THE VEGETATION OF GENERATIONS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 466, 22 September 1928, Page 30

THE VEGETATION OF GENERATIONS

HOW COAL IS MADE Thousands of years ago the growth o£ vegetation that covered the earth was totally different from that of today. Such trees as oaks, apples, general fruit trees, maples, beeches, etc., were not known, and flowering plants were yet to be discovered. The earth was covered with gigantic pines, firs and coniferous types of trees such as are now cultivated in different parts of the world. Giant ferns of many descriptions were then growing and gigantic fungus and mosses abounded in huge patches. This growth went on for generation after generation, the old plants dying and new growing; the decayed wood falling and slowly rotting, the remains turning into a thick black mud similar to the bottom of a bog or peat ground. As nature changed and the elements altered the appearance of the land, stones, sand, mud and overflows from the mountain streams covered up this mass of rotted vegetation. In parts the land gradually sank and the sea creeping in, overwhelmed it, depositing more mud, sand and gravel, which eventually became solid rock where once a living forest grew, and under this great pressure the black muddy remains of the growth formed what we now term “coal,” found in the earth in flat layers which vary from a few inches to many feet in thickness. As countless years rolled by and Nature’s work continued, fresh •changes took place. The land rose again and new forests grew on what was formerly sea bottom. How often do we pass through country districts and see where banks are cut away and notice layer of shingle upon layer of shell, and probably further dawn layers of coal. And so, when we consider how slowly these great changes took place and how long it must have taken for the forests to grow, we can begin to form some idea of the long time that has passed since coal was living vegetation.