2G6 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 



were derived. Thus in the delta of the Thames he 

 would find the bones and antlers of the deer, horse, 

 dog, and other domesticated animals, with the 

 leaves and branches of the elm, oak, ash and other 

 trees and plants of our Island, with human bones, 

 fragments of pottery and other works of art; 

 while in that of the Ganges or the Nile, the 

 remains of the animals and plants of India, or of 

 Egypt would be discovered.* 



To apply these data to the elucidation of the 

 present argument. Let us suppose that the river 

 has disappeared, that the sea also has left its place, 

 and that the delta has become dry land; that 

 towns and villages have been built upon the con- 

 solidated mud and sand, and that the surface of the 

 country is either covered with woods and forests, 

 or under cultivation. If in natural or artificial 

 sections of these deposits, the bones of men and 

 animals, with works of art, and the remains of 

 plants and river shells, should be found in the clays 

 or sands, such appearances would excite in us no 

 surprise, because we are acquainted with the pro- 

 cesses by which the strata were accumulated ; and 

 should an inhabitant of the new country express 

 his astonishment how fragile shells, and delicate 



Por .n more extended view of this subject sec Wonders of Geolopy. 

 vol. i. p. 12. 



