The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1906-06-21

VINO belongs 10 Iue bIOuc oSS. ~ 1'So
in an accurate representation OF the
peculiarly shaped grave in which 1t
was found, and it has been in ,conse-
ouence somewhat irreverently nick
named by the habitues OF the museum
1.-THE man in the pie dish"
The particular interest in that corpse,
which men, women and even children
look upon without the least thought or
suggestion of the fear or horror usual
" inseparable from death, is that it is
unouestionably the oldest exhibit IN
the museum, and scientists have been
rather struck by the fact that the au-
thorities Of the great institution In
Great Russell street have not, 30 to
say. taken the bull by the horns, boldly
labeled that exhibit as dating from
$1,000 B. G. Thus with one single
stroke of the pen Bishop Ushers Bib
lical chronology is multiplied by about
nine, and it 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 a 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 'Origin Of Species" stated that,
'in all probability far longer period
than 3OO,OOO,OO0 years has elapsed;"
while later on, in the same book, he
wrote: "He who can read Sir Charles
Lyell'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 it's 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 100,0O0,OOO
years and almost certain that it has
not done so for 500,O00,00 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
sources, now unknown to US, are pre-
pared in the great storehouse Of crea-
ton"
It is q 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 to
that remarkable sentence.
As an example Of the very extraor:
dinary range Of time given to the age
of the earth, consider the following
statement from Professor Jukes' "Stu-
dents Manual Of Geology" he wrote:
"Mr. Darwin estimates the time re-
ouired for the denudation Of the rocks
Of the weald Of Kent, or the erosion OF
space between the ranges Of chalk hills
known as the north and south downs,
at SO0,0O0,O00 years. 1t may be posi-
BILE, perhaps, that the estimate is q
hundred times too great, and that the
real time elapsed did not exceed 3,OOO,-
600 years; but, on the other hand, 1t is
just as likely that the time which
actually elapsed since the first COM
mencement of the erosion till it was
nearly as complete as it now Is was
really a hundred times greater than
his estimate, or 3O0,000,00O years"
Professor Phillips in lecture at the
University Of Cambridge considered
the rate Of erosion between the ranges
Of the north and south downs to be
rather one inch a year than Darwin's
estimate Of one inch in a. hundred
years, so that on mere geological
grounds he reduced the time to about
a hundredth. Calculating, however,
the actual thickness Of all the known
geological strata Of the earth he came
to the conclusion that life on the earth's
surface may probably date back to be-
tween 380OO,0O0 and 96,000,0o0 years.
Professor Sollas Of Oxford, working
on new principles applied to the strait
fed rocks, reduced this time very con-
siderably, for he wrote, $50 far as I
can at present see, the lapse Of time
since the beginning Of the Cambrian
system is probably less than 100000
years, even when computed on an as
sumption Of uniformity, which to me
seems contradicted by the most salient
facts Of geology"
What are the data, it will naturally
be asked, on which calculations Of this
magnitude are made? Among the
most important are the consideration
Of the underground heat which is con-
stantly being conducted out Of the
earth-in other words, the cooling OF
the earth-the speed at which the earth
rotates on its axis as well as physical
properties Of rocks at high tempera-
fureS