REVIEWS. 
420 
that aliuosplici'ic moisture, rain, wind, and lorrcnis, reduce and lower tlie moun- 
tains, the torrents earrymg away tlie debris, by means of rivers, to the seas, 
where it bceoincs le\"ellcd I'ar out into tlic oding-, and thus the ino\intains arc 
f^radually lowered, and the angle of the celiptie as gradually diminished. Such 
is our ojiiuion : it may be so, or not ; it is quite hypothetical ; and so may also 
be our ojiinion on observuig the different inclinations of tlie axes of our j)lancts, 
sun and moou included : tliey aU iucline more or less to the plane of their 
orbits, iu an easterly direction, or towards the right hand, and that in a con- 
trary direction to their orbital motions : perhaps wc might except Uranus. 
How is all this to be accounted for ? Can they have aequii-ed this particular 
inclination when first launched into an orbit, anil while in a more plastic state ?" 
After some remarks on the orbital motion of the sun and on the astral systems, 
Mr. Bergh turns to a topic of high imi)ortance, but which has been too much 
overlooked by geologists — the mobility of the ocean. Eii'st taking into con- 
sideration the rise of lands, he very fairly asks, " How could islands or eouti- 
ueuts be raised from the bottom of the sea, either gradually or suddenly, without 
displacing the same volume of water ? and could such a displacement of ocean 
water occur without altering the level for some time ? Land and sea camiot 
occupy the same space any more than other things." He then dwells again on 
his theory before expressed on the periodic transference of the ocean waters 
from one hemisphere to the other ; and offers some remarks \i\)on the inclina- 
tion of the polar axis, the fixity of which he disputes, and remarks, amongst 
other proofs, that ancient cathedi-als and old dial-plates are no longer iu har- 
mony with those of modem times. 
In conclusion the author considers that, " In looking back to the last catas- 
trophe, we have suflicicnt evidence of a violent irruption by the ocean, from 
north towards the south, which our earth's surface shows in the most positive 
manner, and whereof also the enormous size of the erratic blocks and the 
boulder deposit are no trifling evidence of oceanic forces. This disturbance 
occurred about four thousand or five thousand years since, and is no doubt the 
deluge related in Scripture two thousand three hundred aud forty-eight years 
before Christ ; and those we read of in history, such as the deluge of Ogyges 
in Attica, which happened about four thousand years ago (relatively to the 
year 1S30) ; also the deluge of Deucalion iu Thessaly, about three thousand 
four hundred years since ; aU recorded at different periods, but all no doubt 
referrable to the one general deluge narrated in Genesis, which latter difl'crs 
from our calculation about ninety-seven years, a discrepancy of no moment in 
relation to a period of inundation of three thousand four hundred and uiucty- 
eiglit years, as before mentioned. 
"The next time the perihelion and ocean cross the equator, it will be to- 
wards our northern hemisphere, iu the year six thousand four hundred aud 
nmety-four of our era, or four thousand six hundred and sixty-four years to 
come. Such a remote period can but little concern us, when, after the lapse of 
one hundred and forty generations more, perhaps both our nation and the 
name of our country may be forgotten, and lie buried beneath the deeji, pro- 
bably for the next seven thousand or eight thousand years." 
Such is a full abstract of the ophiions of Mr. Bergh. ~For the present we 
put them before our readers without eomfnent, because these and kindred sub- 
jects being now taken up by M. Ardhemar, Colonel James, and others, in a 
powerful manner will compel us hereafter to elucidate the subject iu detail. 
We merely at present recommend tlicse theories to the impartial consideration 
of our readers, expressing ourselves as dissentients, however, from the ealcida- 
tious which give only four hundred and fifty thousand years as the time elapsed 
between the granitic era of Mr. Bergh's tables aud the present time. 
