THE LEVELLING POWER OF RAIN. 381 



through the action of rain ; for a drought can only convert 

 into friable matter earth which has before been thoroughly 

 soaked. But the action of rain, which had originally led 

 to the formation of these enormous masses of dust, presently 

 took part in carrying the dust in the form of mud to yet 

 lower levels. "Subsequently to the drought of 1827 to 

 1832," proceeds Darwin, "a very rainy season followed, which 

 caused great floods. Hence it is almost certain that some 

 thousands of the skeletons " (of creatures whose deaths he 

 had described before) " were buried by the deposits of the 

 very next year. What could be the opinion of a geologist, 

 viewing such an enormous collection of bones, of all kinds of 

 animals and of all ages, thus embedded in one thick earthy 

 mass ? Would he not attribute it to a flood having swept 

 over the surface of the land, rather than to the common 

 order of things ? " In fact, a single great drought, followed 

 by a very rainy season, must in this instance, which was 

 however altogether exceptional, have produced a layer or 

 stratum such as geologists would ordinarily regard as the 

 work of a much longer time and much more potent disturb- 

 ing causes. 



It may be well to consider in this place the question 

 whether in reality the quantity of rain which falls now during 

 our winter months does not greatly exceed that which for- 

 merly fell in that part of the year. The idea is very preva- 

 lent that our winters have changed entirely in character in 

 recent times, and the fear (or the hope ?) is entertained that 

 the change may continue in the same direction until wet and 

 mild winters replace altogether the cold which prevailed in 

 former years. There is no sufficient reason, however, for 

 supposing that any such change is taking place. It is, in- 

 deed, not difficult to find in the meteorological annals of the 

 first half of the present century, instances of the occurrence 

 of several successive winters very unlike the greater number 

 of those which, we have experienced during the last ten or 

 twelve years. But if we take any considerable series of 

 years in the last century we find the alternations of the 



