CHAPTER I. 

 THE STONE QUARRY. 



The ancient traveler and historian, Herod- 

 otus, long ago put on record the statement 

 that he had heard from Egyptian priests that 

 in a range of hills along the eastern border of 

 their country the rocks contained buried sea 

 shells. The priests contended that these shells 

 were in such positions and numbers as to in- 

 dicate that in some countries the sea and land 

 had changed places. 



The same thought occurs to-day to many 

 an humble quarryman who disclaims all 

 thought' of geology, but who does know his 

 stone quarry is nothing else than a petrified 

 sea beach. Professor Leslie finely says, 

 "Every rock fragment that lies upon the sur- 

 face of the crust of the earth has legibly writ- 

 ten on it and around it, the facts of its his- 

 tory if he would only study them." The evi- 



