,,the ,,vailan ,,or ,,annular ,,theory4 ,illustration ,a ,synopsis of ,prof4 ,i4 ,n4 ,vail's ,argument in ,support of the ,claim that this ,earth once ,possessed a ,saturn-like ,system of ,rings4 ,,stephen ,,bowers1 ,a4 ,m41 ,ph4 ,d4 ,editor of the ,ventura ,observer4 ,,fellow ,,of ,,the ,,geological ,,society ,,of ,,america1 ,,corresponding ,,member ,,of ,,the ,,american ,,geographic ,,society1 ,,philadelphia ,,academy ,,of ,,sciences1 ,,etc41 ,,etc41 ,,etc4 ,illustration ,,ventura1 ,,california3 ,,the ,,observer ,,press ,,print4 #ahib4 ,,preface4 ,the theory advanced by ,prof4 ,i4 ,n4 ,vail accounts for the formation of the earth's crust1 with its associated minerals1 in the fact that it was once surrounded by rings of aqueous vapor1 containing much of its present solid matter1 which fell as mighty deluges4 ,the last of these rings descended at the time of the ,noachian deluge and caused that catastrophe1 which is so graphically described by ,moses1 and which tradition has sung in the ears of every tribe of ,adam's race4 ,the formation of these rings was caused by the intense heat1 which drove to an immense distance every substance which could be reduced to vapor1 and where they formed as annular bands or rings similar to those surrounding the planet ,saturn at the present time4 ,after long ages the portion nearest the earth slowly overcanopied the heavens1 and owing to the lack of centrifugal force began its descent at the poles4 ,this theory explains certain phenomena better than any other yet advanced by scientists4 ,it accounts for the uplift of mountains2 the deposit of coal and other minerals2 the glacial age2 the retardation of the moon1 and it alone explains much contained in the first eight chapters of ,genesis4 ,prof4 ,vail has published a volume of about #djj pages on this subject1 which for clearness of statement and logical conclusions has seldom been equaled by previous writers on scientific subjects4 ,he deals in convincing facts which are destined to overturn many pre-conceived theories in the science of geology4 ,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 future1 and which will enable the geologist to make clear many things which are now obscure4 ,i respectfully ask for the following pages a candid reading1 and for further information on the subject refer the reader to ,prof4 ,vail's 8,story of the ,rocks01 and to other works of the gifted author1 which are now passing through the press4 ,,ventura1 ,,california1 ,s4 ,b4 ,september #a1 #ahib4 ,,the ,,vailan ,,or ,,annular ,,system4 ,illustration ,,importance ,,of ,,the ,,question4 ,jupiter's belts are doubtless aqueous vapor driven from that planet by heat2 similar in every respect1 probably1 to the primitive condition of our globe4 ,this vapor would not all fall at once on the cooling of the earth1 but the upper portion would continue to revolve for a long period4 ,all geologists agree that the earth was once in an igneous fluid state1 and during that condition all of its waters and whatever else could be vaporized and sublimed by heat1 as the less refractory metals and minerals1 were driven away from its surface4 ,the foundation of the ,annular ,system was the molten or igneous world4 ,the vaporized water1 mineral and metallic elements repelled from it existed as a great vaporized atmosphere that rotated with the earth4 ,if the earth then rotated once in twenty-four hours1 so did the atmosphere4 ,proctor and some others claim that the earth then rotated in three hours2 if so1 the atmosphere did the same4 ,no matter how long or how short the period of the earth's rotation1 the upper vapors rotated with it4 ,then1 when and how did these vapors and other materials composing the atmosphere return to the earth8 ,geologists generally have claimed that they fell at the close of the igneous period2 but the ,annular ,theory claims that they did not1 and it undertakes to explain the phenomena of the geologic ages and epochs upon this claim4 ,the most eminent scientists agree that the vapors were driven off at least #bjj1jjj miles from the earth1 and many claim a distance of #bdj1jjj miles4 ,all of the carbon in the grand casement of aqueous rocks1 the vast oceans of oxygen now contained in the silicates1 sulphates1 carbonates and oxides of the crust1 as well as the nitrogen and hydrogen in numerous compounds enormously swelled its volume4 ,but the ,annular ,theory will claim but #ajj1jjj miles as the atmosphere and that the earth rotated as now1 once in twenty-four hours4 ,at the equator it revolves at the rate of #a1jjj miles an hour1 at which rate the periphery of the earth's primitive atmosphere would revolve more than #be1jjj miles an hour4 ,now it is mathematically certain that a body in our atmosphere revolving at the rate of #ag1ejj miles an hour could not fall to the earth's surface4 ,by ,kepler's 8,third ,law0 we can readily demonstrate not only that these vapors were thrown out into a ring system1 but how far beyond the earth they reached1 namely3 8,the squares of the periodic times of revolving satellites are proportioned to the cubes of their mean distances from the primary around which they move40 ,the vapors nearest the earth did not possess the energy of satellites1 consequently they fell to the earth1 as the latter's surface cooled1 leaving the more distant matter moving independently above it4 ,,evidences ,,of ,,the ,,geologic ,,record4 ,when the earth was in a state of fiery fluidity1 all of the water it now contains was suspended at a great distance above it4 ,beside the oceans which now cover three-fourths of the surface of the globe1 rocks and coals contain from ten per cent to one half water1 all of which was primarily held in suspension4 ,the bosom of the earth is continually absorbing water as is demonstrated by deep mines and other excavations4 ,dana estimates that even if the crust of the earth is but five miles thick that the oceans would be #djj feet deeper if all of the earth's imbibed waters could be returned to them4 ,but the earth's crust is more likely to be #ajj miles thick1 and it has been imbibing these waters for millions of years if not millions of ages4 ,this would increase the oceans to about #hjjj feet deeper than now4 ,yet oceans are much deeper today than they were in geologic times4 ,this great mass of vapor would rotate by centrifugal force at the equator1 but there being no such force at the poles it was there kept from falling by heat alone4 ,if the earth had not rotated the vapors would have occupied great heights2 but centrifugal force being aided by actual rotation they were driven much farther4 ,these forces necessarily drove the vapors over the equator4 ,if1 however1 any vapors were left at the poles they must have fallen when the earth cooled down4 ,at that age rolled the first born ocean around the globe4 ,clouds formed1 rain descended1 and winds swept the earth4 ,there was summer and winter1 and day and night4 ,the centripetal force of the rings was gradually retarded by the influence of the moon1 and the gravital force was increased until the rings spread over the earth or approached it4 ,when the innermost ring gradually descended toward the earth and came in contact with the air it was checked1 and necessarily spread out toward the poles4 ,gravital force is strongest in the polar regions4 ,if the rings of ,saturn and ,jupiter could increase their motion they would rise to greater heights4 ,if they could become slower they would sink toward the poles4 ,,evidence ,,from ,,other ,,planets4 ,we have never seen the actual face of ,saturn1 and the sun is never visible to its inhabitants4 ,it is a planet upon which there is probably perpetual day4 ,the belts are composed of the same kind of material as the super-crust of the earth--silicious1 calcareous and carbonaceous matter4 ,they will in time become a part of the planet's sedimentary formation4 ,when the inveterate fires of the sun shall have died out1 forms of carbon and associated forms of aqueous and mineral matter will form an annular system around it4 ,a burning world must be a smoking world1 and from its furnaces must arise vast volumes of unconsumed carbon to mingle with suspended vapors4 ,when ,saturn's rings fall to the body of the planet its moons will necessarily retire a little farther from it4 ,astronomers say that our moon is gradually retiring from the earth4 ,then it must have had an annular system which fell and caused the moon to recede4 ,,further ,,examination ,,of ,,the ,,record4 ,the vapors contained silex1 quartz and whatever else was vaporized and suspended therein4 ,after the atmosphere had cooled it deposited on the earth what it contained when heated4 ,much of the sedimentary beds built upon the ,laurentian and older rocks were simply precipitated from the annular system4 ,iron and sulphur existed in the upper ocean as metallic and mineral salts4 ,in the cooling process the heavier minerals and metals would necessarily locate nearest the earth and be the first to fall4 ,true they were disseminated to a certain extent throughout the system4 ,iron and other heavy metals formed beds in the sea bottom4 ,iron from ,iron ,mountain1 ,mo41 and ,pilot ,knob1 also lead and copper ores are in the ,laurentian rocks4 ,these rocks are aqueous or sedimentary4 ,the annular matter fell but in small part in equatorial regions1 but largely in temperate and frigid zones4 ,it is folly to suppose that all the matter of aqueous beds were deposited from previous aqueous beds by denudation4 ,how were subsequent lime deposits made from silicious ,archaean beds8 ,denudation has taken place in all ages1 and a fall and precipitation of exotic matter--tellurio-cosmic matter--aided in the work4 ,,conclusions ,,reached4 #a4 ,all terrestial waters were held in suspension4 #b4 ,this rotated as a part and parcel of the earth--a primeval atmosphere of great complexity of material4 #c4 ,this suspended matter gathered in the earth's equatorial heavens1 and on condensing contracted and segregated into rings which revolved independently4 #d4 ,the waters on high fell in a succession of stupendous cataclysms4 #e4 ,the first ocean was impregnated with mineral and metallic salts4 #f4 ,it required a vast lapse of time for rings to fall4 ,each ring continued to revolve as a belt about the earth with a decreasing velocity as it spread toward the poles and overcanopied the earth4 #g4 ,the smoke or unconsumed carbon that arose from the earth1 darkened the upper vapors and formed bands or belts4 #h4 ,the moon retarded the rings1 causing them to fall upon the earth1 and it then receded from our planet4 #i4 ,the ,archaean metalliferous deposits are so located as to be inexplicable by the old theory of aqueous denudation4 #aj4 ,the ,silurian beds1 and particularly the order of their occurrence utterly refutes the idea that they were derived from pre-existing beds4 ,,demonstrated ,,by ,,historic ,,testimony4 ,in ,gen4 #a3g ,god made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament4 ,according to the ,hebrew the atmosphere became an expanse between two bodies of waters1 and of course the upper stratum had to move round the earth4 ,in ,gen4 #a3c1d light came in and garnished the heavens before the sun was seen4 ,in the #ajth4 verse the waters on the earth were called seas1 the water above the earth was called the deep1 and the ,spirit of ,god moved upon them4 8,and ,god said1 ,let there be light10 and light came upon the deep4 ,in ,gen #a3ad-ai the sun which existed for ages did not appear in the heavens until after the sun brought forth grass1 etc4 ,then it is plain that some intercepting canopy cut off the direct rays of the sun4 ,the writer of ,genesis did not say the sun and moon shone upon the earth1 but he does say the stars did this4 ,according to the ,vailan theory this is true1 but they shone in from polar regions4 ,the earth's surface was not heated by the sun's direct rays1 but under the overcanopying vapors it must have been warmed1 and its temperature equalized by transmitted and diffused solar heat4 ,,conclusions4 ,there was a green-house temperature all over the earth at this time4 ,storms and tempests were unknown1 as such phenomena are caused by sun-power1 sun-heat falling directly upon the earth4 ,rains were infrequent1 if at all4 ,man1 in the day when solar actinism was shorn of its strength1 must have experienced remarkable longevity1 for upon solar energy depends every form and phaze of life on earth4 ,the day of rest referred to in ,gen4 #b3c in which ,god ceased from his labors was a windless1 stormless1 rainless1 winterless age2 for immediately we are told that 8,god had not caused it to rain upon the earth40 ,the climate was warm for man dwelt naked upon the earth4 ,he was nurtured in a green-house world4 ,the rainbow comes into view after the deluge for the first time4 ,there could have been neither rain nor sunshine previously1 just what the ,vailan theory claims4 ,the wind came upon the earth after the waters of the deluge had fallen1 and not before4 ,it was after the deluge that ,god said1 8,while the earth remaineth seed-time and harvest1 and cold and heat1 and summer and winter1 and day and night shall not cease40 ,the period before the flood was nightless1 and evening and morning were day2 that is1 they coalesced into one period called day4 ,after the deluge the bow is given2 man's longevity declines2 the winds come1 and alternating seasons take place--all pointing to the fact that the antedeluvian world was overcanopied by annular waters4 ,every leaf of the geologic record declares that the world has been deluged time and again1 which this theory also claims to be true1 and to have taken place at the declension of each ring or stratum4 ,,the ,,noachian ,,deluge4 ,there is enough water now on the earth and in its rocky frame to make an hundred terrific deluges1 every one of which could drown the world of living beings4 ,in early days man believed there was a great deep on high4 ,the sources of the deluge were 8broken up10 and never again can the world be destroyed from that source4 ,if the fountains of the deep were on the earth or in the seas then they are not 8broken up40 ,if they were in the clouds1 they were not1 for that source still exists4 ,then we must believe that they came from beyond the clouds4 ,with the fountain of the great deep placed on high--the veritable waters above the firmament--we can readily understand why the 8windows of heaven were opened10 and why 8all the fountains of the great deep were broken up40 ,the rainbow proclaims these facts around the circuit of the earth4 ,how does it happen that the author of ,genesis relates these facts with such harmonious accord1 with all the conditions which an ,annular arrangement of water necessitated1 if the idea was not familiar to his mind8 ,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 power1 and this necessitated greater bodily frame4 ,hence it is said3 8,there were giants in those days40 ,there were giants among animals as well as men4 ,,legends ,,of ,,the ,,deluge4 ,such wide-spread desolation as is accredited to the deluge of ,noah must have made an indelible impression upon the human mind4 ,we would naturally look for references to it in ,aryan1 ,phoenecian1 ,greek and ,hebrew history4 ,they were the guardians of civilization4 ,it is not difficult to co-link even the rudest form of the flood traditions with the terrible visitation so graphically related by ,moses4 ,its shadow will never pass from the historic page4 ,men may criticise and ridicule the narrative given by ,moses1 yet the fact remains that a self-sustaining history is there2 and the combined sophistry of all time cannot shake it4 ,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 race4 ,it is found among the ,egyptians1 ,chaldeans1 ,greeks1 ,scythians and ,celtic tribes4 ,it has been discovered among the ,peruvians and ,mexicans2 the aborigines of ,cuba1 of ,north ,america and the ,south ,sea ,islands4 ,even the inhabitants of ,alaska preserve a tradition of the deluge2 and all point unmistakably to the deluge of ,noah4 ,recent investigations in the ruins of ,nineveh1 ,babylon and in ancient cities of ,egypt confirm it by tablets preserved as veritable books4 ,tradition as she sits amidst the crumbling ages of the past sings it in our ears1 while the sound of a universal deluge has gone out through all the earth4 ,it would require volumes to present these traditions alone4 ,,augmentation ,,of ,,oceanic ,,waters4 ,some portions of the earth are sinking while others are rising4 ,the millions of cubic feet of matter deposited daily in the oceans by rivers would be sufficient to accomplish this4 ,every pound of matter thus transferred1 is an energy transferred4 ,in the course of #a1jjj years1 #a1jjj square miles of oceanic bottom would be covered to the depth of #bdj feet4 ,this enormous pressure on the underlying rocks is so much transferred energy converted into mechanical heat4 ,this must expand the rocks thus under increased pressure4 ,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 volcanoes1 as that of the ,mediterranean sea2 but being spread out over an extensive floor it prevents their formation by lateral pressure4 ,volcanoes are located where sediments can accumulate1 and are doubtless the result of this accumulation4 ,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 state4 ,the lava that issues from a volcano is the deep bed-rock fused by pressure produced by lateral expansion4 ,accumulating sediments cause rock expansion in some regions1 and being removed from others1 causes contraction4 ,expansion elevates the earth's crust2 contraction lowers it4 ,a downfall of water that would raise the ocean fifty feet above its present level would cause an expansion that no rocks could resist1 and its lateral pressure must result in mountain making4 ,the ,new ,england coast has been elevated in comparatively recent times4 ,the ,st4 ,lawrence is so new that it has not yet swept its channel clean4 ,from ,nova ,scotia to ,florida and around the whole boundary of the ,gulf of ,mexico are the submerged shore-lines of a former continent4 ,many miles out the lead-line suddenly plunges from about #ajj fathoms to from #bjj to #a1ejj fathoms4 ,so around the ,british ,isles1 the coast of ,norway1 and that of ,northern ,europe and ,asia4 ,south ,america1 ,africa and the ,pacific present the same characteristics4 ,the course of a submerged continent has been traced in mid-ocean4 ,,summary4 ,the ,vailan ,theory is proved1 #a4 ,by mathematical reasoning and philosophic necessity4 #b4 ,by the mineral character and philosophical deposition of strata4 #c4 ,by analagous facts relating to other worlds1 belted and ringed under the reign of law4 #d4 ,by the action of the moon4 #e4 ,by the records of man whose ancient writings declare1 and re-declare1 again and again1 the truth of this claim4 ,the first eight chapters of ,genesis alone afford proof sufficient if all else failed4 #f4 ,the waters on the earth themselves declare the fact4 ,,geographical ,,features4 ,the first and most important element of the earth's crust is carbon4 ,of the more than #fj1jjj feet of aqueous beds there are probably none that it does not enter into as an important factor4 ,it was first driven from the earth by intense heat4 ,the burning world was a smoking world4 ,the unconsumed carbon commingled with the ,annular vapors in the form of black1 sooty1 pitchy matter4 ,this was deposited at the time of the deluge1 and the waters that stood in seas1 lakes and ponds deposited it as a layer of black1 carbonaceous mud upon their bottoms4 ,it may be found in ten thousand lakes planted in the ,drift deposits in ,north ,america and ,northern ,europe4 ,a black carbonaceous soil covers many ,western ,states which were once covered by a vast inland sea4 ,this sea was bounded on the west by the ,rocky ,mountains2 south by the ,ozark ,mountains and the mountains of ,tennessee and ,kentucky1 and emptied its waters into ,lake ,michigan4 ,this great inland sea finally became a fresh-water body4 ,the remains of the mastodon1 mammoth and other pachyderms of interdiluvian times1 as well as fresh-water shells are found4 ,it made for itself two great outlets1 the ,mississippi and the ,st4 ,lawrence rivers4 ,this inland sea must have been elevated #gjj or #hjj feet above the ocean1 and was surrounded on all sides by walls1 and covered an area of at least #ejj1jjj square miles4 ,we must conclude that some great down-rush of waters caused it to break its bounds in two directions at the same time4 ,the fall of waters supplied the black1 sooty carbon that settled to the bottom of the sea1 remaining but a few inches thick on the hills1 perhaps1 but several feet in the valleys1 and is the source of the peat bogs4 ,,glacial ,,epochs4 ,previous to the glacial record there had closed a long period of perpetual spring4 ,the primitive elephant1 and many of his congeners and contemporaries1 fed in luxurious forests and grassy plains toward the north pole1 which are now covered with glaciers grinding their bones to dust4 ,northern regions which for untold ages had been covered with tropical vegetation1 and animals of innumerable forms1 began to be invaded by glaciers which slowly made their way toward the equator4 ,the only way glaciers are now formed is by vapors wafted over them from adjacent lands warmed by solar heat2 but they were not formed that way during the glacial epochs1 but by the declension of annular vapors4 ,glacial ice cannot accumulate extensively now4 ,it flows1 and cannot be heaped up largely1 its rate of motion being proportionate to the slope of its bed4 ,the source of those snows which built a great continental ice cap over the northern hemisphere must be attributed to the ,annular ,system4 ,they accumulated in the ,st4 ,lawrence valley several thousand feet thick and towered over the ,new ,england mountains4 ,snow seldom falls in arctic regions now4 ,dr4 ,kane saw sledge tracks that were made several years previously4 ,how then did those boundless reaches of snow and ice accumulate but by the descent of ,annular vapors8 ,animals are found entombed in the frozen soil and snows under the arctic circle4 ,for many years a large trade has been carried on in ivory1 by ,siberian traders1 dug from the frozen soil4 ,many of the animals1 as the mammoth1 rhinoceros1 etc41 remain undecayed1 and in their stomachs and between their teeth are found the vegetation upon which they fed4 ,and even the capillary blood vessels still retaining their contents1 showing that there was not the slightest decomposition1 but that the catastrophe which overwhelmed them was sudden4 ,the climate was changed as by a stroke1 which congealed and sealed the land in ice1 locking the mammoth and other animals therein4 ,had those animals not been frozen soon as killed1 putrification and decomposition must have taken place4 ,nothing but the down-rush of snows from the earth's ,annular ,system could have done this4 ,these remains are dredged from the northern oceans1 and they are also found fossilized over large portions of ,siberia2 in both cases being doubtless dropped from icebergs4 ,the mammoth is found frozen in a glacier2 the glacier was originally snow2 the destruction must necessarily have been sudden4 ,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 #cj1jjj feet deep2 and as one tenth must have fallen in polar regions it brings out the ,annular ,theory as a competent source4 ,the sudden fall of snow sufficient to overwhelm a semi-tropical world could not accumulate in the atmosphere as it now does1 and fall therefrom4 ,it must have come from a source beyond the atmosphere4 ,the overcanopying fund of vapors acted as a mighty robe to the earth1 keeping out the cold of space1 and equally distributing solar heat over the globe and causing terrestial warmth4 ,the animals were much larger than their representatives are now1 showing that the atmosphere was heavier and possessed more buoyant power by the pressure of a vast ocean of vapors in the higher regions4 ,the downfall of water caused continual upheavals1 and mountain making1 which is proved by finding marine fossils along the seashore1 and elsewhere far above the ocean4 ,terraces of the ,champlain epoch in ,new ,england that must have been formed in the sea1 are now found elevated hundreds of feet4 ,all geologists agree that there have been many floods upon the earth4 ,the great telluric glaciers of recent geologic times were melted under the tropic influence of the ,annular vapors resulting in deluges4 ,under the vast pressure of the accumulated waters the plastic ocean bed goes down and forces its foundation under the continent by lateral pressure1 and causes upturned and crumpled strata in many places1 and also volcanic phenomena4 ,,review ,,of ,,the ,,geologic ,,record4 ,the geologist has never yet found the base of the aqueous rocks1 nor can he know how deep their foundations extend4 ,when the ,laurentian stratified beds were formed there was an ocean on the earth4 ,a portion of the tellurio-cosmic waters had fallen4 ,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 stratum4 ,the ,annular matter extended in comparatively narrow belts over the equator4 ,as the lower stratum was attracted toward the earth it gradually spread out toward the polar regions1 causing a warm climate all over the earth1 and melting the snows and glaciers at the poles4 ,this lasted untold ages until a tropic and semi-tropical vegetation spread over the earth4 ,after its fall arctic cold invaded the north and south poles1 pushing a vast ice cap toward the equator1 which remained until another stratum of annular vapors spread over the globe4 ,these ages of warmth and ages of cold continued to alternate until the fall of the last ring of vapors1 which took place at the time of the ,noachian deluge1 causing that catastrophe4 ,the sudden destruction of life1 at the end of each age in geology1 must have been caused by sudden cold4 ,the waters reaching the earth at the poles must cause refrigeration2 must cause excessive floods2 must cause extermination of specific forms of life2 must cause new distribution and condition of oceanic waters1 and caused great folding and crumpling of strata4 ,in the dissolving of glaciers a vast pressure was lifted from the continents and transferred to the ocean beds1 causing them to go down and the land to be elevated4 ,,seed ,,bed ,,of ,,organisms4 ,from the days of ,homer until the present time we read of dust-storms of living organisms falling upon the earth1 and colored snow1 the coloring matter being microscopic forms of life4 ,the dust is doubtless of cosmic origin4 ,there must be micro-cosmic clouds moving in interplanetary space1 which meeting the earth in its path1 are precipitated upon its surface4 ,we can scarcely conceive of matter anywhere without associating it with living forms4 ,the outermost vapors of the annular system1 which fell in the time of ,noah1 remained on high for unknown millions of years1 receiving constant additions of meteoric and cosmic dust from without4 ,as the gaseous envelope that now surrounds our earth contains living organisms1 we must believe the annular matter did also1 and to a much greater degree4 ,if ,jupiter's belted system had long ago descended to the body of that planet1 so that we could gaze upon the continents and seas as we do those of ,mars1 we would conclude that they swarmed with life4 ,an incomplete world must contain incomplete or primordial life-forms2 forms that in time must develop4 ,in yellow snow1 dust showers1 8blood rains10 etc4 we have evidence that organic forms are natural accompaniments of the nebulous and elementary forms of matter4 ,spider showers are well authenticated4 ,sometimes the air is filled with their gossamer threads upon which they mount to unknown depths of space1 where they live4 ,if spiders can live in the air1 descend to the earth and live there for a time1 and toads can live for untold ages immured in solid rock1 they could live in belts of aqueous and mineral matter4 ,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 life1 the propagating beds in which the life-germs were placed by the great ,gardener of ,nature4 ,it is as reasonable to suppose that germs took form in water under the creative hand before they fell to the earth as afterward1 and when we see that each downfall brought new life-forms which exhibit no specific or generic relation to previous forms1 we are forced to admit that either the seed beds of the ,annular system provided the undeveloped organisms1 or there was a special creation at each period4 ,in the ,silurian age there was an ocean containing heavy calcarious matter2 in the ,devonian silicious and silicio-calcarious matter2 in the ,carboniferous carbonaceous matter1 and each ocean had its characteristic life-forms4 ,but if all the waters fell at one time1 how is it possible for each age to have had an ocean containing characteristic minerals8 ,these characteristic minerals fell with each ring1 which marked the ages of geology1 destroying previous life-forms and introducing new ones4 ,eozoic rocks were laid down #dj1jjj feet thick4 ,upon these were piled ,silurian #fe1jjj feet thick2 on these ,devonian rocks #ae1jjj feet1 and then comes #ag1jjj feet of ,carboniferous rocks1 each age having characteristic fossils and mineral deposits4 ,as these deposits were laid down by the sea1 why do they so widely differ in their composition if they all fell at the same time from above6 ,the ,potsdam sandstone underlies the ,silurian rocks4 ,it spread from the ,canadas to ,texas1 from the ,alleghanies to the ,rocky mountains1 and probably forms a casement around the globe4 ,it is #h1jjj feet thick1 and shows a mechanical and rapid accumulation1 pointing unmistakably to the downfall of a silicious ring4 ,the ,annular theory admits of the universal eroding power of rivers and waves2 the transporting power of currents and strata building from detrital matter4 ,but waves can do nothing unless supplied with matter4 ,where did they get the crystalline1 granulated and infusorial matter to spread over the floor of the ,silurian ocean8 ,great beds of metals have been laid down as regularity stratified deposits which could not have been borne from ,archaean terranes4 ,,carbon ,,strata ,,deposited ,,as ,,an ,,aqueous ,,sediment4 ,carbon composing a peat bed is simply unconsumed carbon4 ,the carbon or smoke that arises from every chimney and furnace when measurably shut up from immediate union with oxygen1 remains an unburnt fuel precisely the same in kind as the unburnt carbon fuel of the peat bogs4 ,were we to collect the unburnt carbon from our chimneys in piles1 where moisture and air could have free access1 it would take fire spontaneously and burn1 just as peat dug from the bog sometimes takes fire and burns4 ,the millions of fires from foundries1 volcanoes1 etc41 are forming fuel wherever soot is formed1 and were it not for the ever active oxygen of the air1 it would all descend upon the earth as fuel and become incorporated in forming sedimentary beds4 ,this is our claim for the coal1 which as unconsumed carbon arose beyond the reach of destroying oxygen1 from the heated1 glowing furnace of our globe1 and in time returned to the earth4 ,when the plant dies and begins to decay one of its constituent elements1 carbon1 oxydizes by slow combustion and returns to the air as an invisible gas4 ,it is but accidental when a particle fails to become oxydized and remains as unconsumed carbon4 ,an exceedingly small part of vegetation remains unburnt4 ,coal veins1 which are from one foot to three hundred feet thick1 would make a stratum around the earth ten feet thick4 ,fifty pounds of coal will yield #aj1jjj gallons of carbonic acid4 ,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 #ab1ejj feet1 which would have destroyed all animal life4 ,even three or four per cent4 of carbonic acid in our present atmosphere would be fatal to animal life4 ,hence it is clear that coal cannot be attributed to vegetable origin4 ,,conclusions ,,reached4 ,the following conclusions are clearly deducible3 #a4 ,the ,annular system was a region of microscopic life and infusorial forms4 ,coal being deposited by sea-water carried down with it marine forms1 and others settled upon its surface4 #b4 ,the carbon deposits must have borne down a vast amount of marine vegetation and buried it upon the sea bottom4 ,in swamp marshes the vegetation would have been entirely different4 #c4 ,when a carbon fall was borne to the seas and settled where limestone strata prevailed it would indicate great distance from the shore1 and here the roof shales of the coal must be necessarily free from land fossils4 ,coal beds amongst sandstone strata indicate depositions near shore1 and may contain land fossils4 #d4 ,the coal beds must be more heavily developed toward polar regions1 and most free from impurities4 #e4 ,all carbon downfalls must have been attended by great cataclysms of snow1 or water1 or both4 #f4 ,a coal vein deposited near a volcano1 or mechanical heat arising therefrom would be metamorphosed into heavier and harder forms of carbon4 ,but as all grades must have existed in the ,annular system as primitive distillates1 all of these forms may be found in lands where no strata disturbance has taken place4 #g4 ,the heavy carbon1 as the anthracite and semi-bituminous particles would be borne to the deep seas1 while the lighter would float into shallow water4 ,hence a submarine valley might have a deposit of anthracite while a neighboring bed on an elevation might be bituminous4 #h4 ,in both northern and southern hemispheres the coal must be more valuable as we proceed from the equator4 #i4 ,there must have been carbon falls in all ages1 and the first were the purest and the best1 while the last to descend must have been the lightest and poorest1 and must be found near the surface1 or are the foundations of recent peat bogs4 ,peat vegetation1 or moss known by the generic name of ,sphagnous1 has led many to believe it to be the origin of that product4 ,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 there4 ,if coal and peat are vegetable products they should exist in greater abundance in tropical regions2 but they are found in limited quantity there4 ,,is ,,coal ,a ,,vegetable ,,product8 ,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 marshes4 ,this theory the ,vailan system overthrows4 ,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 it4 ,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 earth4 ,soot1 that sometimes takes fire in our chimneys1 is deposited in infinitesimal smoke particles4 ,hence1 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-carbon4 ,the dark belts of ,saturn and ,jupiter are doubtless strata of carbon revolving about those planets4 ,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 passed1 and will be found in its first aqueous beds1 and generally unassociated with fossil vegetation4 ,this is precisely what we do find4 ,both ,dana and ,dawson bear testimony to the fact that graphite is a very common mineral in the older beds1 and that the primitive carbon beds are equal in gravity to that of similar areas in the carboniferous system4 ,why no fossil plants in the earlier coal deposits8 ,because no plants grew at that time4 ,then we must look for its origin elsewhere than in plants4 ,if coal be a vegetable product1 so is graphite4 ,to say that animal organism aided in the process simply adds to the difficulty1 since it is carbon that makes the organism and not the organism the carbon4 ,but suppose fossil plants were found in graphite1 would it be any more evidence that they formed it than that they formed clay or sandrock in which they are found8 ,the simple fact that organic fossils are found in carbon beds changed to carbon affords no evidence that these organisms made the beds4 ,we find vegetable remains in coal seams just as we find them in any other rock4 ,a coal plant as a lepidodendron1 may begin in the lower clay1 and pierce through a coal seam into the overhanging shale and sandstone4 ,in the first it is a clay fossil1 in the second a carbonaceous fossil1 and in the third a silicious fossil4 ,the fact is the trunk of a tree in an upright position in a coal bed1 which is quite common1 proves that the coal formed around it rapidly4 ,it would require forty feet of vegetable debris to make five feet of carbon4 ,some coal seams are #cjj feet thick1 which would require at least #b1djj feet of vegetable growth in its formation1 which is an impossibility4 ,as a vegetable product coal would form very slowly1 but from the ,vailan system would require but a few hours1 or days at most1 to lay it down4 ,plants found in coal burn with difficulty1 which ought not to be true if they contained a resinous sap1 or bituminous matter4 ,in many instances you can find a dozen fossil plants in the overlying clay to where you can find one in coal4 ,they are clay fossils because they are imbedded in clay1 same as fossils in coal are carbon because imbedded in carbon4 ,if coal is compressed peat1 as some would have us believe1 why do we not find fibres running vertically through it8 ,you may examine peat after a pressure of twenty tons to the square inch has been exerted1 and yet the vertical structure of the mass will be apparent4 ,since we find abundance of rootlets running in all directions1 vertically as well as horizontally in the under clays of coal beds it is evident that coal is not a metamorphosed peat4 ,imagine an expanse of marshes #ajj1jjj square miles in extent1 covered with calamites1 ferns1 sigillaria1 lepidodendra remaining motionless for countless centuries1 and then suddenly sinking beneath the waves of the sea in order to receive a sea-formed bed for a covering2 and in the universal burial to preserve but a few fossils1 and they in a horizontal position1 while in the clays immediately above and below the coal beds they are found in profusion2 that in due time the vast area arose from its baptism1 and on the thin layer of clay millions of the same plants grew until they formed another bed of coal1 when it sinks again beneath the waves1 and this oscillation continued until it had been buried twenty1 forty or one hundred times1 and you have the old theory of how coal was formed4 ,but if the old theory concerning the formation of coal is correct1 how did it occur that the earth in rising out of the ocean stopped each time in the right place for swamp vegetation to accumulate8 ,according to the highest authority coal is not formed from sea-plants1 for they cannot emit any considerable amount of caloric1 but it is the product of land plants4 ,then why do we find coal scattered over a vast area of sea bottom8 ,the structure of continents show that they have remained such from their first formation4 ,some of the geologic formations1 as the ,carboniferous-conglomerates1 took place all over the earth at the same time4 ,how could this be except it came from the ,annular system8 ,were we to have a shower of carbon dust it would settle to the bottom of the sea all over the irregularities of the same4 ,then sand beds accumulating for ages would settle over it4 ,these would form a greater thickness in some places than in others2 hence a succeeding fall of carbon settling upon the ocean floor would not form a bed exactly parallel with the first4 ,this is precisely what we find to be true in the carbon deposits4 ,the distance in coal seams may vary from twenty feet in one place to forty feet in another place in the same neighborhood1 which is the result of irregularity in the ocean floor4 ,bowlders are found in coal seams which means that coal beds have been formed under water2 and if a foreign bowlder that the coal seam was formed at the bottom of the ocean4 ,bowlders have been found in the middle of coal seams with glacial marks upon them1 showing that they have been dropped from icebergs into the forming coal beds at the bottom of the sea4 ,foreign water-worn bowlders are frequently found in coal beds4 ,stratas of coal may be separated by layers of clay not more than half an inch in thickness2 how could vegetation take root in so thin a layer of clay sufficient to form the overlying coal seam of probably several feet8 ,suppose a great carbon fund should float from the ,arctic ocean into ,hudson ,bay4 ,it would settle upon an undulating bottom1 and if a flood of muddy water from the surrounding rivers should empty into the bay while the carbon bed was forming1 a thin clay bed would be the result4 ,this might continue as long as the carbon was brought from the ,arctic regions4 ,the floating mass of primitive carbon clouds after they entered the atmosphere and floated away for centuries1 perhaps1 toward the polar regions in their efforts to reach the earth1 became a tissue of evolving vegetable organisms and vegetable forms4 ,take fresh soot from a furnace soon as it is formed1 subject it to hot vapors from boiling waters and store it away in an open vessel of water1 and you will soon see vegetable and animal organisms start into being4 ,then why not find organisms in revolving soot clouds in the ,annular system8 ,marine vegetation exists on the sea bottom1 and a carbon sediment rapidly accumulating would certainly involve it4 ,under almost all the carbon veins lies a deposit of fire clay4 ,strange that adjoining a highly combustible bed1 a substance should be invariably planted that is so refractory as to be used for crucibles in fusing almost every known metal6 ,in this bed lies involved a profuse marine vegetation1 and the preservation of its delicate lineaments proves that it was suddenly involved4 ,it is more generally present under coal veins that are more distant from the tropics1 and invariably in the most distant ones4 ,the fire clay-dust sublimed in the great telluric crucible arose to commingle with primitive vapors and returned with them4 ,when a carbon fall occurred the clay matter being of greater specific gravity was the first to find its way to the ocean floor4 ,this fire clay is found under beds of primitive graphite where no vegetation is involved1 and therefore cannot be a vegetable distillation4 ,it is found where glacial action is unknown1 and cannot be mud pulverized by moving ice4 ,every one of the more than seventy coal seams of the ,nova ,scotia regions has its characteristic clay-bed4 ,when we see trees standing in and surrounded by this clay we are forced to admit a rapid accumulation4 ,limestone is a deep sea formation and the ,vailan system demands that standing trees should not be found in it4 ,only such limestone formation or strata as were deposited as mechanical precipitation could be formed in shallow waters1 especially in regions beyond the tropics4 ,a limestone stratum deposited among shore deposits or continental detritus points directly to ,annular origin and vegetable fossils will occur in the upper clays4 ,here geologists have an opportunity to prove or disprove the ,annular problem4 ,coal and peat are not found in the tropics where they ought to be found if vegetation produced them4 ,and if they could be found there it would sweep the ,vailan system from its foundations4 ,they are found1 however1 just where this system says they must be found4 ,why is peat found in the ocean1 and in the thousands of lakes and ponds where no peat vegetation is now growing8 ,suppose we find a peat bed forty feet thick1 it must have been at one time a lake with forty feet of water1 and how did the peat begin to grow8 ,peat forms slowly and the rains and storms would have worked mud1 etc41 more rapidly into it than the peat would have filled it4 ,it would neither have grown from the top nor from the bottom4 ,the foundation carbon fell from the ,annular fund4 ,,metamorphism ,,of ,,carbon ,,beds4 ,when bituminous or lignitic coal1 or even peat is subjected to a sufficient degree of heat it is converted into hard coal and sometimes into graphite4 ,from this source some conclude that anthracite and all hard coals are metamorphosed beds of soft carbon4 ,but how about the vast beds in aqueous crusts hundreds of miles from any igneous agencies8 ,all anthracite coal changed from bituminous coal will contain a greater per cent4 of ash than the coal from which it is derived4 ,if it does not it is evidence that it never was bituminous coal4 ,let us suppose a heavy fall of ,annular carbon in the north ,atlantic ocean1 and that the ,appalachian mountains were again under the sea4 ,the carbon carried by the ocean currents southward would fall to the sea bottom in the more quiet waters4 ,the heavy or anthracite dust would reach the bottom in deep waters where the lighter forms would not4 ,before the ,appalachian upheaval1 the eastern base of the system was farther out in the sea1 and was in deeper waters than the western4 ,the constitution of the coal itself1 the condition of the sea bottom 7sloping from the coast to the deep sea7 point harmoniously to the annular origin of the carbon beds4 ,the bituminous dust not being able to directly settle with the anthracite remained longer in suspension which accounts for its greater amount of ash4 ,the farther south it floated1 the more impure it became4 ,the heaviest beds of anthracite will be found in the northern part of the great plateau1 and principally in ,british ,america if the ,vailan theory is true4 ,fossil plants in coal are generally mineralized charcoal1 and are difficult of combination4 ,if the bed was composed of vegetable production the same difficulty would certainly characterize the mass4 ,hence the plant is simply a foreign body in a bed of mineral carbon4 ,coal seams have become so hard as to be planed off by eroding forces directly after being laid down1 or before heavy beds had accumulated over them4 ,thus they could not have been formed by vegetable peat4 ,,tertiary ,,coals4 ,extensive coal beds in ,asia are probably ,tertiary1 while the vast carbon beds among the ,rocky ,mountains1 and underlying the vast plain to the west of these mountains1 were formed in the ,tertiary period4 ,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 period4 ,the ,rocky ,mountain region was then sleeping in the sea4 ,the ,tertiary beds reach from ,mexico to the ,arctic ocean1 proving that currents ran toward the equator along the valley of the ,mc,kenzie1 bearing into southern waters whatever fell from the upper world4 ,it is thus easy to see how the vast expanse of this western world became the receptacle of ,tertiary carbon4 ,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 seaboard4 ,it is now conceded by geologists that such an isthmus of land reached from ,newfoundland to the shores of ,europe during the ,tertiary period4 ,this being true a vast fund of carbon must lie at the bottom of the ,north ,atlantic4 ,if these later coals had been formed out of vegetation growing in great continental swamps1 the same opportunity was afforded by the southern sea borders for this swamp vegetation4 ,and so from ,long ,island to the ,rio ,grande4 ,why then do we not find it if coal is of vegetable origin8 ,if the vast fund of the lignitic coals is a vegetable production it was present in the ,tertiary atmosphere as a deadly poison4 ,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 condition4 ,,deductions4 #a4 ,the plant when subjected to a proper mode of distillation is made to yield carbon in various allotropic forms4 ,so of any mineral that has carbon in its constitution4 ,these forms of carbon were placed in the crust of the earth after the primitive fires had died out4 #b4 ,all such primitive distillations existed in the atmosphere of the incandescent earth4 #c4 ,this matter as it declined and mingled with the atmosphere in after ages1 changed from the ring to the belt form1 and overcanopied the earth and fell largely in regions outside the tropics4 #d4 ,the heavier forms of carbon fell largely in the earlier ages2 though all sections of the system must have had some of each form4 #e4 ,all ages were more or less characterized by carbon falls1 and no age could be exclusively carboniferous4 #f4 ,carbon falling directly into the ocean would separate into heavier and lighter forms and settle accordingly in higher or lower elevations of sea bottom1 thus explaining why different forms of coal are found in the same proximate horizon4 #g4 ,the earliest or heavier forms are free from organic remains1 and must therefore be a primitive distillation4 ,the other carbon beds by their associated strata2 by their involved vegetation and other organisms2 by accompanying clay-partings2 by involved glacial drift2 by latitudinal gradation in quantity of ash and specific gravity2 by characteristic absence from the tropics and the heavy deposits in higher latitudes2 by synchronous formation in all continents2 by their evident formation in the very lap and bosom of the glacier and in ice and flood2 by the fact that they are bituminous1 oily hydro-carbons1 and by a multitude of inconsistencies and impossibilities involved in the vegetation theory1 have been shown to be actual sedimentary deposits1 and therefore a primitive product4 ,since then there is not a feature connected with the formation of coal that is not readily explained by the primitive carbon theory2 not one that philosophic law does not resolve into harmony with ,annular declension without even the show of conflict2 and since vegetarians are forever stumbling upon inexplicable difficulties--bowlders1 pebbles1 undulations1 slopes1 ripple-marks1 clay-partings1 cannel-coal inseparably joined with bituminous coal1 anthracites with less amount of ash1 marine impurities1 carbon planted in ,archaean beds1 air-breathing animals among ,tertiary coals1 carbon dredged from the ocean1 dug from the frozen world1 and innumerable other objections over which they can not climb1 the vegetation theory can not be true4 ,,annular ,,downfall ,,in ,,the ,,tertiary ,,ocean ,,of ,,the ,,northern ,,hemisphere4 ,if the ,vailian theory claims are valid the beds in the ,rocky ,mountain ,tertiary must present the following features3 ,the ,cretaceous period having been brought to a close by a down-rush of waters and snows in the northern hemisphere1 a stream of water pouring southward must to a great extent have been a fresh-water current1 and those deposits in the extreme northern beds of the ,rocky ,mountain region must be largely fresh-water accumulations4 ,those in the middle of this region must be to a less extent fresh-water2 perhaps sometimes fresh and again marine1 owing to changes in currents1 etc41 and the two be commingled1 while in the southern part the beds must be almost exclusively marine4 ,fortunately for the ,vailian theory these demands are fully met4 ,the waters of this vast region communicated with the ,arctic ocean1 probably by way of the present depression in ,british ,america1 along the valley of the ,mc,kenzie river1 while south it communicated with the ,gulf of ,mexico4 ,here was a sea forty times larger than ,lake ,erie4 ,where did the water come from that made the northern part fresh1 the middle part brackish and the southern portion marine8 ,the ,tertiary of the ,pacific ,coast is marine2 so is a larger portion of the ,atlantic border4 ,doubtless ,davis ,strait poured a volume of fresh-water from the polar world into the ,atlantic1 for there is the same commingling of marine and fresh-water shells on the northeast coast1 while in the northern part they are exclusively fresh-water species4 ,rivers could not have done this1 for all the rivers from ,delaware ,bay around the coast of the ,gulf of ,mexico were not sufficient to lay down fresh-water ,tertiary4 ,admit that the vast polar ocean of the ,tertiary period was a body of fresh-water1 and all difficulties disappear4 ,geologists admit that in the ,tertiary period mountains were made on every continent1 that there was a world-wide disturbance of strata1 and the most complete extermination of species on record4 ,the ,cretaceous world was swept by a mighty cataclysmic wave1 and its animals were buried in the detrital mass swept from the land into the seas and formed the lower ,eocene beds4 ,nothing of which we can conceive could do this but a downpour of ,annular waters4 ,one-third of ,north ,america1 a great part of ,northern ,europe1 nearly all of ,siberia1 much of ,china1 and other parts of ,asia were apparently synchronously submerged beneath fresh-water4 ,the ocean of fresh-water proves the augmentation of snows from the great super-aerial fund4 ,the ,cretaceous age closed by excessive and unusual refrigeration4 ,the transported blocks of stone found in the ,upper ,cretaceous and ,lower ,tertiary point to a northern origin4 ,the evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of an ,annular fall of waters in the north polar world at that time4 ,existing continents were submerged under ,cretaceous waters4 ,the ,rocky ,mountains1 ,andes1 ,alps and ,himalayas were either unborn or in their infant stage4 ,but some mighty barrier was raised that rolled the ,cretaceous waters southward1 and made an isolated fresh-water ocean on the north4 ,it was the great ,atlantic plateau reaching from ,newfoundland to ,ireland1 which is known by actual soundings and other evidence to be a submerged table land4 ,it was raised from the deep at this very time and stood for uncounted milleniums as dry land4 ,suppose an ice cap #ejjj feet thick should suddenly cover the ,arctic world4 ,it would press that part of the globe inward and downward upon itself even if the planet were solid to the centre4 ,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 places4 ,just what occurred in ,cretaceous and ,tertiary times4 ,we can trace the shore-line of an almost limitless fresh-water sea around the whole hemisphere in ,tertiary times1 showing that the ,arctic ocean was a wide expanse of fresh-waters4 ,this leads to the positive and permanent establishment of the ,vailian or ,annular theory4 ,,appendix4 ,,the ,,last ,,advance ,,of ,,glaciers4 ,the last downfall of exterior vapors was at the time of ,noah1 and produced the deluge4 ,these vapors naturally gravitated toward the polar regions and falling there as snows would accumulate as glaciers1 their magnitude and extent corresponding with the amount of falling snows4 ,it is evident if there ever was an ,eden climate upon the earth its destruction was brought about by a change of climate4 ,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 previous4 ,the ,eden world suffered a change of climate during the ,adamic age1 for the race that dwelt naked in ,eden became clothed in the skins of animals4 ,if this infant race dwelt naked the climate was warm4 ,if afterward it became necessary to be clothed with the skins of animals it certainly had become cold4 ,if the cold increased it was probably caused by the fall of snow in polar regions4 ,the physical condition of the antedeluvians and their environment depended on the conditions of the upper vapors4 ,hence1 polar glaciers began to advance in ,edenic times4 ,glaciers advanced slowly1 and are still advancing4 ,eight hundred years ago ,greenland was not the frigid land it now is4 ,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 venture4 ,they pushed forward commercial enterprises into lands that are now inhospitable and uninhabited4 ,the present glaciation of polar worlds is but the result of the last declension of outward vapors4 ,the great ice caps of polar regions are moving toward the equator and are constantly diminishing4 ,it is possible that we are approaching a day when the last ice berg will be borne toward the tropics1 and the last glacier will melt1 and a more genial climate pervade the greater portion of the earth4 ,,longevity ,,of ,,the ,,ancients4 ,according to the biblical account people lived to be #hjj and #ijj years old4 ,this was principally because of the modification of solar energy4 ,man's physical environments impelled long life2 and his longevity diminished immediately after the upper deep fell and the sun began to pour his beams upon the race2 his environment evidently changed with that event4 ,in a few generations after the flood man died at the age of #abj or #ajj years1 and finally at three score and ten4 ,,letter ,,from ,,prof4 ,i4 ,n4 ,,vail4 ,,my ,,dear ,,dr4 ,,bowers3 ,i have read with much interest thy compendium of 8,the ,earth's ,annular ,system10 as published by me in #ahhf4 ,a synopsis of that work can give but a meager idea of the grand conception of the annular evolution of the earth4 8,the ,annular ,theory0 stands on the immutable truth that worlds evolve according to invariable law4 ,this compels us to admit that all worlds are made alike1 in the general changes they undergo4 ,just as a bud evolves into a flower of the most delicate construction and architectural order1 so a world launched from the same designing ,hand must move in the same line of eternal order1 and under the law of natural uniformity develop and grow into a completed world4 ,this also leads us to the conclusion that if one world possess at any time an annular system1 then all worlds must possess a similar appendage during some period of their existence4 ,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 appendage4 ,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 uniformity1 but is today a victim of accidental conditions4 ,this law refuses to admit4 ,but 8,the ,annular ,theory0 does not rest on these grounds alone4 ,a universe of invariable order pronounces it an immutable truth4 ,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 changes4 ,since the publication of 8,the ,earth's ,annular ,system0 ,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 time4 ,i have found1 outside the realm of physical science1 the most positive evidence that primitive man actually saw at least two rings revolving about the earth1 named them and worshiped them as gods4 ,these relics ,i have rescued from the wreck of ages1 and with these ,i will prove the fact that this earth once had a complex system of ,saturn-like rings4 ,thus in the end the geologist and astronomer will be compelled to admit its truthfulness whether they desire to or not4 ,i have found among the ruins of ancient ,egypt1 ,babylonia1 ,india and ,china annular fossils1 the identification of which settles at once and forever this great question4 ,again1 ,i need not point the geologist to the mysteries of the glacial epochs1 which grow darker and darker as he looks for a competent cause for their production4 ,he must know that the great ocean of vapors that hovered for unknown time over the earth in the loftiest heights of the atmosphere1 such as now are seen on two of our neighbor planets1 could not have fallen to the earth without covering it in the higher latitudes with measureless masses of snow1 resulting in excessive refrigeration4 ,i need but point him to the fact1 proven by the coast surveys of the world1 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 times4 ,i need only point him to that grand clock-work of worlds shining from the firmament--every scintillating point1 every rolling sun1 is a witness of nature's eternal order1 and proclaims that uniformitarian principle of world evolution1 by which the philosophic investigator must stand4 ,the geologist must build on this rock of uniformity in the evolution of worlds4 ,the earth has evolved along this line1 and the wreck of annular conditions is seen on every page of its rocky volume4 ,in the year #ahge ,i published a little volume entitled 8,the ,earth's ,aqueous ,ring40 ,in it ,i stated my convictions1 and gave reasons therefor1 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 ,noah1 which was itself produced by the fall of the last remnants of those upper waters4 ,these claims ,i am fully prepared to substantiate1 whatever opposition may be brought against them4 ,,isaac ,n4 ,,vail1 ,,elsinore1 ,cal41 ,july #f1 #ahib4 ,transcriber's ,note ,in this file1 text in italics is indicated by underscores4 ,text in ,,small ,,caps is all uppercase4 ,the following changes were made to the text as printed3 ,page #c3 8rings of agueous vapor0 changed to 8rings of aqueous vapor0 8decent at the poles0 changed to 8descent at the poles0 #e3 8the same ,no matter0 changed to 8the same4 ,no matter0 #f3 8,kelper's 8,third ,law00 changed to 8,kepler's 8,third ,law00 #g3 8,,further ,,examination ,,of ,,the ,,record0 changed to 8,,further ,,examination ,,of ,,the ,,record40 8silicious ,archan beds0 changed to 8silicious ,archaean beds0 8,archan metaliferous deposits0 changed to 8,archaean metalliferous deposits0 #h3 8,god made the firmmanent0 changed to 8,god made the firmament0 8under the firmmament0 changed to 8under the firmament0 8above the firmmament0 changed to 8above the firmament0 8,the earths surface0 changed to 8,the earth's surface0 8the suns direct rays0 changed to 8the sun's direct rays0 8overcanopyed by annular waters0 changed to 8overcanopied by annular waters0 #i3 8,,the ,,nochian ,,deluge0 changed to 8,,the ,,noachian ,,deluge0 8,aryan1 ,phonecian1 ,greek0 changed to 8,aryan1 ,phoenecian1 ,greek0 8,greeks1 ,cythians and ,celtic tribes0 changed to 8,greeks1 ,scythians and ,celtic tribes0 8among the ,peruvians' and ,mexicans0 changed to 8among the ,peruvians and ,mexicans0 8the ruins of ,ninevah0 changed to 8the ruins of ,nineveh0 #aa3 8fresh water shells are found0 changed to 8fresh-water shells are found0 8decent of ,annular vapors0 changed to 8descent of ,annular vapors0 #ab3 8soon as killed purification0 changed to 8soon as killed1 putrification0 8the downrush of snows from the earths0 changed to 8the down-rush of snows from the earth's0 8a semitropical world0 changed to 8a semi-tropical world0 8over-canopying fund of vapors0 changed to 8overcanopying fund of vapors0 8posessed more bouyant power0 changed to 8possessed more buoyant power0 8doubtless1 dropped from icebergs0 changed to 8doubtless dropped from icebergs0 8upon the earth ,the great0 changed to 8upon the earth4 ,the great0 8boulder and conglomerate rocks0 changed to 8bowlder and conglomerate rocks0 #ac3 8the disolving of glaciers0 changed to 8the dissolving of glaciers0 8decended to the body0 changed to 8descended to the body0 8primordal life-forms0 changed to 8primordial life-forms0 8unknow depths of space0 changed to 8unknown depths of space0 #ad3 8,gardner of ,nature0 changed to 8,gardener of ,nature0 8,carboniferous carbonacious matter0 changed to 8,carboniferous carbonaceous matter0 8down fall of a silicious ring0 changed to 8downfall of a silicious ring40 #ag3 8fibres runnning vertically0 changed to 8fibres running vertically0 8ferns1 sigillaria lepidodendra0 changed to 8ferns1 sigillaria1 lepidodendra0 #ah3 8seperated by layers of clay0 changed to 8separated by layers of clay0 #ba3 8cannel-coal inseperably joined0 changed to 8cannel-coal inseparably joined0 #bb3 8submerged beneath fresh water0 changed to 8submerged beneath fresh-water0 8great super-ariel fund0 changed to 8great super-aerial fund0 8wide expanse of fresh waters0 changed to 8wide expanse of fresh-waters0 8,new ,foundland to ,ireland0 changed to 8,newfoundland to ,ireland0 8isolated fresh water ocean0 changed to 8isolated fresh-water ocean0 #bc3 8antideluvians and their environment0 changed to 8antedeluvians and their environment0 8inhospital and uninhabited0 changed to 8inhospitable and uninhabited0 8glacitation of polar worlds0 changed to 8glaciation of polar worlds0 8constantly dimishing0 changed to 8constantly diminishing0 8upon the race his environment0 changed to 8upon the race2 his environment0 #bd3 8natures eternal order0 changed to 8nature's eternal order0