II THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE 129 



The evidence of the importance of causes now 

 in operation has been wonderfully enlarged by 

 the study of glacial phenomena ; by that of earth- 

 quakes and volcanoes ; and by that of the efficacy 

 of heat and cold, wind, rain, and rivers as agents 

 of denudation and transport. On the other hand, 

 the exploration of coral reefs and of the deposits 

 now taking place at the bottom of the great oceans, 

 has proved that, in animal and plant life, we have 

 agents of reconstruction of a potency hitherto 

 unsuspected. 



There is no study better fitted than that of 

 geology to impress upon men of general culture 

 that conviction of the unbroken sequence of the 

 order of natural phsenomena, throughout the 

 duration of the universe, which is the great, and 

 perhaps the most important, effect of the increase 

 of natural knowledge. 



[I desire to express my obligations to Messrs. Smith, Elder 

 and Co. for their courteous permission to reprint this essay from 

 " The Reign of Queen Victoria."] 



VOL. I. 



