ON THE ORIGIN OF COAL. 181 



of Coal, and that, in all probability, they were 

 the opposite of what was taking place on other 

 parts of the earth's crust at that time. 



Direct evidence of the subsidence of land is 

 difficult to obtain, but Mr. Darwin, at p. 475, 

 of the second edition of his Journal, states, 

 " Nevertheless, at Keeling Atoll, I observed on 

 all sides of the lagoon of cocoa-nut trees, under- 

 mined and falling, and in one place the foundation 

 posts of a shed, which the inhabitants asserted 

 had stood, seven years before, just above high 

 water mark, but was now daily washed by every 

 tide. On enquiry, I found that three earthquakes, 

 one of them very severe, had been felt here 

 during the last ten years." In addition to the 

 mass of evidence previously known, as to the 

 subsidence of land, Mr. Darwin, at page 171, 

 observes, " Every thing in this southern continent 

 has been effected on a grand scale ; the land from 

 the Rio Plata to Tierra del Fuego, a distance of 

 twelve hundred miles, has been raised in a mass, 

 (and in Patagonia, to a height of between three 

 hundred and four hundred feet,) within the period 

 of the now existing sea shells. The old and wea- 

 thered shells, left on the surface of the upraised 

 plain, still partially retain their colours. The 



