For the benefit of those who may not have access to the original memoirs, or may not have time to consult them, I shall append to the several chapters some of the technical details. These may be omitted by the general reader; but will serve to make the work more complete and useful as a book of reference.
The only preparation necessary for the unscientific reader of this work, will be some little knowledge of the division of geological time into successive ages, as represented by the diagram of formations appended to this chapter, and more full explanations may be obtained by consulting any of the numerous elementary manuals on geology, or “The Story of the Earth and Man,” by the writer of the present work.
TABULAR VIEW OF THE EARTH’S GEOLOGICAL HISTORY.
| Animal Kingdom. | Geological Periods. | Vegetable Kingdom. | ||
| Age of Man. Age of Mammals. | CENOZOIC, OR NEOZOIC, OR NEOZOIC, OR TERTIARY |
| Modern. Post-Pliocene, or Pleistocene. Pliocene. Miocene. Eocene. | Age of Angiosperms and Palms. |
| Age of Reptiles. | MESOZOIC |
| Cretaceous. Jurassic. Triassic. | Age of Cycads and Pines. |
| Age of Amphibians and Fishes. Age of Mollusks, Corals, and Crustaceans. | PALÆOZOIC |
| Permian. Carboniferous. Erian, or Devonian. Upper Silurian. Lower Silurian, or Siluro-Cambrian. Cambrian or Primordial. | Age of Acrogens and Gymnosperms. Age of Algæ. |
| Age of Protozoa, and dawn of Animal Life. | EOZOIC |
| Huronian.Upper Laurentian. Lower Laurentian. | Beginning of Age of Algæ. |
Plate II.
MAP SHEWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE LAURENTIAN LIMESTONES HOLDING EOZOON IN THE COUNTIES OF OTTAWA & ARGENTEUIL.
Drawn by M. R. Barlow