283 
fossil remains \ Mr Darwin himself shall answer the question. 11 Why, 
then,” says he, “ is not every geological formation and every stratum 
full of such intermediate links ? Geology assuredly does not reveal 
any such finely graduated organic chain ; and this perhaps is the 
most obvious and gravest objection which can be urged against my 
theory” (p. 280). And a very grave objection it certainly is, that 
in the only two quarters where actual proof of facts (which must 
exist if the theory be true) can be sought for, and where, a priori , 
they might reasonably have been expected to be found, namely, the 
present and the past, they should be absent, or at least undiscoverable. 
Those who are new to the subject may naturally be puzzled to 
guess how he escapes from such an embarrassing dilemma. The 
solution is abundantly simple. £< The explanation,” says he, “ lies, 
as I believe, in the extreme imperfection of the geological record.” 
Now I believe no one will dispute as an abstract proposition the 
extreme imperfection of the geological record. But I cannot admit 
that its imperfection is of that character or degree that will entitle 
Mr Darwin to plead it in his favour. ITe dwells on the poorness 
of our palaeontological collections — the great spaces of time wholly, 
or nearly wholly, unrepresented in them — the extreme rarity of 
terrestrial animals in the deposits — the destruction of the soft parts 
of most animals, and the crushed state of many others. I shall not 
follow him into his details on these points. All that he says on the 
subject may be very true — is very true — but will avail him nought if, 
in any portion of the geological records, we can find any one succes- 
sion of strata of moderate depth which may be fairly held to have been 
deposited unintermittently, and in which we find a liberal representa- 
tion of the animals of any one class. And such records many of the 
enormous deposits of limestone rocks beyond doubt are — their whole 
phenomena indicating an uninterrupted period of tranquil deposi- 
tion, extending over ages beyond our numbering, and the strata them- 
selves bearing in their bosoms an excellent report on the molluscous 
animals of the period.* I have quite sufficient to test Mr Darwin’s 
* Mr Darwin himself remarks, that “ two palaeontologists, whose opinion is 
worthy of much deference, namely, Bronn and Woodward, have concluded that 
the average duration of each formation is twice or thrice as long as the average 
duration of specific forms” (p. 293). This opinion may be well-founded or 
not — I imagine it is; but it is ditficult of application to the point at issue, on 
account of the real or possible intermissions which may have taken place in 
these formations. 
