44 



GIANTS AND PIQMIES. 



of the world." Prov. viii. 25, 26. (Wisdom). Before the 

 mountains were brought forth. Ps. xc. verse 7. (Moses). In 

 like manner we view the Period of the Earth's History which 

 we have reached, as that when God said, ** Let the waters 

 under the heaven be gathered together into one place, and let 

 the diy appear." And God called the dry, Earth, and the 

 gathering together of the waters called he Seas. Gen. i. 9, 10. 

 (Moses). According to P'.lie de Beaumont, the principal chiin 

 of the Alps (and Himalayas) attained to their highest ele- 

 vation somewhat later, ^. e., at the close of the Tertiary Period 

 or Upper Miocene, or Quaternary (glacial). 



2*7. We return to Egypt and look at the Cretaceo- 

 nummulitic heights of Mokattam with new interest. We can 

 now answer the question, *' When were these elevated 1 In 

 the Middle Eocene Period, according to Beaumont. How 

 were they elevated 1 By the contraction of the Earth's crust 

 consequent on the secular cooling of the globe. In preceding 

 observations mention was made of an interesting collection of 

 cretaceous fossils of Mount Lebanon, received from Dr. 

 McHdftie, formerly missionary at Damascus. No. 20. Since 

 then we have found in Nature, April 22, 1886, "Across the 

 Jordan," by Gottlieb Schumacher, C. E, ^p'iewed. In this 

 we find the Geology of the district com^ .^red with that of 

 *' Central France." The limestones are described as '* Cretaceo- 

 eocene" and "Cretaceo nummulitic." Vide Table. The move- 

 ment and denudation of the strata took place in the " Miocene 

 epoch." The last observation differs from our own to the 

 extent that the age of the *' Sables de Fontainebleau" differs from 

 that of the "Babies de Beauchamp." This difi'erence will 

 be better understood after the Geology of Montmartre in 

 Paris is described in nexi .STo. In the same part of Nature, 

 April, we have an account of a very interesting Paper by 

 Starkie Gardner, read before the Geologists' Association, April 

 2. In Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, Vol. IX., 

 No. 6. An inquiry as to the Geological period at which 

 grasses first commenced to assume a preponderating position in 

 vegetation. Their value and importance at the present day 



