Evening journal., 1906-09-08
AGE OF OLD
MOTHER EARTH

attempting to reconcile the facts OF
nature" to use recognized phrase,
with the chronology OF the Bible. which
makes the age of the world rather less
than 6.0OO years.
Indeed, In the Egyptian rooms at the
British museum the visitor con see for
himself objects which so back TO an
authenticated period long antecedeni
to 1000 years B. c., and great Is the
wonder produced on the minds Of those
who first make their acquaintance
In that same department. among the
mummles, there is what Is In many re
spects the most striking of the exhibits
In the department-the body Of man
who belongs to the stone age. Il lies
in an accurate representation OF The
peculiarly shaped grave In which u
was found, and It has been in conse- 4
quence somewhat lrreverently nick
named by the habitues Of the museum
''the man in the pie dish"
The particular interest in that corpse,
which men, women and even children
look upon without the least thought OF
suggestion OF the fear or horror usual
" lnseparable from death, is that 1t Is
unouestionably the oldest exhibit In
the museum, and scientists have been
rather struck by the fact that the au-
thorlties of the great institution In
| Great Russell street have not, so to
say, taken the bull by the horns boldly
labeled that exhibit as dating from
10000 b. c. Thus with one single
stroke Of the pen Bishop Usher's Bib
Heal chronology is multiplied by about
nine, and 1t may be that an even high
er number would be required to satisfy
the requirements of the age Of that
particular specimen.
How long has the earth been planet
capable Of supporting not only human,
but all forms OF life?
In an address Lord Kelvin once de-
lIvered on the subject he gathered to-
/ gether the opinions of various scientific
men which cannot but be Of interest
to every thinking being. Darwin, in
his "Origln of Species" stated that,
Sin all probability a far longer period
than 300,O0O,O00 years has elapsed"
while later on. in the same book, he
wrote: "He who can read Sir Charles
Iyell's grand work on the Principles
of Geology which the future historian
will recognize as having produced a
revolution IN natural science, yet does
not admit how incomprehensibly vast
have been the last periods Of time, may
at once close this volume"
Lord Kelvin himself-then Professor
William Thomson--later made an at
tempt to calculate the length Of time
during which the sun has been burning
at its present rate, and In that connec-
ton he wrote: 1T seems on the whole
most probable that the sun has not
Illuminated the earth for 100,000,o00
years and almost certain that 1t has
not done so for 5O0.O0o,0 900 years. As
for the future we may say with equal
certainty that the inhabitants Of the
earth cannot continue to enjoy the
light and heat essential to their life for
many million years longer unless new
r sources. now unknown to us, are pre-
: pared in the great storehOuse OF crea-
ton"
Z 1t is a remarkable evidence Of the
!. acute perception OF Lord Kelvin's
{ mind, as of the rare provision OF his
intellect, that the last words unless
new sources, now unknown to US. are
prepared in the great storehouse Of
creation'-should have been added Il
L that remarkable sentence.
As an example of the very extraor
70 dinary range Of time given TO the age
Of the earth, consider the following
statement from Professor Jukes' STU
,4.,,f.f Manuel - Caooloor,- Tra vrrrofo
v "Nfr. Darwin estimates the time re
j quired for the denudation OF the rock:
g of the weald OF Kent, or the erosion Of
: space between the ranges of chalk hills
: known as the north and south downs
= at 30O.O00O00 years. II may be posi-
bic. perhaps. that the estimate is ,
J, hundred times too great. and that th'
real time elapsed did not exceed 5000.
4 600 years; but, on the other hand, 1t Il
! Just as likely that the time whicl
!. actually elapsed since the first com
J. mencement OF the erosion till 1t wal
nearly as complete as 1t now is wai
really a hundred times greater thar
his estimate, or 3OO,000.O00 years"
Professor Phillips in a lecture at thl
r. University OF Cambridge considered
r. the rate of erosion between the range
L of the north and south downs to b.
Is rather one inch a year than Darwin
estimate OF one inch In a hundre,
!. years. so that on mere geological
~ grounds he reduced the time to abou
4 hundredth Calculating, however
p the actual thickness OF all the know
n, geological strata Of the earth he cam
l. to the conclusion that life on the earth
t surface may probably date back to be
n tween 100000 and 96.000,O00 years.
he Professor Sollas OF Oxford. working
,e on new principles applied TO the strait
10 fed rocks. reduced this time very con
slderably, for he wrote, go far as
can at present see the lapse Of tim
since the beginning Of the Cambrial
Z, system Is probably less than 100000
! years, even when computed on an as
~ sumption OF uniformity, which to m
A seems contradlcted by the most salien
facts OF geology"
What are the data, II will naturall
i, be asked. ON which calculations Of thi
magnitude are nader Among th
y mont Important are the considerable
OF the underground heat which is col
d, atantly being conducted out OF tn
a earth IN other words, the cooling 0
. the enrth-thc speed at which the cart