F A R M E R S ' R E (; I S T E II , 



[No. 



"Such arc the grand nalnriU herbfiria, wherein 

 these most ancient remains of the vegetable king- 

 dom are prefer ved in a staie of integrity, Hitie 

 short ol" their Hvin;' perltictiun under circuaHlance? 

 ot" our planet which exist no more, Lindley and 

 Hution, stale, ^Fossil Flam,'' page 16, "ihat it is 

 the beds of^haie or argillaceous schislus which aC- 

 ford the most abundant su|)ply of these ancient rel- 

 ies of a former world ; the fine particles of whicii 

 they are composed having sealed up ami retained 

 in wonderful preservation and beauty the most 

 delicate Ibrms of ihe vegetable organic structure." 

 From these quotations, and many others that 

 micrht be brouiiht forward, our planet (irobal)ly 



I will now conclude with a ?cvt remarlts on tlic 

 fossil renuuns of vegetables. 



The former races of vegetation that have beau- 

 tified this earth for many thousand years, have 

 jjussed away; excei)t that portion the all-wise 

 creator locked up in thi^ bowels of the earth lor the 

 future use of man. Wc have reason to believe, 

 inmierise forests have been heaped together in 

 large masses, by violent convulsions of our planet, 

 and transported to the bottom of ancient seas; and 

 after being submerged and carbonized lor ages, 

 they were belched up by subterraneous fires, and 

 elevated to the tops of lofiy nu)untains, in the form 

 of mineral coal. That coal is of vegetable origin. 



had an existence belbre the Mosaic account of the ! I infer: 1st, from the presence of terrestrial and 

 creation. And hence it is that geological research j marine plants in coalmines. 2ndly, when pit coal 

 has, untd within a few years past, been considered j is seen through a microscope it is found to contain 

 hostile to revealed religion. But I am inclined to organic remains of wood, bark, leaves, and even 

 the belief, that when the science of geology is j theseeds of plants. 3rdly, the skeleton of plants are 

 properly understood, it will be calculated to give frequently found ofier burning coal in a furnace 



"It is evidently seen, by the nature of the moun- 

 tains which contain coal, that their formation has 

 been sulmarine; lor they all consist either of schis- 

 tus, or grit, or lirne-slone." These beds of fossil 

 vegetable remains are now becoming the richest 

 treasures of man, infinitely more valuable to him 

 than Sliver and gold. They eaiploy the labor and 

 attention of a large portion of the human liimily 

 at this time, and are daily becoming more and 

 more interesting. The combustion of coal is sub- 

 stituted for manual labor throughout the whole 

 civilized world; the surface of the earth is to be 

 broken up and cultivated by the combustion ol'this 

 vegetable mineral, and it will be the support of 

 future generations. 'J'he great use of coal in ad- 

 ministering to our wauls, ought to interest every 

 individual ; we are deriving light and heat fiom 

 bssil vegetation, that peiliaps clothed this earth 



U3 the most exalted conceptions of the wisdom, 

 power, and goodness of God. Geology has alrea- 

 dy thrown much light on many parts of Mosaic 

 history, and in a few years it will be considered one 

 of the most popular branches of science taught in 

 the schools. ''If I understand geology aright" 

 (says Professor Hitchcock), "so far from teaching 

 the eternity of the world, it [irove more direcily than 

 anv other science can, that its revolutions and races 

 of inhabitants had a commenceuieni, and that it 

 contains wiiliin itself, the chemical energies, which 

 need only be set at liberiy by the will of their cre- 

 ator, to accomplish its destruction. Because this 

 Ecience teaches that the revolutions of nature have 

 occupied immense periods of time, it does not, 

 therefore, teach that they form an eternal series 

 It only enlarges our conceptions of the deity ; and 

 when men shall cease to regard geology with jeal- 

 ousy and narrow minded [)rejudices, they will find '~ belbre ils present surf ice had an existence. These 

 that it opens fields of research and contemplation j primeval vegetables have not, like modern vegela- 

 as wide and as grand as astronomy itself." ; tion, undergone decay in yielding their elemental 



As soon as chaos was reduced to order, and the principles back to the atmosphere which nourished 

 waters separated from the earth, Gen. 1st. 9, 10, | and gave ihein being; but are treasured up in 

 God clotheil and beautified the land with vegela- ! subterranean beds and have become carbonized 

 tion. Whether the whole or a part of the dry sur- 1 masses of coal, which, in the present age of the 

 face was clothed in vegetation at that time, seems I world, are to man sources of industry and wealth, 

 hard to tell ; the inspired vi^riter merely slates the j The city of London consumes five tons of coal per 

 fiict, and says, "let the earth bring forth grass, the ' minute, 300 tons per hour, 7.200 tons per day, 

 herb yielding seed, &c. :" the probability is, that , 216,000 tons per month, or 2,623,000 tons per 

 only a small part of the ancient continent was at year : which, at 12.} cents per hundred pounds, 

 that time raised from the water to be decked with j will amount to the enormous sum of ^6,570,000 

 grass, lierbs, &c., fur the wants and support of the per annum ; and its consumption in Great Britain 

 animal kingdom which was to follow. According i and on the continent is beyond calculation. All 

 to botanists, the entire number of known species the mechanical powers, the lever, the wedge, the 

 of plants, now existing on the surface of the globe screw, the wheel and axle, and the inclined plane, 

 are 55,000 ; and they have divided the 55,000 spe- ! are in active motion, and made subservient to the 

 cies in 24 classes, according to their numbers, i arts, by the expansive force of this useful mineral, 

 connections and stations of the male and lemale I The combustion of coal is found at the bottom of 

 organs. The 24 classes, owe their dis'.inctions to j the mines, in the work shops ol" the trades and 

 the stamens or male organs ; and the sub divisions i family dwellings ; on the ocean and all navigable 

 of the 24 classes, are marked by the number of j waters ; on rail-roads and public highways; it 

 pistils or female organs. j lights up our cities, tov.-ns, and villages, increases 



If all vegetable seeds that have been formed on j population, begets riches, wealth ancl power, and 

 the earth in the last six thousand years, could (dispenses light, warmth and comfort equally to the 

 have multiplied their species, unmolested and un- ^ king and the peasant. It is the grand auxiliary 

 diminished, and each plant retain its organization . in the arts, agriculture, commerce, manuliictures, 

 entire, together with the various crops ol' vegeta- t navigation and trade ; and is daily and hourly ad- 

 tion that have adorned this earth, the mass would j ministering innumerable blessings to the human 

 in all probability so far exceed that of the to- 1 race. Wlial I might ask, would be the situation 

 bacco and spleen- vrort, as to fill the osbit of this j of England, v/ithout the fossil remains of vegeta- 

 earth. [bits 7 Her astonishing manufiicluring tcachincry, 



