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Under these circumstances it is, I believe, quite impossible to explain the transportal of these gigantic masses of rock so many miles from their parent-source, on any theory except by that of floating icebergs.
"But as these animals and their spawn are known to be immediately killed by sea-water, ON MY VIEW, we can see that there would be great difficulty in their transportal across the sea, and therefore why they do not exist on any oceanic island. "On my view" was cut out in 1869. On the following page we read "On my view this question can easily be answered."
Now it is notorious that land-shells are easily killed by sea-water; their eggs, at least such as I have tried, sink in it and are killed. Yet there must be some unknown, but occasionally efficient means for their transportal. Would the just-hatched young sometimes adhere to the feet of birds roosting on the ground and thus get transported?
He who will carefully examine the flowers of orchids for himself will not deny the existence of the above series of gradations from a mass of pollen-grains merely tied together by threads, with the stigma differing but little from that of the ordinary flowers, to a highly complex pollinium, admirably adapted for transportal by insects; nor will he deny that all the gradations in the several species are admirably adapted in relation to the general structure of each flower for its fertilisation by different insects.
Under these circumstances it is, I believe, quite impossible to explain the transportal of these gigantic masses of rock so many miles from their parent-source, on any theory except by that of floating icebergs.
Many remarkable little facts could be given with respect to the inhabitants of remote islands. For instance, in certain islands not tenanted by mammals, some of the endemic plants have beautifully hooked seeds; yet few relations are more striking than the adaptation of hooked seeds for transportal by the wool and fur of quadrupeds.
Strait of Magellan Port Famine Ascent of Mount Tarn Forests Edible Fungus Zoology Great Sea-weed Leave Tierra del Fuego Climate Fruit-trees and Productions of the Southern Coasts Height of Snow-line on the Cordillera Descent of Glaciers to the Sea Icebergs formed Transportal of Boulders Climate and Productions of the Antarctic Islands Preservation of Frozen Carcasses Recapitulation.
This fact, together with that of the seeds and eggs of most lowly organised forms being very minute and better fitted for distant transportal, probably accounts for a law which has long been observed, and which has lately been discussed by Alph. de Candolle in regard to plants, namely, that the lower any group of organisms stands the more widely it ranges.
Leave Tierra del Fuego. Climate. Fruit-trees and productions of the southern coasts. Height of snow-line on the Cordillera. Descent of glaciers to the sea. Icebergs formed. Transportal of boulders. Climate and productions of the Antarctic Islands. Preservation of frozen carcasses. Recapitulation. In the end of May 1834 we entered for a second time the eastern mouth of the Strait of Magellan.
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