362 



DESIGN IN NATURE 



That the flora of bygone ages formed the coal measures is abundantly proved by this, that the microscopic 

 structure of coal is absolutely identical with the structure of many plants, and coal when ignited burns exactly 

 as a piece of well-dried timber does. It thus happens that the heat and light stored in the aboriginal tree-ferns 

 and other tropical plants are both available for the use of man at the present day in as great a degree as the modern 

 forest is. There is no destruction of either matter or force. The form of the one and the direction of the other 



only are changed. 



The apparently inexhaustible supplies of petroleum which unbidden flow from the interior of the eartJi have 

 also a plant origin. This is proved by the fact that spirit can be distilled from petroleum, and even a cheap kind 

 of champagne manufactured from it. It is also proved by the multiphcity of plant products obtained from coal 

 tar, among which may be mentioned the exquisitely beautiful aniline dyes, and numerous delicate and much 



appreciated flavours. . . 



It is difficult to avoid coming to the conclusion that those stored and hidden vegetable treasures were originally 

 designed for the use of man even though he had not yet made his appearance on the earth. This view would be 

 quite in accordance with other pre-determined arrangements seen in the case of parent and offspring, where provision 

 is made for the development of the fojtus in utero, and for its nutrition the moment it is born. 



The primary conditions of the earth, atmosphere, and chmate referred to affected not only the pristine flora 

 but also the pristine fauna. Both plants and animals in the remote past were different from what they are to-day. 

 The plant Ufe was more luxuriant, and the animals were, as a rule, larger. As already stated, the majority of 

 animals hve upon plants. If, however, the plants of the early day were more abundant, more luxuriant, and more 

 juicy and succulent, it follows that the animals, more bountifully and effectively fed and nourished, would increase 

 in size, hence those great and magnificent ante-diluvian mammalian types which include the Megatherium giganteum, 

 the Toxodon, Woolly Rhinoceros, Rhinoceros tichorhinus, Pahrotherium, Mammoth, Elephas frimigenius, Giant Irish 

 Deer, Cervis giganteus, Dinotherium giganteum, Titanotherium robustum, Elasmotherium, Dinoceras mirahile, 

 Arsinoitherium Zitelli, Helladotherium, Mylodon, Qlyptodon, and Diprotodon. Likewise the huge old-world reptiles 

 which are at once the wonder and admiration of the modern savant ; such as the Iguanodon bernissartensis, 

 Atlantosaurus, Brontosaurus , Ceteosaurus, Diplodocus, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Pariasaurus, Dimetrodon, Plesiosaurs, 

 and Ichthyosaurs. 



Nor must the great flying reptiles, the Pterodactyles, be omitted in this connection. Reference must also 

 be made to the great wingless bird of New Zealand, the Moa, aUied to the ostriches of Africa, the emus and casso- 

 waries of Australia, and the rheas of South America. 



To give an idea of the enormous size of some of the extinct animals named, it is only necessary to state that 

 the thigh-bone of the Atlantosaurus is six feet in length, that of a large elephant being only four feet. The 

 Diflodocus carnegii measures eighty feet in length. The giant wingless bird, the Moa (Dinornis maximus), is 

 from twelve to fifteen feet high. 



While the majority of the extinct reptiles, birds, and mammals greatly exceeded that of modern times, it must 

 not be inferred that there are no large animals in the present day. On the contrary (so far as is known), the 

 modern whales are much larger than any animals known to palaeontology. 



The great size of the whales is, in all probability, due to the excess of rich, nutritious food in the ocean, the 

 size and food of animals bearing a certain relation to each other. 



One very remarkable fact to be noted in connection with the great extinct animals is, in many cases, the very 

 small size of the brain in comparison with the size of the body. This would seem to indicate that the animals in 

 question were content to vegetate and lead indolent lives. It is just possible that the want of brain power had 

 something to do with their extinction. The pecuharity of the smaller modern animals is their comparative excess 

 of brain. This is especially the case in man, who is admittedly the ruler of the world. 



Everything in the universe hangs together. External conditions (within hmits) influence and modify races 

 of plants and animals, but the modifications do not destroy the identity of the types, and old-world plants and 

 animals have their representatives in various parts of the world at the present day. Tree-ferns are found in New 

 Zealand, and the Indian and African elephants are the near relatives of the Mastodon. 



The changes in the external conditions of plants and animals in pre-historic and present times do not destroy 

 the fundamental relations between plants and inorganic matter on the one hand, and between plants and animals 

 on the other. The plant, whatever its size, shape, and nature, must find its pabulum and substance in the inorganic 

 kingdom ; and the animal, be it great or small, must find its nourishment and sustenance in the plant or in some 

 other animal which has lived on the plant. The mere form and size of plants and animals do not disturb or 

 destroy the fundamental relations referred to. 



That the several races of plants and animals are, in some measure, dependent upon the quantity of heat, light, 



