Thus time after time, the land rose and sank, rose and sank, again and again. Not the whole continent is believed to have risen or sunk at the same time; but here at one period, there at another period, the movements probably went on.
The greater part of the vegetable mass decayed slowly; but when the final ruin of the forest came, whole trunks were snapped off close to the roots and flung down. These are now found in numbers on the tops of the coal layers, the barks being flattened and changed to shining black coal.
How wonderful the tale of those ancient days told to us by these buried forests!
FOOTNOTE:
[45] By Agnes Giberne, an English writer on scientific subjects.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE MOON[46]
I am going to say a few words about the moon; but there are many matters relating to her of great interest which I must leave untouched, for the simple reason that there is not room to speak of them in a single paper.
Thus the moon's changes of shape from the horned moon to the half, and thence to the full moon, with the following changes from full to half, and so to the horned form again, are well worth studying; but I should want all the space I am going to occupy, merely to explain properly those changes alone.
So a study of the way in which the moon rules the tides would, I am sure, interest every thoughtful reader; but there is not room for it here.