NATURE'S MIRACLES. 



EARTH. 



CHAPTER I. 



WORLD-BUILDING AND LIFE. 



" In the beginning God created the heaven 

 and the earth. And the earth was without 

 form, and void." 



Whatever our speculations may be in regard 

 to a " beginning," and when it was, it is writ- 

 ten in the rocks, that, like the animals and 

 plants upon its surface, the earth itself grew; 

 that for countless ages, measured by years that 

 no man can number, the earth has been gradu- 

 ally assuming its present form and composi- 

 tion, and that the processes of growth and de- 

 cay are active every hour. 



The science that deals with the formations 

 anl stratifications that are found on the earth 

 and under the earth, and all the forces that 

 have been and are now active in their forma- 

 tion, is called Geology (earth science). It is 

 a science about which little is known by the 



