574 ERA OF MIND. 



towards the infinite, and communing with God his Maker. Made 

 in the* image of God, surely he is immeasurably beyond the brute, 

 although it share with him the attribute of reason. 



The supremacy of the animal in nature, which had continued 

 until now, here yields, therefore, to the supremacy of the spiritual. 

 As the body, through its development and adaptations, is made for 

 the service and education of the soul that is slowly maturing in 

 connection with it, so with the system of the world, as regards 

 both its inorganic and organic departments, there was reference, 

 throughout its history no less than in its final adjustments, to man, 

 the last, the highest, the spiritual creation. And the earth sub- 

 serves her chief purpose in nurturing this new creation for a still 

 more exalted stage, that of spiritual existence. 



I. Rocks : kinds and distribution. 



The following are the formations of the age of Man : — 



1. Of mechanical origin. — (a.) Marine. — The extended flats 

 which border many coasts, as from Long Island to Texas, and be- 

 yond, and which are now gradually widening the area of the conti- 

 nents ; and deltas, which are similar in general character, but are 

 formed about the mouths of rivers. — Sea-beaches. — Sand-drifts or 

 dunes in the vicinity of the ocean, (b.) Continental. — Alluvium of 

 the lower river-flats ; and, in case a region has undergone elevation 

 during the age, that at higher levels. — Alluvium along the shores 

 of lakes ; and, where, through the modern opening of barriers or 

 other cause, the waters have diminished their height, deposits 

 above the lower plain. About large lakes, different formations 

 analogous in every respect to the Marine above mentioned, except 

 in having no marine relics. — Glacier drift or boulders and gravel, 

 similar to that of the true Glacial epoch, though of more local dis- 

 tribution. 



2. Of organic origin. — (a.) Marine. — Coral reefs, often of vast ex- 

 tent. — Shell deposits, (b.) Continental. — Peat beds, or swamp forma- 

 tions of vegetable character, consisting largely of growing moss in 

 temperate and colder climates, and of diminutive turf-making 

 flowering plants in Alpine and Arctic regions. — Shell beds or shell 

 marl. — Siliceous infusorial deposits. 



3. Of chemical origin. — Calcareous deposits called Travertine, de- 

 rived from calcareous waters, in some cases scores of feet in thick- 

 ness. — Stalactites and Stalagmites of similar form and origin in 

 caverns. — Bog deposits of ore called Bog ore. 



4. Of igneous origin. — Lavas and tufas of volcanic regions. 





