﻿174 
  JOURNAI. 
  OF 
  THE 
  WASHINGTON 
  ACADEMY 
  OF 
  SCIENCES 
  VOL. 
  12, 
  NO. 
  7 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  Western 
  Alps 
  we 
  find 
  that 
  the 
  formation 
  of 
  the 
  geosyncHnes 
  

   and 
  geanticlines 
  was 
  accentuated 
  in 
  the 
  Lower 
  Jura 
  ; 
  in 
  Middle 
  Jurassic 
  

   time 
  these 
  folds 
  disappear 
  below 
  sea 
  level 
  ; 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  Upper 
  Jura 
  there 
  

   followed 
  a 
  further 
  moderate 
  submergence. 
  In 
  Cretaceous 
  time, 
  strong 
  

   horizontal 
  movements 
  began 
  and 
  reached 
  their 
  maximum 
  in 
  the 
  Ter- 
  

   tiary 
  period. 
  As 
  the 
  overthrust 
  sheets 
  moved 
  at 
  greater 
  depth, 
  the 
  

   sea-basins 
  became 
  narrower 
  and 
  the 
  masses 
  of 
  the 
  geanticlines 
  were 
  

   pushed 
  forward 
  in 
  a 
  nearly 
  horizontal 
  direction. 
  

  

  Oscillations, 
  such 
  as 
  these 
  in 
  the 
  Alps 
  during 
  the 
  Mesozoic 
  period 
  

   are 
  also 
  known 
  to 
  characterize 
  the 
  younger 
  movements 
  in 
  the 
  East 
  

   Indian 
  Archipelago, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  possible 
  that 
  the 
  region 
  adjoining 
  the 
  

   present 
  Australian 
  continent 
  will 
  in 
  the 
  future 
  reach 
  the 
  same 
  stage 
  

   as 
  that 
  reached 
  long 
  ago 
  in 
  the 
  Alps. 
  Horizontal 
  movements 
  of 
  the 
  

   curving 
  rows 
  of 
  islands 
  are 
  proved 
  by 
  several 
  features 
  now 
  observable 
  

   on 
  those 
  islands 
  and 
  as 
  these 
  movements 
  proceed 
  the 
  sea-basins 
  will 
  

   be 
  narrowed 
  and 
  eventually 
  the 
  masses 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  geanticlines 
  may 
  

   be 
  pushed 
  over 
  the 
  Sahul 
  shelf 
  of 
  the 
  Australian 
  continent. 
  Viewed 
  

   thus 
  the 
  Archipelago 
  may 
  be 
  conceived 
  as 
  representing 
  an 
  embryonic 
  

   stage 
  of 
  an 
  Alpine 
  mountain 
  range. 
  In 
  zoology 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  results 
  

   obtained 
  through 
  a 
  study 
  of 
  comparative 
  anatomy 
  were 
  later 
  confirmed 
  

   by 
  the 
  results 
  derived 
  from 
  studies 
  of 
  embryology. 
  The 
  development 
  

   of 
  geology, 
  however, 
  naturally 
  followed 
  lines 
  other 
  than 
  those 
  of 
  zoology 
  

   because 
  the 
  embryonic 
  mountain 
  ranges 
  lay 
  outside 
  the 
  regions 
  studied 
  

   by 
  early 
  geologists, 
  but 
  it 
  was 
  possible 
  deductively 
  to 
  reach 
  conclusions 
  

   regarding 
  the 
  embryonic 
  conditions 
  of 
  a 
  mountain 
  range 
  by 
  studying 
  

   the 
  anatomy 
  of 
  a 
  mountain 
  range 
  and 
  by 
  applying 
  the 
  ontological 
  

   method, 
  a 
  method 
  which 
  much 
  more 
  than 
  the 
  comparative 
  one, 
  has 
  

   controlled 
  geological 
  work. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  the 
  embryonic 
  stages 
  of 
  different 
  mountain 
  

   ranges 
  bear 
  much 
  resemblance 
  to 
  each 
  other, 
  as 
  do 
  the 
  early 
  stages 
  

   of 
  animal 
  ontogeny. 
  Such 
  a 
  conception 
  leads 
  to 
  the 
  recognition 
  of 
  un- 
  

   expected 
  relationships 
  between 
  types, 
  which 
  because 
  of 
  mature 
  age 
  

   show 
  important 
  differences. 
  The 
  question 
  arises, 
  whether 
  persistent 
  

   embryonic 
  types 
  occur 
  among 
  the 
  mountain 
  ranges. 
  In 
  the 
  Timor 
  

   row 
  of 
  islands 
  deep 
  sea-basins 
  occurred 
  in 
  Triassic 
  time, 
  while 
  they 
  

   appear 
  in 
  the 
  embryonic 
  Alps 
  in 
  the 
  Upper 
  Jura. 
  It 
  is 
  possible 
  that 
  

   in 
  the 
  southeastern 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Malay 
  Archipelago 
  a 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  

   embryonic 
  stage 
  has 
  persisted 
  since 
  Mesozoic 
  times, 
  while 
  the 
  Alps 
  

   reached 
  the 
  mature 
  stage 
  in 
  Tertiary 
  time. 
  In 
  my 
  opinion 
  the 
  solution 
  

   of 
  many 
  tectonic 
  problems 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  by 
  a 
  careful 
  study 
  of 
  compara- 
  

  

  