The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-03-12

SuDmerBenCo OF ono region lc6QD
always to a corresponding eleva-
ton elsewhere, 10 that the bed Of
the ocean II forever undergoing
change, as indeed the sea coasts
are, although often unperceived
except by the scientific mind.
Pierre Termier followed the re-
searches Of Suess and Bertrand.
with other exact data furnished by
NJ. Cottreau and Lemoine. and
another French scientist. M.
Pitard, and he projected the pres
ent Alpine range Of mountains in
Europe. following them to Gibral-
tar, then across into Africa to the
Atlas mountains. and from there
across the Atlantic ocean as fol-
lowing the line of Atlantis to the
Caribbean Sea. These peaks are,
Of course, submerged, but they
exist, and represent that chain Of
mountains which Plato described
as encircling the fertile plains of
Atlantis.
But Termier was not yet salts
fled. He had consulted the geolo-
g1sts, whose discoveries in the
various periods Of the Earth's his
tory, the Cretaceous. followed by
the Miocene or Tertiary. down to
the Quaternary or last period. all
corroborated Plato's story of Allan
tn. Termier now consulted the
biologists, who tell US the history
OF animal life.
A young French sage. Louis
German. was the one to answer.
He studied carefully the fauna
and flora, the animal and plant
life, of the Azores. Madeira, the
Canaries. and Cape Verde. He
compared them with those Of the
West Indies. Senegal. Florida. the
Bermudas, the Gulf of Guinea. The
shells. the mollusks, every little
clam or snail told its story. They
were old. old types. They were
continental In character. not iso-
lated recent island groups.
AN EXTINCT FERN.
An extinct fern. the Adiantum
reniforme. from the Pliocene
rocks. the latest period Of the
Tertiary age, in Portugal, was
found still living in the Canaries
and the Azores. The same identity
was found to exist in the mol
lusks Of the different islands. The
Madrepororia or stony coral was
another case in point. AS their
larvae live only a few days. 1t
would have been impossible for
marine currents to carry them
from one island to another.
Their connection could only be
expl..Aed by their having at no
very distant time belonged to the
same continent. Fifteen different
species Of mollusks were found to
be Identical in Senegal, Africa,
and the West Indies. NJ. German
admitted without hesitation the ex-
istence OF an Atlantic continent,
and pictured its varying size and
shape in the different epochs. In
his view It was undoubtedly at one
time much larger than when, In
the late age described by Plato, 1t
was finally engulfed a. a last
great fragment.
Two more sciences remain to
be consulted: anthropology and
oceanography. II am now await
ing the final answer" says Pierre
Termier.
zone thing alone remains to be
proved" he concludes--"that the
cataclysm which caused this island
to disappear was subsequent to the
appearance of man in western
Europe. The cataclysm is I'M
doubted. Did men then live who
Gould understand the reaction and
transmit the memory Of 1t? That
ia the whole question" NJ. Termier
ia sure that It will be answered.
THE LAST NIGHT.
Meanwhile. Art offers her pic
lures Of what Science has pro
jected. Literature, as In Plato's
account, often leads Science. Our
French academicisn, Pierre Ter
mier, closes with a poetic figure
unsurpassed when he says: IT
dream OF that last night OF Allan.
tbs, to which perhaps ..- last