130 THE MICROSCOPIST IN BERMUDA. 



They flourished in the ages before man was formed ; before 

 the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and the great whales 

 were created ; before the earth brought forth grass and the herb 

 yielding seed and the tree yielding fruit after his kind ; before 

 the waters were gathered together and the dry land appeared. 

 There is no day set apart for the creation of these lowly tribes. 

 Yet they had the seas all to themselves for a period longer than 

 four of the creative eras, and have had more to do with bringing 

 the land to the surface of the waters than any other agency. 

 They were the silent workers at the marbles and the limestones 

 while shoreless oceans covered all the earth. 



