432 



Marvels of the Universe 



of the building powers of the Foraminifera. A superficial list will be sufficientlv conxdncing : 

 The chalk formation extending along the south coast of England, hundreds of feet in thickness ; 

 the similar formation on the French coast ; the Tertiary rocks of the extensive geological formation 

 known as the " Paris basin " ; the corresponding strata of Austria and Italy ; the calcareous 

 deposits of Russia, and the rocks comprising the Pyramids of Egypt consist, for the most part, of 

 shells of the Foraminifera ! The}' are present in vast numbers among the sands on the seashore. 

 An ounce of sand, taken at random from the shores of the Adriatic Sea, contained six thousand 

 beautifully formed micro-shells quite as attractive as that of the Pearly Nautilus. D'Orbigny, 

 closely examining the sands on the shores of the Antilles, calculated that there . must have 

 been nearly four millions of these shells in a single ounce ! A row of figures representing the 

 number contained in a cubic yard would baffle our powers of comprehension. That being so, we 

 must admit that the Foraminifera form a population gigantic beyond all means of intelligible 

 expression ; for they are found on all seashores ; the successive accumulations of their shells form 

 banks that are dangerous to navigation, and they assist in conjunction with corals in building up 

 reefs and islands in tropical seas. They constitute the chief organic deposit on the floor of the 

 Atlantic Ocean. This was proved when the first cable was being laid to America. Samples 

 of " ooze " consisting almost entirely of shells and fragments of shells of Foraminifera were 

 brought up. Under microscopic examination they were found to bear a close resemblance to the 

 fossil forms of which the chalk cliffs of Dover and other locahties are composed. 



With regard to the rocks which form the principal building material of the city of Paris and the 

 neighbouring towns and villages, we are told by D'Orbignj' that a cubic inch of this stone contains 

 fifty-eight thousand shells of Foraminifera ! 



liiii n. inutttsUiw. 

 THE BOMB.A.RDIER AND THE GROUND BEETLE. 

 TKe little Bombardier Beetle, pursued by a Ground Beetle with evil intentions, repulses the enemy by eiecting an acrid fluid 

 which becomes converted into a vapour by contact with the air. The emission is accompanied by sharp little reports. 



