— 39 - 



«is well worlhy of consideraüon and the history of coral reefs , may , in 

 ï «nother raanner elucidate such ciianges in the older formations. As there 

 »is every reason to believe tiiat the lamelliforni corals , grow only abun- 

 »dantly at a srnall deplh , we may fcel sure where a great thiclcness of 

 «coral limestone occurs , that tlie reefs on -which the zoophytes flourished, 

 »n3ust have been sinking. Uutil we are enabled to judge by some means, 

 »whal were the prevailing movements at different epochs , it will scarcely 

 «everbe possible to specuLite with any safety , on the circumstances , vinder 

 »which the complicated European formations, composeJ of such different 

 «malerials, and in such different states were accuiuulated." 



We have already shewn, that, admitting for the nonce, 

 Mr. Darwin's assertion, that the lamelliform corals only 

 can build up reefs to withiu the iiifluence of the action of 

 the billows of the sea , and can only live at depths of // say 

 tweuty fathoms" (which is as much as that inlluence extends 

 with power enough to break up, or displace mere accumulations 

 of the exuvia of shelly mollusks and corallines), it follows 

 that all of these, living at greater depths may lay, and very 

 probably have laid the foundations and iucreased the masses 

 upwards, until it had reached to the height at which those 

 efficiënt coral builders could go on with the work to comple- 

 tion. But, having himself subscribed to the opinion, M^hich is 

 held by many modern geologists, that the temperature of the 

 atmosphere , and consequently of the oceau , was much higher , 

 during a former era of ages, thau it is at present, that higher 

 temperature, doubtless enabled all corals, and shelly mollusks, 

 to live and grow at proportionally greater depths, and he 

 must therefore admit this consequence, as another argument 

 against the correctness of his theory. Moreover, there is a 

 strong probability, that all the masses of existing reefs, as well, 

 as of //the great thicknesses of coral limestone," were formed 

 during that era of high temperature, an era for assuming the 

 existence of which, we have still more sufficiënt authority 

 than that of Mr. Darwin, or any other geologist whomsoever 

 he be. 



XXVII. »Nor can I pass quite over the probability oftheabove Tiews 

 siilustrating those admirable laws , first brought forward by Mr. Lyell , of 

 »the geographical distribution of plants and animals , as consequent iipon 



