
the water swim the leafy plants of water
flowers. Reeds fringe the rims of the lakes.
Beyond them stand lindens, elms, many
kinds Of poplars and birches, hazel bushes,
snowbalks and evergreens. such as frs.
cedars and particularly the swamp cypress
that is found now in the southern parts Of
the United States.
These plants require a mean temperature
today higher by % degrees than that which
exists now in Grinnell Land
They are not tropical plants Therefore.
| tropical climate did not exist in the arctic
regions in the tertiary epoch. But the re-
mains prove that since then the climate
must have undergone minimum change of
% degrees--a positively enormous altera-
| ton.
And then there were found the remains
of tertiary forests Of magnolias. chestnuts.
oaks and grape vines in Greenland under
| the 10th parallel of latitude. That Is the
kind OF vegetation to be found now at Mon
trick on Lake Geneva.
These proofs complete the case.
It is possible that tropically warm ocean
washed the north pole In silurian times.
1t is certain that plant Life that waa