1825.] Climate of the Antediluvian World. 101 



circle, or rather as a zone, the plant degenerates in proportion 

 as it approaches the Hmits of this district. This kind of zone 

 seems to depend chiefly on the elevation above the sea, and 

 consequently on temperature. Some plants descend from the 

 mountains towards the plains, others creep upwards to a limited 

 height, and then disappear. But in the ancient world, any 

 difference which might be supposed to have existed in regard to 

 the elevation of those places which are called coal basins, did 

 not produce a variety in the plants of that age, which is another 

 proof that a cause of heat was then acting on the earth, which 

 did not resemble the action of the sun in our days. 



It has been remarked, that the fossil remains of the vegetable 

 world which jire found connected with the coal formation, are 

 all of them similar to plants requiring great heat and moisture, 

 and many facts in geology induce us to believe, that at those 

 early periods of our earth, there was less dry land than at 

 present. The primitive and transition mountains, together with 

 the carboniferous hmestone, appear to have been the only form- 

 ations which preceded the life of those plants which are found 

 connected with coal. The organic remains of the hmestone, on 

 which the coal reposes, show that it had long been under water, 

 and consequently demonstrate both the extent and elevation of 

 the waters at that period, and, therefore, the waters themselves 

 would uatarally serve as a vehicle for distributing the germs or 

 seeds of antediluvian plants over the greatest possible extent; 

 hence another cause of the similarity of the Flora of these early 

 times in every part of the world. If washed by currents, or 

 wafted by winds to distant shores, where they found a similar 

 climate, they would grow ; but at present the seed vessels of 

 South American plants, collected sometimes on the coast of 

 Norway, perish. It seems superfluous to multiply arguments to 

 prove this position, since every horticultuiist who rears exotic 

 plants, knows well from experience how much of his success 

 depends on <_:iving them the degree of bc'at they require. 



Except, therefore, we admit that vegetable life was under 

 totally different laws from what it is at present, we must allow 

 that a much greater uniformity of temperature existed in the 

 early ages of the world over the whole globe, than is the case in 

 our days. There is in fact no way of accounting for the very 

 little variety which exists in the antediluvian plants of the period 

 I am alluding to, and of their great similarity in every part of the 

 world, but on the principle of great extent and uniformity of a 

 high tempeiature, however difficult it may be to reconcile this to 

 our notions of the obliquity of the earth and solar influence. 



But there is a difference at present of at least 41° of heat 

 (mean temperature) between the parallels in which coal has been 

 discovered. Between these, the diversity in the genera and 

 species of plants at present is very great, so much so indeed that 



