The vast majority of the
new plants, with their winter sleep, would thrive in the cooler
air, and, occupying the ground of the retreating cycads and
ginkgoes would prepare a rich harvest for the coming birds and
mammals.
CHAPTER XV. THE TERTIARY ERA
We have already traversed nearly nine-tenths of the story of
terrestrial life, without counting the long and obscure Archaean
period, and still find ourselves in a strange and unfamiliar
earth. With the close of the Chalk period, however, we take a
long stride in the direction of the modern world. The Tertiary
Era will, in the main, prove a fresh period of genial warmth and
fertile low-lying regions. During its course our deciduous trees
and grasses will mingle with the palms and pines over the land,
our flowers will begin to brighten the landscape, and the forms
of our familiar birds and mammals, even the form of man, will be
discernible in the crowds of animals. At its close another mighty
period of selection will clear the stage for its modern actors.
A curious reflection is prompted in connection with this division
of the earth's story into periods of relative prosperity and
quiescence, separated by periods of disturbance.
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