IV GENESIS VERSUS NATURE 145 



whether all insects are " creeping things " of the 

 land-population, or whether flying insects are to be 

 included under the denomination of "winged 

 fowl," is a point for the decision of Hebrew 

 exegetes. Lastly, I suppose I may assume that 

 " land-population " signifies " the cattle " and " the 

 beasts of the earth," and " every creeping thing 

 that creepeth upon the earth," in verses 25 and 26 ; 

 presumably it comprehends all kinds of terrestrial 

 animals, vertebrate and invertebrate, except such 

 as may be comprised, under the head of the " air- 

 population." 



Now what I want to make clear is this : that if 

 the terms "water-population," "air-population," 

 and "land-population " are understood in the senses 

 here defined, natural science has nothing to say in 

 favour of the proposition that they succeeded one 

 another in the order given by Mr. Gladstone ; but 

 that, on the contrary, all the evidence we possess 

 goes to prove that they did not. Whence it will 

 follow that, if Mr. Gladstone has interpreted 

 Genesis rightly (on which point I am most anxious 

 to be understood to offer no opinion), that inter- 

 pretation is wholly irreconcilable with the conclu- 

 sions at present accepted by the interpreters of 

 nature with everything that can be called "a 

 demonstrated conclusion and established fact " of 

 natural science. And be it observed that I am 

 not here dealing with a question of speculation, 

 but with a question of fact. 



99 



