"
have faded--grow all the world over; even down in the mines of Sweden the
shining Feather-moss is said to light up the darkness with a tiny glimmer
of its own.
When we were speaking of the fossil animals which are found hidden deep in
the "crust" of the earth, you may remember that I told you that upon the
hard grey-coloured clay which forms the roof of coal-mines beautifully
traced patterns of ferns are sometimes found. I have heard that half the
plants the remains of which are found buried in the coal-measures are
ferns, but ferns which are now known to us as but three feet in height,
appear in those early times of our earth's history to have been grand trees
with trunks three feet through, and fronds of great length.
If you want to see tree-ferns growing wild now, you must go to New Zealand
or Australia, or to the south of India: but you may perhaps some day have
an opportunity of looking at pictures of some of the giant mare's-tails,
and other plants with beautifully sculptured stems, of which traces have
been found in our own English coal-fields; meantime, look at the vivid
word-picture which Dr. Buckland has given of what he saw in a Bohemian
mine. He says: "The most elaborate imitation of living foliage upon the
painted ceilings of Italian palaces bears no comparison with the beauteous
proportions of extinct vegetable forms with which the galleries of these
instructive coal-mines are overhung.
Pages:
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149