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of the universe ; to see the wondrous whole which science teaches us, particularly 

 that science which this short paper brinp;s before you ? Modern geologists 

 have been divided into three schools, viz. : catastrophists, uniformitarians, and 

 evolutionists. 



The first of these schools maintain that the forces which operated in the 

 past were much more energetic than at present, and that these forces, acting with 

 hundredfold intensity, caused great catastrophes or convulsions, far exceeding in 

 violence any witnessed during the historical period. 



The second school maintain that not only are the forces now operating suffi- 

 cient to account for everything that has been observed, but that they are sufficient, 

 even if they have never acted with greater intensity than now. That time and 

 time alone is required to render possible the production of all geological pheno- 

 mena, and that nature works uniformly ; and that her laws never suffer change, 

 never act with greater or less force ; that the whole machinery of the universe is 

 never accelerated and never retarded, but that all is working unchangingly and 

 yet progressively. The late Sir Charles LyeU was the great exponent of this 

 theory. 



The third school admits that the present intensity is quite sufficient to ac- 

 count for all we see ; but it is argued, may not these forces, acting continuously 

 for lengthened periods, produce a set of circumstances, or a state of things, which 

 will bring new forces into play, which will produce a new set of powers acting 

 differently, and perhaps producing similar results in less, or it may be, in greater 

 periods. 



Professor Huxley is at the head of this school. It is really wonderful the 

 numerous fossil remains of plants and animals that have been discovered in the 

 mere superficial scratchings of the earth's crust when compared with the entire 

 surface and cubical contents of the globe, which contains nearly 200 millions of 

 square miles and nearly 264,000 millions of cubical miles. 



