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of the earth during the geological periods, previously to the 
preparation of earth for the use and habitation of man. 
70. Dr. McCaul, in his valuable essay on the Mosaic Record 
of Creation, had mentioned as an instance of the scientific 
accuracy of the Mosaic account, that, “ before the human 
period there was no difference of climate, and that there was, 
apparently, one uniform high temperature over the whole earth ; 
and, consequently, that the flora and fauna of warm climates 
are found in latitudes where they could not now exist ” ( Aids 
to Faith, p. 219). Now, although some have sneered at this 
statement, it is undoubtedly true that, until lately, the 
scientific world supposed that the flora of the carboniferous 
era, which extends as far north as Baffin’s Bay,* indicated 
an almost tropical temperature; but, as in a multitude of 
other instances, f science has now adopted a different view 
on this subject, and, though it does not affect any statement 
of Moses in the slightest degree, we .may readily accept the 
opinion of the late Sir Charles Lyell, who says, — and I beg 
you to note his words, “ It seems to have become a more and 
more received opinion that the coal plants do not on the whole 
indicate a climate resembling that now enjoyed in the 
equatorial zone. A great preponderance of ferns and lyco- 
podiums indicates moisture, equability of temperature, and 
freedom from frost rather than intense heat ’’ ( Elementary 
Geology, p. 399). A remarkable work, published last year, 
entitled, Climate and Time in their Geological Relations : a 
Theory of Secular Changes of the Earth’s Climate, by James 
Croll, of H. M. Geological Survey of Scotland, has fully 
discussed this subject in all its bearings; and the learned 
author has, I venture to think, shown some reasons for 
believing : — 1st. That the old internal heat theory must 
be abandoned, in consequence of Sir W. Thomson’s con- 
clusion that the general climate could not have been 
sensibly affected by intense heat at any time more than 
1 0,000 years after the solidification of the earth’s crust, though 
there is evidence that its climate was much hotter during 
* The author of Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, says, “In the 
coal of Baffin’s Bay, of Newcastle, and of the torrid zone, alike, are the fossil 
ferns arborescent, showing that, in that era, the present tropical era, or one 
even higher, existed in very high latitudes.” 
t In Mr. Croll’s work on Climate and Time, I have counted over thirty 
instances, which he mentions, wherein savans materially differ from each 
other in their interpi’etations of various points connected with the earth’s 
climate ; c.g. to mention one, Humboldt estimates that it would require 7,200 
years to form a bed of coal a yard thick ; Dr. Heer, of Zurich, contends that 
only 1,400 years would be required to effect this ! (p. 429). 
