14 (4KOL()(4K\\L NOTES. 



of the works of the Great Designer tlinii the niillicns of inferior 

 creatures who preceded us, and wlio now inhabit the Earth with 

 us, ever coukl. and to realize the greatness of His pbins to a 

 small extent, yet the fear of abusing our privileges, and the cer- 

 tainty of the infinite incompleteness of our knowledge, should 

 preserve in us a due-ssense of our position in time and space. 



While T do not know the geology of the Andes, the Sandwich 

 Islands and the West Indies, I believe that the general principle 

 will hold good, that the present active volcanoes are to be found 

 in Or near districts where the latei- birmations aie most largely 

 developed. 



Just before the advent of man, the Glacial period, oi ice age. 

 covered nearly the whole of the Northern [)art of both continents 

 with a layer of gravel, sand and chiy. The subsidence and ele- 

 vation of the land was general, and not ai)})arently confined to 

 particular areas, probaljly l)ecause the crust of the Earth ovei- 

 this part had become solidified. The deposit was general but 

 not deep, and the process was. for the most part, one of levelling, 

 which prepared the great plains of the West, with their rich deep 

 soil, and. in our more rugged land, rounded oft" and lowered the 

 hills and filled the valleys, foi-ming the best of our farm lands. 



As would follow from our general theory, the characters of 

 this formation being as T have just indicated, no volcanic action 

 so far as I know has resulted from the ice age. 



In North America, as in Europ3, '.he older formations are in 

 the North. The Southern IVIississipi)i valley and the South 

 Eastern States were al)out the last [larts of the continent to rise 

 from the sea. and it may be that volcanic ai tivity in the West 

 Indian Islands is connected with the liftin.g up of these lands, 

 the formation of coral islands, and the growth of still latei- 

 deposits, partly brought down by the Mississippi River, in the 

 Gulf. 



Passing to the subject of earthquakes, probably mucli could be 

 said, were T better acquainted with tlie subject, even on those 

 which have occurred in New Brunswick. 



The recorded shocks have been slight, l>ut their causes may be 

 as interesting and com]ilicated as of those which have occasion- 



