44: THE PAST CONDITION 



present time that project has not succeeded, we have 

 the satisfaction of knowing that it yielded some most 

 remarkable results to science. The Atlantic Ocean 

 had to be sounded right across, to depths of several 

 miles in some places, and the nature of its bottom was 

 carefully ascertained. Well, now, a space of about 

 1,000 miles wide from east to west, and I do not ex- 

 actly know how many from north to south, but at any 

 rate 600 or 700 miles, was carefully examined, and it 

 was found that over the whole of that immense area 

 an excessively fine chalky mud is being deposited ; and 

 this deposit is entirely made up of animals whose hard 

 parts are deposited, in this part of the ocean, and are 

 doubtless gradually acquiring solidity and becoming 

 metamorphosed into a chalky limestone. Thus, you 

 see, it is quite possible in this way to preserve unmis- 

 takable records of animal and vegetable life. When- 

 ever the sea-bottom, by some of those undulations of 

 the earth's crust that I have referred to, becomes up- 

 heaved, and sections or borings are made, or pits are 

 dug, then we become able to examine the contents and 

 constituents of these ancient sea-bottoms, and find out 

 what manner of animals lived at that period. 



Now it is a very important consideration in its bear- 

 ing on the completeness of the record, to inquire how 

 far the remains contained in these fossiliferous lime- 

 stones are able to convey anything like an accurate 

 or complete account of the animals which were in ex- 

 istence at the time of its formation. Upon that point 

 we can form a very clear judgment, and one in which 

 there is no possible room for any mistake. There are 

 of course a great number of animals — such as jelly- 

 fishes, and other animals — without any hard parts, 



