SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 115 



by the evolution of organisms as far above the man of the present 

 as man considers himself above the worm crawling at his feet. 



These advances are not uniform either along various or 

 parallel lines. Forms of life appear, reach their culminating point, 

 diminish and finally disappear, to be followed by organisms of 

 more or less similarity of character and difference of form. 



The Plants (represented by the Algse, or Sea- Weeds) were 

 probably the first to appear in the otherwise supposed lifeless pe- 

 riod, and have continued on to the present time. The Acrogens 

 (Ferns, Lycop'ods and Equisetas) first appeared in the Devonian, 

 or age of fishes, and included rnany genera of trees ; they reached 

 their maximum in the succeeding Carboniferous Age, during 

 which time they conserved immense quantities of carbon from 

 the air, and were important factors in the formation of coal, at 

 the same time changing the character of the atmosphere, and 

 fitting it for the life of the fauna of that and the subsequent 

 Cretaceous Age. 



The Conifers (gymnosperms, or plants with naked seeds) 

 first appeared in the Devonian and have not yet reached their 

 maximum. 



The Angiosperms (plants having regular flowers and cov- 

 ered seed), another division of the Phsenogamous plants, which 

 includes the Maple, Elm, Apple, Rose and the majority of our 

 present trees and shrubs, also appeared in the Devonian. 



The Cycads, which are related to the Conifers, but totally 

 different in habit, appeared in the later Carboniferous, attained 

 their maximum in the Cretaceous, and have gradually decreased 

 since that time. 



The Palms and Grasses appeared in the later Cretaceous, 

 and have continued without diminution to the present time. 



The microscopic Diatoms appeared in later geological pe- 

 riods, and their fossil remains form extensive deposits or diatoma- 

 ceous rock and diatomaceous earth, which consist principally of 

 the silicious cases of these minute plants which are so infinitessim- 

 ally small that the strongest powers of the microscope are re- 

 quired to bring out their form and beautiful specific characters. 

 Their minuteness and comparatively indestructible nature render 

 them valuable for the separation of minute particles of the ma- 

 terial used in the manufacture of dynamite, and other uses in 

 the arts and sciences. 



THE ORIGIN OF NEW SPECIES OF PLANTS. 

 The mass of incontrovertible evidence of the continuous 

 changes which have taken place in the animal and vegetable life 

 of past ages, forces us to the conclusion that the creative force 

 or power which evolved life on the earth, is continuous and ever- 

 acting, as active today as it was thousands of years ago. The his- 



