CONTENTS 



G. H. Darwin's estimate of the consequences of tidal action, p. 49 

 Comets and meteors, p. 51 Bredichin's cometary theory, p. 

 53 The final solution of the structure of comets, p. 55 New- 

 comb's estimate of the amount of cometary dust swept up daily by 

 the earth, p. 56 The fixed stars, p. 56 John Herschel's studies 

 of double stars, p. 58 Fraunhofer's perfection of the refracting 

 telescope, p. 60 Bessel's measurement of the parallax of a star, 

 p. 60 Henderson's measurements, p. 61 Kirchhoff and Bun- 

 sen's perfection of the spectroscope, p. 62 Wonderful revelations 

 of the spectroscope, p. 63 Lord Kelvin's estimate of the time that 

 will be required for the earth to become completely cooled, p. 65 

 Alvan Clark's discovery of the companion star of Sirius, p. 66 

 The advent of the photographic film in astronomy, p. 67 Dr. 

 Huggins's studies of nebula, p. 69 Sir Norman Lockyer's "cos- 

 mogonic guess," p. 70 Croll's pre-nebular theory, p. 72. 



CHAPTER III 



THE NEW SCIENCE OP PALEONTOLOGY 



William Smith and fossil shells., p. 74 His discovery that fossil 

 rocks are arranged in regular systems, p. 75 Smith's inquiries 

 taken up by Cuvier, p. 77 His Ossements Fossiles containing the 

 first description of hairy elephant, p. 78 His contention that fos- 

 sils represent extinct species only, p. 79 Dr. Buckland's studies 

 of English fossil- beds, p. 82 Charles Lyell combats catastrophism, 

 p. 84 Elaboration of his ideas with reference to the rotation of 

 species, p. 86 The establishment of the doctrine of uniformitarian- 

 ism, p. 92 Darwin's Origin of Species, p. 93 Fossil man, p. 98 

 Dr. Falconer's visit to the fossil-beds in the valley of the Somme, 

 p. 99 Investigations of Prestwich and Sir John Evans, p. 101 

 Discovery of the Neanderthal skull, p. 103 Cuvier's rejection of 

 human fossils, p. 104 The finding of prehistoric carving on ivory, 

 p. 104 The fossil-beds of America, p. 105 Professor Marsh's 

 paper on the fossil horses in America, p. 107 The Warren masto- 

 don, p. 113 The Java fossil, Pithecanthropus Erectus, p. 113. 



CHAPTER IV 



THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN GEOLOGY 



James Hutton and the study of the rocks, p. 1 16 His theory of the 

 earth, p. 120 His belief in volcanic cataclysms in raising and form- 

 ing the continents, p. 121 His famous paper before the Royal So- 



iv 



