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diff --git a/old/68690-0.txt b/old/68690-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e2d1001..0000000 --- a/old/68690-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1742 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Vailan or annular theory, by -Stephen Bowers - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Vailan or annular theory - A synopsis of Prof. I. N. Vail's argument in support of the claim - that this Earth once possessed a Saturn-like system of rings - -Author: Stephen Bowers - -Release Date: August 5, 2022 [eBook #68690] - -Produced by: Sonya Schermann, Thomas Frost and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The - Internet Archive). - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VAILAN OR ANNULAR -THEORY *** - - - - - - THE VAILAN OR ANNULAR THEORY. - - [Illustration] - -_A Synopsis of Prof. I. N. Vail’s Argument in Support of the Claim that - this Earth once Possessed a Saturn-like System of Rings._ - - PREPARED BY - - STEPHEN BOWERS, A. M., Ph. D. - - Editor of the Ventura Observer. - - FELLOW OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA, CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF - THE AMERICAN GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY, PHILADELPHIA ACADEMY - OF SCIENCES, ETC., ETC., ETC. - - [Illustration] - - VENTURA, CALIFORNIA: - THE OBSERVER PRESS PRINT. - 1892. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -The theory advanced by Prof. I. N. Vail accounts for the formation -of the earth’s crust, with its associated minerals, in the fact that -it was once surrounded by rings of aqueous vapor, containing much of -its present solid matter, which fell as mighty deluges. The last of -these rings descended at the time of the Noachian deluge and caused -that catastrophe, which is so graphically described by Moses, and -which tradition has sung in the ears of every tribe of Adam’s race. -The formation of these rings was caused by the intense heat, which -drove to an immense distance every substance which could be reduced to -vapor, and where they formed as annular bands or rings similar to those -surrounding the planet Saturn at the present time. After long ages the -portion nearest the earth slowly overcanopied the heavens, and owing to -the lack of centrifugal force began its descent at the poles. - -This theory explains certain phenomena better than any other yet -advanced by scientists. It accounts for the uplift of mountains; the -deposit of coal and other minerals; the glacial age; the retardation -of the moon, and it alone explains much contained in the first eight -chapters of Genesis. - -Prof. Vail has published a volume of about 400 pages on this subject, -which for clearness of statement and logical conclusions has seldom -been equaled by previous writers on scientific subjects. He deals in -convincing facts which are destined to overturn many pre-conceived -theories in the science of geology. - -My object in sending forth this pamphlet is to call the attention of -intelligent readers to a theory which must engage the attention of -scientists in the future, and which will enable the geologist to make -clear many things which are now obscure. I respectfully ask for the -following pages a candid reading, and for further information on the -subject refer the reader to Prof. Vail’s “Story of the Rocks”, and to -other works of the gifted author, which are now passing through the -press. - - VENTURA, CALIFORNIA, S. B. - September 1, 1892. - - - - -THE VAILAN OR ANNULAR SYSTEM. - -[Illustration] - - - - -IMPORTANCE OF THE QUESTION. - - -Jupiter’s belts are doubtless aqueous vapor driven from that planet by -heat; similar in every respect, probably, to the primitive condition -of our globe. This vapor would not all fall at once on the cooling of -the earth, but the upper portion would continue to revolve for a long -period. - -All geologists agree that the earth was once in an igneous fluid state, -and during that condition all of its waters and whatever else could -be vaporized and sublimed by heat, as the less refractory metals and -minerals, were driven away from its surface. The foundation of the -Annular System was the molten or igneous world. The vaporized water, -mineral and metallic elements repelled from it existed as a great -vaporized atmosphere that rotated with the earth. - -If the earth then rotated once in twenty-four hours, so did the -atmosphere. Proctor and some others claim that the earth then rotated -in three hours; if so, the atmosphere did the same. No matter how -long or how short the period of the earth’s rotation, the upper -vapors rotated with it. Then, when and how did these vapors and other -materials composing the atmosphere return to the earth? Geologists -generally have claimed that they fell at the close of the igneous -period; but the Annular Theory claims that they did not, and it -undertakes to explain the phenomena of the geologic ages and epochs -upon this claim. - -The most eminent scientists agree that the vapors were driven off -at least 200,000 miles from the earth, and many claim a distance of -240,000 miles. All of the carbon in the grand casement of aqueous -rocks, the vast oceans of oxygen now contained in the silicates, -sulphates, carbonates and oxides of the crust, as well as the nitrogen -and hydrogen in numerous compounds enormously swelled its volume. But -the Annular Theory will claim but 100,000 miles as the atmosphere -and that the earth rotated as now, once in twenty-four hours. At the -equator it revolves at the rate of 1,000 miles an hour, at which rate -the periphery of the earth’s primitive atmosphere would revolve more -than 25,000 miles an hour. - -Now it is mathematically certain that a body in our atmosphere -revolving at the rate of 17,500 miles an hour could not fall to the -earth’s surface. By Kepler’s “Third Law” we can readily demonstrate not -only that these vapors were thrown out into a ring system, but how far -beyond the earth they reached, namely: “The squares of the periodic -times of revolving satellites are proportioned to the cubes of their -mean distances from the primary around which they move.” - -The vapors nearest the earth did not possess the energy of satellites, -consequently they fell to the earth, as the latter’s surface cooled, -leaving the more distant matter moving independently above it. - - -EVIDENCES OF THE GEOLOGIC RECORD. - -When the earth was in a state of fiery fluidity, all of the water it -now contains was suspended at a great distance above it. Beside the -oceans which now cover three-fourths of the surface of the globe, rocks -and coals contain from ten per cent to one half water, all of which was -primarily held in suspension. The bosom of the earth is continually -absorbing water as is demonstrated by deep mines and other excavations. -Dana estimates that even if the crust of the earth is but five miles -thick that the oceans would be 400 feet deeper if all of the earth’s -imbibed waters could be returned to them. But the earth’s crust is more -likely to be 100 miles thick, and it has been imbibing these waters -for millions of years if not millions of ages. This would increase the -oceans to about 8000 feet deeper than now. Yet oceans are much deeper -today than they were in geologic times. - -This great mass of vapor would rotate by centrifugal force at the -equator, but there being no such force at the poles it was there kept -from falling by heat alone. If the earth had not rotated the vapors -would have occupied great heights; but centrifugal force being aided by -actual rotation they were driven much farther. These forces necessarily -drove the vapors over the equator. If, however, any vapors were left at -the poles they must have fallen when the earth cooled down. - -At that age rolled the first born ocean around the globe. Clouds -formed, rain descended, and winds swept the earth. There was summer and -winter, and day and night. - -The centripetal force of the rings was gradually retarded by the -influence of the moon, and the gravital force was increased until the -rings spread over the earth or approached it. When the innermost ring -gradually descended toward the earth and came in contact with the air -it was checked, and necessarily spread out toward the poles. Gravital -force is strongest in the polar regions. If the rings of Saturn and -Jupiter could increase their motion they would rise to greater heights. -If they could become slower they would sink toward the poles. - - -EVIDENCE FROM OTHER PLANETS. - -We have never seen the actual face of Saturn, and the sun is never -visible to its inhabitants. It is a planet upon which there is probably -perpetual day. The belts are composed of the same kind of material as -the super-crust of the earth--silicious, calcareous and carbonaceous -matter. They will in time become a part of the planet’s sedimentary -formation. - -When the inveterate fires of the sun shall have died out, forms of -carbon and associated forms of aqueous and mineral matter will form an -annular system around it. - -A burning world must be a smoking world, and from its furnaces must -arise vast volumes of unconsumed carbon to mingle with suspended vapors. - -When Saturn’s rings fall to the body of the planet its moons will -necessarily retire a little farther from it. Astronomers say that our -moon is gradually retiring from the earth. Then it must have had an -annular system which fell and caused the moon to recede. - - -FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE RECORD. - -The vapors contained silex, quartz and whatever else was vaporized and -suspended therein. After the atmosphere had cooled it deposited on the -earth what it contained when heated. Much of the sedimentary beds built -upon the Laurentian and older rocks were simply precipitated from the -annular system. - -Iron and sulphur existed in the upper ocean as metallic and mineral -salts. In the cooling process the heavier minerals and metals would -necessarily locate nearest the earth and be the first to fall. True -they were disseminated to a certain extent throughout the system. - -Iron and other heavy metals formed beds in the sea bottom. Iron from -Iron Mountain, Mo., and Pilot Knob, also lead and copper ores are -in the Laurentian rocks. These rocks are aqueous or sedimentary. -The annular matter fell but in small part in equatorial regions, but -largely in temperate and frigid zones. - -It is folly to suppose that all the matter of aqueous beds were -deposited from previous aqueous beds by denudation. How were subsequent -lime deposits made from silicious Archaean beds? Denudation has -taken place in all ages, and a fall and precipitation of exotic -matter--tellurio-cosmic matter--aided in the work. - - -CONCLUSIONS REACHED. - -1. All terrestial waters were held in suspension. - -2. This rotated as a part and parcel of the earth--a primeval -atmosphere of great complexity of material. - -3. This suspended matter gathered in the earth’s equatorial heavens, -and on condensing contracted and segregated into rings which revolved -independently. - -4. The waters on high fell in a succession of stupendous cataclysms. - -5. The first ocean was impregnated with mineral and metallic salts. - -6. It required a vast lapse of time for rings to fall. Each ring -continued to revolve as a belt about the earth with a decreasing -velocity as it spread toward the poles and overcanopied the earth. - -7. The smoke or unconsumed carbon that arose from the earth, darkened -the upper vapors and formed bands or belts. - -8. The moon retarded the rings, causing them to fall upon the earth, -and it then receded from our planet. - -9. The Archaean metalliferous deposits are so located as to be -inexplicable by the old theory of aqueous denudation. - -10. The Silurian beds, and particularly the order of their occurrence -utterly refutes the idea that they were derived from pre-existing beds. - - -DEMONSTRATED BY HISTORIC TESTIMONY. - -In Gen. 1:7 God made the firmament and divided the waters which were -under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. -According to the Hebrew the atmosphere became an expanse between two -bodies of waters, and of course the upper stratum had to move round the -earth. In Gen. 1:3,4 light came in and garnished the heavens before -the sun was seen. - -In the 10th. verse the waters on the earth were called seas, the water -above the earth was called the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon -them. “And God said, Let there be light,” and light came upon the deep. - -In Gen 1:14-19 the sun which existed for ages did not appear in the -heavens until after the sun brought forth grass, etc. Then it is plain -that some intercepting canopy cut off the direct rays of the sun. - -The writer of Genesis did not say the sun and moon shone upon the -earth, but he does say the stars did this. According to the Vailan -theory this is true, but they shone in from polar regions. - -The earth’s surface was not heated by the sun’s direct rays, but under -the overcanopying vapors it must have been warmed, and its temperature -equalized by transmitted and diffused solar heat. - - -CONCLUSIONS. - -There was a green-house temperature all over the earth at this time. -Storms and tempests were unknown, as such phenomena are caused by -sun-power, sun-heat falling directly upon the earth. Rains were -infrequent, if at all. - -Man, in the day when solar actinism was shorn of its strength, must -have experienced remarkable longevity, for upon solar energy depends -every form and phaze of life on earth. - -The day of rest referred to in Gen. 2:3 in which God ceased from -his labors was a windless, stormless, rainless, winterless age; for -immediately we are told that “God had not caused it to rain upon the -earth.” The climate was warm for man dwelt naked upon the earth. He was -nurtured in a green-house world. - -The rainbow comes into view after the deluge for the first time. There -could have been neither rain nor sunshine previously, just what the -Vailan theory claims. The wind came upon the earth after the waters of -the deluge had fallen, and not before. - -It was after the deluge that God said, “While the earth remaineth -seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, -and day and night shall not cease.” The period before the flood was -nightless, and evening and morning were day; that is, they coalesced -into one period called day. - -After the deluge the bow is given; man’s longevity declines; the winds -come, and alternating seasons take place--all pointing to the fact that -the antedeluvian world was overcanopied by annular waters. - -Every leaf of the geologic record declares that the world has been -deluged time and again, which this theory also claims to be true, and -to have taken place at the declension of each ring or stratum. - - -THE NOACHIAN DELUGE. - -There is enough water now on the earth and in its rocky frame to make -an hundred terrific deluges, every one of which could drown the world -of living beings. - -In early days man believed there was a great deep on high. The sources -of the deluge were “broken up,” and never again can the world be -destroyed from that source. If the fountains of the deep were on the -earth or in the seas then they are not “broken up.” If they were in -the clouds, they were not, for that source still exists. Then we must -believe that they came from beyond the clouds. - -With the fountain of the great deep placed on high--the veritable -waters above the firmament--we can readily understand why the “windows -of heaven were opened,” and why “all the fountains of the great deep -were broken up.” The rainbow proclaims these facts around the circuit -of the earth. - -How does it happen that the author of Genesis relates these facts -with such harmonious accord, with all the conditions which an Annular -arrangement of water necessitated, if the idea was not familiar to his -mind? - -The presence of upper vapors entering the atmosphere on their way to -the earth by the way of the polar regions necessitated an atmosphere of -greater buoyancy and power, and this necessitated greater bodily frame. -Hence it is said: “There were giants in those days.” There were giants -among animals as well as men. - - -LEGENDS OF THE DELUGE. - -Such wide-spread desolation as is accredited to the deluge of Noah -must have made an indelible impression upon the human mind. We would -naturally look for references to it in Aryan, Phoenecian, Greek and -Hebrew history. They were the guardians of civilization. It is not -difficult to co-link even the rudest form of the flood traditions with -the terrible visitation so graphically related by Moses. Its shadow -will never pass from the historic page. - -Men may criticise and ridicule the narrative given by Moses, yet the -fact remains that a self-sustaining history is there; and the combined -sophistry of all time cannot shake it. - -An account of that great catastrophe is found in the mythological -narratives and traditional history of nearly or quite every people and -tribe of Adam’s race. - -It is found among the Egyptians, Chaldeans, Greeks, Scythians and -Celtic tribes. It has been discovered among the Peruvians and Mexicans; -the aborigines of Cuba, of North America and the South Sea Islands. -Even the inhabitants of Alaska preserve a tradition of the deluge; and -all point unmistakably to the deluge of Noah. - -Recent investigations in the ruins of Nineveh, Babylon and in ancient -cities of Egypt confirm it by tablets preserved as veritable books. - -Tradition as she sits amidst the crumbling ages of the past sings it in -our ears, while the sound of a universal deluge has gone out through -all the earth. It would require volumes to present these traditions -alone. - - -AUGMENTATION OF OCEANIC WATERS. - -Some portions of the earth are sinking while others are rising. The -millions of cubic feet of matter deposited daily in the oceans by -rivers would be sufficient to accomplish this. Every pound of matter -thus transferred, _is an energy transferred_. In the course of 1,000 -years, 1,000 square miles of oceanic bottom would be covered to the -depth of 240 feet. - -This enormous pressure on the underlying rocks is so much transferred -energy converted into mechanical heat. This must expand the rocks thus -under increased pressure. If this sediment were not borne into the -ocean along the Atlantic coast and spread out over vast areas it would -be lined with mountains and volcanoes, as that of the Mediterranean -sea; but being spread out over an extensive floor it prevents their -formation by lateral pressure. - -Volcanoes are located where sediments can accumulate, and are doubtless -the result of this accumulation. Sixty-five thousand feet of steel -blocks piled one upon another would cause sufficient heat to melt the -lower ones or reduce them to a plastic state. The lava that issues from -a volcano is the deep bed-rock fused by pressure produced by lateral -expansion. Accumulating sediments cause rock expansion in some regions, -and being removed from others, causes contraction. Expansion elevates -the earth’s crust; contraction lowers it. - -A downfall of water that would raise the ocean fifty feet above its -present level would cause an expansion that no rocks could resist, and -its lateral pressure must result in mountain making. The New England -coast has been elevated in comparatively recent times. The St. Lawrence -is so new that it has not yet swept its channel clean. - -From Nova Scotia to Florida and around the whole boundary of the Gulf -of Mexico are the submerged shore-lines of a former continent. Many -miles out the lead-line suddenly plunges from about 100 fathoms to from -200 to 1,500 fathoms. So around the British Isles, the coast of Norway, -and that of Northern Europe and Asia. South America, Africa and the -Pacific present the same characteristics. The course of a submerged -continent has been traced in mid-ocean. - - -SUMMARY. - -The Vailan Theory is proved, - -1. By mathematical reasoning and philosophic necessity. - -2. By the mineral character and philosophical deposition of strata. - -3. By analagous facts relating to other worlds, belted and ringed under -the reign of law. - -4. By the action of the moon. - -5. By the records of man whose ancient writings declare, and -re-declare, again and again, the truth of this claim. The first eight -chapters of Genesis alone afford proof sufficient if all else failed. - -6. The waters on the earth themselves declare the fact. - - -GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. - -The first and most important element of the earth’s crust is carbon. Of -the more than 60,000 feet of aqueous beds there are probably none that -it does not enter into as an important factor. It was first driven -from the earth by intense heat. The burning world was a smoking world. -The unconsumed carbon commingled with the Annular vapors in the form -of black, sooty, pitchy matter. This was deposited at the time of the -deluge, and the waters that stood in seas, lakes and ponds deposited -it as a layer of black, carbonaceous mud upon their bottoms. It may -be found in ten thousand lakes planted in the Drift deposits in North -America and Northern Europe. - -A black carbonaceous soil covers many Western States which were once -covered by a vast inland sea. This sea was bounded on the west by the -Rocky Mountains; south by the Ozark Mountains and the mountains of -Tennessee and Kentucky, and emptied its waters into Lake Michigan. - -This great inland sea finally became a fresh-water body. The remains -of the mastodon, mammoth and other pachyderms of interdiluvian times, -as well as fresh-water shells are found. It made for itself two great -outlets, the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence rivers. This inland -sea must have been elevated 700 or 800 feet above the ocean, and was -surrounded on all sides by walls, and covered an area of at least -500,000 square miles. We must conclude that some great down-rush of -waters caused it to break its bounds in two directions at the same time. - -The fall of waters supplied the black, sooty carbon that settled to -the bottom of the sea, remaining but a few inches thick on the hills, -perhaps, but several feet in the valleys, and is the source of the peat -bogs. - - -GLACIAL EPOCHS. - -Previous to the glacial record there had closed a long period of -perpetual spring. The primitive elephant, and many of his congeners and -contemporaries, fed in luxurious forests and grassy plains toward the -north pole, which are now covered with glaciers grinding their bones -to dust. Northern regions which for untold ages had been covered with -tropical vegetation, and animals of innumerable forms, began to be -invaded by glaciers which slowly made their way toward the equator. - -The only way glaciers are now formed is by vapors wafted over them -from adjacent lands warmed by solar heat; but they were not formed -that way during the glacial epochs, but by the declension of annular -vapors. Glacial ice cannot accumulate extensively now. _It flows_, and -cannot be heaped up largely, its rate of motion being proportionate to -the slope of its bed. The source of those snows which built a great -continental ice cap over the northern hemisphere must be attributed to -the Annular System. They accumulated in the St. Lawrence valley several -thousand feet thick and towered over the New England mountains. - -Snow seldom falls in arctic regions now. Dr. Kane saw sledge tracks -that were made several years previously. How then did those boundless -reaches of snow and ice accumulate but by the descent of Annular vapors? - -Animals are found entombed in the frozen soil and snows under the -arctic circle. For many years a large trade has been carried on in -ivory, by Siberian traders, dug from the frozen soil. Many of the -animals, as the mammoth, rhinoceros, etc., remain undecayed, and in -their stomachs and between their teeth are found the vegetation upon -which they fed. And even the capillary blood vessels still retaining -their contents, showing that there was not the slightest decomposition, -but that the catastrophe which overwhelmed them was sudden. The climate -was changed as by a stroke, which congealed and sealed the land in ice, -locking the mammoth and other animals therein. - -Had those animals not been frozen soon as killed, putrification and -decomposition must have taken place. Nothing but the down-rush of snows -from the earth’s Annular System could have done this. These remains are -dredged from the northern oceans, and they are also found fossilized -over large portions of Siberia; in both cases being doubtless dropped -from icebergs. The mammoth is found frozen in a glacier; the glacier -was originally snow; the destruction must necessarily have been sudden. - -If not more than one tenth of the waters now upon the earth had fallen -in the form of snow it would have covered the entire land surface -of the globe more than 30,000 feet deep; and as one tenth must have -fallen in polar regions it brings out the Annular Theory as a competent -source. The sudden fall of snow sufficient to overwhelm a semi-tropical -world could not accumulate in the atmosphere as it now does, and fall -therefrom. It must have come from a source beyond the atmosphere. - -The overcanopying fund of vapors acted as a mighty robe to the earth, -keeping out the cold of space, and equally distributing solar heat -over the globe and causing terrestial warmth. The animals were much -larger than their representatives are now, showing that the atmosphere -was heavier and possessed more buoyant power by the pressure of a vast -ocean of vapors in the higher regions. - -The downfall of water caused continual upheavals, and mountain making, -which is proved by finding marine fossils along the seashore, and -elsewhere far above the ocean. Terraces of the Champlain epoch in New -England that must have been formed in the sea, are now found elevated -hundreds of feet. - -All geologists agree that there have been many floods upon the earth. -The great telluric glaciers of recent geologic times were melted under -the tropic influence of the Annular vapors resulting in deluges. - -Under the vast pressure of the accumulated waters the plastic ocean -bed goes down and forces its foundation under the continent by lateral -pressure, and causes upturned and crumpled strata in many places, and -also volcanic phenomena. - - -REVIEW OF THE GEOLOGIC RECORD. - -The geologist has never yet found the base of the aqueous rocks, nor -can he know how deep their foundations extend. When the Laurentian -stratified beds were formed there was an ocean on the earth. A portion -of the tellurio-cosmic waters had fallen. - -In the bowlder and conglomerate rocks found in every age of geology -there is proof that glaciers invaded the earth after the declension of -each Annular stratum. The Annular matter extended in comparatively -narrow belts over the equator. As the lower stratum was attracted -toward the earth it gradually spread out toward the polar regions, -causing a warm climate all over the earth, and melting the snows and -glaciers at the poles. This lasted untold ages until a tropic and -semi-tropical vegetation spread over the earth. After its fall arctic -cold invaded the north and south poles, pushing a vast ice cap toward -the equator, which remained until another stratum of annular vapors -spread over the globe. These ages of warmth and ages of cold continued -to alternate until the fall of the last ring of vapors, which took -place at the time of the Noachian deluge, causing that catastrophe. - -The sudden destruction of life, at the end of each age in geology, must -have been caused by sudden cold. The waters reaching the earth at the -poles must cause refrigeration; must cause excessive floods; must cause -extermination of specific forms of life; must cause new distribution -and condition of oceanic waters, and caused great folding and crumpling -of strata. - -In the dissolving of glaciers a vast pressure was lifted from the -continents and transferred to the ocean beds, causing them to go down -and the land to be elevated. - - -SEED BED OF ORGANISMS. - -From the days of Homer until the present time we read of dust-storms of -living organisms falling upon the earth, and colored snow, the coloring -matter being microscopic forms of life. The dust is doubtless of cosmic -origin. There must be micro-cosmic clouds moving in interplanetary -space, which meeting the earth in its path, are precipitated upon its -surface. - -We can scarcely conceive of matter anywhere without associating it with -living forms. The outermost vapors of the annular system, which fell -in the time of Noah, remained on high for unknown millions of years, -receiving constant additions of meteoric and cosmic dust from without. -As the gaseous envelope that now surrounds our earth contains living -organisms, we must believe the annular matter did also, and to a much -greater degree. - -If Jupiter’s belted system had long ago descended to the body of that -planet, so that we could gaze upon the continents and seas as we do -those of Mars, we would conclude that they swarmed with life. An -incomplete world must contain incomplete or primordial life-forms; -forms that in time must develop. In yellow snow, dust showers, -“blood rains,” etc. we have evidence that organic forms are natural -accompaniments of the nebulous and elementary forms of matter. - -Spider showers are well authenticated. Sometimes the air is filled -with their gossamer threads upon which they mount to unknown depths of -space, where they live. If spiders can live in the air, descend to the -earth and live there for a time, and toads can live for untold ages -immured in solid rock, they could live in belts of aqueous and mineral -matter. The manner in which organisms have succeeded each other on the -earth as revealed by the geologic records demands that the annular -system was the cradle of infant life, the propagating beds in which -the life-germs were placed by the great Gardener of Nature. - -It is as reasonable to suppose that germs took form in water under the -creative hand before they fell to the earth as afterward, and when we -see that each downfall brought new life-forms which exhibit no specific -or generic relation to previous forms, we are forced to admit that -either the seed beds of the Annular system provided the undeveloped -organisms, or there was a special creation at each period. - -In the Silurian age there was an ocean containing heavy calcarious -matter; in the Devonian silicious and silicio-calcarious matter; -in the Carboniferous carbonaceous matter, and each ocean had its -characteristic life-forms. But if all the waters fell at one time, -how is it possible for each age to have had an ocean containing -characteristic minerals? These characteristic minerals fell with each -ring, which marked the ages of geology, destroying previous life-forms -and introducing new ones. Eozoic rocks were laid down 40,000 feet -thick. Upon these were piled Silurian 65,000 feet thick; on these -Devonian rocks 15,000 feet, and then comes 17,000 feet of Carboniferous -rocks, each age having characteristic fossils and mineral deposits. As -these deposits were laid down by the sea, why do they so widely differ -in their composition if they all fell at the same time from above! The -Potsdam sandstone underlies the Silurian rocks. It spread from the -Canadas to Texas, from the Alleghanies to the Rocky mountains, and -probably forms a casement around the globe. It is 8,000 feet thick, and -shows a mechanical and rapid accumulation, pointing unmistakably to -the downfall of a silicious ring. - -The Annular theory admits of the universal eroding power of rivers and -waves; the transporting power of currents and strata building from -detrital matter. But waves can do nothing unless supplied with matter. -Where did they get the crystalline, granulated and infusorial matter to -spread over the floor of the Silurian ocean? Great beds of metals have -been laid down as regularity stratified deposits which could not have -been borne from Archaean terranes. - - -CARBON STRATA DEPOSITED AS AN AQUEOUS SEDIMENT. - -Carbon composing a peat bed is simply unconsumed carbon. The carbon -or smoke that arises from every chimney and furnace when measurably -shut up from immediate union with oxygen, remains an unburnt fuel -precisely the same in kind as the unburnt carbon fuel of the peat bogs. -Were we to collect the unburnt carbon from our chimneys in piles, -where moisture and air could have free access, it would take fire -spontaneously and burn, just as peat dug from the bog sometimes takes -fire and burns. - -The millions of fires from foundries, volcanoes, etc., are forming fuel -wherever soot is formed, and were it not for the ever active oxygen -of the air, it would all descend upon the earth as fuel and become -incorporated in forming sedimentary beds. This is our claim for the -coal, which as unconsumed carbon arose beyond the reach of destroying -oxygen, from the heated, glowing furnace of our globe, and in time -returned to the earth. - -When the plant dies and begins to decay one of its constituent -elements, carbon, oxydizes by slow combustion and returns to the air as -an invisible gas. It is but accidental when a particle fails to become -oxydized and remains as unconsumed carbon. An exceedingly small part of -vegetation remains unburnt. - -Coal veins, which are from one foot to three hundred feet thick, would -make a stratum around the earth ten feet thick. Fifty pounds of coal -will yield 10,000 gallons of carbonic acid. Then calling eight gallons -equal to one cubic foot the astonishing fact comes out that the coal -beds actually draw from the atmosphere an ocean of carbonic acid -which would have covered the globe to the depth of 12,500 feet, which -would have destroyed all animal life. Even three or four per cent. of -carbonic acid in our present atmosphere would be fatal to animal life. -Hence it is clear that coal cannot be attributed to vegetable origin. - - -CONCLUSIONS REACHED. - -The following conclusions are clearly deducible: - -1. The Annular system was a region of microscopic life and infusorial -forms. Coal being deposited by sea-water carried down with it marine -forms, and others settled upon its surface. - -2. The carbon deposits must have borne down a vast amount of marine -vegetation and buried it upon the sea bottom. In swamp marshes the -vegetation would have been entirely different. - -3. When a carbon fall was borne to the seas and settled where limestone -strata prevailed it would indicate great distance from the shore, and -here the roof shales of the coal must be necessarily free from land -fossils. Coal beds amongst sandstone strata indicate depositions near -shore, and may contain land fossils. - -4. The coal beds must be more heavily developed toward polar regions, -and most free from impurities. - -5. All carbon downfalls must have been attended by great cataclysms of -snow, or water, or both. - -6. A coal vein deposited near a volcano, or mechanical heat arising -therefrom would be metamorphosed into heavier and harder forms of -carbon. But as all grades must have existed in the Annular system as -primitive distillates, all of these forms may be found in lands where -no strata disturbance has taken place. - -7. The heavy carbon, as the anthracite and semi-bituminous particles -would be borne to the deep seas, while the lighter would float into -shallow water. Hence a submarine valley might have a deposit of -anthracite while a neighboring bed on an elevation might be bituminous. - -8. In both northern and southern hemispheres the coal must be more -valuable as we proceed from the equator. - -9. There must have been carbon falls in all ages, and the first were -the purest and the best, while the last to descend must have been the -lightest and poorest, and must be found near the surface, or are the -foundations of recent peat bogs. - -Peat vegetation, or moss known by the generic name of _Sphagnous_, has -led many to believe it to be the origin of that product. But these -_sphagnous_ mosses could never have planted themselves over the medial -and colder latitudes if the carbon beds necessary to sustain them had -not previously been planted there. If coal and peat are vegetable -products they should exist in greater abundance in tropical regions; -but they are found in limited quantity there. - - -IS COAL A VEGETABLE PRODUCT? - -The usually accepted theory concerning the origin of coal is that it -was formed from an ancient vegetation that grew largely in peat and -swamp marshes. This theory the Vailan system overthrows. - -Every atom of the great mass of carbon now forming the coal deposits -must have been a distilled product of a primitive igneous process -before the plant could possibly appropriate it. Every intelligent -chemist knows that the great telluric gas furnace of primitive times -was competent to produce all the carbon now found in the crust of the -earth. Soot, that sometimes takes fire in our chimneys, is deposited -in infinitesimal smoke particles. Hence, smoke from burning carbon is -simply a fuel which makes it evident that the smoke which arose from -the igneous earth was a fuel hydro-carbon. The dark belts of Saturn and -Jupiter are doubtless strata of carbon revolving about those planets. - -If the Vailan theory is true the graphites and heavier forms of carbon -were the first to fall upon the earth after the igneous period was -passed, and will be found in its first aqueous beds, and generally -unassociated with fossil vegetation. This is precisely what we do -find. Both Dana and Dawson bear testimony to the fact that graphite is -a very common mineral in the older beds, and that the primitive carbon -beds are equal in gravity to that of similar areas in the carboniferous -system. - -Why no fossil plants in the earlier coal deposits? Because no plants -grew at that time. Then we must look for its origin elsewhere than in -plants. If coal be a vegetable product, so is graphite. To say that -animal organism aided in the process simply adds to the difficulty, -since it is carbon that makes the organism and not the organism the -carbon. But suppose fossil plants were found in graphite, would it be -any more evidence that they formed it than that they formed clay or -sandrock in which they are found? The simple fact that organic fossils -are found in carbon beds changed to carbon affords no evidence that -these organisms made the beds. - -We find vegetable remains in coal seams just as we find them in any -other rock. A coal plant as a lepidodendron, may begin in the lower -clay, and pierce through a coal seam into the overhanging shale -and sandstone. In the first it is a clay fossil, in the second a -carbonaceous fossil, and in the third a silicious fossil. The fact is -the trunk of a tree in an upright position in a coal bed, which is -quite common, proves that the coal formed around it rapidly. It would -require forty feet of vegetable debris to make five feet of carbon. -Some coal seams are 300 feet thick, which would require at least 2,400 -feet of vegetable growth in its formation, which is an impossibility. -As a vegetable product coal would form very slowly, but from the -Vailan system would require but a few hours, or days at most, to lay it -down. - -Plants found in coal burn with difficulty, which ought not to be -true if they contained a resinous sap, or bituminous matter. In many -instances you can find a dozen fossil plants in the overlying clay to -where you can find one in coal. They are clay fossils because they are -imbedded in clay, same as fossils in coal are carbon because imbedded -in carbon. - -If coal is compressed peat, as some would have us believe, why do we -not find fibres running vertically through it? You may examine peat -after a pressure of twenty tons to the square inch has been exerted, -and yet the vertical structure of the mass will be apparent. Since we -find abundance of rootlets running in all directions, vertically as -well as horizontally in the under clays of coal beds it is evident that -coal is not a metamorphosed peat. - -Imagine an expanse of marshes 100,000 square miles in extent, covered -with calamites, ferns, sigillaria, lepidodendra remaining motionless -for countless centuries, and then suddenly sinking beneath the waves -of the sea in order to receive a sea-formed bed for a covering; and -in the universal burial to preserve but a few fossils, and they in a -horizontal position, while in the clays immediately above and below the -coal beds they are found in profusion; that in due time the vast area -arose from its baptism, and on the thin layer of clay millions of the -same plants grew until they formed another bed of coal, when it sinks -again beneath the waves, and this oscillation continued until it had -been buried twenty, forty or one hundred times, and you have the old -theory of how coal was formed. - -But if the old theory concerning the formation of coal is correct, how -did it occur that the earth in rising out of the ocean stopped each -time in the right place for swamp vegetation to accumulate? According -to the highest authority coal is not formed from sea-plants, for they -cannot emit any considerable amount of caloric, but it is the product -of land plants. Then why do we find coal scattered over a vast area of -sea bottom? - -The structure of continents show that they have remained such from -their first formation. Some of the geologic formations, as the -Carboniferous-conglomerates, took place all over the earth at the same -time. How could this be except it came from the Annular system? - -Were we to have a shower of carbon dust it would settle to the bottom -of the sea all over the irregularities of the same. Then sand beds -accumulating for ages would settle over it. These would form a greater -thickness in some places than in others; hence a succeeding fall of -carbon settling upon the ocean floor would not form a bed exactly -parallel with the first. This is precisely what we find to be true -in the carbon deposits. The distance in coal seams may vary from -twenty feet in one place to forty feet in another place in the same -neighborhood, which is the result of irregularity in the ocean floor. - -Bowlders are found in coal seams which means that coal beds have been -formed under water; and if a foreign bowlder that the coal seam was -formed at the bottom of the ocean. Bowlders have been found in the -middle of coal seams with glacial marks upon them, showing that they -have been dropped from icebergs into the forming coal beds at the -bottom of the sea. Foreign water-worn bowlders are frequently found in -coal beds. - -Stratas of coal may be separated by layers of clay not more than half -an inch in thickness; how could vegetation take root in so thin a layer -of clay sufficient to form the overlying coal seam of probably several -feet? Suppose a great carbon fund should float from the Arctic ocean -into Hudson Bay. It would settle upon an undulating bottom, and if a -flood of muddy water from the surrounding rivers should empty into the -bay while the carbon bed was forming, a thin clay bed would be the -result. This might continue as long as the carbon was brought from the -Arctic regions. - -The floating mass of primitive carbon clouds after they entered the -atmosphere and floated away for centuries, perhaps, toward the polar -regions in their efforts to reach the earth, became a tissue of -evolving vegetable organisms and vegetable forms. Take fresh soot from -a furnace soon as it is formed, subject it to hot vapors from boiling -waters and store it away in an open vessel of water, and you will soon -see vegetable and animal organisms start into being. Then why not find -organisms in revolving soot clouds in the Annular system? - -Marine vegetation exists on the sea bottom, and a carbon sediment -rapidly accumulating would certainly involve it. - -Under almost all the carbon veins lies a deposit of fire clay. Strange -that adjoining a highly combustible bed, a substance should be -invariably planted that is so refractory as to be used for crucibles -in fusing almost every known metal! In this bed lies involved a -profuse marine vegetation, and the preservation of its delicate -lineaments proves that it was suddenly involved. It is more generally -present under coal veins that are more distant from the tropics, and -_invariably_ in the most distant ones. The fire clay-dust sublimed in -the great telluric crucible arose to commingle with primitive vapors -and returned with them. When a carbon fall occurred the clay matter -being of greater specific gravity was the first to find its way to the -ocean floor. - -This fire clay is found under beds of primitive graphite where -no vegetation is involved, and therefore cannot be a vegetable -distillation. It is found where glacial action is unknown, and cannot -be mud pulverized by moving ice. Every one of the more than seventy -coal seams of the Nova Scotia regions has its characteristic clay-bed. -When we see trees standing in and surrounded by this clay we are forced -to admit a rapid accumulation. - -Limestone is a deep sea formation and the Vailan system demands that -standing trees should not be found in it. Only such limestone formation -or strata as were deposited as mechanical precipitation could be -formed in shallow waters, especially in regions beyond the tropics. -A limestone stratum deposited among shore deposits or continental -detritus points directly to Annular origin and vegetable fossils will -occur in the upper clays. Here geologists have an opportunity to prove -or disprove the Annular problem. - -Coal and peat are not found in the tropics where they ought to be found -if vegetation produced them. And if they could be found there it would -sweep the Vailan system from its foundations. They are found, however, -just where this system says they must be found. Why is peat found -in the ocean, and in the thousands of lakes and ponds where no peat -vegetation is now growing? Suppose we find a peat bed forty feet thick, -it must have been at one time a lake with forty feet of water, and how -did the peat begin to grow? Peat forms slowly and the rains and storms -would have worked mud, etc., more rapidly into it than the peat would -have filled it. It would neither have grown from the top nor from the -bottom. The foundation carbon fell from the Annular fund. - - -METAMORPHISM OF CARBON BEDS. - -When bituminous or lignitic coal, or even peat is subjected to a -sufficient degree of heat it is converted into hard coal and sometimes -into graphite. From this source some conclude that anthracite and -all hard coals are metamorphosed beds of soft carbon. But how about -the vast beds in aqueous crusts hundreds of miles from any igneous -agencies? All anthracite coal changed from bituminous coal will contain -a greater per cent. of ash than the coal from which it is derived. If -it does not it is evidence that it never was bituminous coal. - -Let us suppose a heavy fall of Annular carbon in the north Atlantic -ocean, and that the Appalachian mountains were again under the -sea. The carbon carried by the ocean currents southward would fall -to the sea bottom in the more quiet waters. The heavy or anthracite -dust would reach the bottom in deep waters where the lighter forms -would not. Before the Appalachian upheaval, the eastern base of the -system was farther out in the sea, and was in deeper waters than the -western. The constitution of the coal itself, the condition of the sea -bottom (sloping from the coast to the deep sea) point harmoniously -to the annular origin of the carbon beds. The bituminous dust not -being able to directly settle with the anthracite remained longer in -suspension which accounts for its greater amount of ash. The farther -south it floated, the more impure it became. The heaviest beds of -anthracite will be found in the northern part of the great plateau, and -principally in British America if the Vailan theory is true. - -Fossil plants in coal are generally mineralized charcoal, and are -difficult of combination. If the bed was composed of vegetable -production the same difficulty would certainly characterize the mass. -Hence the plant is simply a foreign body in a bed of mineral carbon. -Coal seams have become so hard as to be planed off by eroding forces -directly after being laid down, or before heavy beds had accumulated -over them. Thus they could not have been formed by vegetable peat. - - -TERTIARY COALS. - -Extensive coal beds in Asia are probably Tertiary, while the vast -carbon beds among the Rocky Mountains, and underlying the vast plain -to the west of these mountains, were formed in the Tertiary period. The -Rocky Mountain plateau on which the coal beds are planted existed as a -sea bottom over which the waters from the Arctic world rolled during -the Tertiary period. The Rocky Mountain region was then sleeping in the -sea. - -The Tertiary beds reach from Mexico to the Arctic ocean, proving that -currents ran toward the equator along the valley of the McKenzie, -bearing into southern waters whatever fell from the upper world. It is -thus easy to see how the vast expanse of this western world became the -receptacle of Tertiary carbon. Finding no Tertiary coals on the Eastern -border of our continent we are led to believe that a narrow continent -stretched from America to Europe across the present bed of the Atlantic -and hindered the flow of carbon along the Atlantic seaboard. It is -now conceded by geologists that such an isthmus of land reached from -Newfoundland to the shores of Europe during the Tertiary period. This -being true a vast fund of carbon must lie at the bottom of the North -Atlantic. - -If these later coals had been formed out of vegetation growing in great -continental swamps, the same opportunity was afforded by the southern -sea borders for this swamp vegetation. And so from Long Island to the -Rio Grande. Why then do we not find it if coal is of vegetable origin? -If the vast fund of the lignitic coals is a vegetable production it -was present in the Tertiary atmosphere as a deadly poison. But at that -time both land and sea were full of air-breathing mammals and monsters -showing conclusively that it was not there in such a condition. - - -DEDUCTIONS. - -1. The plant when subjected to a proper mode of distillation is made to -yield carbon in various allotropic forms. So of any mineral that has -carbon in its constitution. These forms of carbon were placed in the -crust of the earth after the primitive fires had died out. - -2. All such primitive distillations existed in the atmosphere of the -incandescent earth. - -3. This matter as it declined and mingled with the atmosphere in after -ages, changed from the ring to the belt form, and overcanopied the -earth and fell largely in regions outside the tropics. - -4. The heavier forms of carbon fell largely in the earlier ages; though -all sections of the system must have had some of each form. - -5. All ages were more or less characterized by carbon falls, and no age -could be exclusively carboniferous. - -6. Carbon falling directly into the ocean would separate into heavier -and lighter forms and settle accordingly in higher or lower elevations -of sea bottom, thus explaining why different forms of coal are found in -the same proximate horizon. - -7. The earliest or heavier forms are free from organic remains, and -must therefore be a primitive distillation. The other carbon beds -by their associated strata; by their involved vegetation and other -organisms; by accompanying clay-partings; by involved glacial drift; -by latitudinal gradation in quantity of ash and specific gravity; by -characteristic absence from the tropics and the heavy deposits in -higher latitudes; by synchronous formation in all continents; by their -evident formation in the very lap and bosom of the glacier and in ice -and flood; by the fact that they are bituminous, oily hydro-carbons, -and by a multitude of inconsistencies and impossibilities involved -in the vegetation theory, have been shown to be actual sedimentary -deposits, and therefore a primitive product. - -Since then there is not a feature connected with the formation of coal -that is not readily explained by the primitive carbon theory; not -one that philosophic law does not resolve into harmony with Annular -declension without even the show of conflict; and since vegetarians -are forever stumbling upon inexplicable difficulties--bowlders, -pebbles, undulations, slopes, ripple-marks, clay-partings, cannel-coal -inseparably joined with bituminous coal, anthracites with less -amount of ash, marine impurities, carbon planted in Archaean beds, -air-breathing animals among Tertiary coals, carbon dredged from the -ocean, dug from the frozen world, and innumerable other objections over -which they can not climb, the vegetation theory can not be true. - - -ANNULAR DOWNFALL IN THE TERTIARY OCEAN OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE. - -If the Vailian theory claims are valid the beds in the Rocky Mountain -Tertiary must present the following features: The Cretaceous period -having been brought to a close by a down-rush of waters and snows in -the northern hemisphere, a stream of water pouring southward must to a -great extent have been a fresh-water current, and those deposits in -the extreme northern beds of the Rocky Mountain region must be largely -fresh-water accumulations. Those in the middle of this region must -be to a less extent fresh-water; perhaps sometimes fresh and again -marine, owing to changes in currents, etc., and the two be commingled, -while in the southern part the beds must be almost exclusively marine. -Fortunately for the Vailian theory these demands are fully met. The -waters of this vast region communicated with the Arctic ocean, probably -by way of the present depression in British America, along the valley -of the McKenzie river, while south it communicated with the Gulf of -Mexico. - -Here was a sea forty times larger than Lake Erie. Where did the water -come from that made the northern part fresh, the middle part brackish -and the southern portion marine? The Tertiary of the Pacific Coast is -marine; so is a larger portion of the Atlantic border. Doubtless Davis -Strait poured a volume of fresh-water from the polar world into the -Atlantic, for there is the same commingling of marine and fresh-water -shells on the northeast coast, while in the northern part they are -exclusively fresh-water species. Rivers could not have done this, for -all the rivers from Delaware Bay around the coast of the Gulf of Mexico -were not sufficient to lay down fresh-water Tertiary. Admit that the -vast polar ocean of the Tertiary period was a body of fresh-water, and -all difficulties disappear. - -Geologists admit that in the Tertiary period mountains were made -on every continent, that there was a world-wide disturbance of -strata, and the most complete extermination of species on record. -The Cretaceous world was swept by a mighty cataclysmic wave, and its -animals were buried in the detrital mass swept from the land into -the seas and formed the lower Eocene beds. Nothing of which we can -conceive could do this but a downpour of Annular waters. One-third of -North America, a great part of Northern Europe, nearly all of Siberia, -much of China, and other parts of Asia were apparently synchronously -submerged beneath _fresh-water_. - -The ocean of fresh-water proves the augmentation of snows from the -great super-aerial fund. The Cretaceous age closed by excessive and -unusual refrigeration. The transported blocks of stone found in the -Upper Cretaceous and Lower Tertiary point to a northern origin. The -evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of an Annular fall of waters in the -north polar world at that time. - -Existing continents were submerged under Cretaceous waters. The Rocky -Mountains, Andes, Alps and Himalayas were either unborn or in their -infant stage. But some mighty barrier was raised that rolled the -Cretaceous waters southward, and made an isolated fresh-water ocean on -the north. It was the great Atlantic plateau reaching from Newfoundland -to Ireland, which is known by actual soundings and other evidence to be -a submerged table land. It was raised from the deep at this very time -and stood for uncounted milleniums as dry land. - -Suppose an ice cap 5000 feet thick should suddenly cover the Arctic -world. It would press that part of the globe inward and downward upon -itself even if the planet were solid to the centre. It would render the -rocks plastic and they would be pushed under the continents causing the -crust of the earth to rise into mountains in many places. Just what -occurred in Cretaceous and Tertiary times. - -We can trace the shore-line of an almost limitless fresh-water sea -around the whole hemisphere in Tertiary times, showing that the Arctic -ocean was a wide expanse of fresh-waters. This leads to the positive -and permanent establishment of the Vailian or Annular theory. - - - - -APPENDIX. - - -THE LAST ADVANCE OF GLACIERS. - -The last downfall of exterior vapors was at the time of Noah, and -produced the deluge. These vapors naturally gravitated toward the polar -regions and falling there as snows would accumulate as glaciers, their -magnitude and extent corresponding with the amount of falling snows. -It is evident if there ever was an Eden climate upon the earth its -destruction was brought about by a change of climate. If the Deluge was -a collapse of the last remnant of upper waters the latter must have -begun to fall in polar regions many centuries previous. - -The Eden world suffered a change of climate during the Adamic age, -for the race that dwelt naked in Eden became clothed in the skins of -animals. If this infant race dwelt naked the climate was warm. If -afterward it became necessary to be clothed with the skins of animals -it certainly had become cold. If the cold increased it was probably -caused by the fall of snow in polar regions. The physical condition -of the antedeluvians and their environment depended on the conditions -of the upper vapors. Hence, polar glaciers began to advance in Edenic -times. - -Glaciers advanced slowly, and are still advancing. Eight hundred years -ago Greenland was not the frigid land it now is. The Icelanders and -the Northmen sailed through northern seas in the interest of commerce -where now our hardiest seamen with iron-clad vessels scarcely dare to -venture. They pushed forward commercial enterprises into lands that are -now inhospitable and uninhabited. - -The present glaciation of polar worlds is but the result of the last -declension of outward vapors. The great ice caps of polar regions -are moving toward the equator and are constantly diminishing. It is -possible that we are approaching a day when the last ice berg will be -borne toward the tropics, and the last glacier will melt, and a more -genial climate pervade the greater portion of the earth. - - -LONGEVITY OF THE ANCIENTS. - -According to the biblical account people lived to be 800 and 900 years -old. This was principally because of the modification of solar energy. -Man’s physical environments impelled long life; and his longevity -diminished immediately after the upper deep fell and the sun began to -pour his beams upon the race; his environment evidently changed with -that event. In a few generations after the flood man died at the age of -120 or 100 years, and finally at three score and ten. - - - - -LETTER FROM PROF. I. N. VAIL. - - -MY DEAR DR. BOWERS: I have read with much interest thy compendium of -“The Earth’s Annular System,” as published by me in 1886. A synopsis -of that work can give but a meager idea of the grand conception of the -annular evolution of the earth. “The Annular Theory” stands on the -immutable truth that worlds evolve according to invariable law. - -This compels us to admit that all worlds are made alike, in the general -changes they undergo. Just as a bud evolves into a flower of the most -delicate construction and architectural order, so a world launched -from the same designing Hand must move in the same line of eternal -order, and under the law of natural uniformity develop and grow into a -completed world. - -This also leads us to the conclusion that if one world possess at -any time an annular system, then all worlds must possess a similar -appendage during some period of their existence. Consequently that -simple fact that the planet Saturn possesses at this time an annular or -ring system is proof that the earth once had a similar appendage. For -we must either admit this truth or we must admit that the planet Saturn -has not evolved thus far along a line of nature’s uniformity, but is -today a victim of accidental conditions. This law refuses to admit. - -But “The Annular Theory” does not rest on these grounds alone. A -universe of _invariable order_ pronounces it an immutable truth. The -judgment of the chemist and philosopher is positive that a rotating -world cannot pass from the molten state to the present condition of the -earth without undergoing annular changes. - -Since the publication of “The Earth’s Annular System” I have had -opportunities of examining more minutely the subjects treated of -therein and have secured the most overwhelming evidence that the theory -there proposed is in the main correct and will stand the test of all -time. I have found, outside the realm of physical science, the most -positive evidence that primitive man actually saw at least two rings -revolving about the earth, named them and worshiped them as gods. These -relics I have rescued from the wreck of ages, and _with_ these I will -prove the fact that this earth once had a complex system of Saturn-like -rings. - -Thus in the end the geologist and astronomer will be compelled to admit -its truthfulness whether they desire to or not. I have found among the -ruins of ancient Egypt, Babylonia, India and China annular fossils, the -identification of which settles at once and forever this great question. - -Again, I need not point the geologist to the mysteries of the glacial -epochs, which grow darker and darker as he looks for a competent cause -for their production. He must know that the great ocean of vapors that -hovered for unknown time over the earth in the loftiest heights of -the atmosphere, such as now are seen on two of our neighbor planets, -could not have fallen to the earth without covering it in the higher -latitudes with measureless masses of snow, resulting in excessive -refrigeration. I need but point him to the fact, proven by the coast -surveys of the world, that the oceans have encroached upon the land -to such an extent since the last glacial epoch that they stand now -fully thirty fathoms deeper than they did in pre-glacial times. I need -only point him to that grand clock-work of worlds shining from the -firmament--every scintillating point, every rolling sun, is a witness -of nature’s eternal order, and proclaims that uniformitarian principle -of world evolution, by which the philosophic investigator must stand. -The geologist must build on this rock of _uniformity_ in the evolution -of worlds. The earth has evolved along _this_ line, and the wreck of -annular conditions is seen on every page of its rocky volume. - -In the year 1875 I published a little volume entitled “The Earth’s -Aqueous Ring.” In it I stated my convictions, and gave reasons -therefor, that all the glacial periods the world ever saw were produced -by supra-aerial vapors descending from an annular system that revolved -about the earth from the remotest geologic ages to the flood of Noah, -which was itself produced by the fall of the last remnants of those -upper waters. These claims I am fully prepared to substantiate, -whatever opposition may be brought against them. - - ISAAC N. VAIL, - ELSINORE, Cal., July 6, 1892. - - - - -Transcriber’s Note - - -In this file, text in _italics_ is indicated by underscores. Text in -SMALL CAPS is all uppercase. - -The following changes were made to the text as printed: - -Page 3: “rings of agueous vapor” changed to “rings of aqueous vapor” - -“decent at the poles” changed to “descent at the poles” - -5: “the same No matter” changed to “the same. No matter” - -6: “Kelper’s “Third Law”” changed to “Kepler’s “Third Law”” - -7: “FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE RECORD” changed to “FURTHER EXAMINATION -OF THE RECORD.” - -“silicious Archæan beds” changed to “silicious Archaean beds” - -“Archæan metaliferous deposits” changed to “Archaean metalliferous -deposits” - -8: “God made the firmmanent” changed to “God made the firmament” - -“under the firmmament” changed to “under the firmament” - -“above the firmmament” changed to “above the firmament” - -“The earths surface” changed to “The earth’s surface” - -“the suns direct rays” changed to “the sun’s direct rays” - -“overcanopyed by annular waters” changed to “overcanopied by annular -waters” - -9: “THE NOCHIAN DELUGE” changed to “THE NOACHIAN DELUGE” - -“Aryan, Phonecian, Greek” changed to “Aryan, Phoenecian, Greek” - -“Greeks, Cythians and Celtic tribes” changed to “Greeks, Scythians and -Celtic tribes” - -“among the Peruvians’ and Mexicans” changed to “among the Peruvians and -Mexicans” - -“the ruins of Ninevah” changed to “the ruins of Nineveh” - -11: “fresh water shells are found” changed to “fresh-water shells are -found” - -“decent of Annular vapors” changed to “descent of Annular vapors” - -12: “soon as killed purification” changed to “soon as killed, -putrification” - -“the downrush of snows from the earths” changed to “the down-rush of -snows from the earth’s” - -“a semitropical world” changed to “a semi-tropical world” - -“over-canopying fund of vapors” changed to “overcanopying fund of -vapors” - -“posessed more bouyant power” changed to “possessed more buoyant power” - -“doubtless, dropped from icebergs” changed to “doubtless dropped from -icebergs” - -“upon the earth The great” changed to “upon the earth. The great” - -“boulder and conglomerate rocks” changed to “bowlder and conglomerate -rocks” - -13: “the disolving of glaciers” changed to “the dissolving of glaciers” - -“decended to the body” changed to “descended to the body” - -“primordal life-forms” changed to “primordial life-forms” - -“unknow depths of space” changed to “unknown depths of space” - -14: “Gardner of Nature” changed to “Gardener of Nature” - -“Carboniferous carbonacious matter” changed to “Carboniferous -carbonaceous matter” - -“down fall of a silicious ring” changed to “downfall of a silicious -ring.” - -17: “fibres runnning vertically” changed to “fibres running vertically” - -“ferns, sigillaria lepidodendra” changed to “ferns, sigillaria, -lepidodendra” - -18: “seperated by layers of clay” changed to “separated by layers of -clay” - -21: “cannel-coal inseperably joined” changed to “cannel-coal -inseparably joined” - -22: “submerged beneath _fresh water_” changed to “submerged beneath -_fresh-water_” - -“great super-ariel fund” changed to “great super-aerial fund” - -“wide expanse of fresh waters” changed to “wide expanse of -fresh-waters” - -“New Foundland to Ireland” changed to “Newfoundland to Ireland” - -“isolated fresh water ocean” changed to “isolated fresh-water ocean” - -23: “antideluvians and their environment” changed to “antedeluvians -and their environment” - -“inhospital and uninhabited” changed to “inhospitable and -uninhabited” - -“glacitation of polar worlds” changed to “glaciation of polar worlds” - -“constantly dimishing” changed to “constantly diminishing” - -“upon the race his environment” changed to “upon the race; his -environment” - -24: “natures eternal order” changed to “nature’s eternal order” - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VAILAN OR ANNULAR -THEORY *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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