MR DENTON’S LECTURE.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2791, 4 March 1882, Page 2

MR DENTON’S LECTURE.

Every succeeding passage in the history of the earth se e ms to be more interesting than its predecessor. Last night a large and rapt audience listened to the description of the carboniferous period—and if we could give a somewhat more lengthy resume of this one we feel sure our readers would appreciate the matter offered them, than which it would be difficult to conceive anything more thoroughly interesting. Even the youngsters, of whom there was a good muster, appeared to enjoy the solid matter of Mr Denton’s lecture quite as much as the light pabulum which the lecturer offered for their special gratification. Commencing with a brief recapitulation of the steps through which they had already passsed, the lecturer proceeded to show in in what enormous quantities carbon was distributed over the earth. Limestone underlies the coal formation. In the limestone formation were found enormous caves, notably those of Indiana and the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, which the lecturer described in a most vivid manner, (the audience being hushed in a deep and delighted silence) winding up with a recitation in telling style, of Prentice’s poem on the Mammoth Cave. Producing a bit of coal he showed how it might be seen by ordinary observation to have been originally wood noting that it takes 12 feet of wood to produce 1 foot of coal in the depositing process. Passing to a splendid description of the earth before coal deposits began, when the world was a vast forest with a moist hot atmosphere, fully charged with carbon, Mr Denton enumerated the various forms of vegetable life which then flourished,and judging from tlie enormous quantities of fuel stored in the earth’s cellars he held that the end of the world so often predicted by certain individuals was not likely to come until these had been exhausted.

The salt period next engaged attention, and it was shewn how sea water sucked up by the sun left beneath a great deposit of salt. Mr Denton here introduced a fairy story as to the origin of salt, to the immense delight of all the audience, especially of the children. The formation of salt by the action of chlorine and sodium was next described, and this brought the lecture to a close. Mr Denton had been listened to throughout with close and sustained attention, and his occasional hashes of eloquence, bits of description and amusing remarks garnished the solid matter agreeably. On the whole, we never remember to have listened to a popular lecture with greater interest. The harmony of the evening would, but for Mr Denton’s calm superiority, have been marred by an unseemly interruption on the part of an individual whose tongue the heat ot the room appeared to have loosened. He quickly retreated, however, and Mr Denton went on with unruffled composure. We hope the Timaru public will not let this opportunity go by of listening to fascinating discourse the like of which they are not likely to hear again for many a long day to come. A good many persons stop away because, say they, we don’t want to know anything about science. We advise them to come and hear, and they will be surprised to hear how homely yet beautiful a thing science is when explained by a master. To-night Mr Denton will discourse on the “Age of Reptiles," a lecture of surpassing interest, illustrated by views of extraordinary beauty and attractiveness.