DEVONIAN FOSSILS. 63 



superior races of creatures, or man had himself 

 appeared, the sun-light was as perfect as it now is, 

 the rays of light obeyed the same laws of refrac- 

 tion then as now, and perhaps we may add, when 

 this globe, which is comparatively a small portion 

 of the solar system was in its rudest condition, and 

 those alterations had not yet occurred on its sur- 

 face requisite to fit it to be the habitation of the 

 human race. The sun, the centre of the system 

 of which it is a part, had already attained a high 

 condition of perfection during an existence it 

 may be of myriads of years antecedent to the 

 time when the all-creating Power called this 

 planet into existence, sent it on its annual course 

 round the sun, and peopled it with its innumerable 

 living forms, and at last placed man upon it 

 endowed with the capacity of admiring the place of 

 his abode, and doing homage to that mighty Arti- 

 ficer whose wisdom and whose power it unfolds. 



II. The formation to which we are now to turn is 

 the Devonian, which is second in point of antiquity 

 to the Silurian, and is an assemblage of sandstones, 

 marls, conglomerates, beds of coralline marble and 

 laminated micaceous sandstones : this formation, 

 from the generally dull red colour communicated 

 to some of the strata belonging to it, has been 

 called the OldEed Sandstone. We have already seen 

 in our tour along the sea-shore that it is developed 

 in various parts of the coast, such as Devonshire 

 or Cornwall, Herefordshire, portions of Wales, and 

 various parts of the coast of Scotland. The organic 

 remains of this formation are extremely rich. They 



