170 EARLIEST LIFE. 
The fossiliferous shelly beds of the tran¬ 
sition seas are on the whole remarkably 
destitute of vegetable remains. 
The bays of the most ancient shores may 
have had the glowing coloured fringes which 
adorn those of the present; but if such were 
the case^ few specimens only have survived, 
the action of a printing process so rude as 
that to which the oreranisms of the slates 
been subjected. 
The result of an examination at the base 
of the Silurian deposits, whether in Russia, 
England, or North America, has been to 
shew that the remains of sea-weed are the 
earliest or deepest discoverable indications 
of vegetation. This was of course to be 
expected from their associates of the animal 
kingdom, the mollusks and cephalopods of 
the lower Silurian, the fishes of the ujiper 
portion, and of the Devonian. 
We have arrived at the floor of organic 
life, the deepest level which we can reach; 
we find that these “ dark uufathomed 
caves ” are flashing with richer gems than 
crystals of “ purest ray serene,” for they 
display the skilful beautiful works of the 
Lord and giver of life. 
