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 ON SOME UNSOLVED PROBLEMS IN GEOLOGY. 
 
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 ADDRESS 
 
 or 
 
 J. W. DAWSON, LL.D. 
 
 '. ■!■ i S r ■■:•- 
 
 
 OF THB 
 
 American Association for the Advancement of Science. 
 
 DELIVERED AT THE 
 MINNEAPOLIS MEKTINO, 
 
 AUGUST, 1883. 
 
 SALEM PRESS: 
 1883. 
 
 
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ON SOME UNSOLVED PROBLEMS IN GEOLOGY. 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 J. W. DAWSON, LL.D. 
 
 I'ltKSITJKAf 'I' 
 
 OF TIIK 
 
 American Association for the Advancement of Science. 
 
 DELIVEHED AT TIIK 
 MINNEAPOLIS MEETINO, 
 
 AUGUST, IfiA!. 
 
 SALEM PUESS; 
 1883. 
 
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A D D R E S S 
 
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 J. w. dawso:n^, ll. d., 
 
 TUK ItETIKINi; PRKSIDEST OK THE ASSOCIATION'. 
 
 O.V SOME UNSOLVED PROBLEMS AV GEOLOGY. 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen of the American Association fok the 
 Advancement ok Science : — 
 
 My predecessor in olllce reinnrked in the openinot of his address 
 thill two courses are open to the retiiini^piesidentoftiiis Association 
 in preparing tlie annual presidential discourse. He vaay either 
 take up some tojiic relating to his own specialty, or he may deal 
 with various or general matters relating to science and its progress. 
 A geologist, however, is not necessarily tied up to one or the other 
 alternative. Ilis suhjeet covers the whole history of the earth in 
 time. At the heginning it allies itself with astronomy and physics 
 and celestial chemistry. At the end it runs into iuiman hi.story 
 and is mixed up with archieology and anthropology. Throughout 
 its whole course it lias to deal with questions of meteorology', 
 geography and biology. In short, there is no department of 
 j)hysical or l)iological science, w ith which geology' is not allied, ur at 
 least on which llie geologist may not presume to trespass. When, 
 therefore, 1 announce as my sutiject on tlit; present occasion some 
 of the unsolved problems of this universal science, you need not 
 be surprised if I slioukl lie isomewhat discursive. 
 
 I'eihaps 1 shall begin at the utmost limits of my subject by 
 remarking that in mutters ol natuial and physical science, we are 
 met at the outset with the scarcely solved (piestion as to our own 
 place in the iiivture which we study, and the bearing of this on the 
 
 (3) 
 
 i 
 
ADDRK88 RT 
 
 (lidlciiltioa wo cnponntcr. Tlie or<j;nnism of man is (U'cidodly a 
 l)!iit of iialiii't'. Wo |)lnco oiirsolvcs, in tliis aspect, in tiic snl)- 
 kinirdoni vcrt(d>i'ala andclass nianinialia.anil rccooni/t* the fact that 
 null) is Mic tei'ininul linl\ in a eiiain of liein<r, exten(lin<^ liii'oiii{ii()iit 
 geologieal tinus. Hut tiie or<;aiiisni is not all of man, and wiuni wc 
 rejiard man as a scieiililic animal, wo raise a m'w (juestion. If 
 the Ininian mind is a part of nature then it is snlijict to natural 
 law, and nature includes mind as well as matter. On the other 
 hand, without lieiiijj; alisoliite idealists we may hold that mind is 
 more potent than matter, and nearer to the real essence of thin<i;s. 
 Our science is in any case necessarily dualistic, being the product 
 of the reaction of mind on nature, and must he largely sul)Jective 
 and anthropomorphic. Hence, no donlil. arise much of the contro- 
 versy of science and nuich of the unsolved dilliculty. We recognize 
 this when wo divide science into that which is experimental or de- 
 pends on apparatus, and that which is obsci'vational and dassili- 
 calor}' — ilistinctions these which relate not so nuicli to the objects 
 of science as to our nu-thods of pursuing them. This view also 
 opens up to us the thought that the domain of science is practically 
 l)oundl<'ss, for who can set limits to the action of mind on the 
 universe or of the univeise on mind. It follows that science nuist 
 be limited on all sides by unsolved mysteries; and it will not serve 
 any good purpose to meet these with clever guesses. If we so 
 treat the enigmas of the sphinx nature, we shall surely be de- 
 voured. Nor, on the other hand, nmst we collapse into absolute 
 despair an<l resign ourselves to the confession of inevitable igno- 
 rance. It becomes us rather boldly to confront the unsolved (jues- 
 tions of nature, and to wrestle with their didlculties till we master 
 such as we can, and cheerfully leave those we cannot overcome to 
 be grappled with by our successors. 
 
 Fortunately, as a geologist, I do not need to invite your atten- 
 tion to those transcendental questions which relate to the ultimate 
 constitution of matter, the nature of the ethereal medium tilling 
 space, the absolute dillcrence or identity of chemical elements, 
 the cause of gravitation, the conservation and dissipation of en- 
 ergy, the nature of life, or the primary origin of bioplasmic matter. 
 1 may take the nmch more humble role of an inquirer into the 
 unsolved or partially solved problems which meet us in consider- 
 ing that short and imperfect record which geology studies in the 
 rocky lasers of the uartli's crust, and which leads no farther back 
 
 than to I 
 
 earth am 
 
 geology I 
 
 of the sy 
 
 more rec 
 
 necessar; 
 
 What 
 
 this moi 
 
 dant wa; 
 
 very sin 
 
 the Low 
 
 nnition 
 
 tion, of 
 
 • gists ca' 
 
 gneiss ii 
 
 latiou t< 
 
 bedded 
 
 miueral 
 
 which a 
 
 hornbU 
 
 tion till 
 
 rock wH 
 
 atiiicou 
 
 quite t 
 
 deposi' 
 
 fact tl 
 
 these g 
 
 by the 
 
 been \ 
 
 nous. 
 
 atmos] 
 
 to the 
 
 On ll 
 
 or lim 
 
 under 
 
 i For a 
 
 been 
 
 * siou 1 
 
 ■ coolc' 
 
 throu 
 
 ^fsii'^i0^- 
 
I 
 
 i'dly II 
 
 Nlll)- 
 
 It Mint 
 
 IMIESIDKNT HAWMON. 5 
 
 llmii to tlic tiino wlicn a Holid rind Imd alipfidv formed on tin; 
 
 t'iirlli mid WHS idrciidv oovLMcd with itii (ici- 
 
 in. 
 
 Tliis ii'C'ord of 
 
 i;(M)l()<j;y covci's liiit a siiiall |mrt of tlic liistory of the eiirtli and 
 of tin- syslciii to whicli it licloii^s, nor does it enter at all into the 
 more reeoinliti! pioliieiiis involved ; slill it Conns, I believe, some 
 neeewsary preparation at least to the e^)mpreliension f)f these. 
 
 What do we know of the oldest mid most primitive loeks? At 
 this moment the riiii'stion may lie answered in miiiiy and discor- 
 dant ways ; yet the leading eleinenls of the answer may lie given 
 very simply. The oldest rock formation known to geologists is 
 the Lower Laiireiilian, the fiiiidamental gneiss, the l^ewisian for- 
 mation of Seotland, the Ottawa gneiss of Canada. 'I'liis forma- 
 tion, of enoriiioiis thiekness, corresiionds to what the older geolo- 
 • gists calli'il tlie I'lindamental granite, a name not to he seoiited, for 
 gneiss is only a stratjiied granite. I'erhaps tlie main fact in re- 
 lation to this old rock is that it is a gneiss, that is, a rock at once 
 lied(le<l mid erystallinc, mid having for its dominant ingredient tho 
 mineral orthoelasc, a com|)0(ind of silica, nliimina and potash, in 
 which are embedded, as in a paste, grains and crystals of (piartz iiiid 
 hoiiihlende. We know very well fr<jni its textiin^ and composi- 
 tion that it cannot he a product of mere heat, and being ii bedded 
 rock we infer that it was laid down layer by layer in the manner of 
 a(|neoiis deposits. On tiie other hand, its chemical composition is 
 quite dilferent from that of the iiinds, sands and gravels usually 
 deposited from water. Their special chiiracters are caused by the 
 fact that they have resulted from the slow decay of rocks like 
 these gneisses, under the operation of carl ionic acid and water, where- 
 by the alkaline matter ami the more soluble part of the silica have 
 been washed away, leaving a residue mainly silicioiis and aliinii- 
 nous. Such more modern rocks tell of dry land subjected to 
 atmospheric decay and rain-wash. II' they have any direct relation 
 to the old gneisses they are their grandehiidrcn, not their parents. 
 f)n the cdiitraiy. the oldest gneisses show uo pebbles or sand 
 or limestone — notiiing to iiulicate that there was tlien any laiiil 
 undergoing atinospheiic waste, or shores with sand and gravel. 
 For all that we know to the contrary, these old gneisses may have 
 been deposited in a slujreless sea, holding in solution or snspeu- 
 sioii merely what it could derive from a sulimerged crust recently 
 cooled from a stale of lusioii, still thin, and exuding here and there 
 through its lissures heated waters ami volcanic products. 
 
c, 
 
 ADIHtERS lir 
 
 It is Hnu'Oply nooosftni'v to say lliitt I liiivo no ooiin<lPiK'o in tli« 
 Kiipposilion «)f imliko compoHition «)f the cartirs iuhmh on (iid'cicnt, 
 siilcs on wliioli Dunn lisis pjirtly biiHod liin theory of tlio oriniu <if 
 continents. Tlie most pi()l)iil)lo concpption sccnis to l»o that of 
 Lycll, njinicly, u molten mass, uniform evee|)t in so far as (lenser 
 inateiiai miglit exist toward its centre, ami a ciiist at. first approx- 
 imatoly oven ami li()mo<;eneons, and snlise(|n(>ntly thrown into 
 •jreat hemlines iipwaid and downward. Tliis (piestion has recently 
 heen aliiy disciiHsed by Mr. C'ro.slty in the Jiondon (leoloj;ical 
 Magazine.' 
 
 In short, tho Inndamental gneiss of the Lower Lanrentiim may 
 have heen the lirst roi k evci' loiined ; and in any case it is a rock 
 IVtrnied nnder conditions which have not since recnrred (except 
 locally. It constitutes the (irst ami hesl example of these cliemi- • 
 co-physical, acpieous or aciiieo-igneons rocks, so characteristic, of 
 the earliest period of the earth's history. Viewed in this way 
 tho Lower Lanrentian gneiss is prohahly tho oldest kind of rock 
 we shall ever know — the limit to our backward progress, beyon«l 
 which there remains nothing to tho geologist except physical hy- 
 l)otlicses respecting u cooling incandescent glol)e. Kor the chem- 
 ical conditions of these primitive rocks, and what is known as to 
 their prol)al)lo origin, I must refer you to my friemi Dr. Sterry 
 Hunt, to whom we owe so much of what is known of tin; ohh'r 
 ciystallino rocks"- as well as of tlu'ir literature, ami the questions 
 which they raise. My purpose hero is to sketch the remarkable 
 ditlerence which wo moot as wo ascend into the Middle and 
 Ui)por Lanrentian. 
 
 In the next succeeding formation, the true Lower Lanrentian 
 of Logan, the Grenvillo series of Canada, we meet with a groat and 
 significant change. It is true we have still a pi-edominance of 
 gneisses which may have l)oori forme(l in tho same manner with 
 those below tliem ; hut we find these now associated with great 
 bods of limestone and dolomite, which nuist have boon formed by 
 the sepiuation of calcium and magnesium cari)onates from the sou 
 water, oithoi' by chemical precipitation or by the agency of living 
 beings. Wo have also (|nartzite, (piartzose gneisses, and even 
 pebl)lo lieds, which inform us of sand baid<s and shores. Nay, 
 more, w(* have boils coMtaining graphite which must l)c tho residue 
 of plants, and iron ores whi"h tell of the deoxidation of iron 
 
 '.IiiMf. ISS;). J lliint. Ksfiiys on (.'liuiiiiiiil Heology. 
 
|o ill Mm 
 
 lid'crciif, 
 |>rijriii ,,f 
 lliat of 
 Is denser 
 ■'"|>pr()x- 
 rMi into 
 liecenllv 
 loloiiienl 
 
 |iaii ni.-iyr 
 .■I rock 
 except 
 • elieini- » 
 ■isti(! of 
 lis wiiy 
 oC rock 
 lie.voinl 
 eal liy. 
 
 e <lieiii- 
 
 11 as to 
 JStoiry 
 
 <) older 
 
 leslions 
 
 irkahle 
 
 lie and 
 
 I'onfian 
 'at and 
 iice of 
 r witii 
 jrioat 
 led hy 
 lie sort 
 
 livillfr 
 
 even 
 
 Nay, 
 'sidiie 
 ■ iron 
 
 rriKSIDKNT l»AWKON. 7 
 
 oxide hy orf;niiic imitterM. In Hhorl, lieic we jiave evidence of 
 new ('actors in world-liiiildinir, of land and oc(!aii, of atniospjicric 
 <leeay of rocks, ol" ileoxidizinj; proccsHCH carried on liy v«'yetalti« 
 life on liie land and in I lie waters, (d* linu>Hton(>-liiiililin^ in the sea. 
 To nllord material for Hncli roeks, tlie old Ottawa }j;neiHs ninsl Inive 
 lieeii lifted lip into continents and nioiintain inasso. I'nder the 
 nIow lint Hiii'c fiction of the caiiioiiic dioxide dissolved in raiii> 
 water, its felspar had crnnihled down in the course of a}j;cs. 
 Its potash, soda, lime, magnesia and part of its silica had lieeii 
 washed into tlie sea, there to enter into new comltinations and to 
 foiin new deposits. The cnimliiing residue of line clay ami sand 
 had been also washed down into the borders of the oci-:iii. and hail 
 heeii there deposited in lieds''. Thus tlie earth had eiileied into a 
 new [iliase, which continues onward ihroii^ii tlie geological a;jeH ; 
 and I place in your hands one key for unlocking; the mystery of 
 the world when I alliiin that this <;reat change took place, this new 
 era was inaiiiiiirated in the iiiiilst of the Laiirentian period. 
 
 Was not this time a lit period for the lir.-t appearance of life? 
 Should we notex|)ect ittoa|)penr, independently of tin' evidence we 
 hiive of the fa(!t? i do not))rop()se to enter here into that evidence, 
 more I'specially in the case of the one well characteriztMl Lauieii- 
 lian fossil, Eozmm Cnuiidense. I have already amply illustrated 
 it elsewhere. I would merely say here that we should bear in luind 
 that in this later half of the Lowt'r Laiirentian. or if w»' so choose 
 to style it, Middle ]>aiiieiitian period, we lia\c the conditions re- 
 (|iiired for life in the sea and <mi the land ; and since in other 
 periods we know that life was always present when its conditions 
 were present, it is not iiir-easonalile t(j look for the first traces of 
 life in this formation, in which we lind for the fh'st time the com- 
 pletion of those physical arran<;ements which make life, in such 
 forms of it as exist on our planet, [lossihle. 
 
 This is also a proper |jlace to say something of the docliine of 
 what is termed metamorphism. The Laurentian rocks are undoubt- 
 edly greatly changed from their original state, more especially 
 in the matters of crystallization and the formation of dissemi- 
 nated minerals, by Ihi! action of heat and heated water. Sand- 
 stones have thus passed into cpiarlzites, clays into slates ;m(l gchists, 
 limestones into marbles. So far, metamorphism is not a doubtful 
 
 '< l>i', lliiiil lias iiiiw in |irr|inratiiin lor llio |ire.sN an iiiipuilaiil paimi' uii lliis Biibject, 
 reuil lii'loie Uie National Acailcniy of Srieuces. 
 
 yy 
 
 < m il i n ii 
 
t 
 
 n AonuKss bv 
 
 (liiostioii ; hilt wlion lliooiios ornictainorpliisiii pro so fnr as to sup. 
 jioso ail actual clianiii' of oiio olciiu'iit for anotlior, tlicy fi<> lu'voml 
 tliol)oiiii(is()f('lu'iiii('aUTO(lil)ility ; yot snc'litliooriosofinctaiiiorpliism 
 are often lioldly advanced and made tlie l)asis of important conclu- 
 sions. Dr. limit lias liap|)ily i;iven the name " inetasomatosis" to 
 this iiiKij^inaiy a mpossihle kind t)f nietainoiphisin, which may 
 be regarded as an . xlieiiie kind of evolution, akin to some of those 
 forms of that theory emitloyed with refeienee to life, lint more 
 easily detected ;ind exposed. 1 would have it to lie understood 
 that, in spcakinu; of tiie metamorpliisni of the old(>r crystalline 
 rocks, it is not to this metasomatosis that I refer, and that I hold 
 that rocks which havi' been produced out of the materials decom- 
 posed by atmospheric erosion can never by any process of meta- 
 morphism be restored to the precise condition of the Laurent iau 
 rocks. Thus there is in the older formations a f>;(mealo<iy of rocks, 
 which, in the alisence of fossils, may be ust-d with some confidence, 
 but which does not apply to the more modern deposits. Still 
 uothiii}; in y;eol<j<]i;y absolutely perishes, or is aUojictlier discon- 
 tinued ; ami it is probabU' that, down to the present day, the causes 
 which produccil the old J^aurentian "iiieiss may still o|)erate in 
 limited localitii's. Tlicn. however, they were general not excep- 
 tional. It is further to be observetl that the term gneiss is some- 
 times of wide and (veii loose application. Heside the typical or- 
 thoclase and hornblendic gneiss of the lianrentian. there are 
 micaceous, (juartzose. garnetiferous and many other kinds of 
 gneiss; and even gneissose rocks, winch hold labradorite or anor- 
 thite instead of orthoclase, are sometinu's, though not accu- 
 rately, included in the ti'rni. 
 
 The Grenvilli- series, or Middle Laiirentiaii is succeeded by what 
 Logan in Canada called the ri)per Laurentian, and "liicli )llier 
 "•eoloiiists have calle<l tlu' Norile or Noriaii series. Here we still 
 have our old frieiuls the gneisses, but somewhat pi-culiar in type, 
 and associatetl with tlieni arc great beds, riidi in lime-felspar, the 
 so-called labradorite and anortliilc rocks. The precise origin of 
 these is uuciMtain, but this much seems clear, namely, that they 
 originated in circnmstanees in whleli tiie great limestones depos- 
 ited in the Lower «)r Middle Laurentian were beginning to be 
 employed in tin' m:iniifaclnre, i>roiiably by aipieo-igneous agencies, 
 of lime-felspars. This proves the Norian rocks to be much 
 younger than the Lament iaii, and that, as Logan sui>posed, con- 
 
 ■■••« mm wwvmww «^^ 
 
riJKSIDKNT DAWSON. 
 
 •■>« to Slip. 
 :<) licyond 
 iioipliisiii 
 it <'on('lti- 
 liitosis" to 
 liicli iiiMy 
 of tlioso 
 'tilt iii()i(> 
 
 l(ilTsl()()(| 
 
 |i'vstalliiio 
 
 It I hold 
 
 Is (Icconi- 
 
 of lllOlll- 
 
 iiirciiliau 
 of roc'Ivs, 
 "(idoiicc, 
 's. Mill 
 ' •iiscoii- 
 
 llt'CMllSCS 
 
 it'ralt! in 
 >t exri'p- 
 is soiiii'- 
 pic-al or- 
 licio are 
 liinds of 
 or aiior- 
 )t. ac't'ii- 
 
 I'.V wliat 
 ■li )tli(.r 
 "(' still 
 II type, 
 
 |'!ll', lilt! 
 
 'i.yiii of 
 
 lit lln'V 
 
 dcpo.s- 
 
 ; to 1(0 
 
 I'licii's, 
 
 iniicli 
 
 I, foii- 
 
 sidcrahlf oarth inovcmonts luid oooiirrod bclwooii flu! two, imply- 
 iiij; lapsi' of lime. 
 
 N'l'xt \^^^' lia\c the Iliiroiiiaii of F/Ouaii. a scries iniich less crvs- 
 
 talliiic a 
 
 nd in 
 
 oil' fi'auuu'iitai'v 
 
 ill'nrdiiin' iiioic t'vidi'iU't' ol 
 
 iiid 
 
 I'li'valion and at iiiosiiliciic and a(|in'()iis ciosion lliaii any of tlu! 
 otluTs. Itdias«irt'at (•on<:lonH'ral('s,sonu'of tlicni madciipof ronndod 
 pi'lihics of Lanrcnt.ian rocks, and ollicrs of (piartz polihlcs, which 
 nnist, have lii'cii the remains of rocks siilijected to very perfect ero- 
 
 sion. 
 
 The I 
 
 ini'c 
 
 inailz-ioi 
 
 ■ks 1 
 
 ell the same laic, \\\i\ 
 
 U- ill 
 
 nestoiie.s 
 
 and slates speak also ot' ciieinical separation of the materials of 
 older rocks. 'l"he liu.onian evidently tells of movements in (In^ 
 previous l.anreiiti.an. .■ind clLaiiiiCs in its tevtiire soiircat, that, the 
 Idiiner may he reuaided as a comparal i\ cly modern rock, thoiiiih 
 vastly older than any part of the I'ala'o/tiic series. 
 
 Still later than the lliironian, is the Lirc.it Mi('acer)iis series, 
 (•■died liy Hunt th" .Mont AUiaii or White inonntain izronp. and 
 the 'I'ai'onian or Lower T.-icoiiie of Imiiiiioiis. whicii recalls in some 
 measure the conditions of Uie llnrnnian. The precise rehations 
 of these to the later formations and to ceitain doiilitl'iil deposit.s 
 around Lake Superior, can scarcely he said to lie settleil. thonLih 
 it would seem that they are all oMer than the fossilil'erous (ain- 
 liriaii rocks, which practically const it ill e the base of the I'ala'o/nii'. 
 I lia\('. I may say. satislie(| myself, in reiiioiis which I \\:i\v 
 stiidie<l. v)l' the existence .and order oft liese rocks as siu-ccssi\ e for- 
 mations, thonjih I would not doyinali/.e as to the precise relations 
 of those last mentioned, or as t() the precise ajic of sonu' dis- 
 ]iiite(| f(inuati(ins \\hi<'li may either he iif the a;.;t' nf the nlder 
 Ko/.iiic l'i)rinations or n,a\' lie peiaili.ar kinds of rahe(>/oic rocks 
 modiiiid liy metainorplii -111. I'rolialily neither of the oxlreino 
 views now ;i^i,,ited is alisdlnlely cuirccl. 
 
 .M'ter what has lieeii said.ynu will perhaps not he astonislu'd 
 that a ;:ri'at m'liliiiiic.al liattle r;i<;es over the ohi ciystalliiii' roi'ks. 
 \\\ some <.reohi;^ists they are almost entirely expl.aineil away or 
 rererred to i;^ne()r.s action or to the alleratidii of ordinary seili- 
 nients. Inder 1 he ireatmentdf .another school, they «;ruw to ^reat 
 series of l're-( .•imlirian rocks, (•onslitntinn' vast systems of for- 
 mations. disliii'.^ui>lialilc IVoin ciudi oilier, not liy fossils. Imt liy 
 dillercnces of iniiieral cliar.aeter. I liaxc alicadx indicited the 
 nianncr ill which 1 lielieve the dispute will nlliinatily lie settled. 
 
 mm 
 
 ufm»^^ m% i i 7!%i i ' i 
 
 
 
10 
 
 APDKESS BY 
 
 anil the rrcsident of the Geologi ml Section will treat it more 
 fully in his opening address. 
 
 After tilt' solitary apiiearanco of Kozoon in tlioLanrentian, and 
 of a few niR'tMlain i'ornis in tlic llMronian and Taconian, we lind 
 ourselves, in the Canil)rian, in tin; piesenee ol' a nearly eoniplete in- 
 vertelirate fauna of protozoa, polyps, eeiiinodernis, niollusks and 
 crnslaeea, and this not conlined to one loeality merely, but apjjar- 
 ently extended sinndtaneonsly throngiiont the oeean. This sud- 
 den ineoniing of aniiiud life, along with the snhseciuent introduction 
 of successive groups of inxcrlehrates, and linally of vertel)rate an- 
 in)als, furnishes one of the greatest of the unsolved prohlenis of 
 geology, whicii geologists were wont to settle by the supposition 
 of successive cr«)atio)is. In an address delivered at the Detroit 
 meeting of the Association in lM7r>, I endeavored to set forth the 
 facts as to this succession, and the geneial (jrinciples invtjlved in 
 it, and to show the insulliciency of the theories of evolution sug- 
 gested l)y biologists to give any sidisti ntial aid to the ge<jlogist in 
 thes(! (jufstions. In looking again at the points there set forth, 
 I lind they have not been invalidated l)y sul)se(iuent discoveries, 
 and that we are still nearly in the same position with respect to 
 these great (iiiestions that, we were in at that time. — a singular 
 profif of the impotency of that deductive method of reasoning 
 which has btH'ome fashionable among naturalists o|' hite. Yet the 
 discussions of recent years have thrown s<nne additional light on 
 these mattei's, and none more so than the mild disclainu'rs with 
 whieli my friend Dr. Asa (iray and other moderate and scientific 
 evolutionists lia\e met the extreme views of such men as Uoina- 
 nes. Iheckel, i-idiliock and (Irant. Allen. It may be useful to note 
 sonu' of these, as sjiedding a little light on this dark ctnner of our 
 unsolved problems. 
 
 It has liei'U urged on the side of rat ional evolution t lint this 
 hvpothesis does not profess to give an e \ plana 1 ion of the absolntt; 
 origin of life on our planet, or even of llie original organization 
 of a single cell or of a simple nuiss of protopl;i>m. lix ing or dead. 
 All experimeiilal alti'uiiils to prodiu'c by synlliesis the coiii|)|ex 
 albuminous siilistanci's or to obijiiu the living from the non-living, 
 have so far liceii fruitless. au<l indeed we cannot imagine any pro- 
 cess by which such <-liaiiges coiihl bi' I'lfccled. 'I'liat they lia\e 
 been ellectc'd we know, but the process employed by their maker is 
 
 *mmmmt»m 
 
I'UKSIDKNT DAWSON. 
 
 11 
 
 ?at it more gtill as mystorions to us us it prolialjly was to liini wlio wroto tl 
 
 10 
 
 Von Is 
 
 Ami (!(mI smM let till' wMtcrs swiiiiii witli swiiniu'i's. 
 
 •Piitian, jind 
 .'III, wo liiid 
 ■(iinplulL- ill- 
 
 lollllsiiS 1111(1 
 
 )iit appar- 
 Tliis 811(1- 
 ntrodiielion 
 rtobrato aii- 
 iiolik'ins o/' 
 siipposilion 
 lilt' Detroit 
 •t forth the 
 involved in 
 )liitioii siijj;- 
 ,^eolojii.st, in 
 e set loith. 
 (iisfoveiics. 
 icsjieet to 
 -a singular 
 if reasoning; 
 »■• Vet the 
 lal liulit on 
 :iiiiicrs with 
 1(1 seientilic 
 n as Uoina- 
 sefiil to note 
 >i iier of oMi 
 
 'M tll;|| thi.- 
 Iie ahsoliili.. 
 ifzanizatjon 
 liji or dead, 
 le 0(>iiii»lex 
 noii-liviiio-, 
 le .•my pro- 
 tliey lia\c 
 .'ir maker is 
 
 II 
 
 ()\v va>t is tiie <r;i 
 
 p ill our kiiowle(l<i<i and our praetieal power 
 implied ill this admission, which niust however he ni.'idc hy every 
 mind not alisoliitely hlinded by a suiierstilious Iieliel' in those 
 forms of words which too oflen pass current ,'is jihilosophy. 
 
 But, if we are content to start with a numlier of orjfanisms ready 
 made — a soinewhal humiliating; stall liowevci — we still have to aslc 
 — How do these vary so as to <ri\e now species? It is a singular 
 illusion in this niMttcr, of men who profess to he believers in natu- 
 ral law, that \ arialion iii.'iy lie boundless, aimless and fortuitous, 
 and thai it is by Npontaiicous selection fr(jiii varieties thus [iro- 
 duced that dcvelopiiieiit :irises. Ihit surely the sup[)osition of 
 mere chance and iiia<j,ic is unworthy of science. Varieties must 
 ha\ e causes, and their t:aiises and their etfeets must be regulated by 
 .some law or laws. Now it is easy to see that ihey cannot lie 
 caiiseil by a mere innate tendency in the oruaiiism itself. Every 
 oiii'anism is so nicely e(|iiilibratcd that it has no such s|)oiilaiieous 
 temlency, exce|it within the limits set by itsij:rowth and the law of 
 its perodical changes. 'I'licre may, however, be ciiuilibriinn more 
 or less stable. I lielieve all attennits hitherto made ha\e failed to 
 account for the li\ily of certain, nay of very many, ty|)es tlirougli- 
 oiit geological time, but the mere consideration that one may be 
 in a more stalde state of e(|uilibriuiii tli;tn another, so far 
 explains it. A rocUing stone has no more s[)ontaiieoiis ten- 
 dency l-o mo\(' than an ordinary iioulder, but it may be made to 
 mo\c with a touch. So it picjbably is with organisms. IJut if so, 
 then the causes of variation are external, as in many cases wo, 
 actually know them to be, and they must depend on instability or 
 change in surroundings, and this so arrangcil as not to be too ex- 
 treme ill amount ami to o|ierate in some deterininate direction. 
 Observe how reuiarkable the unity of the adjustinents invo!\-e(l in 
 such asii|)|>ositiim ! li()wsu[»erior they must be to our rude ami always 
 more or less unsuccessful att,em|)ts tj produce and carry forward 
 varieties and races in (lediiite directions I This cannot Ik; chance. 
 If It exists it must depend (ui plans dee|>Iy laid in the naliiri' of 
 things, else it, would lie mostnionstrous magic and causeless mira- 
 cle. Still more certain is this l■olH•lll^ion when we consider the va i 
 ami orderly .succession made known to us by {Ecology, aiul which 
 
 
 >i . ii [■■ ■m i L iiii in p yTL'A W iy i « i)>iiii'a 
 
 "^i 
 
12 
 
 ADDRESS BY 
 
 must Imvc been rojiillnlod liy fixiM] laws, only .1 few of which nro 
 !is vol known to 11s. 
 
 P>cy(>n<l tlii'sc ucneral considcrMtions, we Iimvo otlioi's of a more 
 s|i('cial chr.ractcr, iiascd on pahi'onlolojiical facts, wliii'h show Low 
 inipcrlVc't are onr attempts as yet to reach the tine causes of the 
 intioilnetion of ifcnera and species. 
 
 One is tlie leniarUalile fixity of the IcadinL; types of livinir ite- 
 ings in ueoloijica! time. If, inslcacl of IVaminji, like Ila'ckei. 
 lancifiil piiyioij:cnies, we takt- the ti'onlile with ISanande and 
 '.anihv, to trace tiic foiins of life through (ho period of tlieii' ex- 
 istence, I'acii alonii' its own line, we shall he greatly struck wilii 
 this, and cs[)ecialiy with the continuous existence of many low 
 types of life throuj^h vicissitudes of physical conditions of the 
 most stu|)endous oiiaracter, and over a \:\\)so of time scarcely eon- 
 ceivaliie. What is still moi(! remaikablc is that lliis hoiiis in 
 <frou|)s which, within ccrt.ain limits, arc'pcrhaps the most variable 
 of .'dl. In the present world, no crcatiu'cs ;irc individnall}" more 
 variable than the protozoa; as, for ex!im|)le, tiie foiaminifei'a and 
 the si)onj4es. Yet these <j;ronps arc fundamentally the same, from 
 the bejiiuuinji' of the I'aheozoic until now, and niodern species 
 seem scarcely at all to dilfcr from specimens procured from rocks 
 at least half-w.ay i)Mck to the bejfiuninir ol' onr geolojjical lecord. 
 If we suppose that the present spou<i<'s and foiaminifera are thi^ 
 descendants of those of the .Silurian perioil. we can allirm that 
 in all that vast lapse of time, they have on the whole made little 
 <j;realer chauue than that which may be oliserved in vari.alile forms 
 at present. The same remark applies to other low animal forms. 
 In forms somewhat hii;lier and less vaiiable, this is e(iually note- 
 worthy. The pattern of the xcn.'iliou of tiie win<i,s of cock- 
 roaches, .and the structure and form of land snails, ij;ally-worms 
 and decapod crnst.'iceaus were all settled in the Carboniferous ajie, 
 in a way that still remains. So were the foliaire and the frnetili- 
 c.'ition of clnli-mo^-ses and ferns. if, at anytime, members of 
 thesis groups l)ranched olf, so as to lay the foundation of new 
 si)eeies, this nnist luive been a ver}' rare and exceptional occur- 
 rence and one demanding even sonic suspension of the ordinary 
 laws of natiue. 
 
 Certain recent ntteiauees of eminent scientific men in Knglaud 
 and France, are most inslruclixc wiih reference to the dillicullies 
 
 4 
 
 '/"'b 
 
J'UKSIDENT I>AWSON. 
 
 13 
 
 '>(■ a inoic 
 iiist'H oC the 
 
 livill<r l)(.. 
 
 ' ll.i'ckcl. 
 
 ;iii(lc .-iiiil 
 t' tlicii- cx- 
 triiclc with 
 
 Mi.'iny low 
 "lis of the 
 ircciv coii- 
 s hoid.-s ill 
 >t vari.'ihlc 
 tally more 
 iiircra and 
 ■iaiiic. IVoiii 
 111 species 
 roiii rorlvs 
 •al i('('(ini. 
 'a an- tlio 
 •/linn that 
 ladc liuj,. 
 iltio forms 
 lal Coiins, 
 illy ii()t(>- 
 ol' coi'k- 
 ly-woriiis 
 Toiis njic, 
 ' fViictin- 
 
 IIiImts of 
 
 I of new 
 
 II occiir- 
 ordiiiiuy 
 
 Kiiuland 
 llk'iillifa 
 
 wliicli eiicompuss this siil\ject. IFiixloy, at proseiil the Iciidcr of 
 Kiiii'lisli I'voliitionists, ill his '• Hcdc Lcctmc"' delivered al (am- 
 brid<ie, iMiulaiid, holds tliiit there are only two •• possihle 
 alU'rnallve liypothcseH" as to the ori|j,in of species — (1) that of 
 '' constriK'tioii" or the mechanical pntlinjx toilet her of the mute- 
 rials and parts of cacii new species separately; and (2) that of 
 "evohition." or that^ one; form of life "proceeded from another" 
 liy the " estalplishinent of small siiccessi\e ditfcrences." Alter 
 compai'ini:: tlioe modes, much to the disad\ antaue of the (irst. he 
 concludes with tin- statement that •'this was his case for evolnlioii, 
 which he rested wholly on ai'Linnieiits of the kind he had adduced" — 
 these arnnmenls lieing the tlireadhare false analogy of ordinary 
 rcproduclion and the Iranslormation of species, and the mere 
 siiccession of forms more or less similar in Ljeoloiiical time, neither 
 of them liavini: any hearing' wJialcM'r on the oriuin of ;iny species 
 or on the cause of the observed snecession. \\ itii reference to 
 the two alternatives, while it is true thai no certain e\idence lias 
 yet been obtained either liy experiment observation or so-md induc- 
 tion as to the mode of oriLiin of any species. eiioiiLih is known to 
 show that tlu're an' numerous possible methods, grouped usnallv 
 nndi'i' tlu! heads of absolute creation, mediate creation, critical 
 I'volution and i;radnal exolution. It is .also true tii.al .almost the 
 only tliinti we certainly know in the matl(r is that the dilference.s 
 characteristic of classes, orders, e-enera and species must have 
 arisen, not in oiu' or two, but in many ways. An instructive com- 
 mentary (Ui the <a|)acity of our :i<ie to deal with these urc.at (pies- 
 tioiis IS alibrded by the f.act that this little piec(' of clever ment:ii 
 iiymnastic should ha\'e been |)iactised in a nniversit v lecture and in 
 presence of an educated audience. It is also desei'vinu, of notice 
 that thoimh the lecturer takes the developmeiit <jf the Xa 'Hi and 
 their allies as his principal illustration, he evidently attaches no 
 weiiiht to the ar;j;uinent in the opposite sense dednceil h\ I'.arrande, 
 the man ot' idl others most profoundly ac(|Uainte(l with these aiii- 
 m.als. from the I'aheozoic cephalopods. 
 
 Another example is allbi<led by a lecture recently delivered at 
 tlie Koyal Institution in J-ondon by Tidf. Flower."' The subject 
 is, "The Whales, past and present, and their probjdile oiii^in." 
 The latter jioinl, as is well known, ^iaudry had candidlv uivcii up. 
 " We have (|nestioneil," he says, •' these strange and Ltiuaiilic sov- 
 
 I lir|n)il III •■ N.ihiii'," .liiin'JI, r.iiicTlcii liv llic ;iiali(ir. ■' l!i|Mirl(i| iii •• \:iuiic." 
 
 '•«*. 
 
 ^ 
 
 -SMflg- 
 
 
 iv-Wi 
 
14 
 
 ADUItKSS IIV 
 
 >i 
 
 er('i<.Mis of tlio Toitiiiry oceans jvs to tlicir ancestors. — lliey leave 
 lis willidiit reply." I'"l()\vci' is Ipolil enoiiL'li to face this inulilcni. 
 ami III' (Iocs NO ill a fair ami siuoroiis way, llioic^li liiiiitiiiii liiin- 
 si'ir to tlie siipiiositioii of slow aii<l j^radiial cliaii^ic lie "fives ii|i 
 at once, as every anatomist must, the idea of an oii<:;in IVoin fishes 
 or rcptili's. lie tliinUs the ancestors of the whales must have 
 lieeii i|iiaih'iipe(lal mammals. He is ol)liij:ril for ^ood reasons to 
 reject the sisals ami tiie otters, and turns to the nimnlates. tlionuh 
 liere also the dilliciilt ics are forniidalile. I-'inally. he has recourse 
 to an iuia;j;inary aiu'cstor, supposed to ha\i' haiinlcd iiKirsiies ami 
 rixers of the M»'so/.oic age. ami to have been internieiliate Itetween 
 a hippopotamus and a. dolphin, and omnivorous in diet. As this 
 aiiiinal is allo'^'ether iiiiUnown to ;ieolo|^v or /,ooloe;y. and not 
 niiii'li less dilllcilt to accoiiiit for than the whales tliemst'hes. he 
 Very properly a(lils : " IMease to recollect, however, that this is 
 a mere spfcnlation." He trusts. liowe\er. that such speculations 
 ;ire " not without tluMr use :" lint this will depend upon whether 
 or not they lead men's minds from the path of legitimate science 
 into the (|nicksands of iiaseless conjecture. 
 
 (iandry. in his receiitr work, ••l-aichainenicnls dii Mondc! Ani- 
 mal,"'' though a strong ailvocale of evolution, is oliliged in his 
 final ri'siiine to say : •• II lu' laisse pointi perc(-r le mystere 
 ((III enlonic^ le ileveloppemeiit primitif des grandi's classes dii 
 moiide animal. Niil homme iic stiit comment out etc forna's 
 les pieiiiieis iiidi\idiis de forainiiiifeies. dc pol\pcs, d'etoiles 
 (le mer, de crinoiiles, etc. Les lossiles priinaircs ne nous 
 out [las encore foiinii de [ireiives |)ositi\es ilii passage ilos animaux 
 d'liiie classe a ceiix d'nne antic classe." 
 
 I'rof. Williamson, of Manchester, in an address delivered in 
 Fehrnary last liefore the lioyal Institution of (treat IJritain, after 
 showing that thi' conifers, fi'rns aii<l lycopods of the I'ahcozoic 
 ha\(' no liiiown aiicestr}'. nses the signilicant words: "The time 
 lias not }et arri\ cd for the appointment of a botanical Uing-at-arms 
 and constructor of pedigrees." 
 
 Another caution which a paUnontologist lias occasion to give 
 with regard to tlieories of life, has refc'rence to the tendency of 
 biologists to infer that animals and plants were introduced under 
 enibryiMiic forms, and at lirsl in i'cw ami iiiii)i'rfect s()ccii's. Facts 
 do not substantiate this. 'I'he first appearance of leading tyi)es 
 
 •■■I'iiris. 1SS3. 
 
 V^"^ i. 
 
 T*-", 
 
 .1^- 
 
I'UKSIDF.NT DAWSON. 
 
 15 
 
 — iIk'.v loinc 
 
 lis |l|-|)ll|clll, 
 
 "liliii.i^ liiiii. 
 lt'i,nv»'.s ii{i 
 I'loiii (islic 
 must liMVi' 
 rcM.'sons to 
 l<'s, Ilioiiuii 
 Is rcioiusc 
 •'ll'slics ,-11111 
 lie l)flvv('oii 
 As lliis 
 ;.v. .•111(1 not 
 lllsclvfs. he 
 lli.'it lliis is 
 '|ii'<'iil;ili()iis 
 oil Mhctlicr 
 lie s<-i('iicc 
 
 I<)ll(i(! Aiii- 
 
 'i,i(t'il ill his 
 le iiiystcrt' 
 t'lasscs (III 
 •'•ti' loiiin's 
 S (I'l'toilcs 
 lie nous 
 "S iuiiiiiiuix 
 
 'livcrod in 
 liiiii, jirter 
 I'alii'ozoic 
 ' 'I'lic liiiiu 
 ig-iiL-:iriiis 
 
 " to gi\o 
 nlciicy oC 
 ••'•i iiinlcr 
 i-i. Fuels 
 iig typos 
 
 of life is ruroly cinhryonic. On Uic coiitrjiry, tlicy oflon nppoar 
 ill lii>j;iily ixM'I'fct and siiecializcil I'ornis, ollon liowevcr ol' coni- 
 posile type iinil expressing cliiiriieters til'teiwarils s(j separated 
 fcs to iuloiii; to liiulicr groups. 'I'iie triloi)ites oj' the Cainhiian 
 arc some of Ihciii of few segments and s(» far einliryoiiie, Imt tiie 
 gicaler part, arc niany-se^iiunted and very complex. The hatra- 
 cliiaiis of tiie Carlioniferoiis present many eliaraeters lii^her llian 
 those of tiieir modern sueeessors and now appropriated to tlie 
 triK^ reptiles. The reptiles of the I'ermi.an and 'l"ii;is nsin'ped 
 fiome of the preroc.atives of the manim.als. The ferns, iycopods 
 jiiid c(|nisctiiiiis of the l)c\()iiiaii and C'.'irlioiiifcroiis were, to sav 
 tiie Ic.isi. not inferior to tlicir modern rcprcsentati\es. The shell- 
 bearinji eephalopods of the l';ila'u/.oic would seem to have pos- 
 sessed struelnres now spcei.al to a hiiihcr i;i<>ii[i, lli;it of the 
 enttle-lishes. The liald and e<)nlem[iliioiis ne^.alion of these faets 
 by lla'cUel and other liiolouists does not tend to uive geologists 
 imieh eonfidencc in their dicta. 
 
 Aiiaiii, we arc now prepared to say tiial the sIriiuLrle for exist- 
 ence, howcNcr pl:iiisihle as a theory, when put hefore us in 
 connection with tiie prodiictivenessof anim;ils and the few survivors 
 of their multitudii pro<ieny. h.'is not lieeii the dett-rminiiii; 
 
 cause of the iiilrodiietion of new speiies. 'I'lie periods of r,-i|iid 
 inlrodtiction of new forms of m;iriiie life were not periods of 
 BtiiiLiule liiitof expansion — those periods in which the snhinei'- 
 {iciicc of conlineiils all'oidecl new and lar<re space for their exten- 
 8i(m and comfort.alde sulisistence. In like manner, it was 
 conliiient.ai emei;^('iice th.at aliordcd the o|)p()rlunily for tiie inlro- 
 dnctioii of l.'iiid .'inimMls aiicl plants, l-'uither. in coniieciiun with 
 tliis, it is now Mil e^l alilisjied eoncliision that the i^reat aiiuressivci 
 lamias and llor.'is ol' the continents haxc oriuinated in the north, 
 simic (jf them within tlie arctic circle, .a ml this in periods of excep- 
 tional wariiitii. when the perpelnal suuimei ■^un^liiiie of the arctic. 
 n'sii(ius coi''\i.>,led with a warm temperature. The testimony of the 
 rocks thus is that not strugele hut expansion fnrnisheil the re(pii- 
 site conditions for new forms '■'" "le, and that the periods of striiiigle 
 wei(; characterized liy depaiipei al ion and exlinclion. 
 
 r>ut we .are somclimes told that oriiaiiisms are merely inechani- 
 eal. and that the discussions respect inn their (uiu in hav e no si^nili- 
 eaiice any more than il' they related to rocks or crystals, hccaiise 
 the\' ri'lale merely to the organism considered as a machine, and 
 
 ^^M. 
 
 ^ 
 
 f^ 
 
 '■M/^' 
 
 *»5i "'5 fr .«■ 
 
IG 
 
 ADnUKSS HY 
 
 m 
 
 not to lliaf wliicli mny l>o siipposcil to lie iiioro iinportnnt, iiiuiicly. 
 till' •jiciit (iotcrmiiiiiiii; iMjwcr of iniml and will. Tliut this is ;i 
 mere eviision liy wliicli wo really <>aiii n<)tliiii<j;, will appeiif IVoin ji 
 cliariicteristie extract of an article hy lui eminent liiolojfist in tin 
 new eililion of lie iMicyi'lopedia l?rilanniea, a pnlilication wliicli. 
 1 am sorry to way, insteail of its proper role as a repertory of faet.-^, 
 has become a stronjj partisan, stating extreme uml unproMMl 8|)ee- 
 nlations as if tliey were conclusions of science. The statement 
 referred to is as follows: '"A mass of living protoplasm is simi)ly 
 ii iiiolecniar niacliine of gi'eat complexity, the total results of tin' 
 working of which or its vital plicnomena dcijcnd oil the one hand 
 on its construction and on the otlii'r on the energy sii|)[»lied to it; 
 and to spi'ak of vitality as anything hut the lame for a series of 
 operations is as if one should talk of the horologity of a clock." 
 It- would I think scarcely lie possihlc to put into the same numher 
 of wonis a greater aiiiouiit of iiiiscieiitili<' assumption ami iiiipro\ed 
 -.lati'incnt than in this sentence. Is •• living protoplasm" dilterent 
 in any way from dead iirotoplasni, and if so, what caii'^es the 
 ditterence? What, is a '•machine?" Can we conceive of a self- 
 produce(l or iim'aiised m.acliine. or one not intended to work out 
 s(jiu(' definite results? 'l"he results of the machine in (|uestion are 
 s;iid to lie "vital phenomen;i ;" ceit:iinly most woi erliil results, 
 and greater than those of any machine man has yet been able to 
 construct. Ihit why '•vital?" If there is no such thing as life, 
 surely tliey are merely imysical results. Can mechanical causes 
 piddiic*' other than [iliysical elfects? 'I'o Aristotle, life was '• the 
 cause of form in organisms." Is not this (piite as likely to lie true 
 as the convers(> pioposil ion ? If tlie\ital pheiioiiieiia depend on 
 the '•construction " of tli<' machine, aiicl the "energy supplied to 
 it." wlu'iice this construction .•tiid wlieno this energy? The illus- 
 tration of the i-lock does not lielii us to answer this (juestion. 
 The construction of the clock depends on its maker, and its energy 
 is derived (roin the hand that winds it up. If we can think of a 
 clock which no one has inadi.' anil which no one winds, a clock 
 Constructed hy chance, set in harmony with the universe liy 
 chance, wound up periodically liy chance, we shall then have an 
 idea parallel totli.-it of an organism living yet- without any vital en- 
 ergy or creative law, liiil in such a case we should certainly have 
 to assume some antecedent cause, whether we cull it" horologity" 
 or liy some other name. rcilia[is the term e\olution would serve 
 
PUESIDKNT DAWSON. 
 
 17 
 
 n(, ii.-imclv. 
 I Mii.s is ':, 
 K'.'ir IVoin ;i 
 .li'isl ill 111, 
 li<'ii wliicli, 
 '■y of faHs, 
 ■o\ ■(! sptic- 
 stfUfiiicnt 
 "1 is simply 
 lilts of the 
 one liiiiid 
 >i>ii('il to it,; 
 .•I si'iics of 
 'I" -i clock." 
 lie iiiimiIk'i 
 <l iiiiproM'd 
 
 ii'MiUcrciii 
 causes tin. 
 
 c of a sflC- 
 o work on! 
 nostioii arc 
 'ill results, 
 !cii al)l(' t(, 
 "J^- as lif,., 
 ical causes 
 ' was '• til,, 
 to he true 
 
 IcpOlul oil 
 
 iipplicd to 
 'I'lic illtis- 
 
 'incsiioii. 
 its ciieruy 
 liiiik oC a 
 «, a clock 
 ivcrso hv 
 
 li.'ivc an 
 
 vital cn- 
 II ly iiavc 
 ologity " 
 il<i s('i\(; 
 
 M woil as any othor, wcrt; it not tiial, coniinon aonsc tpfirlios tliat 
 notliiiifj; can lu; s|)ontancoiisly cvoUcd out of that in wlilcli it did 
 not previously exist. 
 
 'I'liere is one other unsolved prolilcni in the study of life liy 
 tile ;;eolo^ist to which it is si ill necessary to aijverl. This is th(! 
 inability of paheoiitolojiy to fill ii|) the j:;a|is in the chain of lioiiiji. 
 In this respect we are constantly taunted with the imperfection of 
 the I'ccord ; hut facts show that this is much more complete than is 
 geiierally snpposeil. Over ion;; periods of time and many lines 
 of Iiein;4 we liav(! a lu^arly contiiiiioiis chain, and if thi^ does not 
 show the lendene}' desired, the fault is as likel^' to he in th(> theory 
 as in the record. On the other hand, the aluiipl and simultaneous 
 appearance of new ty|)es in many speeilic and generic forms and 
 over wide and separate areas at one and the saine time, is too often 
 rt'iteated to he acciihiiital. IIcMice paheontologists in endeavoring 
 to estahlish evolution, have Iteen obliged to assume periods of ex- 
 ceptional ai'tivity in (he introduction of species ••ilternatiiig with 
 Others of stagnation, a doctrine dill'eriiig very little from that of 
 special creation as held by the older geologists. 
 
 'I'he attempt has lately been made to account for these bri-aks 
 by the assumption that the geological recMird relates only to 
 periods of submergence and gives im information as to those of 
 elevation. This is manifestly untrue. In so far as marine life is 
 conceriu'il. the periods of submergence are thosi- in which new 
 forms aiioiind lor very ohvious reasons already hinted ; but the 
 jx'iiods of new forms of laud and fresh-water life arc; lUosv of (ile- 
 vation, and these have their own records and momiments, often 
 Aery rich and ampK', as for ex.'imple the swamps of the Carbo- 
 jiiferous. the tr.ansition (rom tlu; Cretiiceons subsidence to the Lar- 
 amie ele\-ation, the Tertiary hike-basius ol" the west, tlu' Terraces 
 and raised beaches ol the l'leisto(,'eue. Had I time to refer in 
 detail to the bieaks in the continuity of life which cannot bo 
 explained by the imperfection of the recoril, I could show at least 
 that nature in this case doesailvancc per sdltirni — by lea|)s. rather 
 than by a, slow continuous process. INIany able reasoiiers. as Le- 
 Coiite in this coniitry, and Mi\art .'iiid Colhird in JMiglaml, hold 
 this view. 
 
 Here, as elsewhere, a va.>t aiiK.i.nt of steady conscientious work 
 is retiuired to enable us to solve the problems of the history of 
 life. But if so, the more the hope for the patient student and in- 
 3 
 
 I 
 
 s 
 
18 
 
 APDUKSS ijy 
 
 vpstigiitor. I know nofliiiig more cliilling to research or iinfavoi 
 able to progress than tlie pronu)l<<;ation of a ilojimatic dccisioi 
 tliat tliore is nolliin.^ to he lojirni'd but a merely Ibrtiiitoiis iiiii 
 nneaiised .sneeesssion, amenable to no law, and only to be eovcrnl 
 ill order to hide itn shapeless and nneertain proportions, by tin 
 mantle ol" bold and gratuitous bypolliesis. 
 
 So soon as wo lind t'vidence of eontiuiMits and oceans we rai-i 
 the (juestion, Have these continents existed from the lirst ii, 
 their prtsent position and form, or liavo tlio land and water changeil 
 places in the course of geological time? In reality both state 
 nients ar.^ true in a certain limited sense. On tin; one hand, any 
 geological map whatever snlllies to show that the general oiitliiu 
 of the existing land began to be formed in the tirst anil olde^' 
 crumplings of the crust. On the other hand, tin; greater part o: 
 the surface of the laiul consists of marine sediments which xi\u>\ 
 have been derived from land that has perished in the process, 
 while all the continental surfaces, except perhaps, some liigh peaks 
 and ridges, have been many times submerged. IJoth of these »\\- 
 parenliy eontradictoiy statements art' true; and without assumiui! 
 both it is impossible to explain the existing contours and reliel- 
 of the surface. 
 
 In the case of North America, the form of the old nucleus ol 
 Lani'cntiau rock in the north alrt-ady maiks out that of tiie linisheil 
 continent, and the sncccssivo later formations have lieen laid upon 
 the edges of this, like the successive loads of earth dumped over an 
 enitiankinent. IJut in order to give the great thickness of thr 
 I'aheozoic sediments, the land nuist liav(! Iieeu again and again 
 submerged and for long periods of lime. Tiius, in one sense, the 
 continents have i)een fixed ; in another, they ha\e been constantly 
 lluctualing. Hail and Dana have well illustrated these points in 
 so far as eastern Xorlli America is concerned. I'rof. Hull of tiir 
 (ieological Survey of Iri'laml lias i-eceiitly had the boldness to re- 
 duce the tluctuations of land and water as evidenced in the Hritisli 
 Islands to the form of a series of maps inteniled to show the 
 physical geography of each successive period. The attempt is 
 pi'obal)ly premature, and has been met with nnich adverse criticism ; 
 but tlierc can be no iloul)t that it has an element of truth. ^\'hen 
 we attempt to calculate what conlil have been supplied from the 
 ohl Ko/oic nucleus by decay and acjueous erosion, and when we 
 take into account the greater local thickness of sediments towards 
 
 the prcj 
 extensi) 
 
 Bnl t" 
 lands ii| 
 
 In \> 
 ian c\il 
 
 oldest. [ 
 Oceanij 
 bed of 
 Bometii| 
 times 
 peeial 
 rarely : 
 tary a( 
 Kvei 
 by the 
 Allant 
 same t 
 lines < 
 ology 
 these 
 under- 
 Btill a 
 . The 
 Uie CM 
 lands 
 «iu'<n 
 gener 
 of th 
 the e 
 ship 
 this 
 tions 
 push 
 Hort 
 land 
 of i 
 dist 
 
 ^Sxf 
 
( 
 
 "11 or iiiiliivoi 
 iii.'itic (Iccisim 
 
 I'oilllitoils !l||, 
 Id 1)1' (•(>\C||.,| 
 
 orlioii.s, hy III, 
 
 cans we rjiis( 
 Uie lirst ii 
 wtiWr cliaiiiicii 
 y botli stale 
 >iio liaiiil, any 
 'it'ial oiilliiu 
 st and oldcs' 
 '*'"<<'r |)arl, o; 
 ^ W'liioli 11,11^1 
 
 lilt! process, 
 iii'liijrli jx-aKs 
 
 I <>(• these ap- 
 'iil a.s.siiiiiiiii; 
 ■^ and reliels 
 
 '' niiclens of 
 f fill' (inislied 
 '•'11 laid upon 
 iiped overall 
 :iii^^.s.s of tlif 
 
 II '"ind !|irjii|| 
 
 1'^' -^fHse, till' 
 11 <'()nslanllv 
 •<<' lioints ill 
 
 Ilidl <)(• til,. 
 liK'ss to re- 
 1 tilt! Hi'itisli 
 o show 111,. 
 
 'ilti'inpt is 
 i!eritieisni ; 
 til. AVI.en 
 'I from tile 
 ' ulieii Wi- 
 lts towards 
 
 rUKSIDKNT DAWHON. 
 
 19 
 
 the prosoiit scn-Itasliis, wc can scarcely avoid the conelusioii lliat 
 extensive areas once occupied by hiifli land are now iiniler the sea. 
 But to ascertain the precise areas and position of these perished 
 lands may now lie inipossilile. 
 
 Ill point ol" (act we are oliiined to lielieve in the eontemporane- 
 Oiis existence in all <^eolo;^ical periods, (except peiliaps the very 
 Oltlest, of threi! sorts oC areas on the surface of the t-artli: (1) 
 Oceanic areas of deep sea. which nnist always have occupied the 
 bed of the present ocean or parts of it; (2) Conlinental [ilateaus 
 ionu'lin\es e.\istin<j as low Hats or as hiijiier taltle-lands and some- 
 times sul)mer<;ed ; (.'5) Areas of plication or folding, more es- 
 pecially aloiiir the holders ol" the oceans, Corminj^ elevated lands 
 rarely siilunerj^'eil and constantly alfordiny; the material of sedimen- 
 tary accunndations. 
 
 Kvery jieoloi^ist know.s the contention which has heen occasioned 
 by the attempts to cori-elatt! the earlier ralix'ozoic deposits of the 
 Atlantic mai<iiii of North America with those forminu; at the 
 same time on the interior plateau, and with those of intervening 
 lines ol' plication and i^ueoiir^i ilisturli.auce. Stratijrra|>hy, lith- 
 olojiy and fossils, are all more (»r less at fault in dealiiijf with 
 these questions, and while the <!;eneral nature of the jjroblem is 
 understood liy many jfeologists, its solution in particular cases is 
 Btill a source of apparently endless deliate. 
 
 ■ The causes and mode ol' oi>eration of the great movements of 
 the I'arth's crust which have produced mountains, plains and table- 
 lands, are still involved in some mystery. One patent cause is the 
 uneipial settlinjj; of the crust toward the centre; but it is not so 
 generally understood as it should be, that the greater settlement 
 of the ocean-bed has necessitated its pressiu'e against the sides of 
 the ('(Mitinents in the same manner that a hug(! ice-lloe crushes a 
 8lii[) or ii pier. The geological map of North America shows 
 this at a glance, and impresses n.s with tlie fact that large por- 
 tions of the earth's crust have not only been folded but bodily 
 pushetl back for great distances. On looking at llu; exti'cmo 
 north, wc see that the great Laurentian mass of central Newfound- 
 land has acted as a protecting pier to the space immetliatelj- west 
 of it, and has (!ause<l the gulf of St. Lawrenci; to remain an un- 
 disturbed area since J'aheozoic times. Immetliatcly to the south 
 of this, Nova Scotia and New IJruiiswick are foldetl back. Still 
 further south, as (itiyot Las shown, the old sediments have been 
 
 \'*.^ 
 
20 
 
 AKKItl.SS IIY 
 
 I 
 
 criisli(>i1 in sliai'|i folds :i;_';iiiisl llio AdiiondMck initMH, wliicli li;i- 
 8lii'll»'it'd llif l;di|i-laiid ol' llic CidskillH ;iiid of t lu' Jj;! cat Inki >. 
 Soiitli of this :i;^.'uii 1li«> rorixH ol' I'l'tinsvlvaiiiii and Mai'vland Iium 
 bcfh driven iiack in ii jjit-at cniv*' !<» liu' wcHt. NOtlnnji, I tliiiiix, 
 
 m nioif lorfiidy sliow liic cnoiiiioiis picssiirc lo wiiicii tiio fili;i ^ 
 of llu' conlincnls liavc ix'cn cxposi'd, and at. tlii> same tiinr tin' 
 ffrt-al sin!\in;i "' 'li'" ocfan-licds. ('oni|ilcx and dillicidt to ealiu- 
 iatt' tlKiii'^li tlii'si' inoxfiiniils of |ili(ation arc, tlit'V arc niorr 
 inlclli;j;iiilc tliaii tlu; a|iparcntl\ rc;iid:ir pulsations of (lie Hal conti- 
 nental areas, whcrehy tliev lia\c altcrnatciv been lielow and alio\i' 
 tlic waters, and wliiili nnrsl have depended on sonivwhal regidarlv 
 recnrriii^f causes, conni cled citlier willi the secular cooliuLt of tin 
 earth or \.'\\] the ^r.-idual retardation of its lotation or with lioth. 
 Thronfihout these chanixes, each sui'ccssixc elexatioii exposed Ihc 
 rocks for lon<i ae;es to the decomposing; irdinence of the atmos- 
 phere. Kach sidimcr^ence swept away and di'positi'd as sedimenl 
 the material accumnlated \<y decay. Kvery chaiijfe of elevation was 
 accoini)anied with changes of clinnili'. and with niodillealions of 
 the liahilats of animals and plants. Were it, possihle to restore 
 accurately the physicid <;c(jj;raphy of the I'arth in all these re- 
 spoels. for each ij;e()logi<'al jMM'iod, the data lor the .solution of 
 many dillictdt (juestions would he furnished. 
 
 It is an uidbrtunate circumstance that conclusions in jicol- 
 <)<ry arrived at by the most careful oliservation and iu'luctiou do 
 not remain uiiilisturlied. Imt re(|uire constant vij;ilance lo prevent 
 them from lieinjj; o\(,'rthrowii. Sometimes, of coui'se, this arises 
 from new discoveries throwing; new lijiht on old facts ; liut when 
 this occurs it nuely works the complete sul)vt>r.sion of previously 
 received views. The more usual case is that some over zealous 
 specialist suddenly discovers what seems to him to overturn all [)re- 
 vious JK'liefs, ami rusli(>s into piinl with a new and plansilile tluMji'y 
 which at once caiiies with him a IkjsI of half informed people, 
 hut the insullicicMcy of which is speedily made manifest. 
 
 Had I written this address a few years aj>o, I mii;lit have re- 
 ferred to the mode of formation of coal as one of the thin<;s most 
 surely settled ami understood. The labors of many eminent gool- 
 o<:;ists, miiToscopists and chemists in the old and the new worlds 
 had shown thai coal nearly always rests u[)on old soil surfaces pen- 
 etrated with roots, and that coal-beds liave in their roofs erect trees, 
 the remains of the last forests that grew upon them. Logan and I 
 
 have il 
 ■net <s 
 
 thoNVU 
 
 (Icposit 
 that tl 
 whose 
 ill ihe 
 iUlijei 
 iliat i 
 bUnmi 
 water 
 of ep 
 caili'>H 
 bence. 
 that 11 
 the co; 
 of llial 
 manx 
 and A 
 snlijec 
 slices 
 cnmsti 
 of tlu 
 of the 
 ulely 
 being 
 of mil 
 theor; 
 to dc! 
 this \ 
 and f 
 \vonl( 
 later 
 emin 
 in o\ 
 my I' 
 be V 
 revii 
 had 
 
f 
 
 I'llKslhKNT IIAWSON. 
 
 SI 
 
 l'\- 
 
 N, Wllicll |i;|. 
 
 ' urciit Ink. s, 
 
 ■II.vIiUkI lltiM 
 
 'IIILI, I tllillli, 
 
 ' ll lilt" (•(!<;.< 
 
 i"f liinc t|,|. 
 nil i(, c-alcii- 
 
 IH' IIIOIC 
 III' (lilt colli |. 
 
 »v and alioM' 
 
 I'll iffiuliuly 
 
 '>liiiii- ()(■ till. 
 
 'I' with liotli. 
 
 <'\|)().SC(| III,. 
 
 '" I lie iitiiios- 
 •■I"* wcijimcnt, 
 ■ •'vatioii was 
 ili<'ati()ii.s of 
 '' lo rcslon; 
 11 tliesc r,.. 
 Solution of 
 
 )1IS in jrof)!- 
 
 "Iiictioii ll,, 
 to prt'vcnt 
 
 1 lliis arises 
 
 i ''111 wlicii 
 incvioiisly 
 
 t'r zoaloiis 
 
 "111 allpic- 
 
 ililc tiicory 
 
 ii'tl jioopjo, 
 
 t liavo IT- 
 iiiij,'s most 
 "out geol- 
 ■w worlds 
 
 (iU'fS jXMI- 
 
 I'cc'tlrcrs, 
 ,'aii and I 
 
 hftvc iiliiHtrMtcil tliin in tin- cuxf <»f llic wiics of moio tlinn sixty 
 •IU'<'CHsi\(> coui lit'ds i'\|ioH<'d lit tilt' Soiilli •lo^uiiiN, iiinl liiiM) 
 ibowii iiii('i|iiivo('al cN idfiicc of land snrliiccs at tin- tiiiH> of llio 
 dc|>ositinii of llic coal. Microscopical cxaniiiiatioii has piuvcd 
 tbal llicsc coals arc conipoM'd ol' llic niatcilMls of the same trees 
 whose roots arc loiind in the iiiidei'cla\ s. and their stene^ and lea\ es 
 III the roof Nlialcs ; tliat much of the nialciial of the coal lias lieeii 
 •iiliieeted to siiliai'-i'ial decay at the time of it- miilation ; and 
 
 tliat in ihis, ordinary coal diircrs froin h! dc earthy 
 
 bitnmen and some kinds of caniicl, which has .01.. d iimU'i' 
 
 Water; that the mailer reinaininj^ as coal coiisisi s almost enliiely 
 of epidermal tissues, which lieinjj; siilicrose in character arc hi^ddy 
 Ciuliomiei'ons, very diiraMe and iniperniealile liy water,' and are, 
 liciice, the best littt-il for the production of pure coal . and linally 
 that the vp^otatioii and the cliinalal iind jieojiniphical fealnies of 
 tlie coal period were eminently lilted In produce in the vast swamps 
 of thai period, pre<'isely the ell'ecis oliserv ed. All these points and 
 many others ha\e been tlioroniihly workeil oiil I'or holh iMiropean 
 tiid Amorican coal-lields, and Hceined to lea\'c no doiilit on tliu 
 Bnlijeet. lint several years a<fo certain microscopists oliserxt'd on 
 ■liees of coal layers tilled with spore-cases, a not nniisnal cir- 
 Ounistance, since these were shed in wast alMiiidance liy the trees 
 of the coal forests, and lieeaiise they contain snlierose matter 
 of the same cliaracler with epidermal tissues Ltener.ally. Immeili- 
 utely we were informed that all coal consists of spore>i, and this 
 bein<; at once accepted hy the iinthinkinj,', the results of the labors 
 of many years are thrown aside in faxor of this crude and partial 
 theory. A little later, a (Jcrinan mici()sco|)ist has thoii^hl proper 
 to descrilie coal as made up of miimle alua-. and tries to reconeilu 
 this \iew with Ihe appearances, dexisiii!:; at the same time a new 
 and Ibnnidalile nomeiiclaliirc tjf ;ieneric and specilic names, which 
 would seem larjfoly to re[)reseiit mere fiauiiients of tissues. .Still 
 later, some local facts in a French coal-tield have induced an 
 eminent l)otanist of that country to revive the drift theory <jf coid, 
 in opposition to that <jf jirowth in i<llii. A year or two ;\ii{), when 
 in\' friend Professor Williamson of MaiK'hester, informed im." that 
 lie was prepaiin<4 a lariie series of slices of co.al with the view of 
 revising tlie whole subject, I was inclined to say that after wli.at 
 had been done by Lyell, (ioi'piiert, Logan, Hunt, Newberry and 
 
 ' AiMili:iii Oi'ujiijrj , 111 ill I cilltloii. sii|i|il.-iiii.'iil,|i, ros. 
 
 "W^ 
 
 w. 
 
 P ' l I l» M l 
 
 '•^'m 
 
 ^' 
 
22 
 
 ADDUKSS BY 
 
 I 
 
 myst'lf, tliis was scarcely neccssaiy ; l)iit in view of wliat I liavr 
 just, stiitcil, it uKiy lit' tiiat all lu' can do will he required to reseiu' 
 from total ruin llie resnlt.s of our labors. 
 
 An illustration of a ditl'erent eliaraeter is atl'ordeil liy the eonlju- 
 versy now ranini; with respect to the so-called I'ucoids of tlu' 
 ancient rocUs. At one time the <rronp of fueoids or aly;!v eo.nsti- 
 tntt'd a iit'ucral place of retujic foi' all sorts of nnintelliiiilile forni> 
 and niarUinus ; jj;raptolitcs. worm-trails, crustacean tiacks, shrink- 
 a;^('-cracUs. and aliove all rill-niarkin^s forming a hcti-roueneous 
 jiroup of fiicoidal remains (listin<j;uislu'd hy generic and speeilie 
 names. To these weie also added some true land plants, liadly 
 preserved or exhiiiiting structures not well understood liy hoL-,- 
 iMsls. Such a group was sure to lie eventually diMueudiercd. 
 'I'lie writer has himself doni' souu'thing towaid this."^ hut Pro- 
 fessor Nathorst has done still iiK)re.'' and now S(jiue intclligililc 
 explanation can lie gixcn of many of these forms. (.||uite retteutly, 
 liowe\er the Count de Saporta, in an ehiliorate illustrated memoir'" 
 has conu' to the dcferce of the I'ucoids. more especially against 'he 
 deslruclivf experiments of Nathorst, and would c rry hack into 
 the \egelaMe kingdom many things which would seem to he 
 nieic trails of animals. AVhile writing this address, I have re- 
 ceived from I'lofessor C'rie of Heniies, a pa|)er in which he not 
 oidy supports the algal uatui'e of JiH.sirJinitcs, Arthrirlniites and 
 many other supposed fueoids, lint elaii for the vegetable king- 
 dom even Jiircptaoilitcn and .Irrlia dO/al/iKs. It is not to be 
 ileuied that some ol' the facts which he cites respecting the 
 struetuic of the S/j,liiiiii<r and of certain modern encrusting .l/j/c 
 are \ efv sngge>ti\i'. thoueji 1 e.'iuuot agree with his conclusions. 
 M\ own experience has convinced nie that, while non-botanical 
 geohigists are [irone to uustake all kinds of markings for plants, 
 even good iiotanists. when not familiar with the chemical ami 
 mechanical conditions of fossilization, and with the present phe- 
 inimena of tidal shores, are (piite as easily misled, though they 
 aie very prone on the other hand to regard land plants of some 
 complexity, wlieu liadly preservi'd, as nu-re alga'. In these cir- 
 cumstances it is very dillicult to secui'e any consensus, and the 
 truth is only to be found by careful observation of eomiietent men. 
 
 ■ l''iMil|iiin(< .'Hill nn|iie8>iims mi ( ,-irli<iiiiron>u.- lioi ks. Am. .loiir. ul Science, IS?:!. 
 " Itiiyal S\vimIi«Ii AiMilciiiy. Sliirkhi^lin, l>sl. 
 '".\|iiii|ios (lr> Al^;^l^'^ riiMsilL'.-*. I'jiiis. I>s;i. 
 
 
rUESIDENT DAWSON. 
 
 2S 
 
 I' "liat I liave 
 ii'<'(l fo rcseiii' 
 
 'V I he conticj. 
 coids of the 
 algii' coj'isti- 
 iigililc CoriiiN 
 ;icl<s, sliiiiik- 
 cli'ioirenooiih 
 ••iml spt'cilic 
 il.-lllls, I.adly 
 "><l ''.V Ikh;,- 
 iMiU'inheivd, 
 «.'' Iiiil l»Io- 
 f iiitcllioji,],, 
 
 "It' ivcciillv, 
 te'l nieiiioiii" 
 y !iiiain.stt|n; 
 I'.v hack into 
 soeiii to h(. 
 . I liavo ic- 
 iiicli lie not 
 •'ic/niiWs and 
 L'tablc lvin,<;- 
 i not to lj(. 
 peeling tlio 
 iistinj; Jl(j(r 
 •oncliisions. 
 'ii-liotanieal 
 lor plants, 
 einical and 
 resont j)lie- 
 lonjih thev 
 l'^ of sonic 
 llii'sc cir- 
 «, and tlif 
 )o tent men, 
 
 I'li'iicc, iS7;i, 
 
 One ti'oul)le is that tlicse usually obscure markings have been de- 
 ■pisod by the greater number of paliuontologists, and probably 
 would not now tie so much in controversy were it not for the use 
 made of tlu'in in illustrating supposed pliylogenies of plants. 
 
 Jl would be wrong to ciost> this address without some reference 
 to that which is the \eritable pons aninoru'Di of the science, the 
 great and much debated glacial period. I trust that you will not 
 8up[)i)se that in llie end of an hour's address, I am about to dis- 
 cuss this vexed (piestion. Time would fail me even to name the 
 hosts of recent authors who have contended in tiiis arena. I can 
 hope onlv to point out a few landmarks which nuiy aid tiie geo- 
 logical adventiucr in traversing the sii[)pery .'iiid treacherous sur- 
 face of the hypothetical ice-sheet of pleistocene times, and in 
 avoiding the yawning crevasses 1)V which it is traversed. 
 
 No conclusions of geology seem more certain tiian that great 
 changes of climat(! iia\e occurred in the coiu'se of geological time, 
 and the evidence of this in that comparatixcly modern period 
 which initnediately pret'cded the human age is so striking that it 
 has come to be known as [)reeminently the ice age; while in the 
 preceding tertiary period'>, tem[)erate conditions seem to have [)rc- 
 vailed e\'en to tiie pole. Of the many theories as to these changes 
 which have been proposed, two seem at present to divide the suf- 
 frages of gi'oloiiisis, either aloiu' or coniliined with each otiier. 
 Tliese are (l)lhe theory of the precession of the eqnino^-es in con- 
 nection with the vaiying eccentricity of the earth's ori)it, advo- 
 cated more especially l)v C'roU ; and (2) the dillorent ilistribntion 
 of land and water as affecting llie reception and radiation of heat 
 and the ocean currents, ;v theory alily propounded by F-yell. and 
 8ul)se((nenliy extcnsix t'l\ aiiopted either ahme or with the previous 
 one. One of thes(> views may be called the astinnoniical. the 
 other the geograplii<'al. I confess that I am ineline(l to .-iccept 
 the second or Lyellian thi'ory foi such reasons as the following : 
 
 (1) (ireat elevations and depressions of land Inive oc'curred in and 
 since the I'leistoccne, while the alleged astronomical changes ,nre not 
 certain, more especially in regard tot heir pro! lable elfcct on the earth ; 
 
 (2) When the rival theories are tested by the present phenomena 
 ol the southern polar region and the North Atlaniie, there seem 
 to 1)0 geogrtiphical causes adeqmite to account for all except ex- 
 treme and nii|)roved glacial conditions ; (3) Tlie astronomical 
 cause would sni)posc regularly recurring glacial periods of which 
 
 '.yu.'i. 
 
 m 
 
AODUKSS BY 
 
 there is no evidcnco, ami it would <^ive to the latest glaeial age ;u 
 nnti(|iiitj' wliioh seems at variance with all otiier facts ; (4) Ir 
 those more northern regions whore <.>:lacial plicnoniena are mos' 
 proiioiinced, tiie thcorj' of lioalin'/ sheets of ice, with h)cal glacier- 
 (U'sccntiing to the sea, seems to meet all tlie conditions of lli. 
 case, and these would he ohtained, in tlu; North Atlantic at least 
 by very moderate changes oi level, causing, for exan)i)le, the ei|ii;i 
 torial current to How into tlie I'acitic. instead of running north 
 ward as a gulf stream ; (o) The geographical theory allows th' 
 supiiositiori not merely of vicissitudes of clinnite quickly follow' 
 ing each oilier in unison with the movements of the surface, Im 
 allows also of that near local ttpproximation of regions wholly 
 covered with ice and snow and others comi)aratively teuiperat( 
 which we see at pn'sent in the north. 
 
 If, however, we are to adojjt the geographical theory, we nnis; 
 avoid extreme views, and tiiis leads to the iniiuiry as to the evi- 
 dence to be fouml for any such universal ' extreme glaciation a^ 
 is demanded liy some geologis, . 
 
 The only huge continental area, in the northern homisplicrc sup- 
 posed to he entirely ice- and snow-clad is (Jreenland, and this sn 
 far as it goes is cortaiidy a l<;cal case, for the ice and sncjw nt 
 (ireenland exteml to the .south as far as (!()° N. latitude, while 
 liotli in N'cjrway and in the interior of Xortli America the climate 
 in that latitude permits iju' growth of ceicals. Further, (Jriniicl 
 Land, which is separated from North (ireenland only by a narrow 
 sound, has a couiparatively mild clinnite. and as -N'ares has shown 
 is covered with verdure in summer. Still furthei, NordensUiold. 
 one of the most experienced ai'ctic explorers, holds that it is prob- 
 able that the interior of (ireenland is itself verdant in summer, 
 and is at this monu'iit prei)aring to attempt to reach this iiiterioi 
 oasis. Nor is it didieult with the aid of the facts cited iiy 
 Wo'ickolf and Whitney." to peiceivc the cansi' of the I'xceptional 
 condition of (ireeidand. 'I'o give ice ami snow in large (|Uaiili- 
 ties. two conditions are reijuired : lirst, atmospheric hunudity, and. 
 secondly, cold precipitating regions. Both of these condition^ 
 meot in (ireenland. Its high coast ranges receive and conden>i' 
 the humidity from the sea on both sides of it and to the soulli. 
 Hence the vast accunndatioii ol' its coast snow-tields, ami the in- 
 tense discharge of the gUiciers emptying out of its valleys. 
 
 " .Meiuiiii- 1111 (iliu'ioi- . (.it'ol. Sof'y, ni-rliii, Is.sl, ( liiiiiilicClniiiges, HustDii, l8S:i. 
 
-V 
 
 I 
 
 !a(!ial age ai 
 
 (•lets; (4) I, 
 
 'iia :uv. iiios' 
 
 local glac'i.i-. 
 
 lilions of til, 
 
 iiitic at, Icjist 
 
 l>lt'. tllO ('(|l|;|. 
 
 "iiiiiiij,' iioilli. 
 r.v allows tli. 
 wk'ly Col low' 
 ••^iiirafo, I Ml 
 jions wliollv 
 
 ly UMl)|)t'|;tt. 
 
 oiy, we iiiii.s; 
 "^ to the evi- 
 iilaciatioii n- 
 
 li^plicro siiii. 
 I iiiul this so 
 •'iikI snow oi 
 
 'i'liiie, while 
 •'I the ciiinali 
 t-lior, Grill 11(1 
 
 li.v a iiiiri'oH 
 '« lias shown 
 oideiiskiold. 
 It it is jiroii- 
 
 in siiiniiu'i. 
 
 his intt'fior 
 ts cited liy 
 t'.Vfc|)tioii;il . 
 ^ijj:*. <HiMiiti- 
 "lidity.aii'l. 
 
 <'on(lilioiis 
 
 1 COIkIcii-c 
 
 tlie south. 
 
 lilll 1||(. lil- 
 ts valleys. 
 
 >li>ii, 18S:i. 
 
 PtlESinKNT DAWSON. 
 
 25 
 
 When extreme elaeialists point to Greenland iiiid ask ns to believe 
 that in the ylaeial age tiie whole continent of North America as 
 far south as the latitude of 40° was covered witli a continental 
 glacier, in some places several thousands of feet thick, we may 
 well ask first what evidence theie is that (Jreenland or even the 
 Antarctic continent at pi'csent shows such a condition ; and, sec- 
 ondly, whether there exists a possibility that the interior of a great 
 continent conld ever receive so large an amount of precipitation 
 as that reipiired. So far as jiresent knowledge exists, it is cer- 
 tain that the meteorologist and the physicist must answer both 
 questions in the negative. In short, perpetual snow and glaciers 
 must be local and cannot lie continental, becaus(! of th(> vast 
 amount of evaporation and contlensation retjuired. Tiiese can 
 only be possible where comparatively warm seas suppl}- moisture 
 to cold and elevated land, and this supply cannot in the nature of 
 tilings penetrate far inland. The actual condition of interior Asia 
 and interior America in the higher northern latitudes allords posi- 
 tive proof of this. In a state of i)artial submergence of our north- 
 ern continents, we can readily imagine glaciati<jn by the combined 
 action of local glaciers and great ice-Hoes, hut in whatever way the 
 phenomena of the boulder day and of the so-called terminal mo- 
 raines arc to be accounted for. the thec^ry of a continuous conli- 
 iiental glacier must lie given up. 
 
 I cannot better indicate the general bearing of facts, as thej' 
 present themselves to my mind in connection with this subject, 
 than by referring to a paper by Dr. (i. M. Dawson <ju the distribu- 
 tion of drift over the great Canadian i)lains, east of the Rocky 
 mountains.'- I am the more inclined to refer to this, because of 
 its recency, and because I have so often repeated similar conclu- 
 eions as to eastern Canada and the region <jf th(> Great Lakes. 
 
 The great interior phiin of western Canada, between the Lau- 
 rentian axis on the east and the Uocky mountains on the west, 
 is seven hundred miles in breadth, and is covered with glacial drift 
 presenting one of the greatest exiimples of this deposit in the 
 world. Proceeding eastward from the base of the Hocky moun- 
 tains, tlui surface, at lirst more tlian 1.0(10 feet (iliove the sea 
 level, descends by successive steps \o 2..")00 lect. ami is based on 
 Cretaceous and Laramie rocks, coveretl by boulder clay and sand, 
 in some places from one hundred to two hundred feet in depth, 
 
 '■J Science, .Uily I, IS-Si. 
 
 '/'U^l ' -^-^ 
 
26 
 
 AUDRE9S BV 
 
 !ii!(l lillinj,^ lip prei'-xisting liollows, tlioiigh itself sometimes piled 
 into ridges. Near tlie Uoeky iiiountiiins the bottom of the drift 
 consists of irrnvcl not glaciated. Tiiis extends to ai)OUt one linn- 
 dred miles east of the mountains, and in\isl iiuvt! been swept by 
 water out of their valleys. The boulder elay resting on this de- 
 posit iH largely made up of local debris, in so far as its paste is 
 concerned. It contains many glaciated boulders and stones from 
 the l.aurentian region to the * ast, and also smaller pebbles from 
 the Kocky mountains, so that at, the time of its fornuition there 
 must have been driftage of hiig<' stones for seven h\indred nules 
 or more from the east, and of snudler stones from a less distance 
 on the west. The former kind of material extends to the base 
 of the mountains, ami to !i height of more than 4,000 feet. One 
 boidder is mentioned as being 12 X 10 X '' feet in dimensions. 
 'l"he iiiglicst Laincnti.'in iioulders seen wi're at an elev;ition of 4,<1C0 
 feel on the base of the Kocky mountains. The boulder clay wlien 
 thick can be seen to be rudely stratified, and at one place in- 
 cludes beds of laminated clay with compressed jH'at, similar to 
 the forest beds descriiied by Wttrtlien and Andrews in Illinois, 
 and the so-calleil interghicial bctls described by Hinde on Lake 
 Ontario. The leaf i)eds on the Ottawa river and the drift trunks 
 found in liie boiddcr clay ul Manitoba belong to the same cate- 
 gory, and indicate that throughout the glacial period there were 
 many forest oases fai' to the noitli. In the valleys of the Kocky 
 nutuntains opening on these plains there are evidences of large 
 local glaciers now extinct, auti similar evidences exist on the 
 Lanrentian highlands on the east. 
 
 I'erhaps the most rem.-irkalile feature of the region is that im- 
 
 m 
 
 ense series of ridges of drift piled 
 
 ainst an escarpujcnt of 
 Laramie ami Cietaecous rocks. ;il an elevation of aliout '2J)i)0 
 feet, and known as the " iMissonri Cote.'ui." It is in some places 
 ,">() miles broad and li^O feet in height above the plain at its foot, 
 and extends north anil south for a great distance; being in fact 
 the northern extension of those great ridges of drift which have 
 bei'u traceil south of the great lakes, and through Pennsylvania 
 and iS'ew .leisey. and which ligure on the geological maps as the 
 edge of the eontini'iilal j^lacier, — an explanation obviously inap- 
 plicable in those western regions where they attain their greatest 
 development. It is plain that in the north it marks lln; western 
 limit of the deep Water of a glacial sea. width at some periods 
 
 ) 
 
mm 
 
 ^ 
 
 rUKSIDKNT DAWSON. 
 
 27 
 
 
 oxtondod iiuicli fartlior west, perliai)s witli a firoator proportionate 
 (loi)ro3sioii in {j;oin<^ westward, and on which heavy ice from tiio 
 Lanreiitian districts on tlio cast was wal'tcil soutiiwcstward liy 
 tiic arctic, cnrrcnits, wliilo iifiiiter ice Ironi tlie liocky Mountains 
 was being borne eastward From tiiese mountains by tiic prevail- 
 int^ westerly winds. We tinis liave in the west on a very wide 
 scale the same phenomena of varyinj^; siibmerjience, cold cur- 
 rents, <rreat ice floes and local j^laciers producing icelicrgs, to 
 which I have attributed the boulder clay :'.nd u|)per boulder tlriCt 
 ofeastern Canada. 
 
 A few sntisidiary points I may be pardoned for meuti(niing here. 
 Tlu! rival tin^ories of the glacial period arc often characterized 
 as those of land glaciation ami sea-borne icebergs. Jbit it nuist 
 be reuiem!>ere(l that those who r(!J(H;t the idea of a continental 
 glacier hold to the existence of hjcal giaciei's on the high lands, 
 more or less extensive during dilfereiit porlious of the great I'leis- 
 tocene sul)mergence. They ais j l)elieve in the extension of these 
 glaciers seawards, and |)artly water-borne iu the manner so well 
 explained by iMattieu Williams, in the existence of those vast 
 Hoes and fields of current- and tide-borne ico whose [lowers of 
 ti'ansport and erosion we now Icuow to be so great, and in a gn-at 
 sut)nu^rgeuce and rei'levatiou of the land bringing all parts of it 
 and all elevations up to i5,0UO feet successively under the intliieuce 
 of these various agencies, along with those of the ocean currents. 
 They also hold that at the beginning of the glacial suijuiergence, 
 the land was deeply covered by decoujposed rock, similar to that 
 which still exists on the hills of the southern states, and which as 
 Dr. Hunt has shown would atford not only etuthy deljris but huge 
 (piantities of boulders ready for transportation by ice. 
 
 I would also remark that there has been the greatest [)ossible 
 exaggeration as to the erosive action of laud ice. In 1S()0, 
 after a visit to the Alpine glaciers, I maintaine(l that in these 
 mountains glaciers are relatively piotective rather than erosive 
 agencies, and that the detritus which the glacier streams deliver 
 is derived mostly from the atmospherically wasted peaks and 
 cliffs that pioject al)ove them. Since that time many other olt- 
 servers have nniintained like views, ami very recently Mr. Davis 
 of Cambridge and Mr. A. Irving have ably treated this sui)Ject.''' 
 
 "I'rocijLMliiij!' ISii-sldii Sue. Nal. Hi>i., XXII. .lourn.il of (icnliiitii'.'il s,ici,;ty. Ki'lirii- 
 .nry, IstiJ. 
 
 "*?|<%:*^1 
 
 aitiS 
 
 iiJiS*^'*^ 
 
 msm 
 
 ^L:_jiiv£t:'^''^ 
 
28 
 
 A DDK ESS Br 
 
 Siiiootlilnf!; mill striatioii ol" rocks arc iindoiihtciily important effects 
 liolh (»r laml-jilacicrs aii<l licavy .sca-h(ii-nc ice, ))iit tlic i«;v('ilin<i; 
 Mill! lilling aj^ciicy of liicsc is niiicli gicatcr tlian tlic erosive. As 
 a tiiallcrof tact, as NeuhenT, limit, Hclt, Spencer and ollicrs liavo 
 siiowii, llie glacial a;ie lias liamnieil np vast niuiiliers ofold olianiiels 
 wliicli it lias liecii left for modern streams paitiaily to excavate. 
 
 The till or hoiildcr clay lias liceii called a "ground moraine," 
 Imt there arc really no Alpine moraines at all corres[)ondiiig to it. 
 On the oilier hand, it is more or less stratilied. often rests on soft 
 niaterials which glaciers wonhl have swept awa)-, sometimes coii- 
 lains marine shells, or passes into marine clays in its horizontal 
 extension, and iiivai'ialily in its embedded lionldcrs and its paste, 
 shows an iinoxidizeil conililion, which could not have existed if it 
 had hccii a snliaeiial deposit. When the Canadian till is excavated 
 and ex[)osed to the air, it assumes a brown color, owing to oxida- 
 tion of its iron, and main' of its stones and lionldcrs break np 
 and disintegrate nnder the .nctioii of air and frost. These are 
 nneciiiivocal signs of a siibMi|iieoiis ileposit. Here and there we 
 find associated with it. and espci'ially near tlie bottom and at the 
 top, indications of p(jwerfnl water action, as if of land torrents 
 acting at particniar elevations of the land, or heavy snrf and ice 
 action tni coasts, and the attempts to ex[)lain these by glacial 
 streams have been far from snccessfiil. A singular objection 
 sometimes raised against the siiliacpieous origin of the till is its 
 general want of maiine remain:* : bnt this is by no means universal, 
 and it is well known that coarse conglomerates of all ages ai'c 
 generally destitute of fossils, except in their pebbh's, and it is 
 further to be observed that the conditions of an ice-laden sea are 
 not those most favorable for the extension of marine life, and that 
 the period of time cf)vered by the glacial age must, have been short 
 compared with that represented by some of the older formations. 
 This last consideration suggests a question which might alford 
 scoi)e for another aihh'css of an hour's duration, — the (piestion how 
 long time has elapsed since the close of the glacial period. Ile- 
 ceiitly tlieo|)inioii has been gaining ground that the close of the 
 ic(!-age is very recent. Such reasons as the following lead to this 
 conclusion. The amount of atmospheric decay of locks and of 
 denudation in general which have occurred since the close of the 
 glacial period are scarcely apiircciablc. Little erosion of river 
 valleys or of coast terraces has occurreil. The calculated reces- 
 
 *> 
 
 C* 
 
rUESMlKNT KAWSON. 
 
 29 
 
 sion of waloi'f;ills and of produflion of lake lidf^cs load to tlie 
 sanu- foncliisioii. So do tlie rcci'iit state of lioncs and slu-lls in 
 tlu! IMcistocone deposits and tiic pcrfoctly niodi'in facios of llieir 
 fossils. On sncii evidcMict; liic ci'ssation of llic <;la('ial cold and 
 sci.'i'incnt of our continents at tlicir invscnt levels are events 
 wlii li may liavo occurred not more than (JOOO or 7U(»() years aj4(), 
 tlio ifili such time estimates are proveritially uncertain in geology. 
 Tliis sultject also carries with it tlie greal(!st of all geological 
 problems, next to that of the origin of life, n.'iniely, the origin and 
 early history of man. Such (piestions cannot he disi'usse<l in the 
 closing sentences of an hour's address. I shall only draw from them 
 one practical inference. Since the compjiiatively short Post- 
 glacial ami recent periods apparently include the whole of human 
 history, we are hut new comers on the earth and therefore have 
 had little opportunity to solve the great problems which it presents 
 to us. Hut this is luA all. (Jeology as a science scarcely dales 
 from a i-eiitniy ago. We have reason for surprise in these cir- 
 cumstances, that it has learned so much, but for equal surprise 
 that so many persons appear to think it a comi)lete .and full-grown 
 science and that it is entitled to speak with conlideuee on all the 
 great mysteries of the e.-irth that have been hidcU'u from the gener- 
 iitions before us. Such being the newness of man and of his 
 science of the earth, it is not too nmch to say that humility, hard 
 work in collecting facts, and abstinence from hasty generalization 
 should characterize geologists, at least for a few generations to 
 come. 
 
 In conclusion, science is light, and light is good ; but it must 
 be carrietl high, else it will fail to enlighten the world. Let ns 
 strive to raise it high enough to shine over every obstruction 
 which casts any shadow on the true interests of humanity. Above 
 all, let us hold up the light and not stand in it ourselves.